EA Exam Part 3: Representation

Part 3 at a glance

Part 3, Representation, Practices and Procedures, is one of three independently scheduled parts of the SEE. Each form has 100 multiple-choice questions: 85 scored and 15 unidentified experimental items that do not count. Testing time is 3.5 hours, and the IRS does not require an order of parts. PSI administers the exam. For U.S. domestic candidates the current window runs July 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027, and the fee is $317 per part, paid to PSI at scheduling. Retake limits and the March and April blackout are on the dates-and-fees page. Passing is a scaled score of 500, explained on the scoring page.

Part 3 domain map

The current PSI Candidate Information Bulletin controls the scope of Part 3. It sets four domains with fixed scored-question counts that total 85. If the bulletin changes, the bulletin wins. The linked topic lessons are PassFast study aids, not official SEE content.

• Practices and Procedures, 26 scored questions: practice before the IRS, enrolled agent requirements, fees, advertising, due diligence, conflicts of interest, client records, refund checks, continuing education, sanctions, and preparer penalties.
• Representation Before the IRS, 25 scored questions: Form 2848, Form 8821 versus Form 2848, CAF numbers, withdrawal, disclosure consent, building the case, authority hierarchy, statutes of limitations, and post-filing notices.
• Specific Areas of Representation, 20 scored questions: installment agreements, offers in compromise, liens, levies, collection due process, the trust fund recovery penalty, examinations, the 30-day and 90-day letters, appeals, and abatement.
• Filing Process, 14 scored questions: accuracy, record retention, data security, EFIN applications, the e-file mandate, ERO duties, Forms 8879 and 8453, rejected returns, and e-file sanctions.

What to study

Build study around Treasury Department Circular No. 230 and the outline. For this window, questions reference the Code, regulations, forms, and publications as amended through December 31, 2025, and later legislation or penalty amounts are out of scope. Start with Circular 230: who may practice, the duties a practitioner owes, and the conduct that leads to sanctions. Then learn authority. Form 2848 authorizes representation. Form 8821 lets a designee receive tax information but does not authorize the designee to speak for or represent the taxpayer. Next, follow a case through examination, appeals, and collection, calendaring each deadline. Finish with the filing process.

Common practice mistake

Treating every notice as correspondence with a negotiable reply date. Some deadlines are fixed by law, and the Tax Court petition period after a notice of deficiency is the classic example, worked in sample question 2. A second mistake is memorizing Circular 230 rules without their exceptions. Contingent fees are generally prohibited, but section 10.27 permits them for an IRS examination of an original return, for certain amended returns or refund claims, for claims about statutory interest or penalties, and in judicial proceedings.

Sample practice question 1: continuing education hours

Sample practice written by PassFast from Circular 230, not an official SEE item. An enrolled agent in a full three-year enrollment cycle completed 16 hours of continuing education in year one and 20 hours in year two, each including 2 hours of ethics. What is the minimum for year three? (A) 16 hours, including 2 hours of ethics. (B) 36 hours, including 2 hours of ethics. (C) 36 hours, including 6 hours of ethics. (D) 40 hours, including 4 hours of ethics.

• Answer: B.
• Rule: Circular 230 section 10.6(e)(2) requires at least 72 hours per enrollment cycle, including 6 of ethics, and at least 16 hours per enrollment year, including 2 of ethics.
• Hours: 72 minus (16 plus 20) equals 36, which exceeds the 16-hour annual floor.
• Ethics: 6 minus (2 plus 2) equals 2, which also meets the 2-hour annual floor.
• Why not A or C: 16 hours leaves the cycle 20 hours short, and C ignores the 4 ethics hours already earned.

Sample practice question 2: the 90-day letter

Sample practice written by PassFast from IRS Publication 5, not an official SEE item. A taxpayer living in the United States receives a statutory notice of deficiency. Her representative keeps talking with Appeals and plans to petition the U.S. Tax Court only if talks fail. Which statement is correct? (A) Ongoing talks with Appeals extend the petition deadline. (B) The petition is generally due within 90 days, and talks with Appeals do not extend it. (C) The petition is generally due within 150 days because the taxpayer is still negotiating. (D) The Tax Court may extend the period on request.

• Answer: B.
• Rule: Publication 5 says the petition is due within the time in the notice, usually 90 days, or 150 days if the notice is addressed to a person outside the United States. The law sets the period, and it runs even while the taxpayer keeps talking to examiners or Appeals.
• Why not C: 150 days applies only to a notice addressed outside the United States, not to negotiation.
• Why not A or D: a period the law sets does not move.

Practice method for Part 3

Start with the free Part 3 sample, which uses IRS-published questions for the current law period with source references and explanations. Work each item closed-book, then read why every option is right or wrong. For each miss, name the Circular 230 section, form, or publication that decides it. Then move from short domain sets to mixed timed sets across all four domains. A practice percentage is a training signal. It is not a scaled score, and no percentage converts to the official passing mark of 500. No practice set is an official SEE form, and none predicts or guarantees a result.

A Part 3 study path

First, take the free diagnostic to see whether Part 3 should come first. Email is required, and the result is a part-priority signal, not a pass prediction. Second, put Part 3 on a calendar with the 10-week study plan, an example pace rather than a promise. Third, read the relevant Circular 230 sections alongside the domain map and check retrieval with the free sample. Fourth, when mixed timed sets are stable in every domain, schedule through PSI at least 24 hours ahead.

Choosing Part 3 materials

Part 3 materials should match the current PSI outline, cite Circular 230, forms, and publications directly, and report results by domain. The study-materials guide is the checklist, and the courses guide compares formats. When Part 3 is stable, the Part 1 and Part 2 hubs cover the next appointment.