Certifying acceptance agent vs acceptance agent

Both kinds of agent are approved by the IRS under the Acceptance Agent Program, and both help you complete Form W-7, mail the application package to the IRS, work with the IRS to resolve problems with your application, and prepare your tax return if they offer that service. The difference is what happens to your identity documents.

A certifying acceptance agent (CAA) can authenticate your supporting documents. That means the CAA checks the originals, certifies them, and hands them straight back to you, so they never go in the mail. The CAA also receives copies of your ITIN notices from the IRS, which helps if anything needs follow-up. There are two limits: a CAA cannot authenticate foreign military ID cards, and for dependents a CAA can only authenticate passports and birth certificates. Anything else in those two groups still travels to the IRS by mail.

An acceptance agent (AA) does everything except authenticate. The agent reviews your documents and your Form W-7 package, then mails the original documents to the IRS with the application. The IRS returns them to the address on line 2 of your Form W-7 within 60 days. On the IRS lists, acceptance agents are the entries marked with an asterisk; entries without one are certifying acceptance agents.

Which one to pick depends on your documents. If you hold a valid passport and do not want to part with it for weeks, a certifying agent is the practical choice, since the passport is the one document that proves both identity and foreign status on its own. If you are comfortable mailing originals, either kind of agent can file the package. Fees vary by agent, so ask about the fee before you book. Both kinds work in the US and abroad: the IRS lists agents in every state as well as in more than sixty other countries.