W-7 (COA) Certificate of Accuracy for IRS Individual Taxpayer Iden

Form W-7

(COA)

(Rev. March 2013)

Certificate of Accuracy for IRS Individual
Taxpayer Identification Number

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

►See Publication 4520
►Form use only by IRS Certifying Acceptance Agents when submitting Form W-7

OMB Number
1545-0074

Certificate of Accuracy
The undersigned

is an authorized representative of
, a Certifying Acceptance Agent under an agreement entered into with
(CAA Business Name)

/

the Internal Revenue Service dated

/ 20

. The undersigned certifies with regard to Form W-7 submitted for
, that the applicant is not eligible for a SSN and has

(Form W-7 Applicant’s Name)

provided the documentation checked below that sufficiently supports the applicant’s identity and foreign status.
REMINDER: A passport is the only document that proves both “foreign status” and “identity”. If a passport is not provided, a
combination of two or more documents must be provided to meet the documentation requirements.
Check the box under each category (Identity, Foreign Status) that corresponds to the documents reviewed by you.
Supporting Document

Foreign
Status

Identity

Passport (Stand Alone Document)
National Identification Card (must be current and contain name, photograph, address, date of
birth and expiration date)
United States Drivers License
Civil Birth Certificate (Required for applicants under 18 if passport is not provided)

*

Medical Records (valid only for dependents under age 6)

*

Foreign Drivers License
United States State Identification Card
Foreign Voters Registration Card
United States Military Identification Card
Foreign Military Identification Card
*

School Records (valid only for dependents under age 14 (under age 18 if a student))
Visa issued by United States Department of State
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Photo Identification
*May be used to establish “foreign status” only if the documents are foreign.

Check and complete the following paragraph only if the applicant is applying for an ITIN under
“Exception 1(a) - Partnership Interest”.
The undersigned further certifies that the Applicant has provided a copy of the relevant pages of the Partnership
Agreement of

and
(Name of Partnership)

EIN

as documentation in support of meeting the requirements for Exception 1(a).

The undersigned further certifies that the documentation was reviewed in accordance with the procedures set forth in the
Acceptance Agent Agreement and is authentic, complete, and accurate based on the information and documentation submitted by the
applicant.
The Certifying Acceptance Agent shall retain copies of all relevant documents including signed copies of the Forms W-7 submitted
to the IRS on behalf of the applicant upon which the Certifying Acceptance Agent has relied upon to certify the applicant’s foreign status
and identity.
(Signature of Authorized Representative)

Acceptance Agent EIN

Catalog Number 56020G

(Date signed)

Acceptance Agent Office Code

www.irs.gov

Acceptance Agent PTIN

Form W-7

(COA) (Rev. 3-2013)

Page 2

Instructions for Form W-7 (COA) — Certificate of Accuracy for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
What is Form W-7 (COA)
Form W-7 (COA) is a “Certificate of Accuracy” prepared by an ITIN
Certifying Acceptance Agent (CAA) and attached to each Form W-7
(Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) that
is submitted to IRS. It contains the following information.
• The name of the designated authorized representative of the CAA
who is completing the Certificate of Accuracy.
• The legal name of the business.
• The EIN (Employers Identification Number) and office code of the
Certifying Acceptance Agent.
• The date that the Acceptance Agent Agreement was approved.
• The name of the ITIN Applicant.
• The type(s) of supporting documentation reviewed by the CAA to
prove the ITIN applicant’s “identity” and “foreign status”.
• A statement by the CAA that they have verified to the best of their
knowledge, the authenticity, accuracy and completeness of the
documentation they reviewed.
• The signature of the individual who has prepared the COA and the
date that it was signed.

What is the purpose of Form W-7 (COA)
The COA is a certification by the CAA that they have reviewed the
supporting documentation to prove the ITIN applicant’s “identity” and
“foreign status” and to the best of their knowledge the documents are
complete, authentic, and accurate. Note: With the exception of
documentation to prove Exception 1(a) criteria, the only documents
that should be included in the COA are those that were reviewed by
you to prove the applicant’s claim of identity and foreign status. All
other supplemental documentation supporting “Exception” criteria,
(i.e. a copy of a withholding document, a letter from a financial
institution, etc,) as well as a denial letter from the Social Security
Administration (if applicable) must be attached to Form W-7 and
submitted to IRS.

Who must submit a COA?
All IRS ITIN Certifying Acceptance Agents are required to complete
and submit a separate COA for each Form W-7 that is sent to IRS. It is
important to remember that as a Certifying Acceptance Agent,
documentation to support identity and foreign status must be reviewed

by you and included in your COA. You should attach a copy of the
original documents or certified copy by the issuing agency for primary
and secondary applicants. You must attach the original or certified
copies for all dependents. You should not take them to an IRS Taxpayer
Assistance Center (TAC) to be reviewed by an IRS employee.

Who can sign the Certificate of Accuracy?
Only the designated authorized representative of the business is
permitted to sign the COA.

Where can I find Form W-7 (COA)?
Form W-7 (COA) can be found on the IRS web site at www.irs.gov by
searching for “Form W-7 (COA)”.

Whose PTIN is required?
Only tax practitioners are required to have a PTIN. The approved
authorized representative of the business must provide their PTIN on
Form W-7 (COA).

Supporting Documentation
You should check only the boxes that correspond to the documents
which you reviewed and certified to support the ITIN applicant’s
identity and foreign status. A passport is the only stand alone document
for purposes of satisfying both the “identity” and “foreign status”
criteria. If you review the applicant’s passport, you would place an “x”
in the box under the “Identity” and “Foreign Status” column on the
Passport line. If, however, a passport is not reviewed by you, then a
combination of at least two or more documents must be examined from
the list of Supporting Documents; one which satisfies identity, and one
which satisfies foreign status. If a document does not display a box
under the Identity or Foreign Status column, it signifies that the
document can not be used to support that category. For example: A
Foreign Drivers License, U.S. State Identification Card, and U.S.
Military Identification Card can not be used to prove an applicant’s
“foreign status”. Therefore there is no check-box for those documents
under the foreign status column. They can, however, be used to prove
the applicant’s “identity”, so there are check-boxes under the identity
column. Medical records valid for children under 6 years of age and
school records are valid only for dependents under age 14, (under age 18
if a student).

Definitions — The following chart represents definitions for phrases used in Form W-7 (COA).
Phrase

Definition

The Undersigned

This is the name of the individual who is preparing and signing the Certificate of Accuracy. This person must
be the the individual who has been designated as the authorized representative of the business.

CAA Business Name

This is the legal name of the business that was entered by you on Form 13551, Application to Participate in the
ITIN Acceptance Agent Program.

Agreement approved date
___ / ___ / 20__

This is the date that IRS approved your agreement. You can locate this date on your CAA Agreement.

Form W-7 Applicant’s Name

This is the name of the individual for whom you are completing the Form W-7 and Certificate of Accuracy.

Name of Partnership

The name of the partnership should be entered on this line only if you are requesting an ITIN under Exception
1(a) – Partners in a U.S. or foreign partnership that invests in the U.S.

EIN, Office Code and PTIN

This is the Employer’s Identification Number (EIN) that was assigned to the business by IRS. The office code
is a number assigned by the ITIN Policy Section when the application for AA status is approved. Preparer Tax
Identification Number (PTIN) is required for anyone who prepares or assists in preparing federal tax returns for
compensation. This number should be entered on the line for Acceptance Agent PTIN

Date signed

This is the date that the Certificate of Accuracy is signed by the authorized representative of the Business.

For additional information regarding documentation, please refer to Publication Publication 4520 Acceptance Agents Guide for Individual Taxpayer
Identification Number (ITIN)

Catalog Number 56020G

www.irs.gov

Form W-7

(COA) (Rev. 3-2013)