Request for a Copy of Exempt or Political Organization IRS Form, Application, or Letter

Instructions for Form 4506-B
(November 2021)
Request for a Copy of Exempt Organization IRS Application or Letter
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless
otherwise noted.

Future Developments

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CAUTION

For the latest information about developments related to Form
4506-B and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after this
form and instructions were published, go to www.irs.gov/
form4506ab.

What's New

An organization, or its officers, may request a copy of the
organization's own application on Form 4506-B. However, they will
only receive the copy that is “Open for Public Inspection.” The publicly
available copy will not include, for example, information that may
identify a contributor and documents that were filed with the
application, but are not open to public inspection.

How Much Will It Cost?
You may inspect an exemption application or letter at an IRS
office free of charge.

Determination letters issued 2014 or later are available on Tax
Exempt Organization Search (TEOS), www.irs.gov/teos.

If you want a photocopy of an exemption application or letter,
see the chart below.

General Instructions
Purpose Of Form

Note. The IRS will send you a bill for the photocopy cost. If your
cost is over $250, we will ask for payment in advance.

Use Form 4506-B to request under Section 6104:
● A copy of an exempt organization’s exemption application or
letter.
Don’t complete Form 4506-B to get copies of the following forms
and information:
● Copies of an exempt or political organization’s return, report, or
notice (Form 990, 990-PF, 990-T, etc.) can be requested by
submitting Form 4506-A, Request for a Copy of Exempt or
Political Organization IRS Form, or if received in 2017 or later
are available on Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS),
www.irs.gov/teos.
● You may view Form 990-N, Electronic Notice (e-Postcard) for
Tax-Exempt Organizations Not Required to File Form 990 or
990-EZ, filings at Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS),
www.irs.gov/teos.
● The machine readable data for the efiled Forms 990, 990-EZ
and 990-PF are available for download at Tax Exempt
Organization Search Bulk Data Downloads, www.irs.gov/
charities-non-profits/tax-exempt-organization-search-bulk-datadownloads.
● Form 8871, Political Organization Notice of Section 527 Status,
and Form 8872, Political Organization Report of Contributions
and Expenditures, are available for inspection and printing from
IRS.gov. The website address for both forms is www.irs.gov/
polorgs.
● If you want to determine if charitable contributions are
deductible, use Tax Exempt Organization Search, www.irs.gov/
teos.
Note. Exempt organizations must make their exempt applications
available for public inspection. You can visit the organization to
inspect the material instead of requesting it from the IRS. The
organization may be able provide the copies to you.

TIP

To see an organization’s current activities or financial data,
you can use www.guidestar.org.

IF you are. . .

THEN the charge for paper copies
is . . .

A commercial user,

$ .20 per page.

An educational institution, media,
non-commercial scientific institution,
or all other requesters,

First 100 pages free, $ .20 per page
thereafter.

Where To File
To file Form 4506-B, you can mail, fax, or email to:
Internal Revenue Service
Attn: EO Correspondence Unit
P.O. Box 2508, Room 6403
Cincinnati, OH 45201
Fax number - 855-204-6184
Email - [email protected]

How Long Will It Take?
Generally, it may take up to 60 days for us to process your
request.

Specific Instructions
Line 1
Requester. Enter the requester's name, phone number, and
address.

Line 2
Exempt organization. Enter the organization's official name
under which exempt status was approved, address, and employer
identification number. If you do not enter the official name, we
may not be able to locate or provide the requested item.
Complete a separate Form 4506-B for each organization.

Line 3
Category of requester. Check the appropriate category of the
requester. You must check a box.

Catalog Number 74572L

Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for
the information on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue
laws of the United States. We need the information to gain access
to the exempt organization IRS application or letter you requested
in our files and properly respond to your request.

Line 4
Reason for request. To avoid being charged the commercial
rate, all requesters, except commercial users, must provide a
reason for requesting the records and explain how the records
will be used.

The authority to ask for the information requested on this form
is Internal Revenue Code Section 6104 and its regulations. You
are not required to provide the information requested on this form.
However, if you do not furnish the information, we may not be
able to fulfil your request. Providing willfully false or fraudulent
information may subject you to criminal penalties. Routine uses
include disclosing the information to the Department of Justice for
civil or criminal litigation. We may also disclose this information to
federal and state agencies to enforce federal nontax criminal laws
and to federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to
combat terrorism.

Lines 5
Check the box(es) for the item(s) you are requesting. You may
request more than one item.
What we will send you
IF you check…

THEN we will send you…

Application for exemption

A copy of the most recently approved
application for exemption submitted by
the organization, along with all
supporting documentation and the
determination letter. This includes
Form 1023, 1023-EZ, 1024, 1024-A
etc.

You are not required to provide the information requested on a
form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless the
form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records
relating to a form or its instructions must be retained as long as
their contents may become material in the administration of any
Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax returns and return
information are confidential, as required by Section 6103. The
time needed to complete and file Form 4506-B will vary
depending on individual circumstances. The estimated average
time is:

Note. If the organization previously
filed for exemption under a different
subsection or was previously granted
exemption, revoked, and then filed for
reinstatement, you will only receive the
most recent application by checking
this box. If you would like previous
applications, you must check the
“other” box and indicate this in the
space provided.
Exemption determination letter only

Recordkeeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Learning about the law or the form . . . . . . . .
Preparing the form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Copying, assembling, and sending the form to the IRS

Only the determination letter that was
issued as a result of the most recently
approved exemption application (Form
1023, 1023-EZ, 1024, 1024-A, etc.).

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6 min.
10 min.
21 min.
20 min.

Note. Determination letters issued
2014 or later are available on Tax
Exempt Organization Search (TEOS).
www.irs.gov/teos.

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these time
estimates or suggestions for making Form 4506-B simpler, we
would be happy to hear from you. You can send us comments by
going to www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/comment-on-tax-forms-andpublications. You can also send your comments to:

Affirmation letter

A letter with the current date affirming
the current exempt status of the
organization.

Internal Revenue Service
Tax Forms and Publications Division
1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526
Washington, DC 20224

Other

The specific items you request on the
lines provided. Use this box to request
any other items that are publicly
disclosable.

Do not send Form 4506-B to this address. Instead, see Where
To File.

Examples include, but are not limited
to, group exemption requests, some
requests made on Form 8940, and
prior exemption applications.
Note. Requests for “other” documents
take longer to process and could result
in significant delays.

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Incomplete requests will be rejected.

CAUTION

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