Enrolled Agents, acting as attorneys-in-fact, may represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for any and all tax matters.

When the Revenue Act of 1913 was passed, signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on October 3, 1913, the scope of the Enrolled Agent was expanded to include claims for monetary relief for citizens whose taxes had become inequitable.

As a result of this complexity, audits became more prevalent and the enrolled agent role evolved into taxpayer representation, promulgating a series of statutes which were combined into a single Treasury Department Circular on February 19, 1921, known as Circular 230, to address "the laws and regulations governing the recognition of agents, attorneys, and other persons representing claimants before the Treasury Department and offices thereof."

To become an Enrolled Agent, an applicant must obtain a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) from the IRS and must achieve passing scores on all three parts of the Special Enrollment Examination (SEE), or must have worked at the IRS for five consecutive years in a position regularly applying and interpreting the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations relating to income, estate, gift, employment, or excise taxes.

During this time, the individual will be ineligible to practice before the Internal Revenue Service and may not state or imply that they are eligible to represent taxpayers, use the term Enrolled Agent, or use the EA designation.

The FATP status is granted to attorneys, certified public accountants, and Enrolled Agents, each having unlimited representation rights before the Internal Revenue Service.

The Internal Revenue Code states, "No qualified person shall be denied admission to practice before the Tax Court because of his failure to be a member of any profession or calling.