Form W-7 (COA) (Rev. 5-2019)
Catalog Number 56020G www.irs.gov
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 (COA).
• The legal name of the business.
• The Employers Identification Number (EIN) and office code of the CAA.
• 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 CAAs 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 CAA,
documentation to support identity and foreign status must be reviewed
by you and should be included with your COA. You must attach a copy of
the original documents or certified copy by the issuing agency for primary
and secondary applicants. For dependents, you must attach a copy of
the passport or birth certificate. For all other dependent documents, you
must attach the original document or certified copy by the issuing
agency. IRS employees at designated Taxpayer Assistance Centers
(TAC) will not review W-7 applications prepared by CAAs.
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. A passport
that doesn't have a date of entry won't be accepted as a stand-alone
identification document for dependents, unless they are a dependent of
U.S. military personnel stationed overseas. In these cases, additional
original documents must be submitted with the passport to prove U.S.
residency. See Part 4 of Publication 4520 for documents accepted as
proof of U.S. residency for dependents. 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).
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 4520 Acceptance Agents Guide for Individual Taxpayer Identification
Number (ITIN)
Definitions — The following chart represents definitions for phrases used in Form W-7 (COA).
