OPR Best Practices for Central Authorization File (CAF) Numbers

Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, authorizes a practitioner to represent a taxpayer before IRS. Completed authorizations, which specify the tax periods and taxes to which they relate, are recorded on the CAF.
 
Each practitioner is assigned a nine-digit CAF number. Typically, this occurs when the practitioner files their first authorization with IRS. However, practitioners may inadvertently be assigned additional CAF numbers if they fail to include their CAF number on an authorization filed with the appropriate CAF unit.
 
Practitioners should maintain an up-to-date list of client authorizations that are open with IRS, and withdraw those that are no longer needed. As long as an authorization is listed as active in the CAF, a cyberthief could misuse the authorization to gain access to valuable taxpayer information.
 
Learn more about best practices regarding CAF numbers here, including how tax practitioners can confirm the accuracy of their records by making a CAF77 request.