California CRTP requirements for new and current preparers

Here’s a question worth asking yourself before the fall rush hits: is your CTEC registration actually current, or just current enough that you haven’t checked lately? If you prepare tax returns for a fee in California and you’re not a CPA, enrolled agent (EA) or attorney, the state has a rule for you. You need to register with the California Tax Education Council (CTEC) as a CTEC registered tax preparer (CRTP). Skip it, and you’re breaking the law every time you charge a client for a return.

CTEC exists to protect California taxpayers from unqualified preparers. CPAs, EAs and attorneys are already regulated by their own licensing authorities, so they’re exempt. Everyone else who prepares tax returns for a fee in California must register as a CRTP. That’s a good thing for the profession, but it means the requirements are real, and so are the deadlines.

New to tax preparation? Here’s what CTEC wants from you

Becoming a CRTP takes six steps:

1. Submit the new preparer application to CTEC and pay the $100 nonrefundable application fee plus a $2 processing fee.
2. Complete a Live Scan fingerprinting procedure and pass a criminal background check through the California Department of Justice.
3. Complete 60 hours of qualifying education, 45 hours federal and 15 hours California, through a CTEC-approved provider.
4. Get an IRS preparer tax identification number (PTIN).
5. Buy the $5,000 tax preparer surety bond required under California law.
6. After CTEC approves your application, complete the registration process, pay the $33 registration fee plus a $2 processing fee and receive your CRTP certificate.

Clear those six steps and you’re registered to prepare California returns for a fee.

Already a CRTP? Here’s your yearly checklist

Renewal isn’t optional, but it’s not hard if you plan ahead. Every year before Oct. 31, current CRTPs need to:

• Finish 20 hours of continuing education through a CTEC-approved provider: 10 hours federal tax law, 3 hours federal tax updates, 2 hours ethics and 5 hours California tax law
• Keep their IRS PTIN current
• Keep that $5,000 surety bond active
• Renew their registration and pay the $35 fee

Why Oct. 31 really is a hard stop

Miss it, and you can’t legally prepare returns for a fee until you’re square with CTEC again. There’s a late window through Jan. 15, but it comes with a $55 late fee on top of your renewal cost. Miss Jan. 15 too, and your registration doesn’t just lapse, it’s gone. You’d start over as a brand-new preparer: 60 hours of education, a new background check, new fingerprints, the whole process, right as busy season ramps up.

Letting your registration slide costs more than time. Think financial penalties, lost credibility with clients and, bottom line, no legal way to prepare a return for a fee until it’s fixed.

Behind on hours? You’ve still got options

On-demand webinars and self-study courses let you finish your CE on your own schedule. In-person CTEC-approved programs are another option, including NATP’s 2026 California Update Workshop. Just confirm your provider appears on CTEC’s list of approved providers and leave enough time for the provider to report your hours. During the Aug. 1 through Oct. 31 renewal period, providers have up to 10 business days after course completion to report them, so don’t count on last-minute coursework appearing immediately.

Staying current with CTEC isn’t just paperwork. It’s what keeps your practice legal, your clients protected and your reputation intact.

Want to get ahead of California’s next round of changes?

Requirements aside, California’s own tax law keeps drifting further from federal rules, and that gap is where mistakes happen. NATP’s 2026 California Update Workshop walks you through this year’s state changes, including where California doesn’t conform to federal law, so you can catch problems before they land on a client’s return. Join us Oct. 20 in Las Vegas, from noon to 4:30 p.m. PT, and head into next season ready instead of scrambling to finish your hours.