What This Notice Means

CP566 is about your application for an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). The IRS needs more information before it can process it. You may have sent an incomplete form, or the wrong documents. This is not an identity theft notice.

What to Do

  • Go back over the application instructions and your application. Make sure you answered every question.
  • Confirm you don't qualify for a Social Security number and do need an ITIN.
  • Gather the documents the notice asks for and make sure they are correct.
  • If the IRS asked for a translation, have the documents translated into English by a certified translator.
  • Complete and sign the response form at the end of the notice and mail it with the requested documents to the address on the notice.

Reply by mail. Don't try to answer by phone. You can call the number on your notice with questions, visit a Taxpayer Assistance Center in the U.S., or use the IRS process for getting an ITIN from abroad.

The Deadline

You have 45 days from the date of the notice to reply. If you don't, the IRS will reject your application, and you'll have to submit a new one.

What Counts as Correct Documentation

In general, documents should be unexpired, have your photograph, show the same name as your application and tax return, and come from an organization authorized to issue them. Examples include a passport, a U.S. visa, a civil birth certificate, a national, state, or military ID, a driver's license, a USCIS photo ID, or a foreign voter registration document. Foreign records must be from a country the State Department recognizes.

For dependents only, U.S. school records (under age 18) and U.S. medical records (under age 6) can work if they are recent enough. Publication 1915 lists the details.

Your Tax Return and Documents

If the application is rejected, the IRS processes your return without an ITIN. To get a refund, you'd need to reapply and attach a copy of the return. Original documents you sent are returned within 60 days after the IRS processes your application.

If you need help responding to a CP566 before the 45 days run out, call us at (813) 229-7100.