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United States · Licensing exam

How hard is the enrolled agent exam?

There’s no official figure to answer it with, because neither irs.gov nor PSI’s candidate bulletin gives SEE pass rates. What is published still tells you how hard the enrolled agent exam is: each part has 100 questions in 3.5 hours, it’s closed book, and you need a scaled score of 500 on a scale of 200 to 800, as of October 2026.

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Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

Why is the enrolled agent exam hard?

  • Pace. 210 minutes for 100 questions is about 2 minutes a question (our arithmetic).
  • It’s closed book. You get an on-screen calculator, but no notes, books, phone or calculator of your own.
  • You can’t go back. After questions 34 and 67 you confirm the section is done, and from then on you can’t reopen it.
  • Fifteen of the 100 questions are unscored trial questions, and nothing tells you which ones, so every question needs your best answer.
  • The range. Each part covers a wide outline, from filing status to estate tax in Part 1, entities to farm returns in Part 2, and Circular 230 to e-file rules in Part 3.
What each part covers →

What is the passing score for the enrolled agent exam?

PSI counts your correct answers and converts that to a scale from 200 to 800. The IRS set the passing score at 500, which it describes as the minimum level of knowledge acceptable for someone practicing before the IRS as an enrolled agent.

You see pass or fail on screen as soon as you finish. PSI says every score above passing means you’re qualified, not how qualified, which is why a passing report shows no number.

ResultWhat your report shows
PassPass, with no score, plus feedback by topic
FailScaled score from 200 to 499, plus feedback by topic

What is the EA exam pass rate?

As of October 2026, the IRS and PSI don’t publish SEE pass rates. Pass rates on course websites aren’t IRS or PSI figures. The exam also moved from Prometric to PSI on March 1, 2026, so figures from before then describe the old setup.

The three question formats

Every question has four options and one best answer. PSI uses three formats:

  • A direct question, such as which entities must file a certain form.
  • An incomplete sentence that you finish with the right option.
  • “All of the following, EXCEPT”, where you pick the one option that doesn’t fit.

If you don’t pass a part

Use the diagnostic feedback to pick what to study, then book that part again. The waiting time, the four-attempt limit and the fee for each try are on the registration page.

Retakes and rescheduling →Try 20 practice questions →
Sources: PSI · IRS and 1 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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