Applicants for State registration must be at least 18 years old, with a high school diploma or the equivalent. They must have had either 60 in-class hours of approved instruction in basic personal income tax law, theory, and practice, or two years of equivalent work experience preparing personal income tax returns, covering both California and federal taxes. Because many community and four-year colleges only cover federal taxation, students must take additional instruction in State tax laws. Registration with the State of California must be renewed annually. Renewal requires the completion of 20 hours of continuing education, with eight hours in federal and four hours in State taxation.
Some tax services offer instructional courses to help their employees become registered.
In some locations, working knowledge of a foreign language is a plus.