How to File a California Franchise Tax Board Power of Attorney

To file a California Franchise Tax Board power of attorney, complete the FTB’s own declaration form, sign it by hand, and submit it either through your MyFTB account or by mail to the POA/TIA Unit in Rancho Cordova. Individuals, estates, and trusts use FTB 3520-PIT; corporations, partnerships, LLCs, and group nonresident filers use FTB 3520-BE. Processing generally takes about three weeks, so file early if you’re facing an audit deadline, a protest window, or active collections.¹

Use the FTB’s Own Form

The FTB accepts only its current declaration forms for this purpose. An IRS Form 2848, a generic durable power of attorney drafted by an estate attorney, or an older version of FTB 3520-PIT will all be rejected, and you’ll start over.² Download the current version straight from ftb.ca.gov before you fill anything in.

If you only need someone to view your account without acting on your behalf (a lender pulling transcripts, a bookkeeper watching payments post), a Tax Information Authorization on Form 3534 is the lighter option and doesn’t grant representation.³ Anything beyond viewing (responding to an audit, negotiating a resolution, signing on your behalf) requires the full POA.

What the Authorization Lets Your Representative Do

A processed POA declaration lets your representative contact the FTB about your account, inspect confidential information, represent you in all FTB matters for the covered years, and request the information the FTB received from the IRS.⁴ Once approved, the declaration generally stays active for six years from the date you signed it.²

Beyond that baseline, the form offers optional powers that only take effect if you actively select them:

Receive (but not endorse or cash) refund checks that would otherwise mail to the address on your return. Redirecting a check also requires a call to the FTB at 800-852-5711.²
Substitute or delegate authority to another person.
Sign your California tax return, but only if you have an incapacitating disease or injury, or you’ve been continuously outside the United States (including Puerto Rico) for at least 60 days before the filing deadline.²

Only individuals can be named as representatives. You appoint a person, not a firm. You must also designate one representative as the primary representative; that person is the only one who receives notifications if the FTB later ends the relationship.²

Filling Out FTB 3520-PIT Without Triggering a Rejection

The form has several parts, and skipping fields or checking the wrong combination of boxes will stall approval.

Taxpayer Information

Check either the individual or fiduciary box and fill in the matching identifiers. Individuals supply full name, current address, and SSN or ITIN. Estates and trusts need a Federal Employer Identification Number, and a deceased-individual filing uses the decedent’s SSN.²

If you and your spouse filed a joint California return, each spouse must complete a separate FTB 3520-PIT. One form does not cover both of you, even when you’re appointing the same representative.⁵

Representative Information

For each representative, enter full name, mailing address, phone, email, and any professional identification numbers. The form accepts California CPA license numbers, California State Bar numbers, CTEC registration numbers, Enrolled Agent numbers, and PTINs.¹ The ID fields can stay blank if your representative has no professional credentials, but without them the representative can’t access your account through a tax professional online account in MyFTB. You can name more than two representatives by attaching additional copies of Side 4.²

Tax Years Covered

Check either Yes or No to both the “All Years” question and the “Specific Years” question. Checking All Years authorizes your representative for all FTB matters regardless of year. To limit coverage, check No to All Years and Yes to Specific Years, then list the exact years or income periods. Leaving both blank, or checking Yes to both, makes the declaration invalid.² Either way, the six-year expiration from the signature date still applies.⁶

How to Submit and How Long It Takes

You have two submission routes:

Online through MyFTB. Log in and select “File a Power of Attorney” from the services menu. This is the fastest option, but the information you type into MyFTB must exactly match the uploaded declaration, and the uploaded file cannot be in an editable format like a fillable PDF.¹⁷
By mail to POA/TIA Unit, Franchise Tax Board, PO Box 2828, Rancho Cordova, CA 95741-2828.¹

Send the declaration on its own, separate from tax returns or other correspondence, to keep it from getting caught in the wrong queue. The FTB generally takes about three weeks to process a POA, longer if they need clarification.¹

Why the FTB Rejects Declarations

Most rejections are avoidable paperwork errors the FTB itself publishes:⁷

Wrong or outdated form. A previous version of FTB 3520-PIT, an IRS form, or any non-FTB document.
Electronic or stamped signature. The FTB requires an original handwritten signature. Typed signatures and rubber stamps are rejected.
Missing information. No signature, no signature date, no printed name, or no title where one is required.
Missing supporting documents. Fiduciary declarations often need trust documents, a general or durable power of attorney, or Letters of Administration attached.
MyFTB mismatches. Data entered into MyFTB doesn’t match the uploaded declaration, the uploaded file is in an editable format, or representatives on the uploaded form weren’t entered into MyFTB.

Every rejection costs another processing cycle. Checking each signature and matching every field between MyFTB and the uploaded form is worth the extra ten minutes.

Ending a POA Before It Expires

You can end a POA at any point before its six-year expiration by filing a Power of Attorney Declaration Revocation, FTB 3520-RVK, either by mail or through MyFTB.⁸

One point that catches people out: filing a new FTB 3520-PIT does not automatically revoke a prior declaration already on file. Since January 1, 2018, the FTB stopped auto-revoking older declarations when a new one arrives. To remove the old one, file FTB 3520-RVK separately or revoke it through MyFTB.⁶

Certain events end a POA by operation of law with no filing required. The taxpayer’s death revokes the POA once the FTB receives a death certificate or is otherwise notified, and the estate’s personal representative would then file a new declaration. Death of a sole representative also ends the declaration. When multiple representatives are named, only the deceased representative’s authority ends and the declaration remains valid for the others.⁹

A POA is generally terminated when the FTB learns the taxpayer has become incapacitated. If a durable power of attorney or letter of conservatorship that remains effective despite incapacity under California Probate Code Section 4124 is already in place, the FTB relationship can continue.⁶

The FTB Authorization Doesn’t Cover the IRS

If your matter involves both state and federal tax, you need two separate authorizations. IRS Form 2848 authorizes representation before the IRS only,¹⁰ and your FTB 3520-PIT does nothing at the federal level. Practitioners handling parallel audits routinely file both, and missing one stalls whichever side lacks authorization.

1
Franchise Tax Board. Submit a Power of Attorney
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Franchise Tax Board. Instructions for FTB 3520-PIT Individual or Fiduciary Power of Attorney Declaration
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Franchise Tax Board. Tax Information Authorization
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Franchise Tax Board. Power of Attorney
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Franchise Tax Board. FTB 3520-PIT Individual or Fiduciary Power of Attorney Declaration
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Franchise Tax Board. MAP 3 Power of Attorney
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Franchise Tax Board. Help with Power of Attorney
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Franchise Tax Board. Manage Your Power of Attorney Relationships
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Franchise Tax Board. Instructions for Form FTB 3520-RVK Power of Attorney Declaration Revocation
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative