How to Fill Out California Form FTB 3520-PIT: Representatives and Signatures

To fill out California Form FTB 3520-PIT, complete Part I with the taxpayer or fiduciary’s identifying information, Part II with your representative’s name and credentials, Part III with the tax years covered, and Part IV with any additional powers you want to grant, then sign in ink and submit through MyFTB or by mail. The form is the California Franchise Tax Board’s Individual or Fiduciary Power of Attorney Declaration, and it authorizes a named person to speak with the FTB, view your confidential records, and represent you in audits or collections. Get any part wrong and the FTB rejects the form, which resets a roughly three-week processing clock.

Make Sure 3520-PIT Is the Form You Need

California has two authorization forms and they do different things. Form FTB 3534, Tax Information Authorization, lets someone view limited account details such as payment history, notices, and compliance status, but it does not let that person act on your behalf or speak to the FTB as your representative, and it expires 13 months after signing.¹

Form 3520-PIT goes further. It authorizes your representative to talk to FTB agents, receive and inspect confidential information, represent you in all matters before the FTB, and request information the FTB receives from the IRS.² If your representative needs to negotiate during an audit, respond to a notice, or discuss a payment plan, this is the form.

The FTB accepts only its own POA forms. Federal IRS Form 2848 and other non-FTB power of attorney declarations will be rejected, and the older Form FTB 3520-C1 is no longer accepted either.³ If the same representative handles your federal taxes, they need a separate 2848 filed with the IRS. Download the current version of 3520-PIT directly from ftb.ca.gov before you start.

Part I: Taxpayer or Fiduciary Information

Enter your full legal name, current mailing address, and either your Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. If you are filing on behalf of an estate or trust, enter the entity’s name and its Federal Employer Identification Number instead.⁴ Verify the identification number against what the FTB already has on file. A mismatch is one of the fastest paths to rejection.

If you filed a joint return and both spouses or registered domestic partners want the same representative, each person must complete a separate Form 3520-PIT.³ A joint return does not give one filing the power to cover both people. The FTB will recognize the authorization only for the individual who signed their own declaration.

Part II: Naming Your Representative

Only individuals can be listed as representatives. You cannot name a firm or business entity.⁴ Enter the representative’s full name, mailing address, and phone number. If they have credentials, include the applicable identifier: a Preparer Tax Identification Number, California State Bar number, CPA license number, Enrolled Agent number, or CTEC registration number. Those fields can be left blank for a representative who holds no such credentials.²

Side 1 has room for a primary representative, and Side 4 accommodates additional ones. Every representative you list gets the same baseline authority to contact the FTB and view your confidential information, so limit the list to people you actually trust with your tax records.

Part III: Selecting Tax Years

Part III asks whether you want to authorize your representative for all tax years or only specific ones. Check either “Yes” or “No” for the “Authorize All Years” question. Leaving both boxes blank, or checking both, causes the FTB to process the form as a “No,” which can invalidate the entire declaration and lead to rejection.⁴

Selecting “All Years” covers every past, current, and future year through the declaration’s expiration date. If you list specific years instead, write out each one, and know that future years can be authorized up to five years from the date you sign.⁴ Sign in 2026, and the furthest future year you can list is 2031.

Part IV: Additional Authorizations

The standard POA lets your representative communicate with the FTB and view your records. Part IV on Side 2 offers six additional powers, each with its own “Yes” or “No” checkbox. Skip a checkbox or mark both options and that power is not granted.² The six powers are:

Add representatives. Your representative may add others to the declaration. Anyone they add can also add or remove representatives, so grant this power carefully.
Sign tax returns. Available only when you are incapacitated by disease or injury, or have been continuously outside the United States (including Puerto Rico) for at least 60 days before the filing deadline.
Receive refund checks. Directs your refund check to the representative’s address. The representative can receive the check but cannot endorse it, and you must call the FTB at 800-852-5711 to arrange delivery.
Waive statutes of limitations. Lets your representative agree to extend the time limits that apply to both the state and the taxpayer for assessments or refund claims.
Execute settlement and closing agreements. Allows your representative to enter into settlement agreements when extenuating circumstances exist.
Other acts. A catch-all for any additional powers you want to grant, described in your own words on Side 5.

Grant only the powers your representative actually needs. There is no benefit to checking every box, because each additional authorization expands the representative’s ability to make binding decisions about your account.

Signature Requirements

The taxpayer or fiduciary signs and dates the declaration first, on Side 3. Each representative listed then signs the Declaration of Representative on Side 4, confirming they are eligible to practice before the FTB and are not currently disbarred or suspended.²

Every signature must be handwritten in ink. The FTB does not accept electronic or stamped signatures, even on forms uploaded through MyFTB.² If you’re submitting online, print the form, sign in ink, then scan or photograph the signed pages and upload the image. A typed name or pasted digital signature will get the form rejected.

Estates, Trusts, and Deceased Taxpayers

When a fiduciary such as an executor, trustee, guardian, or conservator files 3520-PIT on behalf of someone who cannot file for themselves, the FTB requires proof of fiduciary authority. Acceptable documents include Letters Testamentary, Letters of Administration, a certification of trust, a court order, or another governing instrument.² Attach these to the form when you submit it. If the IRS also requires a federal Form 56 (Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship), include a copy of that too.

When a taxpayer dies, the FTB revokes any existing POA declaration once it receives a death certificate or is otherwise notified. A personal representative handling the deceased person’s tax affairs must file a new 3520-PIT with supporting documents such as a valid will, Letters Testamentary, Letters of Administration, or a court order establishing authority under the Probate Code.²

How to Submit the Form

The FTB accepts the completed form through two channels:³

Online through MyFTB, which is faster. Log in at ftb.ca.gov, select “File a Power of Attorney” from the services menu, and upload a scanned copy of the signed form.
By mail to POA/TIA Unit, Franchise Tax Board, PO Box 2828, Rancho Cordova, CA 95741-2828. Send the form separately from any tax return or other correspondence.

Processing generally takes about three weeks, longer if the FTB needs clarification.³ You can check the status through MyFTB. Once processed, your representative can view account information, respond to notices, and contact the FTB for the tax years you authorized.

Common Reasons for Rejection

Most rejections come down to a short list of avoidable mistakes:

Wrong form version, including outdated editions of 3520-PIT, the retired Form 3520-C1, or a federal form such as IRS Form 2848.
Missing or invalid signatures. Every party must sign in ink; electronic, stamped, or missing signatures fail.
Incomplete year selection. Failing to check “Yes” or “No” for the Authorize All Years question, or checking both, can invalidate the declaration.
Missing fiduciary documents for estates, trusts, and guardianship filings.
Joint filers trying to use one form. Each spouse or registered domestic partner needs their own 3520-PIT.

Revoking or Replacing an Earlier POA

Filing a new 3520-PIT does not automatically revoke earlier POA declarations, even if they cover the same years.² To cancel an old authorization, either file Form FTB 3520-RVK (Power of Attorney Declaration Revocation) or log in to MyFTB and revoke the relationship online. Form 3520-RVK revokes the entire declaration rather than a single representative on it, and it must be signed and dated by an authorized individual to take effect.⁵ Any representative listed on a declaration can remove another representative from that same declaration through MyFTB.

If you’re adding a representative while keeping an existing one active, just file the new 3520-PIT and leave the old declaration alone. Both stay in effect. The mistake to avoid is assuming the new filing clears the old one. It doesn’t.

1
Franchise Tax Board. Tax Information Authorization
2
Franchise Tax Board. Instructions for FTB 3520-PIT Individual or Fiduciary Power of Attorney Declaration
3
State of California Franchise Tax Board. Submit a Power of Attorney
4
Franchise Tax Board. California Form 3520-PIT – Individual or Fiduciary Power of Attorney Declaration
5
Franchise Tax Board. Power of Attorney Declaration Revocation