More than 48,000 tax return preparers have participated in the 2017 IRS Annual Filing Season Program and obtained an official Record of Completion.

But another 37,000 return preparers who have completed the required amount of continuing education and been invited to participate have not consented to the Circular 230 requirements to receive a Record of Completion.

The deadline for preparers to consent to the Circular 230 requirements and become full participants is April 18. A video tutorial of the process is available here.