The EA exam just changed hands: what the move from Prometric to PSI means for your 2026 plan

If you are working toward the US Enrolled Agent credential this year, the most important thing to know is not in the syllabus. It is in the logistics. The IRS has changed the company that runs the Special Enrolment Examination, and that handover reshaped the whole 2026 booking calendar.

Here is the good news first. The exam itself has not changed. Same three parts, same 100 multiple-choice questions in each, same three and a half hour appointments, same scaled score from 40 to 130 with a pass mark of 105. Your study materials and your strategy do not need an overhaul. What changed is where and when you sit it.

What actually changed

From 1 March 2026, the SEE moved from Prometric to PSI Services. Prometric ran its final appointments up to 28 February 2026, and PSI took over the scheduling, the test centres and the remote online proctoring from March onward.

The catch is the handover gap. Because Prometric wound down while PSI was still setting up its systems, there was a four-month blackout from 1 March to 30 June 2026 when no appointments were available at all. Testing for US candidates reopened on 1 July 2026, and the current window runs through to 28 February 2027.

Why this matters for your plan

If you had loosely planned to book sometime in the spring, that option quietly went away. With testing only reopening in July and the window closing at the end of February 2027, the practical sitting season for this cycle is squeezed into roughly eight months. On top of that, everyone who waited out the blackout is now booking into the same reopened calendar, so the popular slots and remote proctoring windows will go first.

The move to PSI also means a new booking account and a new network of test centres. Do not assume your nearest centre is run by the same company as last year. Check PSI's locations early, and if you prefer to sit at home, confirm your equipment meets their remote proctoring requirements before you lock in a date.

How to use the pause instead of losing it

A forced gap in the calendar is not the same as a forced gap in your progress. The candidates who came out of the blackout ahead were the ones who treated March to June as foundation time. They locked down the individual tax fundamentals in Part 1, drilled the business entity material in Part 2, and left representation and ethics in Part 3 for a final focused push. If you arrange it so the part you find hardest is the one you sit first after the reopening, you give yourself the most room to recover if a date slips.

In practical terms, pick your target sitting dates now, build your revision plan backward from them, and book as soon as your chosen part feels within reach rather than waiting for it to feel perfect. In a short, crowded window, a booked date is the best motivator you have.

Sources: IRS Enrolled Agent news and the SEE testing vendor transition notice, plus PSI Services SEE scheduling information. Figures such as fees and the score scale reflect the current published SEE structure and can change, so always confirm on the IRS and PSI sites before you book.