IRS CP508C: Passport Certification for Seriously Delinquent Tax Debt

The short version. A CP508C means the IRS told the State Department your federal tax debt is seriously delinquent under the FAST Act. The State Department can then deny a new passport, deny a renewal, or in some cases revoke a current one. The good news: once you resolve or arrange the debt, the IRS reverses the certification and sends a CP508R, and your passport access is restored.

What triggers it and how to reverse it

Passport certification only happens at a high threshold and after specific steps. That also means there are clear ways to undo it.

Certification generally requires

A legally enforceable, assessed federal tax debt over a high inflation adjusted threshold, more than $50,000.
A filed Notice of Federal Tax Lien with hearing rights exhausted, or a levy issued.
Inclusion of penalties and interest in the total.
The debt to fall outside the statutory exclusions.

Certification is reversed when you

Pay the debt in full.
Enter an installment agreement or accepted offer in compromise.
Get the debt placed in a status that removes it from certification.
Show the certification was made in error.

The State Department gives you a window

If you apply for or renew a passport while certified, the State Department generally holds your application open for 90 days so you can resolve the debt or arrange payment with the IRS. Entering a payment plan is often enough to start the reversal. Once the IRS reverses the certification, it sends a CP508R and notifies the State Department.

What you can do about it

The path is to resolve or arrange the debt so the IRS reverses the certification. Each step is something you request and the IRS reviews. None is guaranteed.

Set up an Installment AgreementEntering a plan often removes the debt from seriously delinquent status and starts the reversal.
Apply for an Offer in CompromiseAn accepted offer resolves the debt and the certification.
Ask for Currently Not Collectible statusCertain statuses can affect whether the debt remains certified.
Challenge an erroneous certificationIf the debt is wrong or already resolved, you can ask the IRS to reverse it, and you have a right to judicial review.

Your passport is on the line. This one is reversible.

Passport certification sounds final but it is not. Send your case in for a free review and we will tell you the fastest path to a reversal and whether to handle it yourself or hand it to a professional.

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Related IRS notices

Not your notice? Look yours up on the home page.

The legal basis

What this is grounded in

Certification of seriously delinquent tax debt and passport action: Internal Revenue Code section 7345, enacted by the FAST Act.
Right to judicial review of the certification: Internal Revenue Code section 7345(c).
Certification, exclusions, and reversal procedures: IRM 5.19.25.
Reversal is confirmed by a CP508R notice. Official IRS explanation of this notice: Understanding your CP508C notice.

These are the controlling Internal Revenue Code sections and Internal Revenue Manual parts. Links go to the live IRS.gov pages so you can confirm every point yourself.

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Passport certification is reversible but time sensitive if you have travel coming up. Send the short version and we will tell you the fastest route to a reversal.

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Got an IRS CP508C? Here Is What It Means for Your Passport.