What Is an IRS Determination Letter, and How Do You Get a Copy?

An IRS determination letter is the letter the Internal Revenue Service sends when it approves an organization’s application for tax-exempt status. For a charity, it confirms exemption under section 501(c)(3), states whether the organization is a public charity or a private foundation, gives the date exemption takes effect and confirms that donations are tax-deductible. Banks, funders, donors, software vendors and the Postal Service all ask for it. If you have lost yours, a letter issued since January 1, 2014 can be downloaded free from the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search; an older one, or an up-to-date affirmation letter, is requested on Form 4506-B, which the IRS now accepts by email only. The IRS approved 113,200 organizations still on file in 2025 alone, so if yours is one of them, the copy is a few clicks away.

What the letter says, and how to read it

The foundation classification is the line most worth checking. A letter that classifies you as a private foundation when you expected to be a public charity changes your annual return, your donors’ deductions and which grants you can receive; the differences are in charity vs foundation vs nonprofit. If the classification or the effective date is wrong, raise it with the IRS promptly rather than living with it.

Who uses it, and why

• Banks ask for it to open a nonprofit account or to waive fees; see banks for nonprofits.
• Foundations and government funders require it with almost every application, alongside your EIN and latest Form 990.
• Donors and their advisers check deductibility, usually through the IRS search rather than the letter itself.
• Software vendors and their validators, such as TechSoup and Goodstack, use it to confirm discount eligibility; see nonprofit software discounts.
• The Postal Service accepts it as evidence for nonprofit mailing prices; see nonprofit postage.
• States ask for it for sales and property tax exemptions and charity registration.
• Payers sometimes ask for it alongside a Form W-9.

How to get a copy of your determination letter

The IRS’s own guidance: copies of determination letters issued from January 1, 2014 can be downloaded using Tax Exempt Organization Search. For a letter issued before 2014, submit Form 4506-B using the email feature on the form. If more than 60 days have passed, call Customer Account Services on 877-829-5500 to check the status, and do not send a second request, which can delay processing. Some older guides still give fax numbers and mailing addresses for Form 4506-B; the IRS’s public disclosure page now says the form must be sent by email.

For most purposes, an affirmation letter is as good as the original. It confirms your current exempt status and serves the same purpose for grantors and contributors. It is also the answer when your name or address has changed since the original letter, though a name change itself has to be reported in writing with supporting documents rather than by phone.

How long the letter takes to arrive

The IRS publishes how quickly it is working through applications. On its “Where’s my application” page, last updated on June 28, 2026:

Applications filed after those dates had not yet been assigned when the page was updated, so check the page itself before you plan around a date. The shorter Form 1023-EZ is decided far faster but is open only to smaller organizations meeting its eligibility test, covered in how to get 501(c)(3) status. You can operate while you wait: the organization can take donations, which become deductible from the effective date once approved, and you should keep records accordingly.

The effective date, and the 27-month rule

The effective date on the letter is usually more important than the date it was issued. According to the Form 1023 instructions, if you file within 27 months after the end of the month in which you were legally formed and are approved, your exemption is effective from the date of formation. File later than that and the effective date is generally the date you filed, which leaves a gap during which donations were not deductible as charitable gifts and income may have been taxable. If you are near the deadline, file the application rather than perfecting it.

How many letters the IRS issues

Our analysis of the IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, which records the ruling date on each organization’s letter, shows how sharply approvals have risen.

About 43,000 organizations a year from the late 2010s are still on file, against more than 100,000 a year for 2024 and 2025, and 30.1% of all 1,642,105 501(c)(3)s on file were recognised in 2021 or later. Older years count only organizations that still exist, so the earlier figures understate how many letters were issued then, and part of the gap reflects organizations that have since closed or lost exemption. In the twelve months to August 2026, the file shows 119,504 new 501(c)(3) recognitions. The full picture by type of organization is in types of nonprofits.

If you have no letter at all

• Check you actually applied. An EIN is not exemption; see nonprofit EIN. Incorporating as a nonprofit under state law is not federal exemption either.
• Check whether you are a church. Churches are treated as exempt without applying, though many apply so they can show a letter.
• Check for a group exemption. Chapters of national organizations are often covered by the parent’s group letter.
• Check for revocation. An organization that fails to file its annual return for three consecutive years loses exemption automatically, and its old letter no longer counts. The IRS search lists revocations, and reinstatement means applying again.
• Consider a fiscal sponsor while you wait or instead of applying; see fiscal sponsorship.

Letters for other kinds of exempt organization

Organizations exempt under other sections receive determination letters too, through a different application. Most apply on Form 1024, and social welfare organizations under section 501(c)(4) on Form 1024-A; the IRS’s processing page lists those forms separately, with longer timelines than Form 1023. Their letters confirm exemption, but gifts to most non-charitable exempt organizations are not deductible as charitable contributions. The categories are compared in types of nonprofits.

If the IRS asks for more information

Many applications get a letter asking for more information before a decision. Answer every question, by the deadline in the letter, and keep a copy of everything you send. A missed deadline can mean the application is closed and you start again, which costs time and, if you are close to the 27-month limit, can change your effective date. If you need more time, ask before the deadline rather than after it.

Name and address changes

Your determination letter stays valid if you change your name or address, but the IRS’s records should match what funders and banks see. According to the IRS’s affirmation letter page, a name change cannot be reported by phone; it needs to be sent in writing with supporting documents, such as the amended articles filed with your state. Once the change is recorded, an affirmation letter shows the current name alongside your exempt status.

Group exemptions

National organizations with local chapters often hold a group exemption: one determination letter that covers the central organization and its subordinates. If your organization is a chapter, troop, lodge or affiliate, check whether you are covered before applying yourself. Your proof of exemption is the central organization’s letter together with confirmation that you are included in its group, which the central organization provides; the IRS’s copy guidance says subordinates should contact the central organization.

Keeping it safe

Keep the original with your articles of incorporation, bylaws and minutes, as part of the permanent records, and a PDF where the people who apply for grants can find it. Check the details on the letter against the IRS search once a year, because a revocation, a name change or a classification change will show there first. You can look up any other organization’s status the same way, as described in how to find a nonprofit’s Form 990.

How this page was put together

The copy, affirmation letter and processing information is from the IRS pages on obtaining determination letters, public disclosure, affirmation letters and “Where’s my application”, and the 27-month rule from the Form 1023 instructions, all read on 14 October 2026. Recognition counts are our analysis of the IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, using each 501(c)(3)’s ruling date; script bin/analyse_bmf_rulings.py. Processing times change monthly; the IRS page is the authority.

This is reference information, not legal or tax advice. Rules vary by state and change over time. For a decision that carries real consequences, check the current text at irs.gov or your state registry, and talk to a nonprofit attorney or CPA.