When Does the IRS Send Out IP PINs? Mailing Window and CP01A

The IRS mails IP PINs in December and January each year, timed to reach taxpayers before the filing season opens. The six-digit number arrives on a CP01A notice sent by U.S. mail to the address on file.¹ One catch trips up a lot of people: only taxpayers the IRS enrolled after a confirmed identity theft case get that mailing. If you signed up for the Identity Protection PIN program voluntarily, nothing is coming in the mail, and you’ll need to retrieve your new PIN online each year.²

The December and January Mailing Window

CP01A notices go out during a roughly two-month window that spans December and January.¹ The notice contains your new six-digit PIN and instructions for entering it on your federal return. The IRS generates a new number every year, so last year’s PIN will not work for the current filing season.³

The notice is sent to whatever address the IRS has on record, which is usually the address from your most recent return. Watch your mailbox during the window and file the notice with the rest of your tax paperwork once it arrives. If January ends and nothing has shown up, treat the mailing as lost and move to one of the retrieval methods below rather than filing without it.

Who Gets a Mailed Notice

The CP01A mailing is automatic only for taxpayers the IRS placed in the program after confirming they were victims of tax-related identity theft.² Everyone else who has an IP PIN — meaning anyone who opted in through their IRS online account or through Form 15227 — has to log in and pull the current year’s PIN themselves. There is no annual mailing for voluntary enrollees.³

This is where people get stuck. Voluntary enrollees who wait for a notice that never comes end up scrambling in April, or they file without the PIN and get rejected. If you signed up on your own, put the retrieval step on your January calendar the same way you would any other filing prerequisite.

What to Do If Your CP01A Hasn’t Arrived

Whether the mailing was lost, delayed, or was never going to come because you enrolled voluntarily, the IRS provides several ways to get your current-year PIN. The online account is the fastest; the alternatives all take days or weeks.

Retrieve It Online

Log into your IRS online account and go to the Profile tab. The current-year IP PIN is displayed there and available around the clock.³ If you don’t already have an account, you’ll create one and verify your identity through ID.me, which involves uploading a government-issued photo ID and taking a video selfie so the system can match your face to the document. Existing ID.me credentials from another federal service work here too.²

The online tool also displays the PIN you need for any prior-year returns you file during the current calendar year, which matters if you’re filing amended or late returns.³

Call the IP PIN Help Line

If you can’t get through ID.me, call 800-908-4490 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday. Alaska and Hawaii follow Pacific time. International callers use 267-941-1000, which isn’t toll-free, from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern.⁴ A representative will verify your identity with personal questions, so have your full name, date of birth, Social Security number, and the filing status from a prior return ready.

One thing to plan for: the IRS will not read the PIN to you on the phone. Once your identity is confirmed, the PIN is mailed to your address on file within 21 days.³

Submit Form 15227

If online and phone verification both fail, submit Form 15227, Application for an Identity Protection Personal Identification Number. To qualify you need a valid SSN or ITIN, access to a telephone, and adjusted gross income on your last filed return below $84,000, or $168,000 for married filing jointly.² After the IRS receives the form they call the phone number you provided to confirm your identity, and the PIN then arrives by mail, typically in four to six weeks.³

If that timeline pushes you past April 15, file Form 4868 for an automatic extension. Extension requests don’t require an IP PIN; only Form 1040 and its variants do.³

Visit a Taxpayer Assistance Center

The last option is an in-person visit to a local IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center. Call ahead to schedule; walk-ins aren’t prioritized, and arriving more than 15 minutes late without checking in can cost you the appointment.⁵ Bring a current government-issued photo ID and a second form of identification. For a dependent’s PIN, bring two forms of ID for the dependent, such as a birth certificate and Social Security card.²

Update Your Address Before December

Because the CP01A follows the address on file, a stale address means a missed notice. If you moved, update your address well before the December mailing window opens. The IRS accepts changes through Form 8822, on your next tax return, by signed written statement, or by telling the IRS in person or by phone. Processing takes four to six weeks.⁶

A change of address filed with the U.S. Postal Service may reach the IRS eventually through the National Change of Address database, but the IRS recommends notifying them directly because not every post office forwards government mail reliably.

What Happens If You File Without It

An e-filed return missing the correct IP PIN gets rejected outright. Tax software will show a specific rejection code so you know which PIN is off:²

IND-180-01 or IND-181-01 — primary taxpayer’s PIN wrong or missing
IND-182-01 or IND-183-01 — spouse’s PIN wrong or missing
IND-995 or IND-996 — a dependent’s PIN wrong or missing

Fix the number and resubmit. A paper return with a wrong PIN won’t bounce, but it drops into a manual identity verification queue, which can push a refund back by weeks or months.³

Every person on the return who has a PIN needs their number entered: you, your spouse on a joint return, and any dependent who has been assigned one. A single missing PIN triggers the same rejection or delay.

The Mail Is the Only Channel

The IRS sends IP PINs only through postal mail or through your logged-in online account. It will never send your IP PIN by email, text, or social media, and any electronic message claiming to contain one is a scam. Forward suspicious IRS-related emails to phishing@irs.gov.⁷

The IRS also will not ask for your IP PIN when you call the agency or visit an office; the PIN is not accepted as proof of identity in those settings. The only person who legitimately needs the number besides you is a paid or volunteer tax preparer filing your return, and even then, hand it over directly or enter it into the software yourself rather than sending it by email or text.³

1
Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP01A Notice
2
Internal Revenue Service. Get an Identity Protection PIN
3
Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions About the Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN)
4
Internal Revenue Service. Retrieve Your Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN)
5
Internal Revenue Service. Contact Your Local IRS Office
6
Internal Revenue Service. Address Changes
7
Internal Revenue Service. Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2026: IRS Reminds Taxpayers to Watch Out for Dangerous Threats