SECTION 4. PROCEDURES FOR

REQUESTING RECOGNITION OF EXEMPT STATUS UNDER § 501(c)(3)

.01 In general. Unless subject to a specific exception, all organizations seeking tax-exempt status under § 501(c)(3) must, as a condition of exemption, apply for recognition of exempt status with the Service. An eligible organization may, but is not required to, seek recognition of taxexempt status under § 501(c)(3) by submitting a Form 1023–EZ in accordance with this revenue procedure. Alternatively, an eligible organization may follow the procedures in Rev. Proc. 2015–9, to seek recognition of exemption under § 501(c)(3) by submitting a Form 1023.

.02 Application. An eligible organization seeking recognition of exempt status under § 501(c)(3) using this revenue procedure must submit a completed Form 1023–EZ. See section 4.05 for a definition of completed Form 1023–EZ. An incomplete Form 1023–EZ will not be accepted for processing by the Service even if it has been successfully submitted through www.pay.gov . See section 5.02(1).

.03 User fee. An application must be submitted with the correct user fee, as set forth in Rev. Proc. 2015–8.

.04 Method of submission. An eligible organization seeking recognition of tax exempt status under § 501(c)(3) using this revenue procedure must submit the Form 1023–EZ and user fee online at www.pay. gov . Paper submissions will not be accepted and will be treated as incomplete Forms 1023–EZ as described in section 5.02(1). .05 Requirements for a completed Form 1023–EZ. For purposes of this revenue procedure, a Form 1023–EZ submitted by an eligible organization is completed if it:

(1) includes responses for each required line item of the form, including an accurate date of organization and an attestation that the organization has completed

the Form 1023–EZ eligibility worksheet, as in effect on the date of submission, is eligible to apply for exemption using Form 1023–EZ, and has read the Instruc- tions for Form 1023–EZ and understands the requirements to be exempt under § 501(c)(3) as expressed therein;

(2) includes the organization’s correct Employer Identification Number (EIN);

(3) is electronically signed, under penalties of perjury, by an individual authorized to sign for the organization (as specified in the Instructions for Form 1023– EZ) ; and

(4) is accompanied by the correct user fee.

A Form 1023–EZ will not be considered completed if the organization’s name and EIN do not match the records in the Service’s Business Master File. Furthermore, a Form 1023–EZ submitted by an organization that is not an eligible organization will not be considered completed.

.06 Form 1023–EZ from an organiza- tion with a pending Form 1023.

(1) The Service will accept for processing a completed Form 1023–EZ from an eligible organization that has a Form 1023 pending with the Service, provided that the Form 1023 has not yet been assigned for review. The Form 1023–EZ will be treated as a written request for withdrawal of the pending Form 1023, and the Form 1023 will be treated as withdrawn as described in section 6 of Rev. Proc. 2015–9. The user fee paid for the Form 1023 will generally not be refunded. See section 6 of Rev. Proc. 2015–9. In addition, the filing date of the Form 1023–EZ (not the withdrawn Form 1023) will be treated as the date that the organization provided the notice required under § 508 to the Service. If the filing date of the Form 1023–EZ is within 27 months from the end of the month in which it was organized, the organization may be recognized as exempt from the date it was organized. If it is not, then the organization’s exemption, if recognized, will generally be effective from the date the Form 1023–EZ was filed. See section 8 below.

(2) The Service will not accept for processing a completed Form 1023–EZ from an eligible organization that has a Form 1023 pending with the Service if the Form 1023 has already been assigned for review. If this section 4.06(2) applies, an

organization will be notified of the nonacceptance of the Form 1023–EZ and any user fee that was paid with the Form 1023–EZ will be refunded, as described in section 5.02(3).

.07 No expedited handling. An organization may not request expedited handling of a Form 1023–EZ submitted under this revenue procedure.