1125 Publ 5378 (PDF) — verbatim text

Official source: IRS Forms, Instructions & Publications (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5378.pdf), retrieved 2026-10-03. U.S. Government work (17 U.S.C. § 105).

VITA/TCE Central

All volunteers are required to register and certify via Link & Learn Taxes online testing site, VITA/TCE Central. You can register and login into the test using VITA/TCE Central. In addition, return here to access the latest training and testing materials using Quick Links. Quick Links will include a file for all the certification tests and VITA/TCE training guides (including the optional specialty courses) in Adobe Acrobat PDF file format. In addition, you can access the Volunteer Standards of Conduct (VSOC) Training course, Intake/Interview and Quality Review Training, the Practice Lab, and the evaluations.

Publication 5378 (Rev. 11-2025) Catalog Number 73505K Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov

Click on the sign in or create account area to get to the log in screen shown here. Select the Forgot Password link if you can’t remember your password and the site will send an email to reset it.
The system will allow only one account per email address. In case your email address has changed, you can update your email address by clicking your Profile after logging in. If you already have an account, the system will not allow you to create a new account with the same email address.
Should you ever forget your password, a valid email address is required to send you a new password.

How to Register

To become certified for the VITA/TCE Programs, you must first self-register in the VITA/TCE Central testing system (your Practice Lab username and password will not work on the certification test site):

Go to the VITA/TCE Central homepage at https://linklearncertification.com/ . (Add to Favorites for easy access later.)
Click the Create Account button to set up a new volunteer account. Volunteers are only allowed one account. Complete the fields to create your account in the system. Required fields are marked by an asterisk (*), but all others are optional.

After entering all required information, click Continue, and the User Profile screen appears.

Once you select Create Account, you will receive the welcome to VITA/TCE screen and a verification email.

Click or copy and paste the URL from the email into your browser, and you should get this screen:

Select Continue to get to the next screen.

Select the applicable position(s) and then click the green save button in the top right corner. It takes you to the VITA/TCE home page screen to start the exams.

Click on your initials at the top right (shown by the arrow above) and then select Profile to complete your profile entries.

Optional: Professional Status. This field must be completed by all volunteers requesting IRS SPEC Continuing Education (CE) Credits. Non-credentialed tax return preparers must be participating in the Annual Filing Season Program to be eligible for SPEC CE Credits.
Optional: A PTIN is a “Preparer Tax Identification Number” issued by the IRS. If you have a PTIN, enter it in the appropriate place on the registration form. The PTIN must start with the letter P, followed by eight digits. Do not include a hyphen. If you do not have a PTIN, leave this field blank. Volunteers requesting CE Credits must

provide a PTIN number except for Attorneys, CPAs, and CFPs.

Note: You can always update or change your personal information, group, professional status, email address, or password by clicking on your Initials, a drop down will appear, then click on Profile.

Volunteer Standards of Conduct Training and Test

To participate in the VITA/TCE program, first review the IRS Volunteer Standards of Conduct (VSOC) training course, which can be accessed on the VITA/TCE Central portal page. Then, you must pass the Volunteer Standards of Conduct (VSOC) test:

Click on your course of training, such as Basic, Advanced, Military, or International. All tabs include a link to the VSOC exam and Intake/Interview and Quality Review exam except for Over-the-Phone Interpreter, which has only the VSOC exam as a prerequisite.

You’ll begin the exam by clicking the Start button. To review the training, click on the words Volunteer Standards of Conduct Test. See the topic below on Taking VITA/TCE Certification Tests for more information on navigating through exams.
You must pass the VSOC Exam with a score of 80% or greater. If you fail the exam, you may review the VSOC lesson and take the exam again. The exam questions may be different on the second attempt.
When you pass the exam, click on My Learning, review the achievement section, and print your certificate of completion.

Note: The Volunteer Standards of Conduct Exam is a prerequisite to all other courses. If you do not pass this exam after the second attempt, you may not proceed to any other exams.

Intake/Interview & Quality Review Exam

All tax preparers, Quality Reviewers, Instructors, and Site Coordinators must pass the Intake/Interview and Quality Review test. First review the Intake/Interview and Quality

Review Training course located under “Quick Links” on the VITA/TCE Central portal page. Then, log in to the test center and click on the link to the Intake/Interview and Quality Review Exam.

You must pass the 10-question exam with a score of 80% or greater. If you fail the exam, you may review the Intake/Interview and Quality Review Training and take the exam again. The exam questions may be different on the second attempt.

It is not possible to take any of the other exams without first passing both the VSOC exam and the Intake/ Interview and Quality Review exam.

Signing Your Form 13615, Volunteer Agreement

After passing any of the exams, you may sign your Form 13615, Volunteer Standards of Conduct Agreement – VITA/TCE Programs. Click on the Sign Form 13615 button below.

All completed and passed exams are entered automatically on page 2 of the form.
All the information from your registration page will transfer to Form 13615.
The sponsoring partner/site name and approving official name and title can be

manually completed by volunteers.

You may print this document at any time.

After completing all the exams you plan to take, print or save Form 13615, read and sign it, and return it to your sponsor or Site Coordinator. Form 13615 must be signed and dated by the Site Coordinator, sponsoring partner, instructor, or IRS contact. The site coordinator must verify your name and address with your government issued photo identification and confirm you have completed the required training and certification prior to working at a site. Electronic, typed, or manual signatures are allowed for Form 13615. When you complete the online certification test, you will automatically be included on a list of certified volunteers.

If you complete another exam after signing the Form 13615, you can re-sign and generate an updated form.

Taking VITA/TCE Certification Tests

The test scenarios on VITA/TCE Central are the same as in the printed test booklet (Form 6744, VITA/ TCE Volunteer Assistor’s Test/Retest). Volunteers taking the test will be presented with the test from the 6744. If volunteers fail an exam, the retest will be presented on the second attempt.

Volunteers preparing tax returns must pass either the Basic or Advanced certification test. Note that Basic and Advanced are standalone certifications; it is not required to take the Basic exam if you wish to certify in Advanced. A minimum score of 80% is required to pass each certification test. Only volunteers who have passed the Advanced exam may choose to test for the Military and International certifications. The Site Coordinator test is an annual requirement. Site coordinators must achieve a passing score of 80% or higher prior to the site opening. You are allowed two attempts to take each exam.

To take an exam:

Click on the Icon for the certification path you want to complete. All the exams available for each certification path will be listed under the corresponding icons.

TIP For fill-in-the-blank questions:

Enter numbers. Do not enter dollar signs, commas, periods, or decimal points. For example, for “nineteen thousand dollars” enter: 19000
Enter negate numbers using the minus sign on your keyboard.
Round decimals up or down to the nearest whole number.

Some test questions may have links to tax tables or course scenarios. Open these PDF documents if available and either leave them open on your computer for reference or print them out.
To navigate within a certification test, use the simple controls available on each test screen.
- Back : Takes you to the previous screen or question
- Next : Takes you to the next screen or question
You cannot use Next or Back without answering the question on the screen. You cannot skip a question.
You may stop and close the test at any time.
When you have reached the last question of the exam, you’ll only see a red back

button or green submit button. There is no dedicated Review. Before hitting the green submit button, you can use the back button to review all answers . If you fail the test, you will see this screen:

click Continue and it will take you to the retest.

Once you pass the exam, you will see this screen:

Puerto Rico Tests

All volunteers are required to complete the Volunteer Standards of Conduct (VSOC) test and the Intake/Interview & Quality Review test before taking other exams.
Click on Puerto Rico to access the Puerto Rico tests.
Volunteers must pass the Basic Exam (or Advanced Exam) before proceeding to the Puerto Rico Level I exam.
Volunteers may proceed to Puerto Rico Level II exam after certification in Puerto Rico Level I.
You should take either the English or Spanish language Puerto Rico test, but not both.
Each test must be passed with a minimum score of 80%.

Foreign Student Test

All volunteers are required to complete the Volunteer Standards of Conduct (VSOC) test and the Intake/Interview & Quality Review test before taking other exams.
Click on Foreign Student to access the test.
The test must be passed with a minimum score of 80%.

Site Coordinator Course

All volunteers, including Site Coordinators, are required to complete the Volunteer Standards of Conduct (VSOC) test and the Intake/Interview & Quality Review test before taking other exams.
Volunteers registered as Site Coordinators are also required to complete the Site Coordinator training course. If you did not select the Site Coordinator training course when you registered, you can change your selection in your profile.
Click the Site Coordinator Course link to launch the course.
A certification test is required for Site Coordinators and Alternate Coordinators. This is an annual requirement.

Continuing Education Credit Certificate

Certificates will be available to print on the VITA/TCE Central home page for each volunteer that has met all requirements of the program.
All eligible volunteers are required to select a Professional Status in their Profile. A certificate will not generate if not selected.

Over-the-Phone Interpreter (OPI)

All volunteers are required to complete the Volunteer Standards of Conduct (VSOC) test before taking this exam.
Register as an OPI volunteer in your Profile.

References

For Quick Links to Volunteer Standards of Conduct Training, Intake/Interview and Quality Review Training, Link & Learn Taxes Lessons, Certification Test/Retest PDFs, Practice Lab, Evaluations, and more, refer to Quick Links and Resources in the Footer on every page.

Click here for guidance on Continuing Education Credits

Click here for I RS Publications and Forms

Click here for Adobe Reader

For login problems or other technical issues, email the Certification Test Help Desk at linklearnsupport@archsystemsinc.com .