The IRS rejects an ITIN application with a CP567 notice for three stated reasons: the documents were invalid or insufficient, the applicant is not eligible for an ITIN, or the applicant did not reply to a CP566 request for more information within 45 days. Behind those three sit the same mistakes: notarised or uncertified copies, an expired document, a reason box that does not match the exception or the return, a missing signature, a name that differs from the passport. Each is fixable, and the fix is a complete new Form W-7, not an appeal.
What are the three reasons on a CP567?
The CP567 page says the IRS rejected your application for an ITIN, that you may not be eligible, that your documents may be invalid, or that the IRS may not have received a reply when it asked for more information. It then tells you what to do: read the notice for the reason, make sure you do not qualify for a Social Security Number and do qualify for an ITIN, and reapply with a complete application. The notice is a diagnosis, not a verdict on you.
Every mistake below lands in one of those three boxes. Knowing which box tells you which part of the file to rebuild.
The mistakes, the notice each triggers, and the fix
| Mistake | Where the IRS puts it | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| A notarised copy of the passport instead of an original or an agency-certified copy | Invalid documents (CP567) | Get a certified copy from the passport authority, or use a Certifying Acceptance Agent, who certifies the copy. |
| An expired passport or national identification card | Invalid documents (CP567) | Renew the document first. The IRS requires every document to be current on the day you submit. |
| One document when you have no passport | Insufficient documents (CP567 or CP566) | Two documents: one for identity, one for foreign status, at least one with your photograph. |
| A scan or copy the IRS cannot read | CP566 request, then CP567 if unanswered | High-quality scans of every page that carries data; nothing cropped or blurred. |
| Reason box that does not match the return or the exception claimed | Not eligible or insufficient (CP567) | Tick the reason your situation fits, attach the return or the exception evidence that goes with it, and nothing else. |
| Exception claimed with no supporting letter or form | Insufficient documents (CP566, then CP567) | Attach exactly what the W-7 instructions name for that exception, for example the original letter from the bank or withholding agent for Exception 1. |
| Applicant eligible for a Social Security Number | Not eligible (CP567) | Apply for the SSN instead. The IRS will not issue an ITIN to someone who can get an SSN. |
| Name or date of birth that differs from the passport | Invalid documents (CP567) | Copy the passport exactly, including middle names, and use the birth-name line for anything else. |
| Missing signature, or signed by the wrong person for a dependent | Incomplete (CP566, then CP567) | Sign the form; for dependents follow the signature rules in the W-7 instructions. |
| No reply to a CP566 within 45 days | No response (CP567) | Answer the notice with exactly what it asks for. If it went to an old address, call the IRS and ask what was requested. |
The document mistakes
The IRS's supporting documents page sets four rules: documents must prove identity and foreign status, be originals or certified copies, be current on the day you submit, and the IRS does not accept notarised documents. The notarised copy is the classic failure, because a notary certifies a signature, not a document, and applicants abroad assume it is the same as certification by the issuing agency. It is not. A certified copy, in the W-7 instructions' words, is one the original issuing agency provides and certifies as an exact copy with its official stamped seal.
The eligibility mistakes
Two of them. The first is applying while eligible for a Social Security Number: anyone authorised to work in the United States applies to the Social Security Administration, and the IRS rejects the ITIN. The second is applying with no US filing or reporting reason that the W-7 recognises, or claiming an exception that the evidence does not support. Wanting a US bank account is not an exception on its own; the no-return guide explains what is.
The form mistakes
Form W-7 asks for your name exactly as it appears on your passport, a name at birth if different, a mailing address that will still reach you in three months, and a reason box that agrees with everything attached. The pairing is what the IRS checks: reason, exception, return, documents. Get one of the four out of step and the file reads as inconsistent. Then the signature, which is missing more often than anyone expects, and for dependents the rules on who may sign instead.
The timing mistakes
A CP566 is not a rejection; it is a 45-day window. Miss it and the application is rejected for no reply, which counts as a fresh start. Filing a second application while the first is pending creates two files for one person and slows both. And filing in the January 15 to April 30 peak while expecting the 7-week figure is not a mistake the IRS punishes, but it is the one that makes people refile out of impatience.
How to fix a rejected ITIN application
- Read the CP567 for the stated reason and match it to the table above.
- Wait for your original documents if you mailed them; the IRS returns them within 60 days of the notice date.
- Fix the cause: a certified copy, a current document, the right reason box, the exception evidence, a signature.
- File a complete new W-7. The IRS's instruction is a new application, not an appeal; a partial resubmission is not read.
- Choose a route that removes the document risk: an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center or a Certifying Acceptance Agent, so the passport is authenticated rather than mailed.
The CP567 guide walks through the notice line by line.
How a Certifying Acceptance Agent prevents most of these
Nine of the ten mistakes in the table are visible before filing to anyone who checks the file against the IRS requirements: the copy type, the expiry dates, the pairing of reason and evidence, the name, the signature. A Certifying Acceptance Agent does that check, authenticates the documents in a live session so the notarised-copy problem never arises, and files with a Certificate of Accuracy. The tenth mistake, the unanswered CP566, is a matter of watching the mail, which we do for our clients. That is the whole case for the certifying route, and the reason our fee is refundable until we file: if the file is not right, it does not go in.