 Beginning in mid-2011, tax return preparers (other than CPAs, attorneys, and enrolled agents and a few others) had generally been required to take and pass a competency test to become a registered tax return preparer.Tax return preparers who had a Practitioner Tax Identification Number (PTIN) before testing was to become available were to have until December 31, 2013, to pass the competency test.New tax return preparers would have been required to pass the competency test before they could obtain a PTIN.