CRA Represent a Client: How to Authorize a Representative and What They Can Access

Represent a Client (RaC) is the CRA’s online service that lets authorized representatives, like a CPA or tax preparer, access a taxpayer’s information, file returns, correspond with the CRA, and manage the taxpayer’s account on their behalf. It is the digital equivalent of calling the CRA with the taxpayer on the line. Once authorization is set up, the representative can view tax slips, check balances, review notices of assessment, submit returns electronically, and request changes without the taxpayer being involved in each interaction. The system replaced the old paper-based authorization for most purposes, though paper (Form AUT-01, formerly T1013) remains available as a fallback.

What’s Represent a Client and who uses it?

Represent a Client is an online portal at the CRA that provides two services. For taxpayers, it is how they authorize someone to deal with the CRA on their behalf. For representatives (CPAs, tax preparers, bookkeepers, lawyers, enrolled agents), it is how they access their clients’ CRA accounts once authorized.

• The most common users are accountants and tax preparers who need to view client information, file returns, and communicate with the CRA without having the client call in every time. Lawyers use it for tax dispute matters. Bookkeepers use it for payroll accounts. Family members use it to manage the affairs of elderly parents or incapacitated relatives. Any individual or business can authorize a representative, and a representative can be an individual or a firm.
• The system covers individual accounts (T1), business accounts (T2 corporate, payroll, GST/HST, trust T3), and non-resident accounts.
• A representative authorized on your individual T1 account can see your income tax information, notices of assessment, T-slips, RRSP contribution room, benefit payments (CCB, GST/HST credit), and any correspondence the CRA has sent. A representative authorized on a business account can see corporate filings, payroll remittances, GST/HST returns, and business correspondence.

How do I authorize a representative?

There are four methods: through CRA My Account (instant), by phone with the CRA (immediate), through an authorization request your representative submits from their own portal with a signature sheet you sign, or on paper with Form AUT-01, which grants offline access only. The first three get you to the same result, a record in the CRA’s system linking the representative to your account at a specified authorization level, with online access through the portal. The fourth is a paper fallback that works differently, and the difference matters.

• Method 1: CRA My Account (online, instant). Log in to My Account, go to “Authorized representatives,” and add a new representative by entering their RepID (a unique identifier the CRA assigns to each authorized representative, format: seven characters like 4N3MW2W) or their GroupID (for firms). Select the authorization level and the accounts you want to grant access to. The authorization takes effect immediately. This is the fastest method and requires no paper.

• Method 2: Phone. Call the CRA’s individual enquiries line (1-800-959-8281 for individuals, 1-800-959-5525 for business) and tell the agent you want to authorize a representative. The CRA will verify your identity through their standard security questions, then add the authorization while you are on the line. You need the representative’s RepID or GroupID, and you need to specify which accounts and what level. Takes effect immediately once the call is complete.

• Method 3: Representative-submitted authorization request (online, no My Account needed). The representative starts an authorization request from inside their own Represent a Client portal using the taxpayer’s SIN and a dollar figure from a Notice of Assessment issued at least six months ago. The system then produces a one-page signature sheet. The taxpayer signs it and sends it back, the representative uploads it, and access is granted at that point. The upload has to happen within 30 business days of the request. This is the route for anyone who can’t log in to My Account, including people living outside Canada and anyone who no longer has a Canadian phone number tied to their CRA sign-in. The CRA may still phone the taxpayer to verify, so it’s worth expecting that call rather than ignoring it.

• Method 4: Form AUT-01 (paper, offline access only). Form AUT-01, Authorize a Representative for Offline Access replaced the old T1013 (individuals) in February 2020, along with RC59 (businesses) and NR95 (non-residents). One form now covers every account type. Read the title closely, because it’s the catch: AUT-01 grants phone, mail, fax, and in-person access only. It does not register the representative in Represent a Client and it does not give them online access. Processing runs about four weeks, it needs a wet-ink signature, and it has to reach the CRA within six months of signing. Cancelling it later takes Form AUT-01X, not a new AUT-01 or a letter.

There’s a trap here that catches people filing AUT-01 as a belt-and-suspenders measure: submitting it cancels any existing online authorization for that representative on that account. If your representative already has portal access, the paper form takes it away rather than adding to it. Use AUT-01 only when methods 1 through 3 are all unavailable.

The one situation where AUT-01 is not a fallback but the only option: CRA non-resident tax accounts (section 216 rental accounts and non-resident withholding accounts) aren’t reachable through Represent a Client at all. Those go to the Sudbury Tax Centre by mail or fax, and it’s worth confirming access a couple of weeks later by actually pulling the account instead of assuming it went through.

For all four methods, the taxpayer initiates or confirms the authorization. A representative cannot authorize themselves on a client’s account unilaterally. This is a deliberate security feature: the taxpayer must take an affirmative step to grant access.

What are the authorization levels?

It depends on the account type, and this is where people get tripped up. Personal tax accounts have two levels. Business accounts have three. There is no Level 3 on an individual T1 account.

• Level 1: Information only. The representative can view the taxpayer’s information and receive copies of correspondence and notices. They cannot make changes, file adjustments, or act on the account. This suits an advisor who needs to review a client’s tax situation but will not be filing on their behalf.

• Level 2: Information plus certain changes. Everything in Level 1, plus the ability to act: change returns, file adjustments, request loss carrybacks, and handle audit enquiries. This is the level CPAs and tax preparers normally want, and it already includes online access through the portal. Online access is not a separate tier.

• Level 3: Delegated authority (business accounts only). Everything in Level 2, plus signing authority on business forms, and the ability to authorize additional representatives on behalf of the business. Because a Level 3 delegated authority can bring other representatives onto the account, it’s a meaningfully larger grant than Level 2 and worth treating that way.

One thing that surprises people: Level 2 is not full account control. On a personal account, a representative at Level 2 has no access to personal information (address, marital status, telephone numbers, children in care), no access to direct deposit details, and no ability to authorize other representatives. Those actions are reserved for a legal representative, meaning someone appointed by a legal document such as an executor or an attorney under a power of attorney. If the goal is to let someone change a client’s address or redirect a refund, an authorization level is the wrong tool.

You can grant different levels for different accounts. A common setup: Level 2 on your individual T1 account for your CPA, Level 1 on your business payroll account for your bookkeeper (view payroll information but not make changes). Levels apply per account (T1, T2, payroll, GST/HST), not globally, so you can tailor access precisely.

How do I cancel or change an authorization?

Cancellation is as easy as authorization. Log in to My Account and remove the representative, call the CRA and request removal, or have the representative remove themselves through their RaC portal. The representative can also cancel their own authorization (they do this when they stop working with a client, for example when a client leaves the firm).

• You can set an expiry date at the time of authorization. If you know you only need a representative for the current tax year, set the authorization to expire on a specific date. If you do not set an expiry, the authorization remains active indefinitely until someone cancels it.
• It is good practice to review your authorized representatives annually (visible in My Account under “Authorized representatives”) and remove anyone who no longer needs access.
• A change in representative does not automatically cancel the old authorization. If you switch from one CPA to another, you should cancel the old authorization and set up a new one. The old representative retains access until you or they cancel it.

What does a representative need to get set up?

Before a representative can be authorized on any client accounts, they need their own registration in the Represent a Client system. For individual representatives (a sole-practitioner CPA), this means registering for a RepID through the CRA’s online enrollment process. For firms, this means registering for a GroupID and then adding individual representatives under the group.

• The RepID or GroupID is what the taxpayer enters when authorizing the representative. It is not a secret (it needs to be shared with clients for them to complete the authorization), but it is specific to the representative.
• Once registered, the representative logs in to the Represent a Client portal (separate from My Account, which is for taxpayers). From there, they can see all clients who have authorized them, access each client’s information at the granted level, start new authorization requests, e-file returns, and manage their client list.
• For representatives with many clients (a CPA firm with 200+ clients), the system supports bulk authorization through electronic AUT-01 submission and provides a dashboard view of all active authorizations.

What should I do next?

If you are looking for a CPA or tax preparer and want to grant them CRA access, you need their RepID or GroupID. They will provide this during onboarding. The fastest path is to log in to My Account and add them there (instant activation). If you do not have My Account set up, the CRA’s phone line works immediately, or your representative can submit an AUT-01 on your behalf (you sign the form, they submit it electronically).

• Family trusts in Canada, managing trust accounts through a representative
• T1135 foreign income verification, a form your representative can file on your behalf
• What is an RRSP?, your representative can view RRSP room and contribution history through RaC
• Form 8938 vs FBAR: do I file both?, US reporting obligations your cross-border representative handles
• The US-Canada tax treaty explained, treaty elections filed through your representative

This guide is general information, not tax advice for your specific situation. Which points apply, and how, depends on your facts.