Chapter II. Registration

1. Open your web browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, and browse tothe Court’s website: www.ustaxcourt.gov.

2. Click either the eAccess button on the home page or the eAccess tab at thetop of any page on the site to go to the eAccess webpagehttp://www.ustaxcourt.gov/electronic_access.htm.

-5-

3. Scroll down the page and click the blue button on the left labeled “PetitionerAccess”.

4. Type the temporary “User Name” from the letter sent by the Tax Court andclick the “Submit” button. Note: The User Name must be typed in ALLCAPS. It may contain the letter “O”, but will not contain the number zero(“0”).

Note: The temporary User Name and Password are valid for 30 days fromthe date of the Court’s letter. If you are unable to complete the registrationprocess within the time allowed, you must contact the Court at (202)521-0700or submit a request on the eAccess Support Form to extend the deadline.

5. Enter the password that was mailed to you and click “Log on & Accept Termsof Use”. The password must be typed in ALL CAPS. It may contain theletter “O”, but will not contain the number zero (“0”). Note: You will see

-6-

dots rather than characters as you type in the password box. To view theTerms of Use, click the hyperlinked (blue) text.

6. Complete the form by entering the required information and click “Next”. Required information is indicated by an asterisk (*):

-7-

a. New User Name - The new username must be 10 to 34 characters inlength and contain only letters and numbers.

b. New Password - The case-sensitive password must be 10 to 34characters long and contain at least one capital letter and at least onenumber or special character such as a symbol (*, #, _) or punctuation. Leading and trailing spaces are not allowed. As you type, you will seea password strength indicator. You should use a strong password. You must type the same password in both the New Password andConfirm New Password boxes.

c. Service E-mail Address - This is the primary Petitioner Access emailaddress to which the Court will send email notifications of service. The email address entered must be a valid address that is able toreceive messages from the Court. Enter only one email address. Youmust type the same email address in both the Service E-mailAddress and Confirm Service E-mail Address boxes.

d. Recovery E-mail Address - Optional. This is an alternate emailaddress that you may use to recover or reset user names andpasswords. It cannot be the same as your primary email address. Theemail address entered must be a valid address that is able to receivemessages from the Court. Enter only one email address. You musttype the same email address in both the Recovery E-mail Addressand Confirm Recovery E-mail Address boxes.

e. Primary Phone Number - Enter your 10-digit telephone number andclick the radio button to indicate whether it is a landline or mobilenumber.

f. Secondary Phone Number - Optional. Enter another 10-digittelephone number and click the radio button to indicate whether it is alandline or mobile number.

g. Agree to the Terms of Use - Click the box to agree to the Terms ofUse. Click the hyperlinked (blue) text to view the Terms of Use.

-8-

7. Select a security image:

a. Select a category from the drop-down list to display sixteen randomphotos.

b. Click an image to preview it in a new window. To view a new set ofimages, click the refresh button or select a different category from thedrop down list.

c. You may choose again by clicking “Pick a Different Image” or finalizeyour selection by clicking “Pick This Image”.

-9-

8. After you have selected a security image, you must enter a description of theimage and click “Next”. When you log on to Petitioner Access afterregistering, you should see the image you selected and the description youcreated. If you do not see them, contact the Court at (202) 521-0700 orsubmit an eAccess Support request. Do NOT enter your password.

9. Select three security questions from the drop-down lists, type your answers toeach of the questions, and click the “Next” button.

-10-

Please pay close attention to how you type the answers. When you log on toPetitioner Access after registering, you must enter the answer to one of yoursecurity questions exactly as you typed it during registration, including anyspaces and punctuation. For example, if you selected “In what city or townwas your first job?” as your question and typed “New York, NY” as theanswer, you will not be able to log in if you type “New York”, “New York NY”or “New York, N.Y.” The Court cannot reset the security questions. If youare unable to correctly answer one of the three questions, you willneed to re-register.

10. Enter the confirmation code.

a. Once you have submitted the registration information, the systemautomatically sends an email message from psa@ustaxcourt.gov to theprimary email address you entered in step 6 to validate the addressand verify that your email account is able to receive messages from theCourt. The message contains a Confirmation Code that you mustenter to activate your Petitioner Access account.

b. The confirmation code must be typed in ALL CAPS. If you prefer, youmay copy the code (without quotation marks) from the email messageand paste it in the Confirmation Code box. If you have multiple codes,please use the one you received most recently.

c. Click “Next”.

Your Petitioner Access registration cannot be completed without entering theconfirmation code. If you do not receive the message containing theconfirmation code, your junk email filter may be blocking it. The Tax Court

-11-

does not respond to sender verification messages automatically generated byjunk email or spam filters. Please add “ustaxcourt.gov” to your emailprogram’s list of safe or trusted domains. If you use Gmail, you may need tocreate a filter to direct the Court’s messages to your Inbox. The Court’ssystem will generate and send another Confirmation Code if you click the“Re-send confirmation code” button. If you still do not receive theconfirmation message, you should register with a different email address.

11. Indicate your email notification preferences:

a. Consent to eService? - You may elect to receive eService by clickingthe “Yes” radio button in answer to “Consent to eService?”. If you click“Yes”, the Court will send eService notifications via email to yourService E-mail Address. By accepting the Terms of Use andconsenting to eService, you agree to regularly log on to PetitionerAccess to view served documents.

An indication of “Yes” to “Consent to eService?” constitutes consent toelectronic service of documents. You may rescind your consent bylogging on to Petitioner Access, clicking the “Update Info” link, andchanging the selection to “No”. Consent to eService is a prerequisitefor eFiling. If you rescind your consent, you will not be able toelectronically submit documents to the Court. You are not required toreceive eService or electronically file documents in your case.

-12-

b. Courtesy Copy Service - You may provide up to 2 additional emailaddresses to which the Court will send courtesy notifications of service.

c. Consent to information email messages - You may elect to receiveinformational emails from the Court by clicking the “Yes” radio buttonat the “Consent to information emails from the Court”. You maychange your election after registration by clicking the “Update Info”link and changing the selection to “No”.

d. Group eService notifications? - Indicate whether you would likethe Court to group email notifications into a single message whenpossible.

You have successfully registered and may now use Petitioner Access.

-13-