Enrolled agents have a lot to keep track of. Beyond serving clients and managing deadlines, you also need to stay on top of IRS continuing education requirements. EAs must complete 72 hours of CE every three years, including at least 16 hours annually and 2 hours of ethics training each year.
That adds up quickly, so choosing courses you actually enjoy can make the process much easier. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the best EA continuing education providers and help you find the right fit based on your learning style, budget, and professional goals.
Which Enrolled Agent Continuing Education Course Is Best for You?
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Top 5 Enrolled Agent CE Providers, Ranked
Open any row for the hands-on review, catalog numbers, strengths and weaknesses, screenshots and links. Rank 1 is the overall pick.
1
Best overallBecker4.9 / 5
- IRS-approved hours: 160+ across 75+ courses
- Formats: Live webcasts, self-study video, podcasts on Prime
- Tracker: CE compliance by topic and jurisdiction
- Reporting: Direct to the IRS
- Extras: NovaTax and tax news on Tax Prime+
A Compliance Tracker That Does the Math
Becker’s CE platform felt streamlined and professional, and the self-study videos and live webcasts were equally current and easy to follow. In the Tax Update for Individuals course, the new law changes were explained clearly, with no legalese and no recycled slides from last year, and I could actually hear and understand the instructor.
The courses are IRS-approved, so credits count without question. My favorite part was the format range: some days I watched, other days I just listened on the treadmill, and I jumped from a one-hour update to a multi-hour course at no extra cost. I switched devices without losing my spot, and everything loaded fast.
The compliance tracker is the feature I would pay for on its own: it charts progress by topic for your jurisdiction, recommends what to take next and stores outside certificates. Support answered my CE reporting question within hours. Downsides: high price, and only about 11% of the catalog is IRS-approved for EAs.
- ✅ The best compliance tracker I have used, by topic and jurisdiction
- ✅ Live webcasts, self-study video and podcasts so you can pick the format for the day
- ✅ Current content with real instructors, not recycled slides with a new date
- ✅ Support that handled a reporting question within hours, seven days a week
- ❌ The priciest option here for a single year
- ❌ Only about 11% of the 700-course catalog is IRS-approved for EAs
- ❌ Some users report disputes over credit for webcasts they sat through
- ❌ No bundled unlimited-hours pricing outside the subscription tiers
Skip it if: you only need a handful of hours this cycle, or the price matters more to you than the tracker, formats and support.
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Surgent is the only real rival on format variety, with gamified courses and more live webinars, but Becker is cheaper on the two-year Prime plan, has the better tracker and adds podcasts. Gleim is cheaper per hour; Becker gives more value per subscription. Lambers is the no-frills pick for a few credits.
Bottom line: Becker is an excellent fit for enrolled agents who want access to high-quality instruction, a smooth user experience, and a wide range of IRS-approved CE topics. With over 160 hours of content and a built-in compliance tracker, it’s beneficial for professionals who value structure and want to stay organized throughout their renewal period.
2
Best for live webinars and last-minute hoursSurgent4.5 / 5
- Live webinars: 50+
- Self-study courses: 50+
- Course size: Single courses worth up to 16 credit hours
- Packages: Full packages or EA credit-only bundles
- Extras: Weekly Expert Hour
Small Packages and Gamified Credits
I found Surgent’s EA continuing education flexible and efficient, especially when I needed hours quickly. The interface is modern and easy to use, with live webinars, self-study courses worth up to 16 credit hours each and a weekly Expert Hour. You can buy a complete package or an EA-specific package for credit only.
The gamified courses were the surprise. They are no Baldur’s Gate, but they were a genuinely fun way to earn credit, and I hope to see more of them. Long-time users I spoke with praised the tax coverage, especially how quickly new legislation gets addressed, and the quality of the presenters.
Surgent ranks second because Becker offers comparable quality, a better tracker and podcasts for less on the two-year plan, and Surgent’s support scored lowest of the five in my testing. It is the right pick when a deadline is close and you need a small package of hours now.
- ✅ 50+ live webinars and 50+ self-study courses, with single courses worth up to 16 hours
- ✅ Gamified courses that were genuinely fun to earn credit in
- ✅ Fast coverage of new and pending tax legislation
- ✅ Weekly Expert Hour for questions
- ❌ Among the pricier packages for a full cycle
- ❌ Support scored lowest of the five in my testing
- ❌ Popular live webinars can fill up
- ❌ Mobile experience feels clunky next to Becker and Gleim
Skip it if: you are price-sensitive for a full cycle, or you want the strongest compliance tracker and support team.
Check the Surgent EA CE discount page before you pick a renewal package.
Surgent and Becker are the top two on quality: Becker wins on full-year price, tracker and podcasts, Surgent on live webinars and gamified formats. Illumeo has the bigger on-demand catalog for less but far fewer live events. Against Gleim and Lambers, Surgent is more polished and more expensive.
Bottom line: Surgent covers both ends of the CE spectrum. Its bite-sized packages are great when you need last-minute hours, and Unlimited PLUS is an all-access pass to every course and feature. Still, the cons outweigh the pros on that plan, and I suggest Becker instead if you can afford it.
3
Biggest catalog for the least moneyIllumeo4.4 / 5
- Catalog: 1,800+ on-demand courses, rated by users
- Credits: Unlimited on every subscription
- Tracker: 50 states
- Live events: About 125 webinars a year
- Certificates: 40+ micro-certificate programs
- Free trial: Yes
A Vetted Catalog on the Cheapest Unlimited Plan
Illumeo is a smaller name than Becker or Gleim, and I wondered if it was worth considering. It is, because of the catalog: more than 1,800 on-demand courses, each reviewed by subject experts before it is admitted. For on-demand tax or corporate finance study, no other course in this ranking offers more options.
The platform is clean and easy to navigate. There is no app, but I joined live events from a browser without a hiccup, and the self-assessment grid pointed me to the courses I needed. One feature I have not seen elsewhere: pass a course’s final exam and leave a review, and you keep permanent access.
Illumeo falls short on live learning: Surgent hosts thousands of live events a year, Illumeo around 125. Premium is a real step up from On Demand; Premium+ adds too little. Only a slice of the catalog is IRS-approved for EAs, so filter by credit type. Still, I would pick it over Gleim every time.
- ✅ The largest on-demand catalog in this ranking, with every course vetted by two experts before listing
- ✅ The cheapest unlimited-credit subscription here, with a free trial first
- ✅ A 50-state compliance tracker and competency assessments that recommend courses
- ✅ Permanent access to any course you complete and review
- ❌ Only around 125 live events a year, far fewer than Surgent or Becker
- ❌ Only part of the catalog is IRS-approved for EA credit, so you must filter
- ❌ No mobile app; live events run through GoToWebinar in a browser
- ❌ The Premium+ tier adds too little over Premium to justify the step
Skip it if: you learn best in live webinars, or you want a catalog built mainly around enrolled agent tax topics.
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Against Becker, Illumeo has far more courses for less money but a weaker live schedule and no podcasts; Becker remains the more dependable platform. Against Gleim, Illumeo wins on catalog, unlimited credits and price. Against Surgent, it loses only on live events.
Bottom line: Illumeo is the budget pick for enrolled agents who study on demand: the biggest vetted catalog, unlimited credits and a tracker for every state on the cheapest subscription here. Choose Becker or Surgent if live webinars drive your learning.
4
Best supportLambers4.3 / 5
- Formats: Downloadable video, PDF self-study, live webinars
- Catalog: About 200 on-demand courses
- Ethics: Two hours in most bundles
- Support: Phone, email and remote screen share
A Cheap All-Access Year, With Real Support
Lambers is a no-frills way to pick up a few CE credits quickly. The interface feels a little dated, but the content was dependable: downloadable video courses, PDF self-study courses, live webinars and two hours of ethics in most bundles.
Pricing is the biggest standout: Lambers has one of the more affordable unlimited annual subscriptions of the providers I tested, with roughly 200 on-demand courses. Support is the other: phone, email and remote screen-share for technical problems, and the team answered my questions fast. Asking instructors questions during live webinars was easy.
What you give up is interactivity and variety. There is no real compliance tracker, reporting is slower than Becker’s, and the catalog cannot match Becker’s live schedule or Surgent’s formats. Lambers is a reliable choice for EAs who need extra credits without overpaying for features they will not use.
- ✅ One of the cheaper all-access years for unlimited CE
- ✅ Support that will screen-share to fix a technical problem
- ✅ Two ethics hours bundled into most packages
- ✅ Live webinars where instructors take questions
- ❌ Dated interface with few interactive features
- ❌ Smaller catalog than Becker or Surgent
- ❌ No real compliance tracker and slower reporting than Becker
- ❌ Plain PDF self-study courses for much of the library
Skip it if: you want a modern platform with a compliance tracker, or a large live-webcast schedule.
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Lambers is the second-cheapest unlimited option here after Illumeo, cheaper than Becker’s Prime plan and Surgent’s packages, with a larger on-demand catalog than Gleim but a far smaller one than Illumeo. Becker and Surgent are the better platforms; Gleim is the better buy when you want a set number of hours rather than a year of access.
Bottom line: Lambers suits EAs who need a few extra CE credits without paying for features they won’t use. The content was dependable, and the customer service team was especially helpful in tailoring a study plan. The platform feels outdated and lacks interactive elements, but it is a safe choice for quick, targeted hours.
5
Tax-focused hour bundlesGleim4.2 / 5
- IRS-approved hours: About 100
- Topics: Federal tax law, ethics and tax forms
- Reporting: Direct to the IRS
- Format: Mobile friendly
Tax-Only Hours Built for Your Phone
Gleim’s enrolled agent CE platform felt built for learners who want structure and want to knock out a lot of hours efficiently. The Unlimited CE package covers federal tax law, ethics and tax forms, and the subject filter let me focus on the topics I actually work in instead of scrolling a general accounting catalog.
Format is the strength: courses read cleanly on a phone, progress shows as you go, and credits report to the IRS directly. The catalog is the weakness: hour bundles with no live webinars and only a few dozen distinct courses. Compared with Gleim’s excellent EA exam prep, the CE side is the quieter product.
Where Gleim wins is cost per credit. The largest hour bundle is one of the cheapest routes to a full three-year cycle, and the courses are detailed enough that a tax professional will learn from them rather than click through. For the right learner, that trade is worth it.
- ✅ Tax-focused catalog that filters by topic
- ✅ Mobile-friendly format with hours shown as you go
- ✅ Hour bundles are among the cheapest routes to a full cycle
- ✅ Direct IRS reporting
- ❌ No live webinars at all
- ❌ Only a few dozen distinct courses, so variety runs out
- ❌ Interface feels dated and some courses are text-heavy
- ❌ Nothing like Becker’s tracker for a multi-jurisdiction requirement
Skip it if: you want live webcasts, a broad catalog beyond tax, or a tracker that manages a multi-jurisdiction requirement.
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Gleim is cheaper per hour than Becker and more tax-focused, but Becker has the tracker, the live schedule and the podcasts. Illumeo offers far more courses and unlimited credits for a lower subscription; Surgent has more live webinars and formats. Lambers is the other budget option, with a slightly larger on-demand catalog but a plainer platform.
Bottom line: Gleim’s EA CE platform is packed with detailed, IRS-approved topics, and filtering by subject let me focus on the areas I wanted to improve. The interface felt dated and the content leaned heavily on text, but I could start, pause and resume courses across devices. It is a dependable, mobile-friendly way to finish your hours.
EA CE Provider Comparison: Hours, Formats, Reporting and Price
The numbers behind the ranking, one card per provider. Catalog sizes come from inside each platform; prices are each provider’s current list prices.
Which EA CE Provider Fits Your Year
Pick the situation that matches how you earn your hours. Each card jumps to that provider above.
How the EA Continuing Education Providers Were Scored
Use the chapter list to jump to any part of the method. Each chapter opens on click so you can read only what matters to you.
What a CE provider has to get right
Enrolled agents need 72 approved hours every three-year cycle, at least 16 a year and two in ethics. A provider earns its subscription by making those hours easy to find, worth finishing and reported to the IRS automatically.
Each provider was scored on the same four categories by the same reviewer; the rating in the table is their average.
Catalog, tracking and reporting
I looked for a tracker that shows hours against the IRS requirement, filters by topic and auto-reports credits. Becker’s, which accepts outside certificates, is the best I’ve used; Illumeo’s 50-state tracker is next; Surgent and Lambers track less.
Course quality and formats
I took live and self-study courses, checking for current material and instructors who teach. Becker’s Tax Update explained new law without legalese; Surgent’s gamified courses were genuinely fun; Illumeo’s catalog is expert-vetted; Lambers is plain but dependable.
Hours per dollar
I compared cost per credit hour and whether ethics costs extra. Becker is priciest but most dependable; Illumeo is the cheapest unlimited plan with the broadest catalog; Lambers is next; Gleim and Surgent suit fewer hours.
Support and reliability
I sent each provider’s support a reporting question and timed the response. Becker answered within hours and never sounded impatient; Lambers’ team was fast and will screen-share to fix technical problems. A missed credit can cost your enrollment.
Why This EA CE Ranking Can Be Trusted
Other Enrolled Agent CE Providers Reviewed
These providers are also IRS-approved and may suit a specific need, but they did not match the five above on platform, catalog and support.
- A large catalog of IRS-approved courses with self-paced delivery and flexible subscriptions, practical for finishing hours across the year.
- A broad professional education catalog that includes enrolled agent CE, fully online and easy to fit around a busy schedule.
- Decades of tax and accounting CE with a wide self-study library, a fit for experienced professionals who value variety over a polished platform.
Final Thoughts on EA Continuing Education
Becker is the provider I would hand to most enrolled agents: a modern platform, engaging content, a compliance tracker that does the jurisdiction math for you, and direct reporting, so get started with Becker if you want the full 72 hours in one dependable place.
Try out Surgent when a deadline is close and you want live webinars and a package of hours fast. Go to Illumeo if a huge on-demand catalog on the cheapest unlimited subscription matters more than live events.
Lambers is a solid option for earning a few credits cheaply, and Gleim’s tax-focused hour bundles suit anyone who wants a set number of credits on a phone. No matter which provider you choose, the right CE program keeps your enrollment safe and teaches you something you will use in the next filing season.
FAQs
How many CE hours do enrolled agents need each year?
Enrolled agents must complete 16 hours of continuing education annually, including 2 hours of ethics, for a total of 72 hours over a three-year enrollment cycle. The IRS sets those rules and every provider here reports completed hours to it directly.
What is the difference between CPE and CE?
CPE and CE are often used interchangeably, but enrolled agents specifically complete CE credits as defined by the IRS for license renewal. Only courses from an IRS-approved provider count, which is why this ranking includes approved providers only.
Can I complete all my EA CE online?
Yes. Every provider in this ranking is fully online, and Becker, Surgent and Lambers add live webcasts if you prefer a scheduled class. Self-paced self-study courses count the same as live ones toward the 72 hours.
Do providers report my CE credits directly to the IRS?
All five ranked providers report completed credits directly, and Becker’s tracker also accepts certificates from other providers so your record lives in one place. Keep your own copies of certificates regardless; the IRS can ask for them.
What happens if I do not meet my CE requirements?
Under Circular 230, your enrolled agent status can be placed in inactive status and eventually terminated, and reactivation means making up the missing hours. A tracker that counts hours against the cycle is the cheapest insurance against that.
Which EA CE provider is cheapest per hour?
Illumeo’s On Demand subscription is the cheapest unlimited option, with Lambers’ all-access year and Gleim’s largest hour bundle close behind; the comparison chart above has the current figures. Becker costs more but was the most dependable platform I tested, and Surgent’s small packages are cheapest when you only need a few hours.
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