IRS Notice CP508C
Passport Certification Notice
The IRS has certified your seriously delinquent tax debt to the State Department. Your passport may be denied or revoked.
Tax Attorney · Villanova University School of Law · Admitted in Delaware, New Jersey, United States Tax Court
Notice CP508C in Plain English
CP508C means the IRS has certified your debt as 'seriously delinquent' to the State Department. Your passport can be denied, revoked, or not renewed until the IRS reverses the certification. This is a travel emergency, not just a tax problem.
Why the IRS sent you a CP508C
Your assessed federal tax debt exceeded the seriously-delinquent threshold ($59,000 in 2024, indexed annually).
You have no active installment agreement, OIC, or CNC status on the balance.
A prior arrangement defaulted and the IRS re-certified the debt.
What Happens If You Ignore Notice CP508C
You cannot renew your passport or get a new one. Existing passports may be revoked. You cannot travel internationally.
Every day you wait, penalties compound, interest accrues, and your options shrink. The IRS does not negotiate well with silence — they escalate.
What To Do About Notice CP508C
You must resolve the tax debt through payment, payment plan, or other arrangement. We can help you get decertified.
- 1
Get into a formal resolution immediately — installment agreement, OIC, or CNC — the certification reverses within 30 days of a qualifying arrangement.
- 2
If travel is imminent, request expedited decertification through Form 12508 with proof of the trip (tickets, medical letter, business necessity).
- 3
For international residents, check with the U.S. Consulate before assuming a passport renewal will be approved.
- 4
Confirm the balance triggering the certification — occasionally CP508C fires on a balance that is technically under threshold due to an IRS calculation error.
A Senior Tax Attorney's Take on CP508C
Passport decertification is one of the fastest wins in tax practice. A properly documented installment agreement or CNC filing reverses CP508C within days at the IRS, then within another 30 days at State. Clients we take on before a trip almost always keep the trip.
Call (877) 829-5267Costly Mistakes People Make With Notice CP508C
Assuming that paying part of the balance under threshold reverses the certification — it doesn't; only a resolution or full payment does.
Booking international travel after receiving CP508C but before decertification is confirmed with the State Department in writing.
Ignoring CP508C because passport isn't currently needed — the certification stays on file and blocks renewal months later.
IRS Notices Related to CP508C
These are the notices the IRS most often sends before, after, or alongside a CP508C. Read the related ones to understand where you are in the collection sequence.
Tax Resolution Services That Resolve a CP508C
Senior tax attorneys at McCauley Law Offices use these strategies to stop, settle, or unwind a CP508C notice.
Set up manageable monthly payment plans to pay off your tax debt over time.
Settle your tax debt for less than what you owe through IRS settlement programs.
Prove financial hardship to temporarily halt IRS collection activity.
Primary Sources & Authority
We cite the underlying IRS publications and statutes so you can verify everything on this page.