Line 1: user fee
The amount of the user fee sent with the application, next to a box for IRS use with the file folder number.
5306
Application for Approval of Prototype or Employer Sponsored Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA)
- Agency
- IRS
- Revision
- Rev. November 2019
- Fillable fields
- 68
- Pages
- 3
- Official source
- IRS form page
- Checked
- October 21, 2026
Form 5306: Application for Approval of Prototype or Employer Sponsored IRA
Form 5306, Application for Approval of Prototype or Employer Sponsored Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA), is filed under section 408(a), (b), (c) or (p) or section 408A of the Internal Revenue Code. The instructions say sponsoring organizations, employers or employee associations use it to request a ruling on whether a trust or custodial account agreement meets the requirements of section 408(a), 408(c), 408(p) or 408A, or whether an individual annuity meets the requirements of section 408(b), 408(p) or 408A.
It is not a form an IRA owner files. The applicant is a bank, an approved trustee or custodian, an insurance company, a regulated investment company, a trade or professional society or association, or, for a section 408(c) ruling, an employer or employee association. The completed form goes to the IRS EP Opinion Letters unit with the plan documents and the user fee.
The form has two parts: identifying information about the applicant, the trustee or custodian and the funding entity, and plan information that points to where each required provision appears in the plan documents. The instructions are printed on page 3 of the form. You can fill out Form 5306 free in your browser on this page and download the result without an account.
What's on Form 5306
Line 2: approval requested
Five IRA types: prototype traditional, Roth, dual-purpose and SIMPLE IRAs, and a Roth or traditional IRA set up by an employer or employee association under section 408(c). Then initial application or amendment.
Lines 3 and 4: applicant and contact
The applicant's name, employer identification number and address, then the contact person's name, telephone number, email address and a box for an attached power of attorney.
Lines 5 to 7: sponsor, trustee and funding
The type of sponsoring organization, the type of submission (mass submitter or not), the trustee or custodian's name and address, and the funding entity: trust, custodial account or insurance company.
Signature
A declaration under penalties of perjury with the signature of an officer, the date and the officer's title.
Part II: plan information
Questions 8a to 8o ask whether the IRA contains required provisions, such as exclusive benefit, contribution limits, collectibles, required distributions and nonforfeitability, with the article or section and page number for each.
How to fill out Form 5306
- 1
Line 1
Enter the user fee submitted. The instructions say all applications must be accompanied by the appropriate user fee, found in Rev. Proc. 2019-4 or the latest annual update.
- 2
Line 2
Check the IRA type on line 2a, then check initial application on 2b or amendment on 2c. For an amendment, enter the file folder number, letter serial number and date from the latest opinion letter.
- 3
Lines 3 and 4
Enter the applicant's name, EIN and address, including any suite or room number. Use a P.O. box only if the Post Office does not deliver to the street address. Add the contact person and check 4d if a power of attorney is attached.
- 4
Lines 5 to 7
Check the sponsoring organization type and submission type. The form says not to complete line 5a for a section 408(c) ruling. Enter the trustee or custodian and the funding entity, and on line 7c identify the endorsement, the contract or both.
- 5
Part II
Attach the plan documents and, for each question 8a to 8o, enter the article or section reference and page number where the provision appears. Enter N/A if an item does not apply. The form points to sample language at www.irs.gov/LRMS.
- 6
Sign
An officer authorized to sign, or another person authorized under a power of attorney, signs and dates the application. The power of attorney is sent with the application.
Why fill Form 5306 on indox
You get the real form, filled in a browser tab, with nothing standing between you and the finished PDF.
- Fill the form right in your browser, no software to install
- Free to fill and free to download, with no account
- The official blank straight from the IRS, not a copy someone retyped
- Works on a phone, tablet or computer
Where to send it, what to include and the fee
Where to file
The instructions give this address: Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EP Opinion Letters, TE/GE Stop 31A Team 105, P.O. Box 12192, Covington, KY 41012-0192.
Private delivery services
Private delivery services can't deliver to the P.O. box. The instructions give Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EP Opinion Letters, TE/GE Stop 31A Team 105, 7940 Kentucky Drive, Florence, KY 41042.
What to file
Form 5306 and a copy of the trust, custodial account or annuity contract and all other applicable documents. For an annuity whose requirements are set out in a separate superseding endorsement, submit the endorsement and not the contract.
User fee
The instructions say applications submitted without the proper user fee will not be processed and will be returned to the applicant.
Approval is optional
The instructions say the applicant is not required to apply for approval, but the information on the form is required to receive a ruling from the IRS.
Related forms
5306-A
Application for Approval of Prototype Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) or Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees of Small Employers (SIMPLE IRA Plan)
79 fields, 3 pages
5305
Traditional Individual Retirement Trust Account
10 fields, 2 pages
5305-A
Traditional Individual Retirement Custodial Account
10 fields, 2 pages
5305-R
Roth Individual Retirement Trust Account
9 fields, 2 pages
5305-S
SIMPLE Individual Retirement Trust Account
9 fields, 2 pages
5305-RB
Roth Individual Retirement Annuity Endorsement
3 fields, 2 pages
Who files Form 5306?
The instructions name the sponsors who may request an opinion letter on a prototype IRA, and the employers or employee associations that may request a ruling under section 408(c).
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Questions about Form 5306
Who files Form 5306?
The instructions say sponsoring organizations, employers or employee associations use it. Sponsors include banks, approved trustees or custodians, insurance companies, regulated investment companies and trade or professional societies or associations.
Does an IRA owner file Form 5306?
No. The form is an application by the sponsor of a prototype IRA, or by an employer or employee association seeking a section 408(c) ruling, not by the individual who holds the IRA.
Do sponsors using a Form 5305 model form file it?
The instructions say sponsors of programs that use any of the Form 5305 series of model forms should not submit their programs to the IRS.
Is there a fee?
Yes. The instructions say every application needs the appropriate user fee, found in Rev. Proc. 2019-4 or its latest annual update, and an application without it is returned unprocessed.
Where is Form 5306 mailed?
To Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EP Opinion Letters, TE/GE Stop 31A Team 105, P.O. Box 12192, Covington, KY 41012-0192, or to the Florence, KY street address when using a private delivery service.
How is Form 5306 different from Form 5306-A?
Form 5306 covers prototype IRAs and employer sponsored IRAs. The IRS lists Form 5306-A for approval of prototype SEP agreements and SIMPLE IRA plans.