Illinois CPA Requirements

Ranked among the country’s top states for GDP, Illinois also employs the fifth-highest number of accountants in the United States. Job prospects for accountants in the Chicago metro are strong. Earning your certified public accountant (CPA) license is a major step toward pursuing a career as an accountant in Illinois.

Becoming an Illinois CPA requires several years of education, rigorous exams, and approved accounting work experience. However, the state plans to relax its education requirements for CPAs by 2027, allowing students to substitute professional experience for extra education. Earning your CPA license is a complex process, but our guide outlines all the key requirements.

Like many states, Illinois has struggled to meet the demand for qualified CPAs. In 2025, the state passed a bill to provide an alternate licensure pathway for CPAs, loosening the education requirements and making it easier to become CPA-certified. However, these changes won’t take effect until 2027.

Currently, Illinois requires you to complete 150 college credits to qualify for CPA licensure. A bachelor’s in accounting commonly includes only 120 credits, meaning you’ll need to complete another 30 credits before earning CPA licensure. However, the new alternative pathway would let you become a CPA with just 120 credits.

Under the new alternate pathway, Illinois students could apply for CPA certification after completing a traditional bachelor’s in accounting degree and two years of professional experience. This change could help you save time and money by spending fewer semesters in school.

Illinois CPA requirements for education vary depending on the type of program and school you attend. If you earn a master’s in accounting from a program with AACSB or ACBSP accreditation, you automatically qualify for the Uniform CPA Examination. You can also apply with a graduate business degree if your school’s business department holds AACSB or ACBSP certification.

Before taking the CPA exam, you must complete at least 24 credits of accounting courses, including at least one course in tax and one in audit. After you pass the exam, applying for CPA licensure requires 30 credits of accounting courses (including the 24 required for testing). You’ll need at least one course each in the following subjects:

If you complete a degree from an accredited accounting program, you can be sure your credits qualify you for the CPA exam. You can still qualify for the exam if you earn your degree at a school or program that lacks AACSB or ACBSP accreditation. You’ll just need to complete additional business courses, including:

As of 2025, you must complete one year of full-time accounting experience (1,500 hours) to receive CPA certification. The newly passed alternate CPA pathway will give you the option to complete two years of experience along with fewer academic credits. However, this option won’t be available until 2027.

Illinois defines one year of full-time experience as working an average of 20 days per month for 12 months. You can also work part time for 1-4 years, though this requires completing 2,000 hours of work experience.

Many types of jobs can fulfill the state’s professional experience requirement. Illinois only requires that the work involve accounting concepts such as attest, tax, or financial management. Acceptable work environments include:

You can take the CPA exam before fully completing your work experience requirements. However, you’ll need to fulfill your 1,500 hours before receiving CPA certification. Currently, Illinois only allows you to complete your professional experience after completing a 120-credit bachelor’s degree.

In most cases, your accounting program can help you connect to employment opportunities to build professional experience. Your program can also help you make sure your employment meets state requirements.

No matter your state, the CPA exam is a major requirement to become a CPA. Testing a broad range of accounting knowledge, the exam is one of the final steps to complete before you receive licensure. The exam is the same across the country, but Illinois maintains specific exam requirements.

In Illinois, you’ll need to complete at least a bachelor’s degree with 120 credits before you can sit for the CPA exam. Other degrees that qualify you include:

Before you can take the exam, you must submit your transcripts to the Illinois Board of Examiners for a credentials evaluation, which costs $200. You can also submit foreign transcripts for evaluation. Illinois does not maintain a residency requirement, and you don’t need to be a U.S. citizen to sit for the CPA exam.

To qualify for CPA licensure in Illinois, you’ll also have to pass the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) ethics exam. You can take this exam at any time while completing the CPA exam.

Before you can take the CPA exam, your institution must send your transcripts to the Illinois Board of Examiners. It typically takes 6-8 weeks for transcripts to be evaluated.

After receiving approval of your transcripts, you can make an initial exam request through your Illinois Board of Examiners account. You can request to take all four exam sections, which you must complete within six months. It costs $120 to apply for all four sections at once.

Registering is just one step toward taking the CPA exam. You’ll also need to register with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), allowing you to pay for and schedule your exam. Paying for registration is a separate charge from the application fee.

After paying for your exam, you’ll receive a Notice to Schedule (NTS) within 1-2 days. The NTS allows you to schedule your official exam dates through Prometric. In Illinois, each section costs around $255 to schedule.

The first three sections of the CPA exam cover topics in:

The fourth section focuses on a discipline and lets you choose from three options:

Get more CPA exam resources:

After completing the entire CPA and ethics exams, you should receive an official certification letter within three days. The letter allows you to apply for your CPA license through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). Once you pass all four exams, your scores never expire.

The Illinois Board of Examiners reports certified CPA candidates to the IDFPR on the first and 15th of every month. It takes two weeks after reporting to update records, after which you can apply for your CPA license. The application includes a $120 fee.

To maintain your Illinois CPA license, you must complete 120 hours of continuing education every three years. Your renewal deadline is the same regardless of when you receive your CPA license. The current deadline is Sept. 30, 2027.

Illinois allows up to 60 hours of non-verifiable education, which includes activities for which you don’t need to provide proof of completion. Non-verifiable education can include serving on committees, reading published materials, and consultations with accounting experts.

Your remaining 60 hours must be verifiable education, which includes live group activities, self-study, and publishing an article or book. You can receive continuing education credit for taking or instructing college courses and developing or reviewing other courses.

You can complete continuing education through any organization recognized by the IDFPR. This includes:

You can also complete continuing education outside of Illinois if that state’s CPA society approves the organization.

You don’t have to provide proof of continuing education the first time you complete your CPA license renewal.