PocketCPA

CPA exam and license requirements in Illinois

Illinois requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Licensure requires 150. Administered under the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). Last reviewed 2026-08-19.

Credit hours to sit
120
Credit hours to license
150
Exam fee per section
$262.64
Exam credit window
30 months
Notice to Schedule valid
6 months from issue
Transferring scores out
Through the board, $30
State ethics requirement
See below

How many credit hours do you need to sit for the CPA exam in Illinois?

Illinois requires 120 semester credit hours to sit for the CPA exam. Candidates in Illinois sit under the rules of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR).

How many credit hours do you need for a CPA license in Illinois?

Illinois requires 150 semester credit hours for CPA licensure. That is 30 more than the 120 needed to sit, so candidates can begin testing before completing the licensure requirement.

How much does the CPA exam cost in Illinois?

The CPA exam in Illinois costs $262.64 per section, a $120 application fee, a $200 education evaluation fee. Four sections at $262.64 is $1,050.56 in section fees alone. These are Illinois board and NASBA fees and exclude review course costs and any re-take fees.

How long do you have to pass all four CPA exam sections in Illinois?

Illinois gives candidates a 30-month window to pass all four CPA exam sections. The clock starts when the first section is passed.

How long is your Notice to Schedule valid in Illinois?

Illinois gives you 6 months from the date your Notice to Schedule is issued to sit the section it covers. If it expires you forfeit the fees already paid for that section and must reapply.

From the Validation Periods map in the NASBA Candidate Guide, edition 2026-07-16. That is NASBA's summary of the board's rule rather than a reading of the board itself, so confirm it with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) before planning around it.

Can you appeal a failed CPA exam score in Illinois?

Illinois does not offer a score appeal. Illinois is one of the seven jurisdictions where appeals are not available, so viewing the items you answered incorrectly is not an option there. A score review is separate and is available everywhere: it re-checks that the approved answer key was applied correctly to your responses, and it is not a way to have an alternative answer considered.

Appeal availability is listed in the NASBA Candidate Guide, edition 2026-07-16. See also what happens on test day.

How do you transfer CPA exam scores out of Illinois?

Not through NASBA. Illinois does not appear as an origin on NASBA's transfer service, so you request your scores from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) directly, which states a fee of $30. You can still transfer INTO Illinois from anywhere; it is only the outbound route that runs through the board.

Route read from NASBA's transfer service and cross-checked against NASBA's Interstate Authorization Fee Schedule, 2026-09-20, and every route claim was handed to a pass instructed to refute it. How exam credit moves between jurisdictions sets out the whole picture, including what moving does to your credit window.

Do your CPA exam credits expire after you pass all four sections in Illinois?

No deadline that costs you exam credit, but Illinois does have a clock worth knowing, and it is not the same thing. 4 years from CERTIFICATE issuance, then 90 hours of CPE (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1420.20(a)(5)). Missing it costs you extra work before the license is issued, not the sections you have already passed.

Researched against Illinois's own statutes and administrative rules on 2026-09-20, not against the board FAQ alone. What happens to CPA exam credit after you pass all four sets out all 55 jurisdictions and the clocks that are mistaken for deadlines.

Does Illinois require a CPA ethics exam?

Illinois: Pass the AICPA Professional Ethics: The AICPA's Comprehensive Course (For Licensure) with a minimum score of 90%.

What work experience is required for a CPA license in Illinois?

Illinois requires one year (about 1,500 to 2,000 hours) of experience in accounting, attest, tax, advisory, or consulting services in public practice, industry, government, or academia, verified by a supervisor.

Who regulates CPAs in Illinois?

CPAs in Illinois are regulated by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). Its published requirements are at https://idfpr.illinois.gov/profs/pa.html.

Can you become a CPA in Illinois without 150 credit hours?

Not yet. Illinois has enacted an alternative route to CPA licensure that does not require 150 semester hours, but it does not take effect until 2027-01-01, so 150 hours is still required today. The law is Public Act 104-0228 (HB 2459), amending 225 ILCS 450/3 and 225 ILCS 450/14.

What the alternative route requires: A bachelor's degree in accounting from an accredited college or university, an exam certificate or certification from the Illinois Board of Examiners, and at least two years of experience as defined by Department rule.

Worth knowingNothing changes for licensure until January 1, 2027, so a candidate applying today still needs 150 hours. Illinois is two tier, and the 120 hour figure often quoted for Illinois is exam eligibility under 225 ILCS 450/3(b), which has applied since January 1, 2023 and is not a licensure rule. The Illinois Public Accounting Act carries a scheduled repeal date of January 1, 2029, but that is the Act's routine sunset and is not a sunset of the 150 hour route.

Illinois General Assembly, Public Act 104-0228: https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/PublicActs/View/104-0228. Verified 2026-08-19, and independently re-checked against the cited source.

Recent changes and notes for Illinois

The other jurisdictions with a route enacted but not yet in force

Illinois is one of 9 jurisdictions that have passed an alternative route which has not started yet. Each has a dated start.

The full picture, with every statute and the jurisdictions where the published trackers are behind, is on the 150-hour rule tracker.

Studying for the CPA exam

PocketCPA covers all six CPA exam sections with 11,896 questions, each cited to the specific standard or statute it tests, and 1,071 lesson pages written from primary source text. A nine-item sample of every section is open with no account, and a full-length FAR mock exam is free with one.

Source: https://www.ilboe.org/certification/certification-process. Requirements change; confirm with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) before applying.