CPAs who are licensed in Illinois are required to have 120 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) credit during each three-year reporting cycle. Four of the 120 hours must be in ethics education and one hour must be in sexual harassment prevention training. There are two types of activities that qualify for CPE credit in Illinois: verifiable CPE programs and non-verifiable CPE programs and activities. Categories for CPE are live programming, interactive, and self-study.
Licensees shall maintain their CPE records for not less than six years.
You may be granted a waiver of the CPE requirement under certain circumstances. See Administrative Code Rules on CPE.
CPAs are exempt from CPE requirements for their first license renewal. This first renewal period runs from the time a license is issued until the next IDFPR 3-year renewal cycle. The period can range anywhere from 3 years down to several months, depending on when in the IDFPR cycle the license is issued. Renewal and payment of the licensing fee must be made, but no CPE is required to be submitted. Subsequent renewal periods require the licensed CPA to have the full 120 hours of CPE credit.
CPE reciprocity exempts CPAs who hold multiple state licenses from having to meet the individual CPE requirements of each state so long as the licensee meets the CPE requirements of their home state. This exemption encourages uniformity while removing unnecessary burdens that do not play a role in protecting the public interest.
For more information on CPE requirements including hours, restrictions, verifiable versus non-verifiable activities, approved sponsors, visit the CPE Requirements grid.
