Overview

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) licenses persons

(1) who have received an Illinois CPA certificate through the Illinois Board of Examiners, the certification body for CPAs in Illinois and

(2) who have had at least one year of full-time experience, or its equivalent, providing any type of service or advice involving the use of accounting, attest, management advisory, financial advisory, tax or consulting skills.

ACCESS ONLINE CPA APPLICATION PORTAL

Experience

Experience may be gained through employment in government, industry, academia, or public practice, and is not required to be acquired under the supervision of a licensed CPA. The experience must have been gained after completion of the education required to take the CPA Exam.

Out of State Applicants

IDFPR also licenses “by endorsement” individuals who have a valid and active CPA license from another jurisdiction that’s substantially equivalent. Access online CPA application portal. 

Continuing Professional Education

If you wait more than 4 years after receiving your Illinois CPA certificate to apply for a license, you will need to have completed 90 hours of continuing professional education (CPE)--including 4 hours of professional ethics--within the 3 years immediately preceding the date of application for licensure.