Illinois CPA requirements

If you're ready to earn your CPA license, the first step is knowing the Illinois CPA requirements. This page serves as a resource for the education and experience prerequisites and how to maintain your license with continued professional education (CPE). However, it's important to consult with the Illinois Board of Accountancy for the most up-to-date information.

Each state mandates different requirements for taking the CPA Exam. In Illinois, there is no residency requirement for taking the exam in this state, but in order to be eligible, candidates must be at least 18 and meet one of the following education requirements.

• Hold a graduate degree in accounting or business with a minimum of 24 semester credit hours in accounting
• Hold a bachelor's degree in accounting with a minimum of 24 semester credit hours in accounting that includes one class in taxation and one class in audit
• Hold a bachelor's degree in business with 30 semester credit hours in accounting and 24 in business, including one course in financial accounting, managerial accounting, tax & audit, business communication, and business ethics.

Each state mandates different requirements for taking the CPA Exam. In Illinois, there is no residency requirement for taking the exam in this state, but in order to be eligible, candidates must be at least 18 and meet one of the following education requirements.

• Hold a graduate degree in accounting or business with a minimum of 24 semester credit hours in accounting
• Hold a bachelor's degree in accounting with a minimum of 24 semester credit hours in accounting that includes one class in taxation and one class in audit
• Hold a bachelor's degree in business with 30 semester credit hours in accounting and 24 in business, including one course in financial accounting, managerial accounting, tax & audit, business communication, and business ethics.

Each state mandates different requirements for taking the CPA Exam. In Illinois, there is no residency requirement for taking the exam in this state, but in order to be eligible, candidates must be at least 18 and meet one of the following education requirements.

• Hold a graduate degree in accounting or business with a minimum of 24 semester credit hours in accounting
• Hold a bachelor's degree in accounting with a minimum of 24 semester credit hours in accounting that includes one class in taxation and one class in audit
• Hold a bachelor's degree in business with 30 semester credit hours in accounting and 24 in business, including one course in financial accounting, managerial accounting, tax & audit, business communication, and business ethics.

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Illinois CPA licensure requirements

Applicants must meet all of the following CPA requirements:

• Applicants may only receive experience after completing 120 hours of undergraduate education and having obtained a baccalaureate degree with an accounting concentration or equivalent.
• Pass all four sections of the CPA Examination
• Complete at least one year of full-time experience, or its equivalent, providing any type of service or advice involving the use of accounting, attestation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax or consulting skills that may be gained through employment in government, industry, academia or public practice.
• 12 months with an average of at least 20 workdays per month during which the applicant was engaged in full-time employment equal to 1,500 hours or more annually.
• If an individual works part-time for more than one year, but less than four years, and gains 2,000 hours of experience, the individual has met the equivalent of one year of full-time experience.
• Complete an AICPA Ethics Exam self-study course titled Professional Ethics, with a score of 90% or higher.
• After January 1, 2023, CPA license candidates will still need a total of 150 semester hours of earned credit, a total of 30 hours of accounting including courses in tax, audit, managerial and financial accounting. Candidates will also need a total of 24 hours of business including three hours of business ethics and two hours of business communication.

Sources:

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Illinois CPA license renewal requirements

CPA licenses in Illinois are renewed triennially, expiring on September 30th every three years.

Each permit holder must complete at least 120 hours of acceptable continuing professional education (CPE) during each triennial period. Of the 120 hours, at least 4 hours must be of professional ethics. To meet the Illinois CPA CPE requirements, courses, programs or activities must include one or more of the following fields of study:

• Accounting
• Government accounting
• Administrative practice
• Auditing
• Governmental auditing
• Behavior ethics
• Business law
• Business management and organization
• Communications
• Computer science
• Economics
• Finance
• Management advisory services
• Marketing
• Mathematics
• Personal development
• Personnel/HR
• Production
• Regulatory ethics
• Social environment business
• Statistics
• Taxation

Registered CPAs are exempt from CPE requirements.

Licensed CPAs are exempt from the continuing professional education requirement for the first renewal period following the original issuance of the license.

Each permit holder must complete at least 120 hours of acceptable continuing professional education (CPE) during each triennial period. Of the 120 hours, at least 4 hours must be of professional ethics. To meet the Illinois CPA CPE requirements, courses, programs or activities must include one or more of the following fields of study:

• Accounting
• Government accounting
• Administrative practice
• Auditing
• Governmental auditing
• Behavior ethics
• Business law
• Business management and organization
• Communications
• Computer science
• Economics
• Finance
• Management advisory services
• Marketing
• Mathematics
• Personal development
• Personnel/HR
• Production
• Regulatory ethics
• Social environment business
• Statistics
• Taxation

Registered CPAs are exempt from CPE requirements.

Licensed CPAs are exempt from the continuing professional education requirement for the first renewal period following the original issuance of the license.

Each permit holder must complete at least 120 hours of acceptable continuing professional education (CPE) during each triennial period. Of the 120 hours, at least 4 hours must be of professional ethics. To meet the Illinois CPA CPE requirements, courses, programs or activities must include one or more of the following fields of study:

• Accounting
• Government accounting
• Administrative practice
• Auditing
• Governmental auditing
• Behavior ethics
• Business law
• Business management and organization
• Communications
• Computer science
• Economics
• Finance
• Management advisory services
• Marketing
• Mathematics
• Personal development
• Personnel/HR
• Production
• Regulatory ethics
• Social environment business
• Statistics
• Taxation

Registered CPAs are exempt from CPE requirements.

Licensed CPAs are exempt from the continuing professional education requirement for the first renewal period following the original issuance of the license.