a. Request information from in-state and online universities and colleges offering programs in accounting. Under rules set forth by the Illinois Board of Examiners, candidates for CPA licensure must have a bachelor’s degree at minimum with at least 150 semester hours of college credit.
b. Verify that the program you attend is offered through a school that meets one of the following accreditation requirements:
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c. Enroll in the right classes specific to your chosen program.
Option 1 - A graduate degree in accounting from an accredited program.
Option 2 - A graduate degree in business or accounting from an accredited program including:
Option 3 - A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution must include:
If you graduated from a college or university outside of the United States, your credentials must be evaluated by the National Association of Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). Contact NASBA International Evaluation Services to begin this process.
After completing the educational requirements listed above, you qualify to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination in Illinois.
a. Create an account through the Illinois Board of Examiners (IBOE) online system. Submit a credential evaluation application using the Application Type that fits your situation:
Include information from all institutions attended and pay the $200 fee using a credit card. The foreign application is free of charge for candidates who only have foreign credits.
b. Submit the final transcript showing completion of education requirements to IBOE. Send original, official transcripts in sealed envelopes directly to the Illinois Board of Examiners (IBOE) at: Illinois Board of Examiners - 1120 E Diehl Rd, Suite 110, Naperville, IL 60563. Alternatively, transcripts may be sent electronically to etranscripts@ilboe.org.
c. After submitting your credentials evaluation application, complete the Initial Examination Request using the Illinois Board of Examiners (IBOE) online system. The fees vary from $40 to $120 based on the number of exam sections you are scheduling.
d. Wait to receive an approval letter from IBOE authorizing you to take the exam. You will also receive a payment coupon from NASBA, which is good for 90 days. If you do not pay within 90 days, your authorization to test will expire and you’d have to re-apply. NASBA will issue a Notice to Schedule (NTS) after you have paid your fees. You must schedule the exam within 6 months of receiving the NTS. Be sure to add cbtpayment@nasba.org, cbtnts@nasba.org, and cpaexam@nasba.orgto your email address book.
e. Schedule your exam through Prometric’s website. You can take anywhere from 1 – 4 sections in one exam sitting. The Illinois Board of Examiners provides resources related to exam scheduling, including information related to testing windows and rescheduling.
f. Prepare for your scheduled exam sections using the many review courses, programs, and books available to you. Report to the exam site on time.
g. Wait to receive notification of your score via your ILBOE online account on the sore release date. You will receive notification by mail approximately 1-2 weeks later.
h. At any time before, during or after the CPA Exam process, you must take and pass a course on professional ethics offered by the AICPA. You must score at least 90% on this open-book exam before being issued a CPA certificate. Request that AICPA send the Ethics exam results to Illinois Board of Examiners (IBOE).
Once you have passed the Uniform CPA Exam and the AICPA Ethics Exam, you will receive automatic certification as a CPA from the Illinois Board of Examiners. However, you are not yet licensed as a CPA.
Once you have passed the Uniform CPA Exam and the AICPA Ethics Exam, you will receive certification of CPA Exam Completion from the Illinois Board of Examiners. However, you are not yet licensed as a CPA.
For detailed information on the Uniform CPA Exam, click here.
The next step in your quest to become a CPA in Illinois is to fulfill experience requirements.
After passing the uniform CPA exam, take the following steps:
a. In order to get your CPA license, you must obtain one year of supervised experience in a position within government, industry, academia or public practice where you provide service or advice in:
b. Document work experience and have it confirmed by your supervising CPA. The documentation will take place on the Verification of Employment/Experience form fond within the Application for CPA licensure packet (see below). This experience need not be supervised by a licensed CPA, but must be supervised.
Once you have completed your experience, you are eligible to apply for an Illinois CPA license.
a. Checklist - If you are a first-time Illinois CPA license applicant, here is a checklist of what you have done so far towards obtaining your Illinois CPA license:
b. Download and print the application packet, making sure to follow the directions in its completion as they apply to you. You will most likely be applying by Acceptance of Examination. Submit any required supporting documentation. The packet includes a Verification of Experience form you will provide to your employer to complete.
c. Send the complete application packet and specified fees to Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, ATTN: Division of Professional Regulation, P.O. Box 7007, Springfield, IL 62791
Interstate reciprocity
If you have ever held a license from a state that is substantially equivalent to Illinois, you can apply for licensure directly with the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and do not need to obtain certification from the Illinois Board of Examiners.
International reciprocity
International CPAs who wish to practice in Illinois are evaluated on six different factors:
International candidates with CPA equivalent credentials are eligible to be licensed in Illinois. At present the designations deemed equivalent are those granted through the following:
Candidates with designations granted through these bodies need to take and pass pass the International Qualifications Exam (IQEX) in order to be licensed in Illinois.
After obtaining the Illinois CPA license, you need to comply with the continuing professional education requirements.
a. Licensed CPAs in Illinois must obtain 120 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) every three years. Four hours out of these 120 hours must cover ethics. Licensed CPAs are exempt from CPE requirements for their first renewal.
b. Find CPE courses for subsequent renewals that are offered by approved sponsors on the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) registry or through the Illinois CPA Society.
c. Maintain record of your hours for each three-year period between renewals.
Now that you're a CPA in Illinois
Consider joining a professional organization in order to stay current on topics that affect accounting practices across the nation and in Illinois. The American Institute of CPAs is a national organization that sets ethical standards for the profession and U.S. auditing standards for external audits of private companies, non-profit organizations, federal, state, and local governments.
Similarly, the Illinois CPA Society is a professional organization that represents Illinois CPAs in public accounting and consulting, corporate accounting and finance, as well as in government and nonprofit work. The Illinois CPA Society offers various opportunities for continuing education through conferences, courses, webcasts, chapter events and other programs that cover a multitude of professional development topic areas. It also offers self-study, on-site learning and computer courses in partnership with other organizations.