Illinois CPA Exam Requirements

Illinois CPA exam requirements

Illinois CPA Exam requirements latest update (July 2010):

The IL State Board has decided (and approved by IL Governor) to postpone the cancellation of the CPA certificate for 2 years, which means that IL is still a 2-tier state and you can get the CPA certificate (not full license, but good enough for credential purposes) with 150 semester hours and NO experience. Please see the details below.

http://www.icpas.org/hc-gov-relations.aspx?id=2182

And a big, big thank you to David for the heads up! (and congrats to David in officially joining the CPA league)

Background information:

Illinois has a 2-tier system for CPA: certification and full license. After passing the Uniform CPA Exam and the CPA Ethics Exam, the Board will automatically send you a wall certificate and no CPE is required to keep the certification. Having said that, the certification does not allow you to practice public accounting the Illinois. You’ll have to get the license with additional experience requirement.

Please note that Illinois State Board will start the transition from two-tier states to one-tier state effective July 1, 2010. In fact, they will stop issuing CPA certiciate start from that day. Consider Illinois a one-tier state if you haven’t started the application process.

Please find below for more information on two-tier states:

Illinois CPA Exam Requirements

1. Education Requirements To Sit For The Exam:

  • Bachelor degree or above
  • 150 semester units from an accredited university or educational institution
  • Undergrad degree:
    • Accounting courses: 24 semester units
    • Business courses: 24 semester units
  • Graduate degree:
    • Accounting courses: 24 semester units at undergrad level or 15 at graduate level
  • Note to international candidates: Illinois State Board evaluates your foreign credentials themselves, i.e. there is no need to go through the third-party foreign credential evaluation agencies. They do require original transcript / marksheets and I don’t think there is any exception.

2. Additional Requirements To Get CPA License or Certificate:

Education

  • Same as the exam requirements.

Work Experience

  • None for certificate. Please note that the 2-tier system (i.e. the availability of the CPA certificate) will end in mid 2012. Please note: certificate will no longer be issued effective July 1, 2010. Instead, you will have to complete the working experience requirement to get the CPA license directly.
  • 1 year for full CPA license, and 120  hours of CPE every 3 years to maintain the license. Please go to the licensing section for details.
  • For the difference please see CPA certificate vs license

Ethics Qualification

3. Residency & Age Requirements:

  • US citizenship not required
  • Illinois residency not required
  • Minimum age: 18

4. Fees:

  • First-timers: $823 (4 CPA exam fees) + $40-120 (initial application fee, depending on the number of sections) = $863-943
  • Repeaters: exam fees + $40-120 repeat application fees
  • Credentials evaluation fee (if applicable): $175 for domestic and $250 for international

5. Other Useful Information:

6. Contact:

Illinois Board of Examiners
100 Trade Centre Drive – Suite 403
Champaign, IL 61820-7123

  • Email: help@ilboa.org
  • Phone: 217-531-0950
  • Fax: 217-531-0960

Can’t Get Qualified In Illinois?

Don’t give up, as you may well be qualified to register through other states and sit for the same CPA exam. With the recent Substantial Equivalency (CPA reciprocity) rule CPAs from most states can practice across the country.

Your Next Step

Now that you have begun the process of applying for the CPA exam, it’s time to compare the CPA Exam review courses. The earlier you start, the better you can get prepared and pass the exam. You can also drop me a note on Facebook here if you have specific questions regarding CPA exam requirements. Good luck!

* 1 semester = 1.5 quarters.
** Photograph courtesy of normalityrelief .

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{ 106 comments }

Rajesh

hi Nisha
thanks for ur friendly advices, gr8 to get

i can understand ur frustration and i value ur advice and very clear answers so now tell me -

we are, means h4 holders, are only left with IL, CO and Montana?

whther these states give certificates which are originals or provisional one, can they be used for job purposes if u get some sponsor

ethics exam is a must in these states also,

suppose if after evaluation they say 150 hours is not met in that case they suggest some courses to cover that

it seems u r researaching a lot into it and hope to get ur feedback and wn u r plng for exam n ur prepration.
thanks
Rajesh

Nisha Panchal

Hi Stephanie,

I had called IL board and spoke to the Foreign evaluator and I told her my education she told that IL does not consider any correspondence course from India…like i have 3 yr Bcom+ 1 yr Mcom correspondence and 2 yr MBA

So she told in my case it would be Bcom+ Mba approx 120 hrs..she told u can send documents for evaluation but I think im falling short of 30 hrs …

Just thought to update you

Regards,

Nisha

Stephanie

Hi Nisha,
Thanks a lot for your update. Always appreciate you guys letting me know of the little details here and there.
I see I also heard correspondence courses don’t count but now I know this for sure at least in the case of IL. This is very helpful. Thanks Nisha.

I guess IL is probably not your first choice now but in case you need it, you can try to fulfill those 30 credit hours using online courses from US accredited colleges.

Cheers, Stephanie

Ramya

Thanks so much for posting this! Im so glad I didn’t apply to IL Board in that cos – my MCom was thro correspondence and that holds good for most ppl from India! And my CA isn’t given much credit hours I hear.

Ramya

Hi Stephanie,
I’ve applied to the MI State Board with my CA membership certificate from India. That should let me sit for the exam. However, thats only a time saver and I do have to satisfy the education requirements if I want my scores released. So I plan to send my transcripts for evaluation to one of the agencies. And I need your help. I have a BCom, MCom & CA from India. Might look like I’ll get 150 hours. But I may have a problem. BCom – I did my first year in Delhi university and the next two years in Madras University. The result being that I wasn’t awarded a division – although I averaged more than 60% which qualifies for a first division. I’m not sure how the evaluating agencies will view this. MCom – I did through correspondence. How much credits do evaluating agencies give for MCom. And what about CA – I hear that CA is barely given 30 credits (which sounds weird to me as its a more advanced course).

Given the above, could you please let me know which is the best agency to for that will give me the maximum credits for my courses? I’m really sorry about bothering you with so many questions. But I’ve been researching so much on many forums and I haven’t found the answer to questions. Would really appreciate help on this.

Thanks
Ramya

Stephanie

Hi Ramya,
Yes it is indeed difficult to search for evaluation related answers because it really depends on your school, grades, courses, and the states you are applying to. So I honestly don’t know the answers to your questions… and so far I haven’t identified an agency that is particularly “loose” in a general sense (they can’t be too obvious different otherwise the state board will kick them out of their list).

I guess what you can do is to pick the cheapest / fastest one (whichever is your priority) and call them up and see if there is any indication from them. For example, they may tell you right away that correspondence course will not be counted, and give you an idea how much (little) the CA will count. But as far as I know, your understand is correct, that the CA is counted around 30-40 credit hours depending on the states.

I am going to set up a survey and ask you guys on the evaluation results. I just need to make sure I ask the correct questions to avoid misleading answers…

Cheers, Stephanie

Nisha

Hi Stephanie,

Will continue to update on this forum….Your forum is so helpful..It has helped to unlock many questions about CPA….Its little compared to what information you give back to people on this forum

Nisha

Nisha

Hi Stephanie

As you know I have all my studies done from India,I know that any of the review courses wont give me the bare basics.

So would I be able to grasp and understand and be able to prepare for CPA looking at my education ie Bcom+ 1 yr MCom+ MBA in finance….I know many people do it..But will I need any basic course before doing CPA like Federal tax as I have done taxation from Indian perspective or would CPA studies include the Tax course ?

I hope I am not shooting too many questions to you….You have already replied too lot of my queries..

Regards,

Nisha

Stephanie

Hi Nisha,

Don’t worry at all about asking “too many” questions. I am glad to have you here as my loyal reader!
I was ok as a non-accounting major, having only attended one introductory financial accounting class, plus some indirect audit experience at work, and nothing on tax. By the way, yes there will be a full section of taxation but I think it’s not rocket science and you can figure it out based on the CPA review courses.

In short, I would think you should be ok too.

What you might want to do is to pick a course that does a better job in explaining the concepts, in case you bump into a section that is totally foreign to you.

Once you are done with all the troubles on the CPA exam application, you can check out this CPA review course comparison page where I highlight the pros and cons of the Top 10 review courses.
Cheers, Stephanie

sandy

Hi Stephanie,

I have a question regarding which state I should take exam for;
I have done B.Com (India)+ M.com (part I) + CA (India)+ MBA (Chicago) ; after my research I figured that Michigan is the only state which allows CAs to take exam directly. Here is my question; if I pass all the exams from Michigan can I get my credits transfer to Illinois and get the Illinois license? please let me know; thanks for your help in advance.

Stephanie

Hi Sandy,
Have you completed your MBA in Chicago? If so it looks like you will likely be able to get evaluated with 150 credit hours. I assume that you are not looking to become a public accounting / auditor. If so why don’t you go straight to register for Illinois? Saves you all the hassle of transferring exam credit.

Sandy

Hi Stephanie,

I agree if I can be eligible in Illinois nothing like it.

I have competed my MBA , but I took about 12 credits in accounting and I major in Finance. I didn’t take any Federal tax course which I believe is one of the required criteria. But I can check again; if it works out nothing like it. PLease let me know if Federal taxation is a must requirement; if not I can try to meet Illinois requirement. Thanks again for your time.

David

Hi Stephanie, I’ve got a question on my eligibility in receiving a license/certificate.
I received my bachelor degree overseas (major in accounting) with over 150 semester hours, but my university is not accredited by CHEA, AACSB or ACBSP. I’ve worked as an accountant for 10 years but don’t have any public accounting experience, and I don’t know any US CPA license holder. I know I’m qualified to receive NTS in some states and the exam itself is not the most difficult part, but my goal is a CPA license, or at least the title of CPA on business card.
So my question: am I qualified to get NTS from IL? If not, in which states am I qualified to get a license after passing the exam? CA? CO? I don’t have a SSN btw.
Thanks!

Stephanie

Hi David,
You may still get the qualification from Illinois but since the state board does their own evaluation it’s hard to say the chance of success. Illinois requires 1 year of accounting experience (doesn’t need to be public accounting) but it has to be supervised by CPA or equivalent. Has your experience being supervised by, say, Canadian CAs or Australian CAs/CPAs? That may work (but need to double check with Illinois).

I have to say that without SSN and without verifiable working experience it’s pretty difficult to get the CPA license… but then for Illinois, I believe you can still put the CPA title on business card but you need to put a note or something like that. Please check out the specific restriction here and see if you are comfortable with it:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=1363&ChapAct=225%26nbsp%3BILCS%26nbsp%3B450%2F&ChapterID=24&ChapterName=PRO

And, CA and CO won’t work (in terms of getting the license) if you don’t have SSN.

Hope it helps? Stephanie

David

Thanks, Stephanie, this is really helpful.
I may go to US (Chicago) next year and SSN should eventually not be a problem, but would prefer to get the license before working there. So if I have the SSN but can’t meet IL requirement for license, I may try CO as it accepts 150 credits in lieu of experience, correct? Thanks!

uytre

Stephanie,

I graduated college from Temple Uniersity in Pennsylvania with a major in Acounting in 1990. I sat for the exam in PA once in 1991 -failed – and did not pursue it further. If I sit for the Exam in Illinois for the first time in 2011, will I still have to meet the 150 hr requirement or can I sit for the exam based on the old 120 hr requirement.

Stephanie

Hi uytre,
Actually I am not too sure but most likely you will need to fulfill the 150 credit hour requirement — but you don’t need to get an extra degree, just get some extra courses online will do. Please see if this write up will help you explore all the options.
All the best! Stephanie

Kelvin

Hi Stephanie,
How are you? My name is Kelvin, I have asked you questions before regarding getting a Illinois CPA designation in April this year. You can find out my posts in this Illinois section. So here are some updates about me since my last question and I would like to hear your suggestion if I may.

So I graduted this year with an graduate accounting diploma from University of BC and finally I got a job in a small Chartered Accountant firm in Vancouver, BC. Our firm is specilizing Canadian and US taxation. The two partners are CAs, but since a great part of our business is filing US corporate and income tax returns, I guess the partners also hold CPA designations as well(not sure on this though). I suppose they are qualified to supervise my work. So in this case, I think I will have more choices rather than just Illinois (I had a bachelor degree in management in China and a graduate diploma in accounting in Canada, total credits will be above 150).So here comes my question: I don’t have a master degree but have over 150 credits with qualified accounting credits and currently working in a Chartered Accountant firm in Canada specilizing US and Canadian corporate and personal taxations. Would the fact that I don’t have a mas ter degree be a problem for me? and what choices do I have against choosing a specific state rather than Illinois that you would suggest? And how many years of work experience in my current position is needed in order to be liscenced after passing the exams? Does the work experience before passing CPA exams count?
Thank you very much Stephanie. May you have a nice week. Look forward to your reply.

Cheers,

Kelvin

Kelvin

Hi Stephanie,

Sorry but I forgot to mention I don’t have SSN right now since I am working in Canada, considering this with my infomation above, could you give me some suggestion on choosing the state? Thank you.

Stephanie

Hi Kelvin,
Nice to hear from you again, and I am glad you are succesful in getting a job — understand it isn’t easy to get a job in BC these days…
Anyway, sounds like IL is still good because (i) they don’t require SSN; (ii) you filfill all their requirements (iii) you have the option to get just the CPA certificate (no experience requirement) or a full license (1 year of working experience).

No I don’t think they require a master’s degree.

What you can do is to quickly check whether they recognize “CPA equivalent” (i.e. Canadian CA) to verify the experience for you. Many states are ok but just want to make sure. My gut feeling is that IL is quite “canada friendly” so it should work, but always double check with the latest information, you know.

I can check it for you but it will be backlogged to i-don’t-know-when… so if you can do that and ideally, come back and let me know so I can be helpful to others in the same situation. Thanks a lot! Stephanie

Tayyaba

Hi Stephanie!

I had applied to Maine for CPA exam and sent my transcripts to FACS for evaluation but i am having 3 year BBA. degree which was rejected by FACS. Now i am looking for individual courses that i can complete online from any american university and thus complete my credit hours requirement. Secondly, I want to apply through a two-tier state and the only option is Illinois. These days I am looking for american universities offering online accounting courses. Please tell me if i take extra courses and get qualified for cpa exam and apply before July 2012 but complete the exam after July 2012, will i still be able to get certificate. (I know from your website the two-tier system is ending in July 2012, but what about those students who apply for exam before this time limit. Will they have to pass the exam before July 2012 to get certificate?) I hope you reply me soon and I really appreciate the way you are helping people. The tons of information on CPA exam is really very confusing. Please help.

Stephanie

Hi Tayyaba,
Sorry about the rejection from FACS… Illinois requires 150 credit hours (equivalent to master’s / 5-year degree) so please expect quite a lot of coursework ahead!
Maybe you can check out this page on how to get extra credits for the CPA exam requirements. If you have further questions please ask me over there. STephanie

Renu Thapliyal

Hi Stephanie,

My name is Renu and I have US citizenship. I live in Georgia and applying thru the same state board of accountancy. I have done M.Com from India. I evaluated my degree from FACSUSA (One of the approved evaluators for GA Board of Accountancy). It says that I have completed more than 150 sem. hrs. and at least 20 sem. hrs. in accounting subjects above the elementary level. After receiving this evaluation I sent my application and 2 sections (AUD and REG) exam fees to the GA board. Recently I received a letter from them that my application is being processed and it will take up to 6 weeks time to complete. Now my question is how I would know in advance that I will be definitely eligible for the exam so that I can buy review materials. I am reluctant to spend that much money for the materials until I get their approval and at the same time I really want to study ahead so that I can complete these 2 sections in 6 months NTS validity period. I am a stay-at-home mom and taking care of 2 kids with full household responsibilities. I would appreciate your suggestion.

Roger

Hi Stephanie — great website – thanks so much for setting this up! My question concerns being able to sit the CPA exam. If you dont have the accounting credits but have studied multiple degrees (law, economics and masters in tax) plus youre an admitted attorney and have 5+ years experience working under US CPAs at public accounting firms – would a state consider this sufficient in lieu of the accounting credt ? or is the accounting credit requirement something you cant get around? many thanks, Roger

Sharon

Hello Stephanie,

thank you for your website. May I know if the 24 hours in accounting have to include auditing? My bachelor degree is Management Information System and master degree is MBA. Both are taken not in the U.S.. I’ve taken all relevant accounting courses except auditing. Therefore, I wonder, in this situation, whether I still can take US CPA Exam and which state I should take.

Sana

Hi Stephanie,

Thanks for this awesome website! It really helped me a lot in seeing what states I can get licensed with.

I’m a Canadian citizen and have no intentions of ever practising in the US, so ideally I only need a certificate. I don’t have the 150 credit hours, I have a 4 year Bachelors degree, which I think is 120 hours, right? But I did write and pass all 3 of the CA exams for Canada.. do you know of cases where the board has made exceptions like these.. having passed the CA exams witha 4 year degress instead of 5?

Rachin

Hi Stephanie

I would like to really appreciate the good work you are doing especially for the aspiring international students.

I’m from India and I have cleared my CPA exams – all 4 subjects in 2010 from Delaware. As Delaware requires work experience under a licensed CPA to get the certificate & licence, is it possible for me to apply for the CPA certificate (just for credentials) in any of the current 2 tier states…especially Illinois. If yes….then how?

Thanks & regards
Rachin.

Naomi

Hello Stephanie,
First let me say this is the best website on the net for wannabe and soon-to-be CPA’s. I have been reading this sight for months and I am amazed at how your mind works and I am looking forward to the book! I am anticipating taking the test in IL right before the 2 tier system becomes extinct. I am finishing one Master’s but don’t have any classes in accounting at all. I am planning to earn a Master’s in Finance with a specialization in Financial Management where I will meet the 15 hour graduate accounting requirement (Yay!). My first question – is there any stipulation that the classes have to be face to face in IL. In other words, will accounting classes online be sufficient. My second question is out of curiosity, can undergraduate hours and graduate hours be mixed and matched to meet the requirement or is it either or? And last question are there other states with the similar 15 hour grad work and only a year experience requirements that don’t have residency requirements? I have only been looking at IL, but should I miss that 2012 deadline I would like another option. I appreciate any assistance or advice you may have. Thank you
Naomi

Aman

Hi Stephanie,
Thanks a lot for the help you are doing for us.
My query is in respect to my educational requirements i.e 150 hrs requirement. I have a B.Comm and Bachelors in law (both 3yrs each), does that make me equivalent for the above. In the meanwhile I have already sent my docs upto B.Comm to FACS for evaluation and copy to be sent to Delaware.
Thanks in advance & Regards, Aman.

Laurie

Hello,
If I take the CPA exam in AZ and work as an auditor for one year I can become a licensed/certified CPA. I then plan to move to IL within one-two years. If I am licensed in AZ what would I have to do to be licensed in IL.
Thank You for your time.
Laurie

Narayan Rao. B.

Hi Stephanie :

Requesting some clarification :

I am trying for a CPA certificate from Illinois (not license)

I am a Canadian citizen currently working in India.

1. I passed CPA from Colorado in Nov 2002
2. I passed professional ethics examination in November 2006
3. I have a 3 years Bachelors degree in Statistics
4. I am a Fellow Member of the Institute of CA of India since 1990
5. My indian education has been evaluated by International Consultants of Delaware (a NACES Member) to be equivalent to Masters Degree in Accounting from any accredited university/college of USA

My questions are :

1. If I were to transfer my examination credits from Colorado to Illinois along with all the above documents will I be eligible for CPA certificate from Illinois ?
2. Do I need to get my Indian education evaluated by Illinois Board of Accountancy once again ? Will I succeed ?

Appreciate your kind reply in this regard

Best regards

Narayan

Amer Mushtaq

Hello Stephanie
I have passed all four sections of CPA from state of Colorado. I live outside US (Qatar) and have done CA (from Pakistan) & hold Master Dgree in Economics also.

What to do next?

Thanks
Amer

Michele

Hallo Stephanie,
I am Italian, with Italian University degree. I will apply for the exam and I am confident that I will be allowed to take it in Chicago. I need only the CPA certificate and not the license, as a consequence I should not have problems linked to SSN and experience.
My question is: if I pass the exam before July 2012, is there a risk that no certificate is issued because of time delays? I imagine a situation like this: exam passed in May, date of issuance of certificates in August, two-tier regulation cancelled in July and final result no certificate issued.
If I candidate for the exam and eventually I pass it…what are my rights in the “grey zone” around July 2012?
Regards,
Michele

vaishali

Stephanie

I have a question for you. I have passed all my CPA parts from Michigan. I have worked in Illioins for almost 7 years with CPA doing publice audits. I am CA from India with BCOM. When I ook my CPA from Michigan, I did not need the 150 credit hours requirement since Michigan doesnt need that when u are appearing for the exam. Now that I am done with all my parts my question are

Can I get a CPA certificate from Michigan.?

Can I transfer my credit to Illionois? I dont think my CA degree with BCOM will make up for 150 credit hours. Can I take extra courses and than be eligible for CPA license ???

Please help

matt mascia

Hi Stephanie
I passed the cpa exam in ny back in 1989. I sat and passed 2 parts in Nov 1988, and the last two in Nov 1989. I have the 150 hours with my mba. Someone in Illinois mentioned there could be a problem meeting Illinois conditioning requirements at that time. I submitted everything and await their reply. The problem may be I didn’t sit for all parts the first sitting. I am just looking for registration and not full license. I could not find any info on this.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank you

Avesha

Stephanie,
I am non US resident, without a SSN. I have had my ACCA and other qualifications evaluated by WES and have the 150 hrs. I applied to Virginia only to realise that I require a SSN to apply to write the exam. Can I write the exam in Colorado and then transfer the credits to Illinois after. The process of evaluations etc have taken so long so far and to start it all over again with Illinois is very discouraging. I wish to do my start my exams in summer 2011. I look forward to your guidance.

Stephanie

Dear all,
I have set up a new comment box powered by Facebook to let me answer your questions more efficiently. It can be found right after each article. Thanks! Stephanie