Illinois CPA CPE Requirements: Rules and Recommended Courses

To maintain active status, all CPA licensees in Illinois have to fulfill a CPA CPE requirement on a triennial basis. Here is a summary for your reference:

Illinois CPA CPE Requirements

CPE credits have to be accumulated by September 30, and the reporting is done every 3 years.

Within these 3 years, CPAs need to:

• Fulfill a minimum of 120 hours of accounting continuing education
• Maximum of:
  • 80 hours of self-study
  • 24 hours of personal development (non-technical) courses
• Minimum 4 credit hours of ethics
• As of January 1, 2020, a minimum of 1 hour of sexual harassment prevention training every 3 years

You may also fulfill the requirements through other experiences:

• Maximum 60 hours from teaching in colleges or formal CPE courses
• Maximum 30 hours of authoring in a related field
• Maximum of 10 hours for participating on a technical committee of a professional association
• Board-approved firm training

Non-verifiable courses (those without AICPA/NASBA-approved sponsors) are limited to 60 hours.

Further Information

You can contact the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) for further questions:

• Address: 320 W. Washington Street, 3rd Floor, Springfield, IL 62786
• Phone: (217) 785-0800

Where Can I Take These Accounting CPE Courses?

If you’re looking for the best CPA CPE courses, I recommend Becker. Although it’s primarily known as a test prep company, Becker also offers hundreds of hours of continuing education courses. It even offers webinars with live Q&A sessions and partial credit. Use my Becker CPE discount to get 50% off a one- or two-year prime subscription.