How to Become a CPA in Illinois 2025

To meet the Illinois requirements to sit for the CPA exam, the Illinois CPA education requirements must be attained first. For Illinois applicants, you’ll need to complete 120 semester hours and have a bachelor’s or graduate degree in accounting or business by a Board-recognized institution that has either AACSB or ACBSP accreditation.

For more detailed information you can check the ILBOE website.

Once you have verified that you meet the education requirements, the first step is to set up an ILBOE online account.

Once you have created your account, you will need to complete and submit the online Domestic Credentials Evaluation application and the $200 fee. It is highly recommended to enter your name the same way it appears on your primary id.

Then you will need to contact all the post-secondary institutions you attended to submit your official transcript(s).

You can have them mail it at:
Illinois Board of Examiners
1120 East Diehl Road
Suite 107
Naperville, IL 60563

Or they can be submitted electronically to: etranscripts@ilboe.org

So once your credentials evaluation application is processed, you will receive an emailed receipt allowing you to sit for the exam or any issues with your application. You will need to fill out an Initial Examination Request which can be found within your ILBOE account.

You will receive an email that will include your exam request and Jurisdiction ID. You can also expect an email from NASBA to set up an account at CPA Portal so you can receive your Payment Coupon.

After receiving the notice from NASBA to pay the Payment Coupon, you have 90 days to make the payment.

Click here to see a breakdown of the Illinois CPA exam costs.

Upon payment for the examination fees, you will receive a receipt of your NTS. Make sure that everything is correct as it will be used at the testing centers. If the names do not match, immediately contact the Board to request a correction. You will not be allowed to test if the name on the identification documents does not exactly match the name on the NTS.

With the NTS, then you can schedule your actual exam on the Prometric website at www.prometric.com.
You will have six months to apply and sit for your first portion of the CPA exam.

The CPA exam consists of the three core sections and candidates would need to select one of the three discipline to demonstrate deeper skills and knowledge, allowing candidates to choose a specialization. There is no set order in which the exam portions must be completed. You must pass each section with a score of 75 or higher within 18 months.

The candidate must also meet the Illinois CPA ethics exam requirements by passing the Professional Ethics: The AICPA’s Comprehensive Course For Licensure. You must earn a minimum score of 90% to qualify for certification.

The Illinois CPA Society offers the Ethics Exam for a discounted price of $99.

After passing all exam requirements, the Uniform CPA Examination, and the AICPA Ethics Exam, the ILBOE will email your formal certification letter within 3 days. Your certificate number and other information regarding applying for an Illinois license are included in your certification letter.

To meet the Illinois CPA experience requirements, you must have at least one (1) 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, which may be gained through employment in government, industry,
academia, or public practice.

After you have completed your professional education, passed the exams, and retain the necessary work experience, and got your certificate letter. You will need to register an account at IDFPR Online Services Portal

Fill out the Licensed Certified Public Accountant Application Checklist form and it needs to be submitted at the IDFPR Online Services Portal. The Licensed Certified Public Accountant application fee is $120.00 and is non-refundable

Illinois is now paperless so you wont receive a paper copy of your license, instead it will be sent to the email address that wrote on your license application form. If you want to print your license you can get it at: Get My License

You can also check your license at the Online License Lookup Database.