Illinois CPA CPE Requirements 2026: Complete Guide

If you hold a CPA licence in Illinois, you need to complete 120 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) every three years to keep your licence active. This guide covers every requirement — total hours, ethics, approved providers, credit limits, and your renewal deadline — drawn directly from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) and NASBA, so you can plan with confidence.

Whether you are planning ahead or catching up before your next renewal, see how Illinois compares to CPE rules in other states and make sure every hour you earn counts.

Illinois CPA CPE Requirements at a Glance

The Three-Year Reporting Period

Illinois CPAs operate on a triennial cycle. All 120 CPE hours must be completed in the three years immediately preceding your licence expiry date. For the 2027 renewal, that means all CPE must be earned between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2027. There are no annual minimums — you have flexibility to spread hours across the three years as suits your schedule, but leaving everything to the final year is risky.

Licences expire on 30 September triennially. If your licence is due for renewal on 30 September 2027, make sure all 120 hours are logged before that date. Illinois does not allow CPE hours earned in excess of the 120-hour requirement to roll over into the next renewal cycle, so plan your CPE to hit the target without significant overshoot.

Ethics CPE Requirement

Of your 120 total hours, at least 4 hours must cover professional ethics. This is a firm requirement — not optional and not substitutable with other subject areas. In addition, Illinois mandates 1 hour of sexual harassment prevention training per renewal period. Both of these count toward the 120-hour total rather than sitting outside it.

Ethics courses must come from an approved CPE provider (see below). If you complete your ethics CPE through an online provider, ensure the course is delivered as interactive self-study or a live webinar — non-interactive self-study counts toward the overall self-study cap.

Approved CPE Providers and the NASBA Requirement

Illinois recognises the following as approved CPE sponsors:

• The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
• The Illinois CPA Society / Foundation (ICPAS/F)
• A university or college approved by its governing body to award accounting degrees
• The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA)
• Members of NASBA's National Registry of CPE Sponsors
• Members of NASBA's Quality Assurance Service (QAS) Programme
• All sponsors holding an Illinois CPE Sponsor licence (verifiable at idfpr.illinois.gov)

In practice, most Illinois CPAs use NASBA Registry or QAS-listed providers — the gold standard for CPE quality. Learnsignal is a NASBA-registered CPE provider, offering a full library of NASBA-approved CPE courses across accounting, finance, ethics, and more — all accessible online and on demand.

To understand what NASBA registration means for the quality and portability of your CPE credits, read our guide: What is NASBA CPE?

Credit Limits and Course Type Rules

Illinois imposes limits on certain CPE delivery formats within the 120-hour total:

Credit measurement: one 50-minute period equals one CPE credit. Half credits (25 minutes) are accepted after the first credit has been earned in a given course.

Reciprocity for Out-of-State Licensees

Effective January 2020, Illinois CPAs whose address of record is outside Illinois are considered compliant with Illinois CPE requirements — provided they have met the CPE requirements of their home state. The one exception: the 1-hour sexual harassment prevention training is required of all Illinois licence holders regardless of where they reside.

Record-Keeping

You do not submit CPE certificates with your renewal application, but you are required to maintain your completion records and must produce them if audited. Keep certificates of attendance, transcripts, or course completion confirmations for the full three-year period and ideally for several years beyond renewal, in case of a post-renewal audit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need CPE for my very first Illinois CPA renewal?

No. Illinois exempts candidates from the 120-hour CPE requirement for the first renewal following initial CPA licensure. After that, the full 120-hour requirement applies to every subsequent triennial renewal.

Can I carry forward unused CPE hours?

No. Illinois does not allow carryover. Any hours earned beyond 120 in a given three-year period are simply not eligible for use in the following cycle. Plan your CPE to reach — but not substantially exceed — the 120-hour target.

Does Illinois require CPE in a specific subject area beyond ethics?

Beyond the 4-hour ethics requirement and 1-hour sexual harassment prevention training, Illinois does not mandate a specific subject area breakdown. The remaining hours can be drawn from any approved field of study relevant to your professional role.

Is online CPE accepted in Illinois?

Yes. Both interactive and non-interactive online self-study courses are accepted, subject to the format limits above (80 hours total self-study; no more than 60 hours from non-interactive). Online courses from NASBA Registry or QAS-listed providers are straightforward to use for Illinois compliance.

What happens if I miss the renewal deadline?

Failing to renew by 30 September means your licence lapses. Restoration from an inactive or non-renewed status requires completing the standard CPE requirement before reinstatement. Contact IDFPR at 1.800.560.6420 if you are in this situation.

Stay Compliant with Learnsignal

Learnsignal is a NASBA-registered CPE provider, which means every course in our library is automatically accepted for Illinois CPA licence renewal. From professional ethics to financial reporting, tax, and emerging technologies, you can complete your Illinois CPE hours entirely online — at your own pace, on any device. Browse our NASBA-approved CPE courses and start earning credits today.