Illinois CPA Requirements

Illinois Residency and Education Requirements

General Requirements

Applicant shall be at least 18 years of age or older.

Education Requirements

An applicant must provide proof of successful completion of:

120 semester credit hours of college or university study with an accounting concentration or equivalent that includes Managerial Accounting, Taxation, Financial Accounting, Audit, and

A bachelor’s or higher degree; and

Meet 1 of the following 3 options:

Earned a graduate degree from an accounting program that is accredited in accounting by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board;

Earned a graduate degree from a business or accounting program that is accredited in business by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board and completed at least 24 SCH in accounting;

Earned a bachelor’s or higher degree from an accredited education institution recognized by the Board with 30 SCH in accounting and at least 24 SCH in business other than accounting, including 2 SCH hours in Business Communication and 3 SCH in Business Ethics.

However, for licensure, 150 semester credit hours are required, with 30 SCH in accounting and 24 SCH in business subjects other than accounting.

Note: Effective Jan. 1, 2027, Illinois will adopt a new CPA licensure pathway, where applicants must have a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree with 30 semester credit hours in accounting. Applicants completing a bachelor’s degree for the CPA exam must obtain 2 years of experience in public accounting after passing the exam, while applicants with a master’s must obtain at least 1 year of experience.

Education earned from a foreign institution must be evaluated by NASBA’s International Evaluation Service (NIES) – applicants must submit the evaluation application, fee and foreign transcripts directly to NIES. Applicants who may have domestic credits in addition to the foreign, must submit the domestic evaluation application or total transfer of credit application and appropriate fee through the Illinois Board online system. You can review the Foreign Evaluation Application Process instructions online.