Illinois CPA Exam Requirements

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To sit for the CPA exam as a first-time four-part candidate in Illinois follow these steps: Before applying for the exam, evaluate your current credentials. You will need:

1. A Bachelor's degree, or higher, from a regionally or nationally accredited college or university with 150 hours of acceptable credit and 24* hours in Accounting and 24 hours in other business courses. Financial accounting, auditing, taxation and management accounting must be part of the 24 hours in accounting, or
2. A Bachelor's degree from a program that is accredited in business with the same accounting and business requirements in 1. above, or A graduate degree from a program that is accredited in business with 24* undergraduate, or 15 graduate, hours in accounting including financial accounting, auditing, taxation and management accounting, or
3. A graduate degree in Accounting from a program that is accredited in Accounting.
4. Candidates will receive "provisional" approval to take the CPA exam while completing educational requirements.  Candidates will have 120 days from the time they take the exam to submit final transcripts to clear their "provisional status."
5. Course in Progress extension of 120 days applies only to courses taken at DOMESTIC institutions.

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If you meet the educational requirements, submit your application to the Illinois Board of Examiners using the link provided in the Becker website. The credential evaluation fee will be $175 for domestic credits and $250 if international credits are submitted. Your name on the application should exactly match your name on your primary form of identification, which is usually your driver's license. At this time you should also begin planning your study approach by making inquiries into CPA reviews available in your area. The Becker CPA Review offers classes live, online or self-study to accommodate the needs of all candidates.

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Contact any educational institutions attended and request that transcripts be forwarded to the Illinois Board of Examiners for their evaluation. If you do not expect any problems in processing your application it is best to make plans to start your review at this time. The Becker CPA Review will significantly increase your chances of passing the exam.

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After receiving the required information, the State Board will issue your Authorization to Test (ATT) to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). You will receive an invoice for exam fees of $743.20 which must be paid within ninety days. Once fees are paid, you will receive a Notice to Schedule (NTS) which is good for six months; however, since every third is non-testing, the NTS covers four testing months.

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Your NTS allows you to start scheduling your exams. You can sit for the exam parts in any sequence so you can plan your reviews to coincide with your exam scheduling. The most efficient approach is to sit for two parts in each exam window; however, exam fees paid for parts not taken are not refundable. Exam times are scheduled with Prometric and can be set up online at www.prometric.com/cpa. You can take the exam at a site in Carbondale, Chicago, Deerfield, Homewood, Lombard, Peoria, Springfield, Sycamore, or any other Prometric location that is convenient to you.