CPA Examination

An individual may obtain Illinois certification by passing the Uniform CPA Examination. The candidate must meet the following requirements:

To be admitted to take the examination, a candidate must meet the educational requirements. The candidate’s academic credentials must be evaluated and approved by the Illinois Board of Examiners prior to sitting for the exam.
The candidate must pass all four parts of the exam. The passing score for each part is 75. Scores are certified by the Illinois Board of Examiners.
The candidate must meet the ethics requirement by taking and passing the AICPA’s examination course – Professional Ethics: The AICPA’s Comprehensive Course.

The Process

To apply for certification through examination complete these steps:

Go to the online system and create an account. If you have previously submitted an application or other documentation to the Illinois Board of Examiners an online account has already been established for you. Contact the Illinois Board of Examiners to obtain your account information.
Complete the online academic credentials evaluation application. Pay the fee online via a credit card.
The fee amount:
     Evaluation of domestic academic credentials: $175.00
     Evaluation of foreign only, or foreign and domestic credentials: $250.00.
Have official academic transcripts sent to the Illinois Board of Examiners office.
Complete an online application indicating your desire to sit for the exam. This includes indicating how many parts of the examination you initially want to take. You are not required to take all four parts of the exam at one time. You may take them individually.
Pay the fee online via credit card. The fee varies by number of exam parts requested:
     All 4 parts = $120
     Three parts = $108
     Two parts = $76
     One part = $40
Go to the AICPA website and purchase the self study course – Professional Ethics:
The AICPA’s Comprehensive Course. This course concludes with an online test. As part of the test process indicate that you want Illinois to receive your test score and the AICPA will send the Illinois Board of Examiners your score.

More detailed information on the examination process can be found by clicking on Exam on the menu bar.