Updated for 2026

Illinois Psychologist Continuing Education Requirements

Illinois psychologists must complete 24 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their Psychologist license, including 3 hours of ethics, 1 hour of sexual harassment prevention, and 1 hour of implicit bias.

total hours / 2 years

ethics hours

sexual harassment prevention hours

implicit bias hours

Biennial · renewal date varies by licensee.

Illinois Psychologist requirements

Requirement	Notes
Total continuing education	24 hours every 2 years.
Renewal	Biennial cycle: tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.
Renewal fee	$160 board renewal fee every 2 years.
Ethics	3 hours required each cycle.
Sexual Harassment Prevention	1 hour required each cycle.
Implicit Bias	1 hour required each cycle.
Carryover	Up to 0% of hours can carry into the next cycle.
New licensees	First renewal is different: new licensees have adjusted first-cycle requirements (proration and/or first-cycle-only rules), which we apply automatically.
Approved providers	Ordinary psychology CE is provider-gated. An out-of-jurisdiction program from a nonlisted sponsor counts only after individual Division approval. The listed mandated-training activity types bypass only the ordinary sponsor-classification check under their express Part 1130 ‘notwithstanding’ clauses; all other course requirements continue to apply.
Board audit	The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance.
Other mandates	One-hour cultural competency course (§ 1130.525) recurs once every six years. When more than one hour is completed it counts toward the CE total, but no more than one credit hour for any one renewal period. Distinct from the 3-hour diversity requirement. A qualifying course completed for another State licensure or accreditation requirement may count.
Other mandates	One-hour Alzheimer's disease and other dementias training (§ 1130.550) recurs once every six years. Applies only to psychologists providing health care services to and with direct patient interactions with adult populations age 26 or older; does not apply to practices limited to persons under 26. The training may also be a qualifying course completed for another State licensure or accreditation requirement.

Limits on how the hours are earned

Board caps and floors on where the 24 hours can come from.

teachingmax 10 hrs
carryovermax 0%

Keeping the proof in order: what to keep for a CE audit, with every state’s retention period and what the audit notice asks for.

Illinois Psychologistrequired trainings & mandates

Beyond the 24-hour CE total, Illinois requires specific trainings — some once around initial licensure, some on their own recurring schedule.

Recurring mandates outside the 2 years cycle

One-hour cultural competency course (§ 1130.525) recurs once every six years. When more than one hour is completed it counts toward the CE total, but no more than one credit hour for any one renewal period. Distinct from the 3-hour diversity requirement. A qualifying course completed for another State licensure or accreditation requirement may count.
One-hour Alzheimer's disease and other dementias training (§ 1130.550) recurs once every six years. Applies only to psychologists providing health care services to and with direct patient interactions with adult populations age 26 or older; does not apply to practices limited to persons under 26. The training may also be a qualifying course completed for another State licensure or accreditation requirement.

Full board policy details

FORMAT CONSTRAINTS: No percentage or numeric cap on self-study/home-study. CE may be earned through remote or in-person courses/programs with no live-hour floor. Each remote CE course or program must include an examination (§ 1400.60(b)(2)). No per-day cap.
TEACHING/INSTRUCTION: Teaching psychology at an accredited institution and/or serving as instructor of approved-sponsor CE is credited at 1.5 hours per hour taught, capped at 10 hours per prerenewal period (§ 1400.60(b)(4)).
ACCEPTABILITY STANDARDS: All countable CE must come from an approved sponsor (§ 1400.60(b)(1)). Deemed sponsors without separate application: American Psychological Association or affiliates; National Register of Health Service Psychologists; Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards; American Medical Association or affiliates; Illinois Psychological Association or affiliates; any regionally accredited school/college/university or any State agency. Other entities must be preapproved by the Division (§ 1400.60(c)(2)). Out-of-jurisdiction CE not given by an approved sponsor may be individually approved on request with a $25 processing fee, late fee $50 per CE hour not to exceed $300 (§ 1400.60(e)). Postgraduate training (extern/residency/fellowship) and graduate-level coursework qualify; audited academic courses do not (§ 1400.60(b)(3)).
COURSE REPEAT RESTRICTIONS: Instructors may not earn credit for repetitious presentations of the same program — teaching credit applies only to the first presentation (§ 1400.60(b)(4)). Attendees are not expressly barred from taking the same course twice within a cycle (rule silent). Audited academic courses do not count (§ 1400.60(b)(3)).
LICENSE STATUS RULES: Inactive status defers CE until restoration; no explicit inactive-CE-exemption sentence exists. Restoration of a license lapsed/inactive LESS than 5 years requires proof of CE completed during the 24 months preceding application for restoration (a full 24-hour cycle) plus fees (§ 1400.30(a)). For a license lapsed/inactive MORE than 5 years (§ 1400.30(c)), the applicant must submit an application plus one of: certification + active practice in another jurisdiction; one year of approved study within the past 5 years; six months of supervised experience; or passing the EPPP — this is not exactly representable and is flagged for manual review. No distinct 'retired' status or retired CE exemption is defined. Hardship/illness/military/disability waivers available for good cause, requested before the renewal date (§ 1400.60(g)); a timely waiver applicant is deemed in good standing until final decision.
WAIVER (good cause, § 1400.60(g)): applies to one renewal period at a time. Good cause = full-time U.S. armed-forces service during a substantial part of the period; a temporary incapacitating illness documented by a licensed health-care provider (a second consecutive illness waiver is prima facie evidence of inability to practice); or other similar extenuating circumstances.
NO CARRYOVER: § 1400.60 contains no provision allowing hours earned in excess of 24 to carry to a later prerenewal period; excess hours are lost.
PRESCRIBING PSYCHOLOGIST OVERLAY (not this credential): a separate Prescribing Psychologist license adds 20 pharmacology CE hours per cycle in addition to the 24 clinical hours (§ 1400.60(a)(2)). Reported separately; not part of the licensed_psychologist requirement set. PSYPACT (45 ILCS 195) mobility overlay is administered by ASPPB/PSYPACT Commission, not folded into Illinois biennial CE.
MANDATED-TRAINING ACCEPTANCE: Under the express ‘notwithstanding’ exceptions in Part 1130, qualifying sexual-harassment training from an employer or the Illinois Department of Human Rights, qualifying implicit-bias training from an employer or another licensure/accreditation/practice-agreement requirement, and qualifying cultural-competency or Alzheimer's/dementias training from another such requirement may count without matching the ordinary provider list. All other applicable course requirements remain in force.

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Illinois Psychologist CE: frequently asked questions

How many CE hours do Illinois Psychologist licensees need?

Illinois requires 24 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a Psychologist license. Biennial cycle: tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.

How many ethics hours are required for Illinois Psychologist licensees?

Of the total, 3 hours must be in ethics.

How often do Illinois Psychologist licensees renew?

Biennial cycle: tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.

How much does Illinois Psychologist license renewal cost?

The board's renewal fee is $160 every 2 years, per the Illinois board fee schedule. CE course costs are separate and set by course providers.

Are there subject-specific CE requirements for Illinois Psychologist licensees?

Yes. In addition to ethics, Illinois requires 1 hour of sexual harassment prevention, 1 hour of implicit bias.

Is the first renewal different for new Illinois Psychologist licensees?

First renewal is different: new licensees have adjusted first-cycle requirements (proration and/or first-cycle-only rules), which we apply automatically.

Sources & verification

State source: Illinois board rule
Last verified: August 2026
Ruleset version: 2026.1

Reviewed against the Illinois board source and refreshed from the compiled ruleset above. Methodology and disclaimer. Compliance data is for guidance only, not legal or board advice. Always confirm requirements with your licensing board before renewing. See something wrong? Report it →

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Illinoisguides & data

What to keep for a CE audit

What boards ask for in a CE audit, how long each state says to keep certificates, what the notice looks like, and a printable checklist.

Illinois mental health workforce data

56,193 active providers, or 441.8 per 100,000 residents, ranked 25 of 51. County density map and free CSV downloads.

Other Illinois CE requirement pages

Illinois LPC Illinois LMFT Illinois LCSW