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State Cert Guide

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How many continuing education hours do I need for my Illinois broker or managing broker license?

Unless the Act exempts them, Illinois brokers complete 12 hours of continuing education per license term after their first term, and the 6-hour core course is part of them. A managing broker's CE also includes a 12-hour broker management course. You can take the core course in a classroom, in a live, interactive webinar, or online.

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The rule, fact by fact

Course hours
Licensees can complete 12 hours of real estate CE at any time in the license termThe Act allows no more than 12 hours of CE to be taken in one calendar day.
Verified. Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation · Real Estate License Act update (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Course hours
Brokers and managing brokers complete at least 6 core CE hours per two-year license termThe rules cite Sections 1450.450 and 1450.540 for brokers and managing brokers.
Verified. Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation · Real Estate Review, Summer 2025 (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Online accepted
Classroom, live interactive webinar, or online distance educationA core course in any other format does not meet the curriculum.
Verified. idfpr.illinois.gov (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Who needs it
Managing broker CE includes a 12-hour broker management courseIDFPR's outline cites Sections 5-70(b) and 5-70(k) of the Act for it.
Verified. idfpr.illinois.gov (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026

How to get it done

  1. Step 1. Find your license type. Unless the Act exempts you, after your first license term brokers complete 12 hours of CE per license term, and the courses include the 6-hour core curriculum, with at least 2 hours of fair housing. A managing broker's CE also includes the 12-hour broker management course.

  2. Step 2. Choose a format IDFPR allows for the core course: the classroom, a live, interactive webinar, or online.

  3. Step 3. Take the full core course. Its 6 hours of course time are 5 hours of instruction and 1 hour of break, per IDFPR's outline.

Courses

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Before you pay

A managing broker takes 12 hours of CE plus a 12-hour broker management course. In the first managing broker license term, the 45-hour managing broker pre-license course satisfies the broker management part. Ask the provider whether IDFPR accepts the course before you pay. The Act exempts some brokers from CE, among them those who, during the license term, serve in the armed services or work full time for the Department.

Questions

How many hours of the Illinois core course are Fair Housing?

At least two credit hours, according to IDFPR's curriculum.

Does an old 4-hour core course still count?

Only for the broker renewal of April 30, 2026. IDFPR's curriculum says 4-hour core courses expired on June 30, 2025, and only the updated 6-hour core is accepted on or after July 1, 2025. Its DRE Review says a 4-hour core completed between May 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025 met the core requirement for that renewal, leaving 8 elective hours.

What does a first broker renewal take?

In the first broker license term, the 45-hour post-license courses satisfy the CE requirement. IDFPR's summary of the Act says the post-license education requirement is now 45 hours, in three 15-hour courses. A broker first licensed within 180 days before the renewal deadline may finish them before the second renewal. A broker licensed by endorsement with under two years of practice in their home state completes 45 post-license hours at the first Illinois renewal.

How much of the managing broker course is instruction?

IDFPR's outline sets that course at 12 hours of course time: 10 hours of instruction and 2 hours of break.

What to do next

Start with the Department's 6-hour core CE curriculum. Then look at its 12-hour broker management curriculum if you are a managing broker.

idfpr.illinois.gov

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