Illinois Physician Licensure Requirements

Last updated: February 2025

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) determines physician licensure requirements, including the completion of continuing medical education (CME). This webpage provides specific information for each CME requirement. 

A comprehensive collection of FSM and non-FSM resources to meet IL Physician license requirements is available HERE.

 General CME Requirements for IL Physicians

  • Physicians must renew their licenses every three years. The next deadline is July 31, 2026
  • During each 3-year renewal cycle, all licensed physicians must complete 150 hours of CME. This includes:

o   A minimum of 40% (60 hours) in formal CME programs (Category 1). Only an institution such as the Feinberg School of Medicine (FSM) Office of CME, or other organization accredited for continuing medical education can designate a CME activity for Category 1 credit.

o   A maximum of 60% (90 hours) in informal CME programs or activities (Category 2). This includes any self-designated activity that the physician determines to be educationally beneficial. 

  • During the renewal process, physicians must attest to compliance with state CME requirements. The IDFPR will conduct random audits of physicians for compliance with the CME requirements. Therefore,

o   Keep record of all Category 1 CME credits

§  Credits earned by attending education accredited by the FSM Office of CME are available for review.  You must be logged in to the FSM CME website. Select “My CME” and then “Transcript”.

§  You may also store external credit documentation here by selecting “upload files”.

o   Record Category 2 credit (include the date, number of hours, and purpose)

  • Applicants renewing their medical license for the first time following issuance of a license are NOT required to complete the 150 hours of CME in Illinois.

 

Specific CME Requirements for IL Physicians

The IDFPR mandates specific requirements for IL physicians. These requirements are subject to change. For the most updated information, please visit the IDFPR . The Illinois State Medical Society also provides helpful information related to physician licensure. NEW for 2026: certain mandated courses are now only required every other licensure cycle, and the number of mandated hours for some education is reduced. Please note, these requirements count toward the total 150-hour CME requirement.

  •  Every 3 Years:

o   Sexual Harassment Prevention: One hour of sexual harassment prevention education is required.

o   Implicit Bias Awareness: One hour of education on recognizing implicit bias in health care is required.

  • Every 6 Years:

o   Cultural Competency: One hour training on culture competency is required.  NEW for 2026

o   Safe Opioid Prescribing: One hour training for IL physicians with a Controlled Substance Registration is required.  CHANGED for 2026

o   Recognizing Dementia: One hour training is required for IL physicians who directly interact with patients aged 26 and above. Must include education on the diagnosis, treatment, and care of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

 

·        Other:

o   Identifying and Reporting Child Abuse: Physicians and other who are required to report child abuse or child neglect must complete mandated reporter training within three months of their date of engagement in the profession, and every 6 years thereafter if they work with children in a professional capacity. At each license renewal, physicians who work with children must attest to their understanding of their role as a mandated reporter.

 

Additional Education Requirements for Physicians who work in Chicago

The city of Chicago requires all employees who work in Chicago to complete annual sexual harassment training.

o   Employees must participate in 1 hour of sexual harassment prevention training and 1 hour of bystander training annually.

o   Anyone who supervises or manages employees must participate in 2 hours of sexual harassment prevention and 1 hour of bystander training annually.

 

Additional Education Requirements for Physicians who have a DEA license

The Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2023 (P.L. 117-328), requires all DEA-registered providers to complete a one-time 8-hour training on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders to renew their DEA. Further details of these requirements (including exceptions) are available here.

 

Maintenance of Certification (MOC) and Continuous Certification

There are important differences between MOC and CME. For further explanation click here.

 

Education resources to meet physician licensure requirements

The FSM Office of CME has collected resources to enable learners to achieve licensure requirements as efficiently as possible. The website will be updated as new resources are available. Beyond FSM resources, there are many widely available web-based resources that will meet these requirements. In many cases, an educational activity may meet more than one requirement (for example, an opioid activity that counts toward both the IL and DEA requirements.)