IllinoisOverview
Illinois licenses producers, public adjusters, and business entities through the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI), citing its rules under the Illinois Insurance Code (215 ILCS 5). Since July 1, 2023, IDOI no longer accepts paper applications or payments — every producer, renewal, and business-entity filing runs through NIPR, with no separate state portal. One quirk to know before you apply: an applicant can't hold both the Property/Casualty and Personal Lines lines of authority at once.
How to get an Illinois insurance license
Complete prelicensing education
Illinois requires 20 hours of prelicensing per line of authority (Life, Accident and Health, Fire and Property, Casualty, Personal Lines), with at least 7.5 of those hours completed in a classroom setting; the rest can be self-study. Motor Vehicle is the exception at 12.5 hours, 5 of them classroom.
Register for and pass your exams
Illinois uses Pearson VUE as its exam vendor. You register separately for a General exam and a State exam for each line of authority, and both must be passed within 90 days of each other.
Wait five days, then apply
The fastest path is to apply through InsureTrek — we file your Illinois application for the state's $215 fee, pulled from NIPR at the moment of application. IDOI asks you to wait five days after passing your exam before submitting, so applying too soon can cause processing delays.
Watch for your license
Illinois doesn't mail paper licenses or run its own applicant portal — approval and license status come back through NIPR. Verify an active license anytime with the NAIC State Based Systems lookup, searching Illinois by name or NPN.
Prelicensing education
Life: 20 hours — At least 7.5 hours must be classroom instruction; the remainder can be self-study. Accident and Health: 20 hours — At least 7.5 hours must be classroom instruction; the remainder can be self-study. Fire and Property: 20 hours — At least 7.5 hours must be classroom instruction; the remainder can be self-study. Casualty: 20 hours — At least 7.5 hours must be classroom instruction; the remainder can be self-study. Personal Lines: 20 hours — At least 7.5 hours must be classroom instruction; the remainder can be self-study. Motor Vehicle: 12.5 hours — At least 5 hours must be classroom instruction.
Exam
Vendor: Pearson VUE. You'll register separately for the General exam and the State exam for each line of authority. Both must be passed within 90 days of each other.
Illinois insurance license fees
| Fee | Initial | Renewal |
|---|---|---|
| Resident individual producer license | $215 | $215 |
| Resident surplus lines producer license | $400 | $400 |
| Resident public adjuster license | $250 | $250 |
| Resident business entity license | $150 | — |
| Non-resident insurance producer license The resident fee is $215. Illinois prorates the fee when a license runs less than a full two years. | $380 | $380 |
Fees as of 2026-08-21. Fees change without much notice. When you apply through InsureTrek, we always use the current fee at the moment of application. Sources: NIPR — Illinois Resident Licensing, Individual, NIPR — Illinois Resident Renewal, Individual, NIPR — Illinois Non-Resident Licensing, Individual, NIPR — Illinois Non-Resident Renewal, Individual
Illinois insurance license renewal
Renewal window — The Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI) renews producer licenses every two years, and a license expires on the last day of your birth month (215 ILCS 5/500-35). IDOI takes renewals only electronically, with no paper option. Renew through InsureTrek starting 90 days before expiration.
Grace period: None. Illinois has no late-renewal window, and you can't sell insurance in Illinois while your license is expired (215 ILCS 5/500-15). Within 12 months of expiration you can reinstate without retaking the exam, as long as your CE is complete; IDOI charges a reinstatement penalty on top of the renewal fee. After 12 months, you start over with prelicensing and the exams (215 ILCS 5/500-35(d)).
The 3 ethics hours must be classroom or webinar; the other 21 can be self-study (50 Ill. Adm. Code 3119.45). Finish CE at least a month before your expiration date. IDOI needs the hours on your record at least 10 business days before you renew, and a license whose CE isn't complete terminates automatically (215 ILCS 5/500-35(b)). Product training counts toward the 24 hours: the one-time 4-hour annuity suitability course, the long-term care course if you sell LTC (8 hours once, then 4 hours before each later renewal), and FEMA flood training if you sell NFIP flood policies.
24 total CE hours per renewal term, including 3 ethics hours.
Home-state CE can satisfy Illinois's requirement for non-resident licensees whose home state has a reciprocal CE agreement with Illinois.
Illinois license renewal fee
The Illinois license renewal fee is $215 for a resident producer license and $380 for a non-resident license, each covering two years (215 ILCS 5/500-135). The fee is the same as the original license fee. Reinstating an expired license costs more, because IDOI adds a penalty.
Non-resident insurance license in Illinois
Illinois processes non-resident producer license applications through InsureTrek, since IDOI has no separate non-resident application portal, for a $380 fee (the resident fee is $215). Illinois follows the NAIC reciprocity model: if your home state is in good standing and extends the same treatment to Illinois residents, Illinois waives duplicate exam and background requirements for comparable lines of authority.
Apply for a non-resident Illinois license through InsureTrek, plus the state fee.
For the steps and fees in every state, see the non-resident insurance license guide.
For agencies
Agencies, appointments & DRLP
Illinois requires a separate Business Entity License, filed through InsureTrek for a $150 fee. Entities that broker insurance must carry a continuous bond of $2,500 or 5% of the prior year's brokered premium, whichever is greater, capped at $50,000 total.
Illinois doesn't publish a general just-in-time appointment rule or fee for standard resident producers. The one JIT-adjacent rule that is documented applies narrowly: for Limited Lines Producer and Temporary Producer license classes, if the sponsoring company doesn't file and get an appointment approved within 30 days of the license being issued, the license is automatically cancelled.
Managing DRLPs across states? See how InsureTrek handles it →
Official resources
- Illinois Department of Insurance — licensing
- DOI phone: 217-782-6366
Terms used on this page
Sources & disclaimer
This guide is informational and summarizes publicly available state and NIPR licensing rules as of 2026-10-12. Requirements change — verify current rules with the Illinois Department of Insurance or NIPR before you rely on anything here.
Official NIPR reseller · Applications filed through InsureTrek are submitted via NIPR.
- 215 ILCS 5/500-135 – License fees — accessed 2026-10-12
- 215 ILCS 5/500-15 – License required — accessed 2026-10-12
- 215 ILCS 5/500-35 – License renewal and CE — accessed 2026-10-12
- 50 Ill. Adm. Code 3119.45 – Continuing education requirements — accessed 2026-10-12
- IDOI – Annuity Suitability — accessed 2026-10-12
- IDOI – Apply for a Business Entity License — accessed 2026-08-19
- IDOI – Apply for a Nonresident License — accessed 2026-08-19
- IDOI – Become a Resident Producer — accessed 2026-08-19
- IDOI – Contact Us — accessed 2026-08-19
- IDOI – Fee Schedule — accessed 2026-08-19
- IDOI – Flood Insurance — accessed 2026-10-12
- IDOI – Long-Term Care — accessed 2026-10-12
- IDOI – Producers — accessed 2026-08-19
- IDOI – Reinstate a Producer License — accessed 2026-10-12
- IDOI – Renew a Nonresident License — accessed 2026-10-12
- IDOI – Renew a Resident Producer License — accessed 2026-10-12
- NIPR – Illinois resident licensing, individual — accessed 2026-08-19
- NIPR – Illinois resident renewal, individual — accessed 2026-10-12
- Pearson VUE – Illinois insurance exams — accessed 2026-08-19