- Course
- Applied Brokerage Principles
- Practice focus
- Law, agency, escrow, advertising, business, clients
- Final
- 50 questions; 75% minimum
First license term
The 45-hour requirement turns pre-license knowledge into practice
New Illinois brokers do not move straight into ordinary continuing education. Their first license term uses a practical 45-hour post-license curriculum built around applied brokerage, risk and discipline, and transactional issues.
Last updated: August 1, 2026
The answer first
Direct answer: A person whose first Illinois license is a broker license issued on or after August 9, 2019 must complete 45 hours of approved post-license education. The curriculum consists of three 15-hour courses: Applied Brokerage Principles, Risk Management/Discipline, and Transactional Issues. Each course ends with its own provider-administered 50-question examination, with a current minimum passing score of 75 percent. The courses and exams are due before the first broker renewal, except that a broker first licensed within 180 days before that renewal deadline completes them before the second renewal deadline. The 45 hours replace other CE for that first term. Active Illinois attorneys are exempt, and some endorsement brokers with less than two immediately preceding years of active practice must complete the 45 hours by first renewal.
Total
45 approved hours
Structure
Three 15-hour courses
Course finals
Three exams, 50 questions each, 75% minimum
Ordinary deadline
Before first broker renewal
Match all three official course areas
Applied Brokerage Principles connects license law, office policy, agency, escrow, advertising, property types, taxes, business planning, technology, prospecting, professionalism, client duties, and market knowledge. Risk Management/Discipline covers fair housing, antitrust, escrow, insurance, policies, disclosures, harassment, lending law, unauthorized practice of law, safety, cybercrime, and disciplinary procedure. Transactional Issues follows seller, buyer, offer, contract, disclosure, closing, leasing, and property-management situations.
The curriculum expects case studies, exercises, role play, and discussion, not passive repetition of the pre-license outline. Correspondence or home study cannot deliver these post-license courses under the current rule.
- Course
- Risk Management/Discipline
- Practice focus
- Fair housing, antitrust, disclosures, safety, discipline
- Final
- 50 questions; 75% minimum
- Course
- Transactional Issues
- Practice focus
- Listings, buyers, contracts, negotiations, closing, property management
- Final
- 50 questions; 75% minimum
Calculate the deadline from the original license date
Illinois broker licenses ordinarily expire April 30 of even-numbered years. The 180-day exception prevents someone licensed immediately before a deadline from compressing all 45 hours into a few weeks. That broker completes the requirement before the second broker renewal deadline instead.
Use IDFPR license lookup for the original issue date and current expiration, then compare the applicable IDFPR renewal fact sheet. Do not use a colleague's deadline. Save certificates and exam results because IDFPR audits compliance.
- Find original issue date and expiration in IDFPR lookup.
- Determine whether the 180-day timing rule applies.
- Use a currently approved post-license provider and exact courses.
- Finish early enough to resolve a failed course final or missing record.
Understand supervision before completion
Section 1450.705 gives the designated managing broker direct oversight duties for a new broker who has not completed post-license education. These cover escrow money, contract negotiations, and approval of advertising. The new broker has no authority to bind the sponsoring broker to a contract or agreement during this period.
Completing the 45 hours is not a substitute for supervision after that point, but it ends this specific new-broker layer. Provide the sponsor with completion evidence and confirm how its compliance system records the change.
Handle exemptions and endorsement carefully
Section 1450.410 exempts attorneys currently admitted to practice by the Illinois Supreme Court. That exemption does not waive license renewal, fees, conduct, or sponsorship. An endorsement broker with less than two years of active practice immediately before applying must complete the 45 hours by first renewal under Section 1450.460.
Do not claim an exemption or different deadline from a private course seller. Obtain IDFPR confirmation when status, attorney standing, endorsement experience, or issue dates create uncertainty.
Example: licensed close to renewal
Situation: Mina receives her first broker license on January 20 of an even-numbered year, fewer than 180 days before April 30. A school tells her all 45 hours are due that April because every new broker renews then.
Best response: Mina should verify the issue date and current IDFPR guidance. Under the 180-day rule, a broker first licensed within that period completes the 45 hours and course finals before the second broker renewal deadline. Mina remains subject to the designated managing broker's enhanced new-broker supervision until completion.
Quick questions
How many post-license hours does an Illinois broker need?
Forty-five hours through three approved 15-hour courses for a qualifying first broker license.
Are there course exams?
Yes. Each 15-hour course has a 50-question provider-administered final with a minimum passing score of 75 percent.
Can the courses be self-paced home study?
No. Current Section 1450.1155 says the 45-hour broker post-license courses may not be taught as correspondence or home study.
Do you also need 12 hours of CE in the first term?
No additional ordinary CE is required in the term in which the 45-hour post-license curriculum applies; the post-license courses satisfy that first-term education requirement.
Are active Illinois attorneys exempt?
Yes, from the post-license education requirement under the current rule. Other renewal and practice requirements continue.
Primary sources and review status
- 225 ILCS 454/5-50, first-term post-license requirement
- 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.410, post-license courses, exams, timing, and exemption
- IDFPR 45-Hour Broker Post-License Curriculum
- 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1450.705, new-broker supervision
Checked against the cited primary sources through August 1, 2026. Current IDFPR, Illinois law, and PSI instructions control if a rule or procedure changes. This guide is educational information, not legal advice.