Illinois discipline practice
Illinois discipline questions: match the conduct, deadline and consequence
IDFPR may discipline a licensee for a proven statutory or rule violation. That does not make the maximum fine automatic, every mistake an emergency, or every pending contract void. First identify what happened. Then check what the question asks: the ground, the procedure, the sanction or the effect on another license.
Last reviewed:
What can lead to Illinois real estate discipline?
225 ILCS 454/20-20 authorizes refusal to issue or renew, reprimand, probation, suspension, revocation, other proper disciplinary or non-disciplinary action and a fine up to $25,000 for each violation. This is Department licensing authority. It is separate from a private damages claim, criminal prosecution or an association ethics proceeding.
Read the conduct rather than searching for a dramatic outcome. Examples include false license applications, exam cheating, unlicensed practice, misleading advertising, mishandling another person's money or documents, commingling, prohibited compensation and supervision failures. The statute also reaches a licensee's handling of their own property. Selling your own property does not by itself remove the Department's authority.
| Stated conduct | Relevant provision | Fact to preserve |
|---|---|---|
| False application or renewal statement | 20-20(a)(1) | Identify the fraud or misrepresentation; do not infer it from every typo |
| Practice while inactive, expired, suspended or revoked | 20-20(a)(6) | A pending transaction does not create active authority |
| Failure to account for another person's funds or documents | 20-20(a)(16) | Custody and accounting duties can matter before closing |
| Failure to keep entrusted escrow separate; commingling | 20-20(a)(17),(22) | Apply the actual account, custody and permitted-disbursement conditions |
| Misleading or blind advertising | 20-20(a)(9),(10),(13),(28) | Check the advertising provisions and their stated exceptions |
| No response to a Department information request | 20-20(a)(27) | General 30-day response rule does not replace a more specific records deadline |
The ceiling is per violation. Three separately established violations would have a combined statutory fine ceiling of 3 × $25,000 = $75,000. The actual fine can be lower. This example assumes the violation count rather than deciding it and does not total every possible cost or remedy.
1450.910 separately gives non-disciplinary examples such as required courses, relevant records, escrow-access restrictions and administrative fees. Do not assume every corrective requirement is revocation or that calling an action non-disciplinary excuses compliance.
What counts as unprofessional conduct without a dollar loss?
1450.900 gives a nonexclusive list of conduct likely to deceive, defraud or harm the public. It includes deliberate property-value or condition deception, abusive or harassing licensed dealings, taking unfair advantage of limited English understanding, improper use of confidential information, obstruction and unauthorized property access.
The rule also addresses a sponsoring broker or designated managing broker who claims the role without actual supervision and management. A DMB cannot merely lend a title while someone else runs the entity without the required participation and control.
Under 900(o), a breach of client duty can cause future harm, and the Department need not prove actual economic damage to establish that harm. That is different from saying no evidence is needed or every civil damages claim succeeds. Match the specific disciplinary ground to its own conditions.
For example, a licensee grants unauthorized access to a home, but nothing is stolen. The lack of theft does not remove the unauthorized-access conduct in 900(q). If proper access authorization was obtained instead, that particular fact changes. Another violation would still need its own evidence.
Which event starts each discipline deadline?
20-60 permits investigation and sets the ordinary notice and hearing process. The written notice identifies charges and hearing details for the respondent, DMB and sponsor. The respondent is directed to answer under oath. Ignoring the notice can lead to default and authorized action without a hearing when the charged acts supply sufficient grounds.
| Requirement | Clock | Avoid mixing it with |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary hearing notice, 20-60 | At least 30 days before the hearing date | Thirty days after a consumer complains |
| Written sworn answer, 20-60 | Within 20 days after service of notice | Twenty days after the hearing |
| Emergency hearing, 20-65 and 905(d) | Proceedings instituted simultaneously; hearing commences within 30 days after suspension, with notice setting the hearing date | A guarantee that the entire case ends in 30 days |
| General Department request, 20-20(a)(27) | Provide requested information or otherwise respond within 30 days of the request | Permission to ignore a specific shorter production rule |
| Immediate prior two years of escrow records, 755(a)(2) | Maintain at the office and produce within 24 hours after Division request | A general 30-day allowance |
| Escrow records over two years old stored elsewhere, 755(a)(2) | As soon as available, within 30 days after Division request, during normal business hours | Automatic 30-day treatment for every record merely because it is older |
The records rule is 1450.755. Location matters as well as age: the longer off-site provision is qualified. For an actual notice, preserve the document, service evidence and requested record category, and obtain prompt legal advice about its deadline and response. These exam comparisons do not calculate an individual filing date or extension.
Emergency suspension is an additional decision
20-65 permits temporary suspension without a prior hearing when the Secretary finds evidence that public interest, safety or welfare imperatively requires emergency action. Hearing proceedings begin at the same time. The licensee may seek a continuance during which the suspension remains effective; the proceeding must conclude without appreciable delay.
1450.905 describes threats of theft, embezzlement or safety harm and lists possible grounds. Its recent-records paragraph says that failure alone may not be sufficient. An ordinary records violation and evidence of an imperative emergency are related but separate questions. The petition needs a statutory basis and supported facts; the signed order demands immediate license surrender and is accompanied by the required hearing notice.
What changes when a sponsor or DMB is suspended?
1450.915(a) separates several consequences of sponsor suspension or revocation:
- Affiliated licenses: sponsored licenses automatically become inactive on the effective date. Brokers and residential leasing agents need another sponsor before resuming licensed work. Managing brokers must secure lawful new sponsorship, including self-sponsorship where applicable.
- Pending executed real estate contracts: the sponsor's discipline does not change their enforceability under this rule. The suspended or revoked sponsor sends affected clients written notice of its status, the contract effect, escrow-controller contact details and the option of another broker for needed services.
- Previously earned compensation: the rule does not generally bar receipt of compensation earned before the sponsor's suspension or revocation became effective. Receipt of an earlier fee and authority to do new licensed work are separate. Under current 915(a)(3), transaction-related compensation already received can be considered when imposing discipline if that transaction directly relates to the suspension or revocation.
A brokerage agreement is different from the pending purchase or other real estate contract. Under 10-25, the agreement with the sponsoring broker expires on the effective date of that broker's suspension or revocation. Do not use the rule preserving pending executed contracts to preserve every listing or representation agreement.
For DMB suspension or revocation, 915(b) provides a separate 15-day office-management rule. Offices may operate for 15 days without a replacement DMB. Within that period, secure a replacement or submit the prescribed written request for authorization to continue; otherwise the offices must cease licensed activities. A submitted request is not a promise of approval or unlimited operation. It does not restore a suspended individual's authority.
Try six original Illinois discipline questions
Choose an answer, then check every alternative. These original examples assume the stated facts and do not reproduce released or recalled PSI items.
1. Three violations are separately established
Assume three separate violations fall under 20-20's $25,000 per-violation fine authority. What is their combined fine ceiling under that provision?
- $25,000 for the entire case in every situation
- $50,000
- $75,000
- A mandatory $75,000 fine
Show answer 1
C is correct. A changes the per-violation limit into a universal case limit. B multiplies by two. C is 3 × $25,000. D turns a ceiling into a required penalty.
Change the fact: only two separate violations are established. The corresponding ceiling is $50,000; the actual sanction still requires its own decision.
2. The respondent receives ordinary hearing notice
A question asks when the written sworn answer is due under 20-60. Which clock is the correct match?
- At least 30 days before the complaint
- Within 20 days after service of the notice
- Within 30 days after the hearing ends
- Only after a final order
Show answer 2
B is correct. A uses the wrong event and direction. B states the answer period. C invents a post-hearing period for the initial answer. D waits past the response stage.
Change the fact: the question asks for the lead time of ordinary hearing notice. Use at least 30 days before the hearing, not the answer period.
3. A software problem delays recent records
The immediate prior two years of escrow records are not produced within 24 hours of Division request. The stated facts show a software delay but no additional threat evidence. What is the sound conclusion?
- The failure alone does not automatically establish an imperative emergency
- Emergency suspension is mandatory after any missed deadline
- Every escrow request permits 30 days
- The software issue conclusively excuses the records duty
Show answer 3
A is correct. A preserves both the records violation and 905(a)(3)'s caution. B makes discretionary emergency action automatic. C ignores the specific 24-hour requirement. D invents a complete defense.
Change the fact: reliable evidence also shows ongoing theft and remaining client funds at immediate risk. That evidence can support the emergency finding; the statutory process still applies.
4. The sponsoring broker is revoked before closing
A sponsoring broker's revocation becomes effective while a signed purchase contract is pending. Its sponsored broker has not obtained another sponsor. Which conclusion follows the cited rules?
- The sponsored broker may negotiate until closing
- The purchase contract automatically becomes void
- The listing agreement automatically keeps the broker active
- The sponsored license is inactive; the pending executed contract is not invalidated by that discipline
Show answer 4
D is correct. A assumes a closing exception to active authority. B ignores 915(a)(2). C confuses a brokerage agreement with license status and overlooks 10-25. D separates the two consequences.
Change the fact: the person secures valid new sponsorship. That can satisfy the sponsorship condition for resuming work; it does not automatically assign the old brokerage agreement or change the purchase contract.
5. Unauthorized access causes no proven loss
A licensee knowingly grants property access without proper authorization. Nothing is stolen, and no repair bill follows. Which statement best fits 900(q)?
- Discipline always requires a damages award first
- Paying a commission authorizes entry into every listed home
- The unauthorized access can support discipline despite no theft loss
- A completed sale automatically cures access violations
Show answer 5
C is correct. A adds a universal damages requirement. B substitutes compensation for authorization. C identifies the listed conduct. D invents a closing-based cure.
Change the fact: the proper authority grants the required access permission before entry. That removes the stated lack-of-authorization fact; evaluate any separate conduct on its own evidence.
6. The order sets an emergency hearing
The Secretary properly issues an emergency temporary suspension. Which description fits 20-65's hearing requirement?
- No hearing proceeding is necessary
- Proceedings begin simultaneously and the hearing commences within 30 days, subject to the stated continuance provision
- Every stage must finish within exactly 30 days
- The license automatically returns to active status after 30 days
Show answer 6
B is correct. A deletes the required proceeding. B preserves commencement and the continuance qualification. C changes commencement into completion. D invents automatic restoration.
Change the fact: no imperative emergency finding exists. Do not use the emergency provision simply because an ordinary ground may be provable.
Illinois discipline questions answered
How many Illinois discipline questions are on the broker exam?
The June 24, 2026 PSI state outline lists II.K Disciplinary provisions, including unprofessional conduct. It sits within the whole Illinois License Act area: 40%, or 16 of 40 scored state broker questions. That is not a promise of 16 discipline questions or a fixed separate subtopic count. These six original examples are not released or recalled PSI questions.
Does repaying escrow money erase the original violation?
No. Returning money does not make an earlier unauthorized use, commingling or failure to account lawful. Review the conduct when it occurred and the governing conditions. Later repayment is a separate fact that may matter to the case; it is not an automatic defense to every disciplinary ground.
Does a complaint automatically suspend a license?
No. A complaint can lead to investigation. Ordinary discipline has notice and hearing procedures, including possible default if the respondent fails to answer. Temporary suspension without a prior hearing requires the Secretary's evidence-based emergency finding and its accompanying hearing process. A complaint alone does not establish every one of those requirements.
Choose the rule behind your missed answer
The June 24, 2026 PSI outline, II.K, names disciplinary provisions and unprofessional conduct. Explain the conduct, authority, trigger and consequence in a fresh example. Repeating the same six answers does not establish exam readiness.
For more detail, use the Illinois discipline lesson, the reviewed client-money rules and advertising practice. If short phone sessions suit your routine, you can download Pass Illinois for additional broker-exam preparation.