CEU Requirements

What follows is a detailed description of the policies of the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation (IDFPR) on continuing education units (CEUs) for social workers. The below CEU requirements pertain to the current licensure cycle.

 

Do I need CEUs for my renewal?

• If this is your first time renewing your LSW or LCSW: you do not need to acquire 30 CEUs for licensure, but you will still need to apply for renewal.

• If this is your second or subsequent time renewing: you will need to acquire CEUs for renewal.

• If you are renewing your LCSW for the first time AND want to keep your LSW: you will need to acquire CEUs for your LSW renewal. NOTE: We do not recommend maintaining your LSW if you have an LCSW.

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Need more CEUs? Check out our latest live and on-demand CEU offerings!

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Have more questions? Don't forget to check out our FAQ.

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IDFPR 2023–2025 Licensure Renewal Requirements

 

For the new 2023 licensure renewal cycle starting on December 1, 2023, and ending November 30, 2025, all Illinois social workers will have only two amended requirements for licensure renewal as required by the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation (IDFPR). These requirements affect all licensed Illinois social workers who hold a licensed social worker (LSW) or licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) license and are renewing their license for the second or subsequent time.

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A minimum of 30 hours of continuing education (CE) relevant to the practice of social work or clinical social work of which:

• At least 3 of the 30 hours must include content related to the ethical practice of social work, and

• At least 3 of the 30 hours must include content related to cultural competence in the practice of social work (Effective December 1, 2013), and

• At least 1 of the 30 hours must include a training on implicit bias awareness (effective January 1, 2022, with the signing of Public Act 102-0004), and

• A mandated reporter training with a section on implicit bias will be required for licensure renewal. There is no timed element (e.g., one hour of CEUs) to fulfill this training requirement, nor does it have to be a CEU (effective January 1, 2022, with the signing of Public Act 102-0604), and

• A sexual harassment prevention training is required for licensure renewal. There is no timed element (e.g., one hour of CEUs) to fulfill this training requirement, nor does it have to be a CEU. Effective August 6, 2021, with the signing of Senate Bill 1079 unless you are an employee of one (i.e., self-employed)—see below for more details about the sexual harassment prevention training requirement.

• Amended! The requirement for a one-hour (minimum) of a training on the diagnosis, treatment, and care of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias still remains for health care professionals who provide health care services to, and have direct patient interactions with, adult populations age 26 or older in the practice of their profession (effective January 1, 2023, with the signing of Public Act 102-0399). However, new to this licensure cycle is that the department is flexing which licensure cycles the training will be required. While as of this writing on November 13, 2023, the department has not yet released clarification on whether the 2023–2025 licensure cycle will have the Alzheimer's training requirement or if that will be flexed out to the 2025–2027 licensure cycle, please check back with this page as we will update it accordingly when clarification is received by the department.

 

Amended! With removal of the in-person CEU requirement in July 2023, the state now requires that any remote program (e.g., self-study, book-study, or computer/online based course) needs to include an examination. For info on how to get a Social Work Online CE Institute self-study course validated for Illinois licensees, click here.

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​As a reminder, the previous requirement for obtaining at least 15 CEUs in-person has been removed. Effective July 18, 2023, there is no longer a requirement for CEUs to be obtained via live, in-person education. You can now earn CEUs for licensure renewal via any method (i.e., in-person or virtual). Please note the amended requirements above for the exam requirement for all remote programs.

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Need more CEUs or courses that fulfill one of the specialty CEU requirements?

Check out our Events page for a complete list of upcoming live events (both in-person and virtual) as well as our recorded trainings which fulfill CE requirements in ethics, cultural competency, implicit bias awareness, mandated reporter training with implicit bias section, Alzheimer's disease and other dementia, and sexual harassment prevention.

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If you're not already an NASW member, you can also sign up to receive our monthly News & Events e-mails which recap the month's latest news as well as provides a list of our current event offerings.

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More About the Specialty CEU Training Requirements

​​​​​Implicit Bias Awareness Training: All health care professionals must obtain at least one hour of training

on implicit bias awareness. As of this printing, the department has not yet released rules for this training

requirement. If (and when) such rules are written by the department, this article will be updated

accordingly.

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                     >>Check out NASW-IL 1.5-hour and 3.0-hour recorded trainings on implicit bias.

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Mandated Reporter Training with Implicit Bias Section: In an update to the previous mandated

reporter training requirement, all LSW and LCSWs must complete a mandated reporter training that

includes a section on implicit bias. There is no timed element (e.g., one hour of CEUs) to fulfill this

training requirement; however, there are content-related requirements as listed in the Act. The new

implicit bias section shall provide tools to adjust automatic patterns of thinking and ultimately eliminate

discriminatory behaviors. The training shall be provided through the Department (DCFS); an entity authorized to provide continuing education for professionals licensed through the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) such as NASW-IL (check out our recorded Interrupting Bias: A Mandated Reporter's Responsibility to Act course); or an organization approved by the Department (DCFS) to provide mandated reporter training including a section on implicit bias.

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A mandated reporter training with implicit bias section can be used to fulfill the implicit bias training requirement ONLY if the section on implicit bias lasts a minimum of one hour. The NASW-Illinois Chapter Interrupting Bias: A Mandated Reporter's Responsibility to Act course does not have an hour of education devoted to the topic of implicit and therefore, does not fulfill both requirements for a mandated reporter training with implicit bias section AND one-hour minimum on a training on implicit bias.

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                     >>Check out NASW-IL recorded training, Interrupting Bias: A Mandated Reporter's Responsibility 

                          to Act.

 

 

Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias Training: This requirement shall only apply to health care

professionals who provide health care services to, and have direct patient interactions with, adult

populations age 26 or older in the practice of their profession. This training must be at least one hour in

length and fulfill content-related requirements as listed in the Act. A health care professional may count

this one hour for completion of this course toward meeting the minimum credit hours required for

continuing education.

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                    >>Check out NASW-IL recorded training, Social Work with Persons Living with Dementia and Their

                         Families: Challenges and Opportunities.

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Sexual Harassment Prevention Training: 

​Did you take a sexual harassment prevention training through your Illinois employer which fulfills

requirements as stated by Section 2-109 of the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA)?

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• If YES: Sexual harassment prevention trainings that fulfill IHRA requirements will additionally fulfill the
  IDFPR requirement for a sexual harassment prevention training for social work licensure renewal. No timed element is required of the employee-provided sexual harassment prevention training, but there are still content requirements for this scenario as per Section 1130.400(c) of the Administrative Code.

• If NO: If you are self-employed (i.e., employee of one) or live in another state but are looking to maintain your license in Illinois and as such, you are unable to obtain a sexual harassment prevention training through an Illinois employer, you will need to take a sexual harassment prevention training course spanning at least one hour in length. This training must utilize content that complies with Section 2-109 of IHRA.

 

 

                    >>Check out NASW-IL recorded training, Sexual Harassment Prevention Training.

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​​​More About CEUs

CEs must be from a licensed provider in Illinois. The NASW-Illinois Chapter and all of our NASW Chapter affiliates as well as the NASW Social Work Online CE Institute are approved providers in Illinois. Please note that the NASW-Illinos Chapter/NASW is not the licensing board and does not review and approve coursework and education providers for the state of Illinois. To find out if another provider is an approved CEU provider for the state of Illinois, check with IDFPR. See more on what courses qualify for CEUs in Illinois in our FAQ below.

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To find out if a course fulfills specialty CEU requirements, you will need to check with IDFPR and the course provider to find out if the course fulfills Illinois IDFPR training requirements. Please note that we can only attest to the content of NASW-Illinois Chapter trainings which is reflected on the CEU certificates (i.e., X hours of cultural competency CEUs or X hours fulfilling IDFPR requirements for mandated reporter training with implicit bias section). If you take a course from another state chapter or the national office, you will need to review the content of that course and compare against Illinois/IDFPR requirements for those specialty CEUs. See more on what courses qualify for CEUs in Illinois in our FAQ below.

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Trainings only apply to the licensure cycle in the year which they are taken (i.e., a course taken before December 1, 2021, cannot be applied toward the 2021–2023 licensure cycle). 

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If you accumulate more than 30 CEs in one two-year cycle, the extras do not carry over to the next period.

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Keep records of your CEs on file for at least five years. You don’t need to send proof of your CEUs in with your renewal form unless (1) you are applying after the deadline or (2) IDFPR requests it. 

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For additional information on approved continuing education, see the Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act, section 1470.95. 

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Looking to Provide CEUs?

The NASW-Illinois Chapter has developed a procedure to approve programs for continuing education units (CEUs). Go to our Advertising page and click on #4 Co-Sponsorship. Otherwise, contact IDFPR for more information on applying to become an approved provider of CEUs.