How to Renew an Illinois Electrical Engineer License

If you’ve found this article, it’s probably because you were trying to refresh yourself about the to-dos in order to keep your electrical engineer license active. But finding that info isn’t necessarily easy. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) has a webpage for licensed professional engineers (PEs), but it’s lacking in info unless you want to dig into the state code.

Fortunately, if reading regulations isn’t your idea of fun, we can help. Here are the key things electrical engineers need to know about renewing their professional engineer licenses in Illinois.

The expiration date

All PE licenses expire on November 30 of every odd-numbered year, which means you’ve got upcoming renewals in 2023, 2025, 2027, and so on.

Renewals open up in November each year. If things tend to get busy for you around Thanksgiving, you can always submit your renewal earlier in the month. You just need to make sure you have the next step completed first.

The PDH requirement

Since 2005, state rule has required all professional engineers to get professional development hours (PDHs) as a requirement for renewal in every cycle after their first renewal. That means that unless you’re going through the renewal process for the first time, you’re going to need these hours in order to renew.

How many hours, exactly? 30 - and you can get those 30 hours right here. That doesn’t mean you need to go sit in a classroom for several days or take time away from your core work to get your PDHs, though.

The IDFPR has approved professional engineer PDHs from online providers. If you take your PDH this way, you can get the hours you need from the comfort of your house, office, or even in the field (these online courses are mobile-friendly).

Once you finish any course hours, hang onto the certificate of completion you get. The state requires you to keep it on record for six years.

The online renewal process

You’ll use the state’s online eLicense portal for your renewal.

If you haven’t registered for an account before, you can use this guide from the state to walk through the process.

If you already have an account, you’ll need your user ID and password to get in. If you forgot either, there are links below the “Log In” button that you can click to reset them.

If you have any trouble setting up an account or logging in, you can email fpr.lmu@illinois.gov. Put “RENEWAL” in your subject line.

Once you’re logged in, you can complete the renewal process. The main thing to do to trigger your PE license renewal is to pay the renewal fee. The IDFPR charges $30 a year for renewals, so you’re looking at a $60 payment here.

All told, the information about the renewal process might be hard to find, but the process itself isn’t too challenging. As long as you make sure you get your PDHs done and your online renewal submitted by paying the fee before your biennnial November 30 expiration date, you shouldn’t have any issues renewing your electrical license in Illinois.