Every CE requirement verified against official state nursing board sources. How RenewRN verifies the data →
Every CE requirement verified against official state nursing board sources. How RenewRN verifies the data →
Field guide · Free CE
Built by Keegan, a travel RN · verified against official board sources
17 verified free courses accepted by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). No upsells. State-specific courses (for Illinois mandatory topics) appear first.
See full Illinois CE requirements
Returning to nursing after a lapse? See reinstatement and re-entry in Illinois.
Requirements verified against the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) · last checked · How RenewRN verifies its data
Illinois RNs renew their license every 2 years through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) and complete 20 contact hours each cycle. Every course on this page is free and accredited, and the list below is curated to count toward Illinois requirements.
Illinois RNs renew every 2 years with 20 contact hours. The free, accredited courses below are tagged to satisfy 3 of the state's required or conditionally-required topics. Confirm the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) accepts the specific provider before you rely on one.
Implicit Bias Awareness, 1 hr required
Free: Implicit Bias Awareness Training for Licensed Healthcare Professionals, Implicit Bias Training for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals
Alzheimer's & Dementia, 1 hr required
Free: Blood-Based Clarity: Navigating an Alzheimer's Diagnosis with Confidence, Nurse.com Free CE Catalog
Cultural Competency, 1 hr required
Free: Improving Cultural Competency for Behavioral Health Professionals, Implicit Bias Training for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals
ANCC-accredited courses accepted by Illinois and every other state nursing board that recognizes ANCC. A few to get you started. The full, searchable catalog lives on the main free-CE page.
Advocate Health
Free, ANCC-accredited 1-contact-hour implicit-bias awareness training for licensed healthcare professionals. A genuinely free national option for implicit-bias or cultural-competency CE; some states require 2 hours, so confirm the total against your state's requirement.
Free account required; the course page shows Cost: $0.00.
American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN)
Rotating library of free CE on acute and critical care topics: sepsis, hemodynamics, ventilation, ECG. Hour count varies by course. ANCC-accredited.
Free AACN account required (membership not required).
American Nurses Association
ANA releases free CE courses on rotating topics each month: leadership, ethics, evidence-based practice, well-being. Hour count varies.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Nurse-specific federal training on integrated, multimodal pain management and the nurse's role in safe opioid use. Free contact hours via CDC TRAIN.
Free CDC TRAIN account required (course WB4716R).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Free federal training on screening for, diagnosing, and managing opioid use disorder, including medications for OUD. Contact hours via CDC TRAIN.
Free CDC TRAIN account required (course WB4664R).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Self-paced immunization modules (vaccine administration, storage & handling, Vaccines for Children, and more), roughly 1 to 1.25 nursing contact hours each, free via CDC TRAIN.
Free CDC TRAIN account required; CE earned per module.
11 more free, ANCC-accredited courses are accepted in Illinois. Browse them all, filter by topic, and search the full catalog.
RenewRN earns nothing from these courses. Sources verified by checking the provider site directly on the date shown. If a link is broken or a course is no longer free, email support@renewrn.net.
Illinois license renewal guide
CE hours, mandatory topics, fees & deadlines
How to get your first Illinois RN license
NCLEX application, background check, fees & permits
Can an RN inject Botox in Illinois?
Aesthetic injector scope & rules
Returning to nursing in Illinois
Reinstatement fees, refresher rules & timelines
Illinois NP & APRN renewal
APRN CE, fees, prescriptive authority & cert clocks
Moving your license to Illinois
Endorsement timeline, fees, permits & compact rules
Illinois renewal: step-by-step
How to renew: forms, fees & timeline