Illinois OT CEUs: License Renewal and Online Courses

Full OT/OTA CEU Requirements in Illinois

Here are the occupational therapy continuing education requirements for coursework in Illinois:

These were copied from the Illinois Administrative Code, updated 2024:

TITLE 68: PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS
Section 1315.145  Continuing Education

a) Continuing Education (CE) Hour Requirements

Continuing education requirements under this Section are intended to help safeguard public health, safety, welfare, and quality outcomes.  CE must be related to a licensee's current or anticipated roles and responsibilities in occupational therapy and must directly or indirectly serve to protect the public by enhancing the licensee's continuing competence.

1) Every occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistant shall complete 24 contact hours of CE relevant to the practice of occupational therapy during each prerenewal period as a condition of renewal.  A prerenewal period is the 24 months preceding December 31 in the year of the renewal.  24 contact hours of CE is equivalent to 12 units of Continued Competency Activities (CCA) (2 contact hours = 1 unit).

2) In each renewal period, one contact hour shall include a course in ethics.

3)  In each renewal period, one contact hour shall include a course in sexual harassment prevention training (see 20 ILCS 2105/2105-15.5 and 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1130.400).

4) In each renewal period, one contact hour shall include a course on implicit bias awareness training (see 20 ILCS 2105/2105-15.7 and 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1130.500).

5) In each renewal period, one contact hour shall include a course on dementia recognition training, which shall only apply to licensees who provide health care services to, and have direct patient interactions with, adult populations age 26 or older in the practice of the licensee's profession. [20 ILCS 2105/2105-365]

This doc goes on to describe other acceptable activities. I recommend you read the rules in full.

🚨NEW REQUIREMENT BEGINNING 2025: 1 hour cultural competence course, every 6 years.

Steps for Renewing Your OT License

Step 1: Look up your OT/OTA license.

To begin the process, I always double-check that my license is displaying correctly. You can look up your Illinois occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant license here.

Step 2: Confirm the California OT continuing education requirements. 

It’s always good to double check for any updates to your licensing cycle. You can do so with the resources above. And, please reach out to me if you see any discrepancies.

Step 3: Earn your CEU hours.

Ok, now that you know your requirements, it is time to start earning those CEUs! There are of course a lot of options out there, but we hope you consider checking out the courses offered by OT Potential.

Step 4: Renew your license. 🎉

Ok, now it’s time for the big moment.

You can renew your license online.

Do OT Potential Online Courses Count as CEUs?

Yes! You can learn more in our post: How OT Potential Helps Meet Your CEU Requirements.

OT Potential courses can help you meet 21 of your required 24 hours of continuing education in Illinois.

You can also meet your 1 hour ethics requirement through our CEU courses focused on ethics.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you found this post helpful!

If you have any other questions about continuing education and your OT license renewal, please contact us!