Nursing home administrator license requirements in Illinois.

Board

Nursing Home Administrators Licensing and Disciplinary Board (Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, IDFPR) Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Education floor

60+ college semester hours The lowest formal credential is an associate's degree (or 60 semester/90 quarter hours) plus two years of qualifying administrative experience (68 Ill. Admin. Code 1310.50). A bachelor's degree in any field alone, with no added experience, is the more common path; a completed 'approved course of instruction' (1310.40) or a three-year nursing-diploma program plus two years' experience also qualify. Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Administrator-in-Training hours

0 to 4,160 hours depending on your degree or experience

• 0 hours: A bachelor's degree in any field plus an employer's statement of acceptance as full-time administrator is sufficient; no supervised AIT/residency hour tally is required beyond passing the NAB CORE, NAB Nursing Home Administrator Line of Service, and Illinois Supplemental exams.
• 4,160 hours: For an associate's degree (or 60 semester/90 quarter hours) or a three-year nursing-diploma program, Illinois instead requires two years of qualifying administrative experience (68 Ill. Admin. Code 1310.50); shown here as the standard 2,080-hour full-time-year equivalent (4,160 hours total) for comparability, not a figure Illinois itself states in hours.

Board source · checked 2026-07-29

National NAB exams

Required (CORE of Knowledge + Nursing Home Administrator) Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Separate state exam

Required Illinois requires its own Illinois Supplemental Examination, administered through Continental Testing Services, in addition to the national NAB CORE and NHA Line of Service exams. Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Initial license fee

$100 68 Ill. Admin. Code 1310.65(a)(1): $100 application fee for the full nursing home administrator license. A separate $75 temporary-license application fee (1310.65(a)(3)) lets an accepted applicant work as administrator for up to 60 days while the full application and exams are pending. Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Renewal fee

$100 License expires November 30 of each odd-numbered year; the renewal fee is calculated at $50 per year (1310.65(b)(1)), i.e. $100 for the full two-year cycle. Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Continuing education

36 hours per biennial cycle 36 hours of continuing education relevant to nursing home administration required each renewal period. Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Reciprocity / endorsement

endorsement available An applicant already certified or licensed as a nursing home administrator under another jurisdiction's laws pays a $150 application fee (1310.65(a)(2)) rather than the standard $100. Board source · checked 2026-07-29

Statutes and rules: Nursing Home Administrators Licensing and Disciplinary Act (225 ILCS 70); 68 Illinois Administrative Code Part 1310 (Nursing Home Administrators). Figures change on the board's own schedule. Confirm against the board before you apply or pay.

1. Get your checklist. The requirements wizard resolves Illinois's requirements for your exact degree.
2. Plan your hours. The AIT-hours tracker turns Illinois's hour target into a finish date.
3. Moving here from another state? The reciprocity checker reads Illinois's endorsement rule.