The published deadline for online submission of an application is July 23, 2025. However, IDFPR has just instituted a major change that will affect submission deadlines. Previously, if an applicant submitted their application to Continental Testing by the deadline, they were good to go. Now, the IDFPR has reversed the process. All applications that previously were vetted and approved by Continental are now going to be vetted and approved by the Department. Once your application and experience verification forms are approved by IDFPR, you will receive back an Acceptance ID which you will take back to Continental and use to register for the exam.
The problem? Doing it this way, the published deadline is at best, very misleading. At worst it leads to a critical error. All the application vetting that was previously done by Continental is now being done by the Department. For the last five years or so, IDFPR has been notoriously slow in performing application processing. They are now going to be performing extra work which should further slow things down. The bottom line, it maybe already too late to apply for the September exam in order to make the July 23, 2025, Continental deadline. I hope I am wrong but I have confirmed the above process with one new applicant. I will inquire of every new applicant who registers for my exam prep class as to their timing experience and report this new process in more detail for the March 2026 exam.
If you want to take the September 2025 license examination, you should drop everything and apply immediately. DO NOT forget to submit your experience form(s) when you apply or you will be punted to March 2026.
As always, feel free to call or write if you have any questions.
EWW 07-09-2025
