Illinois
Illinois certifies and decertifies officers through the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB), with automatic decertification for listed crimes and Board decertification for misconduct. Since 2023 the Board has adopted rules for activating certification and for decertification hearings, and the State has required prior employers to hand over an officer’s full employment records before a new agency hires.
At a glance
- Certifying body
- Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB) (50 ILCS 705/2, 705/6)
- Statute
- Illinois Police Training Act, 50 ILCS 705: certification in 8.1 (full-time) and 8.2 (part-time); automatic decertification in 6.1; discretionary decertification in 6.3; the Officer Professional Conduct Database in 9.2; hiring records in 6.5, since January 1, 2026. Rules in 20 Ill. Adm. Code 1720, 1770 (part-time officers), and 1790 (hearings).
- Minimum standards
- No single statewide age or education statute. In municipalities with a Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, applicants must be under 35, with veterans allowed up to 10 more years (65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6). The age cap does not apply to former municipal police officers or firefighters from Illinois or another state, some volunteer firefighters, auxiliary officers with 5 years’ service who are under 40, former sheriff’s deputies, or former State Police officers (10-2.1-6(d)). A 20-year-old with 2 years of college law enforcement study may be appointed but has no arrest power or firearms until 21 (10-2.1-6(e)). A high school diploma or equivalent is required, and a board “may” require an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. A permanent appointment requires the basic certificate within 6 months of initial full-time employment (705/8.1(a)). Academy entry bars felonies, decertifiable misdemeanors, and crimes of moral turpitude (20 Ill. Adm. Code 1720.35). The Board sets basic course hours by rule (1720.10); the total could not be checked from official sources on October 19, 2026.
- Decertification
- Automatic: an officer convicted of, found guilty of, or pleading guilty or no contest to a felony or listed misdemeanors “immediately becomes decertified ... as a matter of law”; supervision and conditional discharge count (705/6.1). Discretionary: “The Board has the authority to decertify” for conduct that would be a decertifying crime even if not prosecuted, excessive force, failing the duty to intervene, tampering with dash or body cameras, perjury, false statements, or evidence tampering, and unprofessional, unethical, deceptive, or deleterious conduct, whatever discipline the agency imposed (705/6.3(b), (b-5)). Misconduct must be proven by clear and convincing evidence (6.3), and hearings follow 20 Ill. Adm. Code 1790.
- Public decertification list
- Yes, by statute. “The Board shall maintain a searchable database of law enforcement officers accessible to the public” showing each officer’s employing agency, initial certification date, current certification status, and any sustained misconduct complaint that led to decertification; home addresses are excluded (705/9.2(d)). The rest of the Officer Professional Conduct Database is not public.
- National Decertification Index
- By agency practice. ILETSB says decertified officers go on a Board list that “is shared with the National Decertification Index” (ILETSB). The Police Training Act does not name the Index.
- Continuing training
- At least 30 hours every 3 years on use of authority, procedural justice, civil and human rights, child abuse reporting, cultural competency, and autism-informed and trauma-informed responses (705/7(g)). Also every 3 years: 12 hours of scenario-based role-play, 6 hours of use of force and de-escalation, 6 hours of high-risk traffic stops, Fourth Amendment law, and officer safety (705/10.6). Every year: law updates, emergency medical response, crisis intervention, and officer wellness (705/7(h)).
Changes, 2023 to 2026
Prior employers must hand over full records before a hire
New 705/6.5: no agency may make a final offer to a full-time, part-time, or probationary officer without a signed release directing every prior employer to produce all employment records. These include background materials, fitness-for-duty exams, performance records, conduct investigations, arrests, and convictions. Prior employers must produce them within 14 days, with up to 14 more, and sign a verification that no known records were intentionally withheld. They must also certify that they know of no other credible, verifiable, relevant, and material information reflecting negatively on the applicant. Records come unredacted except for listed identifiers, and “no nondisclosure, separation, or settlement agreement shall prevent the production.” The hiring agency “shall receive and review all materials before making a final offer.” The section yields to collective bargaining agreements already in effect, which may not be renewed or modified in conflict, and to a written State’s Attorney directive that the employer may not legally release the records. Anyone releasing records in good faith is immune (6.5(j)). The act also adds Personnel Record Review Act section 8.5 (820 ILCS 40/8.5): an agency must release a complete personnel file on another agency’s written request within 14 days, plus up to 14, and settlement or separation terms that bar production are “null and void.” Such releases are exempt from the rule that deletes discipline records more than 4 years old. Counties of at least 75,000, other than counties over 1,000,000, that lack a sheriff’s merit board must now adopt the merit system (55 ILCS 5/3-8002).
For officers: A separation or settlement agreement will not keep your file from a future employer, unless a collective bargaining agreement in effect on January 1, 2026, a court sealing order, or a written State’s Attorney directive applies.
Trauma-informed training added to the 3-year in-service
Adds “trauma-informed programs, procedures, and practices meant to minimize traumatization of the victim” to the 30-hour, 3-year in-service under 705/7(g), and adds a trauma-informed block to the basic curriculum. The hours do not change.
For officers: Expect trauma-informed content in your next 3-year cycle.
Labor Relations Board repeals its decertification rules
The Illinois Labor Relations Board repealed Part 1240, “Police Officer Decertification Proceedings,” “because amendments to the Illinois Police Training Act have transferred these proceedings to the Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board.”
For officers: Decertification cases go through ILETSB, not the Labor Relations Board.
Decertification hearing rules adopted
Sets procedure for hearings on discretionary decertification, denied reactivations, and emergency suspensions under 705/6.3(h), 8.1(b), 8.2(b), and 8.3(c). An administrative law judge hears the case; remote proceedings are allowed, and formal hearings are public. The Certification Review Panel reviews the findings and recommends dismissal or reactivation unless misconduct is proven by clear and convincing evidence. ILETSB makes the final decision. Reconsideration is available within 30 days, then judicial review. The rules also cover victim notice and impact statements (1790.540) and settlements (1790.545). JCAR’s Flinn Report gives the effective date as April 30, 2025.
For officers: In a discretionary decertification case, the Board must prove misconduct by clear and convincing evidence.
Autism-informed training added to the 3-year in-service
Adds “autism-informed law enforcement responses, techniques, and procedures” to the 30-hour, 3-year in-service under 705/7(g). The hours do not change.
For officers: Expect autism-informed content in your 3-year in-service.
Reciprocity waivers require a background check
Under 705/8.1 and 8.2, experience in Illinois, another state, or a federal agency can support a training waiver. “Agencies seeking a reciprocity waiver for training completed outside of Illinois must conduct a thorough background check and provide verification of the officer’s prior training.” Before a waiver, candidates must complete Board-approved Illinois law and firearms coursework and pass the equivalency exam. The Board had to adopt uniform waiver rules within 60 days.
For officers: Lateral hires from other states or federal service need Illinois law and firearms coursework and the equivalency exam.
Work-authorized non-citizens and DACA recipients may be hired
A person who is not a U.S. citizen but is legally authorized to work in the United States, or is a DACA recipient, may be appointed if federal law lets the person possess firearms. The sentence is added to 65 ILCS 5/10-1-7 and 10-2.1-6(a) and to Counties Code 3-6033 and 3-7008. In the two Counties Code sections the act strikes the requirement to be U.S. citizens. Municipal section 10-2.1-6(a) had no citizenship requirement to strike.
For officers: Work-authorized non-citizens can apply to municipal and county departments.
State Police Academy satisfies Police Training Act minimums
New 20 ILCS 2605/2605-51(a-5): “Successful completion of the Illinois State Police Academy satisfies the minimum standards” of the Police Training Act’s basic training sections and exempts State police officers from the State Comprehensive Examination and the Equivalency Examination.
For officers: State troopers who finish the State Police Academy do not take the ILETSB certification exams.
Certification activation rules adopted; old decertification complaint rules repealed
The rules replace emergency rules that took effect December 15, 2022 and expired May 13, 2023. According to JCAR’s summary, a new full-time or part-time officer’s certification activates only after a background check, confirmed academy completion, and a passed certification exam, with 3 attempts allowed. Previously certified officers need a background check before reactivation. Out-of-state and federally certified officers must have prior training verified and pass the equivalency exam. Academy disqualifiers now include decertifiable misdemeanors. New 1720.90 gives transitional certification to officers employed on July 1, 2022 without certification. The passing score is 66%. A Special Part-Time Practical Waiver is added. The package also repealed Part 1720 Subpart B, “Decertification of Police Officers” (1720.100 to 1720.150 and the Appendix B complaint form), the complaint and revocation process used before the SAFE-T Act. The Illinois Register text could not be checked from official sources on October 19, 2026.
For officers: Your certification is not active until the background check, academy, and exam steps are complete.
Pending bills and rules
- HB 1036: would change the duty to intervene definition, bar retaliation for intervening or reporting, and remove the “no property interest in certification” language. In House Rules Committee since January 9, 2025; the last action, on August 13, 2026, added a co-sponsor. Bill status
- HB 3174: State’s Attorneys would notify ILETSB of officers found not credible in sworn testimony, and the Board would record it in the 9.2 database. Re-referred to Rules Committee March 21, 2025. Bill status
- SB 2396: a decertification and certification overhaul, including a Statewide Enforcement Unit. Referred to Assignments February 7, 2025. Bill status
- HB 5517: would create a Certification Enforcement Unit in ILETSB and remove the Review Committee. Re-referred to Rules Committee March 27, 2026. Bill status
- HB 4775: State Police in-service training would satisfy the Police Training Act’s 3-year requirements. Re-referred to Rules Committee March 27, 2026. Bill status
The 104th General Assembly runs to January 2027. No ILETSB rulemaking appeared in the JCAR Flinn Reports from April 24 to October 16, 2026.
Checked and unchanged
- 50 ILCS 705/6.1, 6.2, 6.3, and 9.2 were last amended by P.A. 102-694 (2022). The 2026 acts that amend the Police Training Act, P.A. 104-0762, 104-0828, and 104-0852, change training content or are revisory.
- The use-of-force and duty to intervene sections of the Criminal Code (720 ILCS 5/7-5, 7-5.5, 7-15, 7-16) were last amended in 2021. The rule that police misconduct records be kept permanently (50 ILCS 205/25) is unchanged since P.A. 101-652.
- No 2023–2026 act added a FOIA exemption for officer discipline or misconduct records (5 ILCS 140/7 and 7.5).
- Not counted: revisory acts (P.A. 103-0154, 103-0605, 104-0417, 104-0852); P.A. 102-982, enacted in 2022; and P.A. 104-0024, which restates for State Police the use-of-force in-service content that 705/10.6 already required.
- Line-level text of the 2023 rule amendments and seven 2023–2026 Flinn Report issues could not be checked from official sources on October 19, 2026.
Last updated October 19, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “Illinois officer certification: Officer Certification Tracker,” uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/illinois (last updated October 19, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.