Prairie State Wire

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) has announced the addition of 21 new professions to its online licensing system, CORE (Comprehensive Online Regulatory Environment). This marks the completion of Phase 2.1 of CORE's rollout, with further parts of Phase 2 expected to be completed in the coming weeks. The department will provide updates as each part is finalized and additional professions are added.

"The expansion of CORE means increased accessibility for applicants, ensuring more qualified professionals can obtain their licenses in a timely and efficient manner," said IDFPR Secretary Mario Treto, Jr. "We are now one step closer to making CORE available for all license types, ultimately benefiting both consumers and professionals alike across Illinois."

Phase 2 aims to transition license types that currently require paper applications into the digital system. This move is expected to streamline the application review process by eliminating paper forms. The newly added professions include acupuncturists, private security contractors, athletic trainers, respiratory care practitioners, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, among others.

Currently, there are 28 initial professional license applications available on CORE. Future phases will incorporate all application methods such as renewals and restorations along with additional license types:

- **Phase 1**: Introduced three pilot professions for testing - clinical psychologists, nail technicians, and music therapists.

- **Phase 1.1**: Added four more license types.

- **Phase 2**: Focuses on adding remaining Division of Professional Regulation (DPR) professions that use manual or paper processes.

- **Phase 3**: Will complete the regulatory transition for DPR including all application types.

- **Phase 4**: Targets full regulatory transition for the Division of Real Estate.

- **Phase 5**: Plans full regulatory transition for the Division of Banking.

- **Phase 6**: Aims at full regulatory transition for the Division of Financial Institutions.

The complete implementation of CORE is scheduled for August 2026. IDFPR will continue providing updates on significant developments during this period along with enhancements to existing licensing procedures.

Further details can be accessed on IDFPR's website at https://idfpr.illinois.gov/.