State requirements / Illinois
Illinois parenting class requirement
4 hours, 60 days from the first case management conference
Illinois requires all parties in a dissolution involving a child, and in parentage cases, to complete at least four hours of approved parenting education, no later than 60 days after the initial case management conference.
The requirement at a glance
| Who must attend | All parties, in all dissolution cases involving a child and all parentage cases, unless excused for good cause. Where a party defaults or the court has no jurisdiction over them, only the petitioning party must attend, but a respondent who later appears, or who takes part in a postjudgment proceeding, must attend then. |
| Hours required | 4 minimum |
| Deadline | As soon as possible, and no later than 60 days after the initial case management conference. Note the trigger: the clock runs from that conference, not from filing and not from service. |
| Authority | Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 924 |
| Our price | $25 for one parent, $50 for both parents on the same case. Scholarship seats are funded by donors, so no parent is turned away for money. |
| Our registry status | On our active build and filing list. We will announce the day this state accepts us, and not a day before. |
What the law actually says
“all parties shall be required to attend and complete an approved parenting education program as soon as possible, but not later than 60 days after an initial case management conference”
Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 924(b)Quoted from the official text. Read it yourself at the source below.The part nobody explains
If the deadline passes
The court may impose sanctions on a party who willfully fails to complete the program. The rule does not withhold the decree.
Who approves providers in Illinois
Each circuit or county creates or approves its own program, so Illinois is a set of local approvals rather than one statewide approval, and a circuit may add requirements of its own. The rule does not address online delivery, so ask your circuit before you pay anyone.
What you get from us
- The full course, start to finish, on a phone or a laptop, with your progress saved. Lifetime access, no thirty-day expiry and no extension fees.
- Your certificate the moment you finish, by email, free. A mailed paper copy is optional.
- Free instant verification for your court. A clerk or judge confirms the certificate at our verification page with no account and no phone call.
- Our acceptance guarantee: if your specific court declines this certificate, you get a full refund, no processing fee and no deadline to claim it.
Check us on the law
Every fact on this page traces to an official source. Read them yourself.