Illinois sets its physician assistant fees in 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1350.25, and they are low enough to be worth explaining.
The schedule
A 0 application fee. Renewal calculated at 0 per year of the renewal period. Restoration from lapsed status at 0, plus all lapsed renewal fees.
That last clause is the one to read twice. Restoration is 0 plus everything you did not pay — so the headline restoration fee is nominal and the actual cost scales with how long the license sat expired.
The per-year renewal
Calculating renewal per year rather than as a flat cycle fee is unusual and mildly confusing. It means the amount depends on the length of the period you are renewing into, which is not always the same.
Where the cost actually sits
Not in fees. In the collaboration requirement, in verification of prior licenses, and in the board’s processing time — the same places it sits everywhere. A 0 application fee does not make Illinois a fast state; it makes Illinois a cheap state to apply to.
For a locum PA carrying licenses between assignments, 0 a year is genuinely cheap to hold. That is a real argument for keeping an Illinois license active rather than letting it lapse and paying the accumulated renewals later.
The compact position
Illinois has not enacted the compact. A license here will not qualify you for privileges elsewhere.
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