State guides · Illinois
How to register (and renew) a charity in Illinois
Illinois charitable solicitation registration is handled by the Illinois Attorney General, Charitable Trust Bureau. Here is how the filing works, from the state’s own forms and instructions.
- Agency
- Illinois Attorney General, Charitable Trust Bureau
- Forms
- Form CO-1 to register, then the annual AG990-IL.
- How you file
- Online through the Attorney General’s charitable portal (since September 10, 2025). Paper is still accepted.
- Who signs
- Two officers (the president and the chief financial officer) or two trustees e-sign through links the portal emails to them.
- What to attach
- The Form 990, any audit or review, and the IFC forms.
- State fee
- $15 to register, $15 a year.
- Deadline
- Six months after your fiscal year ends, with a 60-day extension available.
- Audit or review
- An audit above $500,000 (or above $25,000 if a professional fundraiser was used); a review from $300,000 to $500,000.
- If you file late
- $100.
Sources
Researched October 2026 from the agency’s forms, instructions and statutes. Fees and deadlines change; we confirm the current rules each time we file. This page describes how the filing works and is not advice on whether your organization must register.
We can file this for you
We can prepare and file your Illinois registration and renewals for $95 a year, plus the state fee at cost. The state's own system emails your officers a signature link for each filing. We time these so they arrive in the same week, and tell you before they go out.