The costs for the CRSS and CPRS are the same for both credentials. To obtain the credential, an applicant must first pay the Application Fee ($85), and once approved to sit for the exam, the Examination Fee ($125).
To maintain the credential, the CRSS or CPRS must pay the Annual Certification Fee ($70) each year by the anniversary of their certification date. An invoice will be sent to the email address on file as a reminder, 60 days before the due date. Financial assistance may be available for these fees as part of a scholarship fund that is administered by several colleges and universities across the State of Illinois. You do not have to be a student of these institutions to apply for financial assistance. For questions about these funds, please see contact information for these institutions on the CRSS Success Program page on the IDHS website6
The only other potential costs of maintaining the CRSS and/or CPRS credential are associated with earning and submitting required continuing education hours. Some sources of CEUs charge for their courses; however, there are numerous free and low-cost courses available online that are suitable for fulfilling these requirements. A list of courses that ICB has pre-approved for CEUs is available on their website8 Another list of relevant courses is maintained on the CRSS page9 of the Illinois Mental Health Collaborative website, although not all of these listings have been pre-approved by ICB.
When requesting renewal of your credential, if you choose to submit a CEU that was not on the ICB pre-approved list, you will be asked to pay a CEU Petition Fee of $10. If your credential is set to expire and you need more time to earn/gather/submit the required CEUs, you will be asked to pay a CEU Extension Fee of $10 for each month past your expiration date, with a maximum of six months of extension allowed.
