Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation

I need the IDFPR to verify my temporary license, so that another state can issue a permanent license for me. It took them two weeks to acknowledge the receipt of the request, four weeks to «post payment», and another four weeks to issue the verification. It is just a piece of paper that they need to stamp and send out. Any normal person can accomplish that in less than two minutes. And this is after raising the licensing fees.

I’m a canadian doing fellowship in the states. Unfortunately I can’t apply for my H1B VISA until I get my license. It’s been 4 months… 4 FREAKIN MONTHS in the process applying.
They only accept things by mail, no uploading, no faxes, and no emails. They function at in the 90s. I also would hear different things from different people.
btw they do have a fax number, they just don’t share it with everyone. This organization REALLY needs to shape up.

ohh well!

I passed my LCSW exam on January 24^th. My license was listed as «issued» in the IDFPR license lookup database on January 29^th, and was accompanied by a license number.
Today is February 15^th, and I have still not received my license in the mail.
Moreover, I cannot get ahold of anyone at either the Chicago office (their phone number is not even listed on the site), or the Springfield office. When calling the 1 – 800 number, I am repeatedly transferred to «the right department» (which, incidentally, has the same phone number as is listed on the IDFPR website, so I’m not sure why I’m transferred). When the call is picked up following the transfer, I am placed on hold. There is nothing but silence, and a recording of a man’s voice saying, «Please continue to hold,» about every 30 seconds. Yesterday I listened to this for 30 minutes before having to hang up. It was my 10^th attempt to get in touch with IDFPR about the whereabouts of my license, and it was a failed attempt.
Additionally, I read on the website that I may email the person in charge of «my professional area» if my question was not answered on the website (which it wasn’t, obviously). I emailed that person at the listed address, and of course, haven’t received a reply.
Licensure is expensive, stressful, and professionally, quite important. I find IDFPR’s complete lack of communication, concern, access, and responsibility extremely alarming. There is literally no way to remedy the situation of my missing license, as the only go-​to person listed on the site is IDFPR itself, and nobody ever answers the phone or provides any direction other than, «I’ll transfer you,» before transferring you to either a dead line that hangs up on you, or to limbo, where you sit on hold indefinitely. There’s no response to email, and no option to fax or contact an alternate representative of the agency.
I presume the only follow-​up I can take if I don’t receive acceptable, professional assistance sometime extremely soon is to lodge a complaint with the Governor.
Good luck, anyone requiring a professional license in Illinois. Even when you pass your test, you’re going to be in semi-​licensed professional limbo, unable to practice independently, for a very long time.