Surgical technologist in Illinois: licence, certification and what employers require (2026)

Illinois regulates the surgical technologist title; employers require CST. This page says what a surgical technologist licensed or working in another state has to do to work in Illinois, in the order to do it, and what goes wrong when the order is reversed.

How the transfer works

Most states do not license surgical technologists; hospitals hire on the CST certificate, which carries over to Illinois unchanged. A minority of states regulate the title or require registration or certification by law, and in those you register with the state health department before the first shift.

What to have ready before you move

• CST certificate
• Continuing education record
• Immunisation records; hospitals ask on day one

Start the paperwork before you give notice. There is no Illinois licence to wait for, so the only clock is the employer's.

What people get wrong

• Letting CST lapse; most hospitals will not hire without it
• Not checking whether ${STATE} requires registration

Who hires surgical technologists in Illinois

Surgical technologists in Illinois are hired by hospitals, ambulatory surgery centres and surgical staffing agencies. The metros with the most of that work are Chicago, Aurora, Naperville, Rockford and Springfield. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are on the Illinois openings page.

For the money side: the median surgical technologist in Illinois earned $62,510 a year ($30 an hour) in May 2024 across 3,730 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Illinois has a flat 4.95% state income tax. What that leaves you after tax is its own page.

Everything about Illinois, on one page

The Illinois page has the registries and boards, the income tax table, the programs that pay you to come and the openings filed this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of Illinois employers hiring from out of state.