9.1 Grounds for Discipline (20-15)
Key Takeaways
- 225 ILCS 407/20-15 authorizes IDFPR to refuse to issue or renew, place on probation or administrative supervision, suspend, revoke, reprimand, or take other disciplinary or non-disciplinary action, including fines not to exceed $10,000 for each violation (P.A. 103-236; 104-417, eff. 8-15-25).
- Two independent 30-day notice grounds sit next to the underlying event: 20-15(3.5) is failing to notify the Department within 30 days of a 10-5(c) conviction, plea, or administrative sanction, and 20-15(5) includes failing to report another jurisdiction's adverse final action within 30 days.
- Money grounds cluster as 20-15(13) commingling or failing to keep others' funds in escrow, (14) failure to account, remit, or return within 30 days of a written owner request, (15) failure to maintain and deposit a special account, and (16) failure to produce escrow records within 24 hours.
- Advertising and honesty cluster as 20-15(9)–(12); offering or advertising real estate for sale or lease at auction without a valid RELA broker or managing-broker license is 20-15(23), except as provided in RELA §5-32.
- A 20-15.1 continuing-education citation penalty shall not exceed $2,000, does not excuse completing the missing CE, and an undisputed citation becomes a final non-disciplinary order — not the $10,000-per-violation discipline fine in 20-15.
Grounds for Discipline (20-15)
Article 20 of the Illinois Auction License Act is titled Disciplinary Provisions. On the 50-question PSI exam, 37 scored items sit in the Act and 68 Ill. Adm. Code Part 1440. 225 ILCS 407/20-15 is the master list of what IDFPR can do to a license and why. Memorize the sanction menu, the $10,000-per-violation cap, and the high-test paragraph numbers. A candidate who only remembers "you can lose your license for lying" will miss items that turn on a 30-day clock, a 24-hour records demand, a referral-fee exception, or a real-estate-at-auction bar that an auctioneer license does not unlock.
The current source note is P.A. 103-236 and P.A. 104-417, effective August 15, 2025. The section is scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2030, with the rest of the Act; that sunset is a drafting note, not a reason to ignore 20-15.
The sanction menu and the $10,000 cap
The opening sentence of 20-15 is itself a tested list. The Department may:
- refuse to issue or renew a license;
- place a license on probation or administrative supervision;
- suspend or revoke any license;
- reprimand; or
- take other disciplinary or non-disciplinary action as it deems proper, including the imposition of fines not to exceed $10,000 for each violation.
Those tools apply to any licensee, any applicant, and any person or entity who holds oneself out as an applicant or licensee. The fine is per violation, not a career cap. Two separate 20-15 violations can support two fines. Do not confuse this $10,000 discipline fine with the 20-5 unlicensed-practice civil penalty (also capped at $10,000 per offense, taught in Section 9.2) or with a 20-15.1 CE citation (capped at $2,000).
High-test numbered grounds
Walk the numbers. PSI writes to the paragraph. Cluster the advertising paragraphs; do not skip the 30-day notice paragraphs that sit beside the underlying event.
| Paragraph | Ground (compressed) | Clock or exception the item writer uses |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | False or fraudulent representation or material misstatement to the Department in obtaining or seeking a license | Application, restoration, or renewal paperwork — not a sale-bill lie |
| (2) | Violation of any provision of this Act or the rules adopted under it | Catch-all for a named 15-5, 15-10, or 1440 breach |
| (3) | Conviction or guilty/nolo contendere plea, as set forth in 10-5(c), to any felony or misdemeanor under U.S. or any state or territory law, or an administrative sanction by a government agency | The event itself is the ground |
| (3.5) | Failing to notify the Department, within 30 days after the occurrence, of the information required in 10-5(c) | Silence is a separate ground from the conviction |
| (5) | Out-of-state or other-entity discipline on equivalent grounds, or failing to report to the Department, within 30 days, any adverse final action by another licensing jurisdiction, government agency, law-enforcement agency, or court, or liability for conduct that would be grounds here | Two prongs: the foreign discipline, and the 30-day report |
| (6) | Practicing auctioneering, conducting an auction, or providing an auction service without a license or after the license was expired, revoked, suspended, or terminated, or while it was inoperative | Crying on a lapsed even-year license is unlicensed practice |
| (7) | Attempting to subvert or cheat on the auctioneer exam or any CE exam, or aiding or abetting another | PSI exam or a 1440.310 proctored CE exam |
| (8) | Fee, commission, rebate, or other compensation for professional service not actually or personally rendered, except a referral fee to another licensed auctioneer of this State or jurisdiction for referring a client or prospect for auction services | Kickback for no work is illegal; licensed-to-licensed referral is the exception |
| (9)–(12) | Substantial misrepresentation or untruthful advertising; false promises likely to influence, persuade, or induce; a continued and flagrant course of misrepresentation or false promises through a licensee, agent, employee, advertising, or otherwise; misleading or untruthful advertising, or using any trade name or insignia of membership in an auctioneer association of which the licensee is not a member | Cluster these four; 15-5 honesty failures land here as discipline |
| (13) | Commingling others' funds with the licensee's own, or failing to keep others' funds in an escrow or trustee account | Operating-account mix is enough |
| (14) | Failure to account for, remit, or return moneys, property, or documents belonging to others, acquired through auction practice, within 30 days of the written request from the owner | The clock starts on the owner's written request |
| (15) | Failure to maintain and deposit into a special account, separate from personal or other business accounts, all moneys belonging to others entrusted to the licensee as auctioneer, firm, or temporary custodian | No special account is itself a 20-15 ground |
| (16) | Failure to make escrow and trustee records available to Department personnel during normal business hours within 24 hours after a request | Not 30 days — 24 hours |
| (18) | Failing to voluntarily furnish copies of all written instruments prepared by the auctioneer and signed by all parties to all parties at the time of execution | Hand over the signed 15-10 contract when it is signed |
| (19) | Failing to provide information within 30 days in response to a written request made by the Department | Department demand, not a seller demand |
| (20) | Any act that constitutes a violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act | Discrimination while practicing |
| (22) | Dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional conduct of a character likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the public | Shill bidding, undisclosed dual agency, and undisclosed personal interest land here if no more specific paragraph fits |
| (23) | Offering or advertising real estate for sale or lease at auction without a valid broker or managing broker license under the Real Estate License Act, unless exempt, except as provided in RELA §5-32 | An auctioneer license is not a broker license |
| (24) | Inability to practice with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety as a result of physical illness, mental illness, or disability | Impairment, not a moral-character insult |
| (27) | Inability to practice with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety as a result of habitual or excessive use or addiction to alcohol, narcotics, stimulants, or any other chemical agent or drug | Alcohol/drug impairment |
| (29) | Violating the terms of any order issued by the Department | Ignoring a suspension, fine-payment, or CE-completion order |
Application fraud, convictions, and the two 30-day clocks
20-15(1) is paperwork fraud aimed at IDFPR: a false diploma, a hidden felony, a fake exam score. A catalog lie to bidders is (9)–(12) or (22), not (1), unless the same person also lied on the license application.
20-15(3) is the conviction, plea, or administrative sanction itself. 20-15(3.5) is failing to tell the Department within 30 days of a 10-5(c) event. A guilty plea to obtaining money under false pretenses is (3). Waiting until the next even-year renewal to mention it is (3.5). Chapter 4 taught the 10-5(c) list (forgery, embezzlement, false pretenses, larceny, extortion, conspiracy to defraud, similar offenses, and a felony involving moral turpitude, plus government-agency administrative sanctions). Do not collapse those two paragraphs.
20-15(5) is the out-of-state twin. Iowa revokes an auctioneer license on a commingling ground equivalent to Illinois 20-15(13): that foreign discipline is itself a ground if at least one of the grounds is the same as or equivalent to an Illinois ground. Independently, failing to report the adverse final action to IDFPR within 30 days is a 20-15(5) report failure. Rule 1440.250 implements both conviction notice and other-license notice; the procedure is Section 9.3. Here, know that (3), (3.5), and (5) are three numbered hooks, not one "criminal history" blob.
Practice without a live license, cheating, and the referral-fee exception
20-15(6) names practicing without a license and practicing after expired, revoked, suspended, or terminated status, or while inoperative. Crying the December 31 even-year farm sale on January 2 with an unrenewed card is (6). It is also unlicensed practice under 20-5 (Section 9.2). Rule 1440.145(c) says practicing on an expired or inactive license is unlicensed activity and grounds under 20-15.
20-15(7) covers the PSI auctioneer exam and any continuing-education exam, plus aiding or abetting. A 70-percent CE proctor who feeds answers is in (7) with the candidate.
20-15(8) bans paying or receiving a fee for service not actually or personally rendered. The exception is narrow: a licensed Illinois (or reciprocating-jurisdiction) auctioneer may receive a referral fee from another licensed auctioneer for referring a client or prospect for auction services. A clerk's kickback for steering lots, or a fee to an unlicensed cousin who never performed auction services, is not that exception.
Advertising cluster (9)–(12), copies, Department demands, and Human Rights
Treat (9), (10), (11), and (12) as a cluster. A single inflated provenance line can be substantial misrepresentation (9) and untruthful advertising (12). A guaranteed $50,000 hammer is a false promise likely to influence (10) (and a 15-5(2) value prediction — Chapter 6). Six months of the same catalog fiction is a continued and flagrant course (11). Printing the National Auctioneers Association logo without membership is the insignia prong of (12).
20-15(18) is mechanical and testable: when the auctioneer prepares a writing and all parties sign it, copies go to all parties at execution. Do not mail the seller's copy next week. 20-15(19) is a Department written request; the answer window is 30 days. 20-15(14) is an owner's written request for money, property, or documents; that window is also 30 days. Same number of days, different requestor.
20-15(20) is any act that violates the Illinois Human Rights Act. Related 20-16 (illegal discrimination) then requires timely suspension or revocation after a civil or criminal adjudication, or 20-15-menu discipline after an administrative finding, unless the matter is on appeal. Do not treat (20) as optional courtesy.
Escrow cluster (13)–(16)
Chapter 8 teaches how to run the special account. This section teaches how 20-15 punishes getting it wrong.
- (13) Commingling others' funds with the licensee's own, or failing to keep others' funds in escrow or trustee account. Buyer deposits in the operating account are enough.
- (14) Failure to account, remit, or return within 30 days of the written request from the owner. The 30-day clock does not start on sale day; it starts on the written demand.
- (15) Failure to maintain and deposit into a special account, separate from personal or other business accounts, all moneys belonging to others. Having no special account is a completed (15), not a bookkeeping suggestion.
- (16) Failure to produce escrow and trustee records to Department personnel during normal business hours within 24 hours after a request. That is the shortest production clock in 20-15. Do not import the 30-day figure from (14) or (19).
Real estate at auction, the (22) catch-all, impairment, and orders
20-15(23) is the RELA wall. Offering or advertising real estate for sale or lease at auction without a valid broker or managing broker license under the Real Estate License Act, unless exempt, is a 20-15 ground — except as provided in Section 5-32 of the Real Estate License Act of 2000. RELA §5-32 is the real estate auction certification: a licensed auctioneer who completes a Department-approved 30-hour real estate auction course may perform a limited role (time, place, and method of the auction; advertisements; crying or calling the sale). Other brokerage still belongs to a broker or managing broker. A broker or managing broker does not need the 5-32 certificate to auction real estate. An ordinary 10-5 auctioneer license, standing alone, does not authorize a farm-and-land sale bill. PSI will offer "I have an auctioneer license" as a trap.
20-15(22) is the residual ethics paragraph: dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional conduct likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the public. Shill bidding, undisclosed dual agency, and an auctioneer's undisclosed personal interest in a lot land here when no more specific paragraph (9)–(13) already names the facts. Use (22) as a last numbered hook, not a first.
20-15(24) and (27) are impairment: physical or mental illness or disability that destroys reasonable judgment, skill, or safety, and habitual or excessive alcohol or drug use that does the same. They are ability-to-practice grounds, not automatic moral turpitude.
20-15(29) is violating any Department order. Combined with 20-10 (a single prohibited act, or violating a disciplinary order, is a violation of the Act), ignoring a suspension or an unpaid-fine order is itself a new violation.
Paragraphs that exist but are lower-yield — and one blank
Do not tell yourself the missing numbers were repealed across the board:
- (4) adjudication of legal disability or Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code involuntary/judicial admission.
- (17) making or filing false records or reports in the licensee's practice, including with State agencies.
- (21) is blank.
- (25) a pattern of practice demonstrating incapacity or incompetence.
- (26) DCFS indicated perpetrator, proved by clear and convincing evidence as to an abused or neglected child.
- (28) willfully failing to report suspected child abuse or neglect under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
If an item names (21), the live answer is that the paragraph is blank, not that Human Rights moved there.
20-15.1 CE citations — $2,000, not $10,000
225 ILCS 407/20-15.1 is a separate citation statute for failure to comply with continuing education. The citation lists the licensee's name, address, license number, the number of missing CE hours, and the penalty, which shall not exceed $2,000. Issuing the citation does not excuse the licensee from completing all required CE for that renewal period. Pay-and-walk is not a CE waiver.
Service is in person, electronically, or by mail to the address or email of record. The licensee may request a hearing in writing within 30 days after service. If no hearing is requested, the citation becomes a final, non-disciplinary order, and the fine is due within 60 days after that final order. A first or second paid citation is generally not website-reportable discipline unless the licensee has previously received two or more citations and been assessed two or more fines. The Department may still use full 20-15 discipline for additional, repeated, or continuing CE violations. Do not treat a $2,000 citation cap as a rewrite of the $10,000 20-15 fine.
Under 225 ILCS 407/20-15, which statement correctly describes the Department's sanction tools and the discipline-fine cap?
A sponsored Illinois auctioneer who is not a member of any auctioneer association prints a national association's membership insignia on every sale bill for a year and also texts bidders that each lot is guaranteed to bring a stated hammer price. Which 20-15 cluster best captures those facts?
An Illinois-licensed auctioneer who holds no Real Estate License Act broker or managing-broker license, no RELA exemption, and no RELA §5-32 real estate auction certification advertises a 80-acre farm for sale at auction. Which 20-15 paragraph is the best fit?
A licensee completes only 8 of 12 required CE hours. IDFPR issues a 20-15.1 citation. Which statement is accurate?