4.3 Reciprocity and Consent to Service of Process

Reciprocity and Consent to Service of Process

Out-of-state auctioneers regularly assume that "I am licensed at home, so Illinois will just stamp me in." 225 ILCS 407/10-45 is narrower than that. It is titled Nonresident auctioneer reciprocity, and it is a without-examination path only when every listed condition is true. Reciprocity is not automatic merely because another jurisdiction issues auctioneer licenses.

225 ILCS 407/30-55 is the Department's authority section: IDFPR shall have the authority to enter into reciprocal licensing agreements with the proper authority of a state, territory, or possession of the United States or the District of Columbia having licensing requirements equal to or substantially equivalent to the requirements of this State. 30-55 authorizes agreements. 10-45 tells a candidate when those agreements actually waive the Illinois written exam.

10-45(a): four conditions, plus the home-state standard

A person holding a license to engage in auctions issued by the proper authority of a state, territory, or possession of the United States or the District of Columbia that has licensing requirements equal to or substantially equivalent to the requirements of this State and that otherwise meets the requirements of this Act may obtain a license under this Act without examination if:

1. The Department has entered into a valid reciprocal agreement with the proper authority of the jurisdiction from which the nonresident applicant has a valid license.
2. The applicant provides the Department with a certificate of good standing from the applicant's state of licensure.
3. The applicant completes and submits an application as provided by the Department.
4. The applicant pays all applicable fees required under this Act.

Read that as an AND list sitting under an AND header. Equal-or-substantially-equivalent home requirements are in the opening clause. A valid IDFPR agreement is paragraph (1). Good standing, application, and fees are (2)–(4). Missing any one of those pieces returns the candidate to the ordinary 10-5 / 1440.110 exam path.

Rule 1440.160(a)(5) points to Section 10-50 and 1440.170 for the fee. 1440.170 does not publish a separate reciprocity surcharge line, so the candidate should expect the $200 initial auctioneer application fee under 1440.170(a)(1) unless the current Division form states a different applicable fee. Do not invent an extra reciprocity tariff. 10-50(a) still makes the fee nonrefundable.

The current reciprocity form is IL 505-0347, Auctioneer Application for Licensure by Reciprocity (Division of Real Estate). Form numbers change; the statutory 10-45 conditions do not.

The current IDFPR agreement list — not a national courtesy club

IDFPR publishes the jurisdictions with which Illinois has reciprocal auctioneer-license agreements at https://idfpr.illinois.gov/dre/aucreciprocity.html. As of the page's current listing, those jurisdictions are:

Memorize the ten two-letter codes: AL, AR, FL, IN, MA, MS, OH, TN, TX, WI. Neighboring or high-volume states that license auctioneers but are not on that list — including Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and New York — do not get a 10-45 exam waiver just because they have an auctioneer statute. The candidate sits the Illinois written exam unless and until IDFPR actually enters a 30-55 agreement with that jurisdiction.

The list is an IDFPR publication, not a statute. Agreements can be added or dropped. On the exam, the tested idea is: agreement + equivalent home requirements + good standing + application + fees, not "any licensed nonresident." If a question names a state on the current page (Indiana, Wisconsin, Florida), the agreement element is present. If it names Iowa or Missouri, the agreement element is missing.

10-45(b): irrevocable consent — serve the Secretary

A nonresident applicant shall file an irrevocable consent with the Department that actions may be commenced against the applicant or nonresident licensee in a court of competent jurisdiction in this State by the service of summons, process, or other pleading authorized by law upon the Secretary. The consent shall stipulate that service of the process, summons, or pleading upon the Secretary shall be taken and held in all courts to be valid and binding as if actual service had been made upon the applicant in Illinois.

If a summons, process, or other pleading is served upon the Secretary, it shall be by duplicate copies:

• one retained by the Department; and
• the other immediately forwarded by certified or registered mail or email to the last known business address or email address of record of the applicant or nonresident licensee against whom the paper is directed.

Exam traps on 10-45(b):

• Service is on the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation, not the Director of the Division of Real Estate as a substitute statutory target, not the Attorney General, not the county sheriff, and not the Auction Advisory Board.
• The consent is irrevocable.
• Forwarding is certified or registered mail or email, not ordinary first-class mail as the statutory method.
• The destination is the last known business address or email address of record, not whatever personal Gmail the plaintiff happens to know.
• Duplicate copies are mandatory: one stays, one goes.

This consent is how Illinois hauls a Tennessee-based reciprocal licensee into an Illinois court over an Illinois sale without chasing them across state lines for personal service. It is a condition of the no-exam license, not optional letterhead.

Rule 1440.160: the reciprocity file is not "good standing plus a check"

68 Ill. Adm. Code 1440.160 is titled Nonresident Auctioneer Reciprocity. A person holding a current license in good standing to conduct auctions, provide an auction service, or engage in auctioneering in a jurisdiction in which the Division has a reciprocal agreement shall apply on Division forms and shall include:

1. Name, address, and telephone number.
2. Social Security Number and date of birth.
3. Certification that the applicant is 18 years of age.
4. Certification of graduation from high school or equivalent (e.g., GED).
5. The fee as provided by Section 10-50 of the Act and Section 1440.170.
6. A properly completed sponsor card issued in accordance with Rule 1440.140. (As in 1440.120(a), the rule still cross-cites repealed Act Section 10-35. Teach the current 1440.140 form, not 10-35 as live statute. Chapter 5 covers the 45-day permit.)
7. A certification in writing that the nonresident applicant shall abide by all the provisions of the Act and this Part with respect to auction activities within the State of Illinois and submit to the jurisdiction of the Division as provided in the Act and this Part.
8. Other fitness information the Division requires.

So a reciprocal applicant still certifies age 18 and diploma/GED, still files a sponsor card, and still submits to Illinois jurisdiction. 10-45 waives the written examination. It does not waive adulthood, the diploma gate, the fee, fitness review, or Illinois law once the person is working here.

1440.160(b) is the domicile-conversion sentence: a person holding a current nonresident license may become a resident licensee without examination should he or she become domiciled in the State of Illinois. Moving the household to Peoria does not require a second PSI sitting if the nonresident credential is current. It also does not create a resident license automatically; the person becomes a resident licensee without examination, which still implies a resident-status filing.

Worked reciprocity scenarios

Indiana, good standing. Avery holds a current Indiana auctioneer license, Indiana is on the IDFPR reciprocal-agreement page, Indiana's requirements are treated as equal or substantially equivalent, Avery's board sends a certificate of good standing, and Avery files IL 505-0347 with the fee, 18/GED certifications, sponsor card, 10-45(b) consent, and 1440.160 written submission to jurisdiction. Avery may obtain the Illinois license without examination.

Iowa, fully licensed. Blake holds a current Iowa auctioneer license in good standing. Iowa is not on the IDFPR reciprocal-agreement list. 10-45(a)(1) fails. Blake sits the Illinois written exam. Home-state licensure without an Illinois agreement is not reciprocity.

Service of process. A consignor sues a Wisconsin-based Illinois reciprocal licensee over an Illinois farm sale. The summons is served in duplicate on the Secretary. The Department keeps one copy and forwards the other by certified mail or email to the licensee's last known business address or email of record. That service is valid and binding as if made on the licensee in Illinois.

Domicile change. A Florida reciprocal licensee moves permanently to Springfield and becomes Illinois-domiciled. Under 1440.160(b), that person may become a resident licensee without examination.

Equivalent-requirements miss. A jurisdiction licenses auctioneers at age 16 with no written exam and no diploma. Even if someone stamped "reciprocity" on a brochure, 10-45 and 30-55 both require home licensing requirements that are equal or substantially equivalent to Illinois. Illinois still requires 18, diploma or ISBE-equivalent, and a competence exam for its own applicants. A 10-45 waiver is not a device for importing a weaker home-state scheme.