Is your child ready for school? Illinois vaccine requirements for 2025

With the school year resuming this month for most Illinois students, the state’s Department of Public Health is reminding families what immunizations are recommended and required for school-aged children.

There may be some uncertainty about these requirements as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services revised federal guidelines earlier this summer.

In response, Illinois’ director of public health Dr. Sameer Vohra said, “IDPH will work with providers and partners around the state and country to provide the most accurate and timely information to you – the people we serve. IDPH will ensure that Illinois providers and residents have the credible information they need to make informed health care decisions."

Illinois requirements apply to all public and private school students, but the IDPH said they should also be observed by students attending school virtually or by those who are homeschooled

Illinois also requires students entering pre-school, kindergarten, sixth, and ninth grades, as well as out-of-state transfer students, to show proof of a physical examination.

Who is exempted

The state allows students to receive vaccine exemptions for medical reasons or parental religious objections. Medical exemptions can only be received with documentation from a doctor.

Religious exemptions must be approved by a school administrator after receiving an official request form signed by a parent and medical provider.

Religious exemption forms need a statement of explanation from the parent or guardian of why the exemption is being requested.

If students are not vaccinated and do not have a valid exemption, they may be denied entry to class and sent home.

Parents seeking an exemption for a student must affirm that they know the risks and understand that their student may be excluded from class during an active outbreak of an illness, such as the measles outbreak that occurred this spring.

Early childhood /pre-K

• By the age of 1, Illinois requires children to have received three doses of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine, with a fourth dose being administered at the age of 2.
• Children need proof of two doses of the polio vaccine for children by the age of 1, with a third dose by age 2.
• Children need proof of two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine shortly after their first birthday.
• Children need to have received three doses of the hepatitis B vaccine by the time they are 6 months old to enter early childhood education.
• By 15 months old, children should have had a single dose of the Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine.
• By age 2, children should have received one dose of the Invasive Pneumococcal Disease vaccine.
• At the age of 1, children need to receive one dose of the Varicella vaccine.

Kindergarten

• Students starting kindergarten need to have proof of at least four doses of the DTaP vaccine, with at least one being administered after the age of 4.
• Students need proof of four doses of the polio vaccine to start school, with the fourth booster dose received after the age of 4.
• Students need proof of previous MMR and varicella vaccination to register for school.

Teens and pre-teens

Several additional vaccines are required at intervals for students as they enter adolescence, and continued proof of the polio, MMR and varicella vaccination is required.

Students who have not been fully vaccinated as young children can receive catch-up vaccinations after consulting with a doctor.

• An additional booster of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine for adolescents and adults is required for students entering sixth grade.
• Students entering sixth grade are required to receive a three-shot vaccination series of the Hepatitis B vaccine.
• Students must receive one dose of the Meningococcal Disease vaccine before entering sixth grade. An additional dose should be received at the age of 16.

Immunization rates dipping

Vaccination rates across the U.S. have seen a downturn in recent years, including in Illinois.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that nationwide, between 94-96% of students entering kindergarten had their required vaccinations (MMR, DTaP, hepatitis B, varicella, polio) at the start of the 2011-12 school year.

Illinois exceeded the national average at that time, with between 96-98% of students having the necessary vaccines.

In the 2024-25 school year, Illinois’ rates for kindergarteners who’d received the five tracked vaccines were down to between 91-92%, while national levels range between 92-94%.

While the rates have fluctuated over time, vaccination rates dropped sharply after the start of the 2019-20 school year, as vaccine hesitancy increased following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CDC shows that Illinois’ vaccination rate for the MMR vaccine dropped from 96.6% for incoming kindergarteners in the fall of 2019 to 92.1% in the fall of 2020. In the fall of 2024, only 91.8% of kindergarteners had received the necessary MMR vaccinations.

This trend is partially due to the increase in nonmedical exemptions, which have been requested for students nationally. In 2024-25, the national rate of students with exemptions was up to 3.6% for kindergarteners, although only 0.2% of students receive medical exemptions.

In Illinois, the percentage of students with medical exemptions is still below the national average, with 2.8%, of which 2.5% are nonmedical.

This increase in vaccine exemptions has been seen in other parts of the country and has coincided with a spike in measles cases in 2025. As of July 30, there have been 1,333 confirmed cases of measles in 40 states this year, resulting in three deaths.

This is the highest number of cases seen in the U.S. in more than 30 years, and the deadliest outbreak of the virus since it was declared eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. The vast majority of the identified cases were in unvaccinated patients.