Cook County
Cook County Department of Building and Zoning
In short
Cook County Department of Building and Zoning issues 5 permits we publish for Cook County, last verified 2026-09-27. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Occupancy / Building Permit and Certificate of Occupancy (unincorporated Cook County)only if it applies to you | Cook County Department of Building and Zoning | $100–$500 application deposit only — $100 for a residential business-occupancy application, $500 for non-residential — credited against the final permit fee at issuance; Cook County's complete final fee schedule beyond this deposit is not published in any document found | a Certificate of Occupancy does not expire once issued; an existing, unchanged business is re-inspected annually by Building and Zoning | 2026-09-27 |
| Contractor Registration (unincorporated Cook County)only if it applies to you | Cook County Department of Building and Zoning | Initial registration: $150 per trade. Annual renewal: $75 per trade. A $1,000,000 general-liability insurance policy naming Cook County Building and Zoning as certificate holder is a condition of registration, not a separate county fee. A homeowner performing their own work at a property they reside on may obtain a free 'General' registration instead of a trade registration. | annual; the county's own registration page states renewal is due December 31, while the county's 2020 Sec. 32-1 fee-schedule-amendment ordinance instead states registrations run on the county fiscal year, December 1 through November 30 — the two primary sources disagree by about a month and neither is preferred here | 2026-09-27 |
| Commercial Sign Permit (unincorporated Cook County)only if it applies to you | Cook County Department of Building and Zoning | Illuminated sign permit fee, per square foot of sign face, under the 2020 amendment to Sec. 32-1: $73.50 for 15 sq ft or less (single face), rising through intermediate size brackets to $205.80 for more than 32 sq ft (double face). A roof sign is $533.40 for the first 500 sq ft plus $0.63 per sq ft beyond that. A billboard or other off-premise advertising sign instead carries an $840.00-a-year registration renewal fee (Cook County Code Ch. 114, Sec. 114-32(c)) on top of its initial permit, plus a general application deposit of 1/10 of 1% of the estimated cost of work or $25, whichever is greater. Multiple similar wall signs attached to the same structure pay a single fee. | one-time per sign installation; a billboard or off-premise advertising sign additionally carries an $840-a-year registration renewal on top of its initial permit | 2026-09-27 |
| Swimming Pool Construction Permit — Electrical and Plumbing (unincorporated Cook County)only if it applies to you | Cook County Department of Building and Zoning | Electrical permit, under the 2020 amendment to Sec. 32-1: $73.50 for an above-ground pool, $132.50 for an in-ground pool. Plumbing permit, same 2020 schedule: $63.00 for an above-ground pool, $163.80 for an in-ground pool. Neither schedule has a separate, higher tier for a pool built with a spa. | one-time, per pool installation | 2026-09-27 |
| Child Care Center Licensing — State DCFS License Applies (Cook County)only if it applies to you | Cook County Department of Building and Zoning | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-27 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Business Occupancy / Building Permit and Certificate of Occupancy (unincorporated Cook County)
A physical business location in unincorporated Cook County (and the Forest Preserves of Cook County) needs a Business Occupancy approval from Building and Zoning before opening, again for any construction, remodeling or change in operations, and is otherwise re-inspected annually. Inside Chicago or any other incorporated suburb, that municipality's own building and occupancy process applies instead. The application deposit is $100 for a residential business-occupancy application and $500 for non-residential, credited against the final permit fee when it is issued; Cook County's complete valuation-based or flat final fee schedule beyond that deposit is not available in any retrievable current document and is not published here — confirm the total cost with Building and Zoning before budgeting for it. A business adding a Liquor License or video gaming terminals must separately update its zoning/occupancy approval and obtain a building permit verifying the terminal installation or alcohol-service space.
Contractor Registration (unincorporated Cook County)
A contractor must register with Building and Zoning before pulling a building permit for work in unincorporated Cook County; the same registration is not required to work inside Chicago or any other incorporated suburb, each of which has its own permitting process. Registration costs $150 per trade initially and $75 per trade at annual renewal, and requires $1,000,000 in general-liability insurance naming Cook County Building and Zoning as certificate holder. An electrical contractor needs a licensed supervising electrician, a plumbing contractor needs a state-licensed corporate officer, and a roofing contractor needs a State of Illinois Roofing License. A registration lapsed two years or more requires contacting the department to re-register rather than a simple renewal. Performing construction work without the required registration carries its own penalty schedule under Sec. 102-105(4): $500–$1,000 for a first violation, $1,000–$2,000 for a second, and $2,000–$3,000 for a third or later — a materially higher schedule than the General Business License's own $100/$250/$500 penalty, and the two should not be conflated. A public 'Registered Contractors Search' tool is available at the county's site.
Commercial Sign Permit (unincorporated Cook County)
Installing, altering or relocating a commercial sign in unincorporated Cook County requires a permit from Building and Zoning; inside Chicago or any other incorporated suburb, that municipality's own sign ordinance applies instead. The fee is not a single flat figure — an earlier pass could only find a reference to a fee 'as established by the County Board' with no number attached, and the actual figure turned out to be the graduated per-square-foot table above, published here as a formula rather than a fabricated flat amount. Repainting, cleaning or a face/copy change that does not alter a sign's size or structure needs no permit. A company that installs signs must itself be separately registered and bonded with the county. Sign area and type limits vary by zoning district.
Swimming Pool Construction Permit — Electrical and Plumbing (unincorporated Cook County)
Installing a pool or spa in unincorporated Cook County requires separate electrical and plumbing permits from Building and Zoning, priced under the 2020 amendment to Sec. 32-1: $73.50 (electrical) and $63.00 (plumbing) for an above-ground pool, or $132.50 (electrical) and $163.80 (plumbing) for an in-ground pool. An earlier pass had reported $150 (above-ground, with spa) and $225 (in-ground, with spa) instead; those figures do not appear in the source they were attributed to or in the county's actual current fee schedule, are not used here, and are replaced by the electrical/plumbing figures above, which do not have a separate spa tier at all. This is on top of the general Business Occupancy building-permit process for the fitness studio itself. CCDPH's separate annual pool/spa operating-permit fee, once the pool is in use, is a different fee not included in the figures above; contact CCDPH for the current amount.
Child Care Center Licensing — State DCFS License Applies (Cook County)
No fee applies at the Cook County level. A child care center in unincorporated Cook County goes through the same Business Occupancy/Building Permit process as any other commercial premises (see that requirement) and, if it prepares food on site, may also need a CCDPH food permit; Cook County's own permit-requirements listing and agency directory name no separate childcare-specific license or fee beyond those general processes. Child care center licensing itself is administered by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), a state function that sits outside county jurisdiction entirely.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Cook County
- Phone
- Not verified — use the website
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- 2020 Fee Schedule Amendments to Cook County Code Sec. 32-1 (electrical, plumbing and sign-permit fee tables; contractor-registration fiscal-year language)Cook County Department of Building and Zoning · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
- Contractor RegistrationCook County Department of Building and Zoning · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
- Cook County Business Occupancy FlowchartCook County Department of Building and Zoning · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
- Permit Requirements (Business Occupancy / building-permit process and application deposits)Cook County Department of Building and Zoning · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
- Sign Permit RequirementsCook County Department of Building and Zoning · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
Other offices serving Cook County
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
Illinois jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.