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Cook County

Cook County Department of Revenue

In short

Cook County Department of Revenue issues 3 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

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Weights and Measures Device Inspection — State and Chicago Programs (Cook County)only if it applies to youCook County Department of RevenueNo feenot applicable2026-09-27
General Business License (GBL)only if it applies to youCook County Department of Revenue$40 per license, per 2-year term (current cycle March 1, 2025 – February 28, 2027); an additional $40 late-renewal penalty ($80 total) applies if not renewed by the March 1 deadline2 years, on a fixed biennial cycle running from March 1 of an odd-numbered year through the last day of February two years later; the current cycle runs March 1, 2025 through February 28, 20272026-09-27
County Wheel Tax / Vehicle License — Repealed June 30, 2023 (Cook County)only if it applies to youCook County Department of RevenueNo feenot applicable — the county wheel tax was repealed effective June 30, 20232026-09-27

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

Weights and Measures Device Inspection — State and Chicago Programs (Cook County)

No fee applies at the Cook County level. Under the Illinois Weights and Measures Act (225 ILCS 470), § 10 directs the state Director of Agriculture to inspect and test, at least once every 12 months, all weights and measures in commercial use, and § 9 provides for cities that appoint their own sealer of weights and measures. A commercial scale, gas pump or other measuring device used by a business in suburban or unincorporated Cook County is therefore inspected by the Illinois Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Weights and Measures, and a device used by a business inside Chicago is instead inspected under that city's own program run by its Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. Because the statute places these inspections with the state and city sealers, there is no Cook County fee for either function.

General Business License (GBL)

This license applies only in unincorporated Cook County — every incorporated suburb and the City of Chicago license these businesses under their own ordinances instead. It reaches a covered business with a fixed place of business, owned or leased real property used for the business, or regularly stocked tangible personal property for sale, in unincorporated Cook County. Restaurants, coffee shops and food trucks are normally exempt because they instead hold a CCDPH food license, which the ordinance treats as satisfying the GBL requirement in its place; a business already holding a Liquor License, a CCDPH public-health license or an Arms Dealer license is likewise exempt from the GBL itself, though it must still register on the GBL portal to obtain an exemption certificate. The $40 fee is due within 30 days of opening for a new business. Operating without a required GBL carries a $100 fine for a first offense, $250 for a second and $500 for a third or later offense, per the Department of Revenue's own FAQ — a separate, higher penalty schedule ($500–$3,000, Sec. 102-105(4)) applies to unregistered contractor work instead, and the two should not be confused. Each separate location needs its own license, and applications are reviewed by Building and Zoning, Environmental Control, the Sheriff's Office, the Department of Public Health and the Department of Revenue.

County Wheel Tax / Vehicle License — Repealed June 30, 2023 (Cook County)

No fee applies. Cook County formerly required an annual wheel-tax sticker for every vehicle kept in unincorporated Cook County, including a business's own fleet or service vehicles, but, according to the County's own announcements, the County Board voted unanimously on September 22, 2022 to pass the Wheel Tax Elimination Ordinance, and the repeal took effect June 30, 2023, so no county wheel tax has been due since July 1, 2023. This entry exists so an auto-repair shop, contractor or any other business with vehicles based in unincorporated Cook County does not budget for a fee the county no longer charges. It has no bearing on the separate Illinois vehicle registration or on any wheel tax a specific municipality may still run within its own borders.

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.

  1. Cook County Board Unanimously Passes Repeal of County Wheel TaxCook County Board · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  2. FAQs — General Business License (November 8, 2022)Cook County Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  3. General Business License (service page)Cook County Department of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  4. Illinois Department of Agriculture — Bureau of Animal Health & Welfare (kennel, pet shop, dog dealer and breeder licensing under the Illinois Animal Welfare Act, $350 per license type) and Bureau of Weights and Measures (statewide inspection of commercial scales and fuel dispensers)Illinois Department of Agriculture · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  5. President Preckwinkle Reminds Residents County Wheel Tax Eliminated Starting July 1Cook County Office of the President · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-27
  6. Steps to Obtain a General Business LicenseCook County Department of Revenue · 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.