13 permits · verified 2026-09-04
What permits do you need to open a contractor or trade in Aurora?
In short
A contractor or trade in Aurora, IL has 6 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 7 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. City of Aurora Development Services Department charges $232 for new construction, an addition, or a commercial remodel; a temporary certificate costs twice the standard fee for the certificate of occupancy. 2 of the 13 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-09-04 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.
Permits particular to a contractor or trade in Aurora
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contractor Registration | City of Aurora Development Services Department | $200 annual fee | not confirmed in the source consulted | 2026-09-04 |
| General Contractor License (local, not state) | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Professional Regulation | No fee | set by the issuing municipality or county | 2026-09-03 |
| Plumbing Contractor Registrationonly if it applies to you | Illinois Department of Public Health, Plumbing Program | $150 a year | annual — expires 30 September | 2026-09-03 |
| Roofing Contractor Licenseonly if it applies to you | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Professional Regulation | $125 application, plus a $226 examination fee paid to the testing provider | not published — roofing is not in the department's current renewal window | 2026-09-03 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
Local permits that apply to every type of business in Aurora
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Aurora Development Services Department | $232 for new construction, an addition, or a commercial remodel; a temporary certificate costs twice the standard fee | issued once per qualifying occupancy | 2026-09-04 |
| Commercial Building Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Aurora Development Services Department | Varies — formula on the Aurora page | one-time, per project | 2026-09-04 |
| Fire Alarm or Fire Suppression System Permitonly if it applies to you | City of Aurora Development Services Department | $384 combining application, inspection, plan review and certificate fees for a new fire alarm or fire suppression system | one-time per system installed | 2026-09-04 |
| Business Registration | City of Aurora Development Services Department | No fee | no stated expiration; a licensed business renews on an annual basis | 2026-09-04 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
IL registrations that apply to every type of business
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to you | Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services | $150 one-time filing | no expiry, but an annual report is due every year | 2026-09-03 |
| Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to you | Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services | $175 one-time — $150 filing fee plus $25 minimum initial franchise tax | no expiry, but an annual report and franchise tax are due every year | 2026-09-03 |
| Annual Reportonly if it applies to you | Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services | Varies — formula on the IL page | annual — an LLC files before the first day of its anniversary month | 2026-09-03 |
| Certificate of Registration (Form REG-1) | Illinois Department of Revenue, Central Registration Division | No fee | continuous — no renewal | 2026-09-03 |
| General Business License — Illinois position (city, not state) | Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity | No fee | set by the issuing municipality | 2026-09-03 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
How much does it actually cost to permit a contractor or trade in Aurora?
There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 13 records listed for a contractor or trade in Aurora, IL, 6 apply to every business of this type and 7 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.
Of the 6 that always apply, 2 carry a flat fee, coming to $432.00. That is a floor, not a total. 2 of the 13 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 4 have no fee published at all.
The other 2 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Aurora permits page and the IL state page.
Which offices issue these permits in Aurora?
Permits for a contractor or trade in Aurora, IL come from 6 separate offices: City of Aurora Development Services Department, Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Professional Regulation, Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services, Illinois Department of Public Health, Plumbing Program, Illinois Department of Revenue, Central Registration Division, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.
- City of Aurora Development Services DepartmentIssues 5 permits on this page, including Certificate of Occupancy, Contractor Registration, Commercial Building Permit44 E Downer Place, Aurora, IL 60505 · (630) 256-3130www.aurora.il.us/Property-and-Business/Business/Licenses-and-Registration
- Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Professional RegulationIssues 2 permits on this page: General Contractor License (local, not state), Roofing Contractor License320 West Washington Street, 3rd Floor, Springfield, IL 62786 · (888) 473-4858idfpr.illinois.gov
- Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business ServicesIssues 3 permits on this page: Articles of Organization (LLC), Articles of Incorporation, Annual Report501 South Second Street, Room 351, Springfield, IL 62756 · (217) 524-8008www.ilsos.gov/departments/business_services
- Illinois Department of Public Health, Plumbing ProgramIssues 1 permit on this page: Plumbing Contractor Registration525-535 West Jefferson Street, Springfield, IL 62761 · (217) 782-4977dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/environmental-health-protection/plumbing.html
- Illinois Department of Revenue, Central Registration DivisionIssues 1 permit on this page: Certificate of Registration (Form REG-1)Central Registration Division, Illinois Department of Revenue, PO Box 19030, Springfield, IL 62794-9030 · (217) 785-3707mytax.illinois.gov
- Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic OpportunityIssues 1 permit on this page: General Business License — Illinois position (city, not state)(800) 252-2923dceo.illinois.gov/smallbizassistance/beginhere/stepbystepguide.html
What does a contractor or trade need in Aurora that other businesses do not?
4 of the 4 permits particular to a contractor or trade here apply to no other business type we cover in Aurora: Contractor Registration, General Contractor License (local, not state), Plumbing Contractor Registration and Roofing Contractor License.
Contractor Registration
Required of any person, firm or corporation doing construction work in Aurora, and a certificate of insurance naming the City as an additional insured is required to register. A surety bond is required only for dumpster placement or other work obstructing the public right-of-way, not for ordinary construction generally.
General Contractor License (local, not state)
The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation publishes its complete list of regulated professions, about a hundred and fifty entries from acupuncturist to wholesale drug distributor; that list contains roofing contractor, private security and structural engineering but no general contractor, home improvement, HVAC, electrical or carpentry entry, so this record carries no state fee. The state's own start-up handbook notes that many contractor licenses are issued at municipal or county level. Chicago is the obvious example, and a contractor working across municipal lines can need several.
Plumbing Contractor Registration
Registered by the Department of Public Health, not by the professional regulation department — a common misattribution that sends applicants to the wrong agency. Any licensed plumber doing plumbing work for another person must register. The $150 is the smaller part of the cost: a $20,000 surety bond or letter of credit is required, and it cannot be a continuous bond — it must expire on 30 September like the registration itself — along with $100,000 general liability, $300,000 bodily injury, $50,000 property damage and $500,000 workers' compensation cover, though a contractor with no employees may elect out of the last. Registrations do not survive a change of ownership. The fee is read from the department's own application form, which is dated 2016, so confirm it before budgeting.
Roofing Contractor License
Roofing is one of the few construction trades Illinois licenses at state level, and the license belongs to the business while the exam belongs to a person: every applicant must nominate a qualifying party who passes it, at $226 payable to the testing company rather than to the state. Two classes exist — limited, for residential work up to eight units, and unlimited, which adds commercial and industrial. The exam must be passed within three years of applying or the fee is forfeited. The renewal fee and expiry date are not published, because roofing is not currently inside a renewal window and the department's live renewal table therefore omits it.
The other 4 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Aurora, IL; what each one involves is set out on the Aurora permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across IL and are covered on the IL state page.
How does a contractor or trade compare with other businesses in Aurora?
The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 0 of these permits. A contractor or trade also needs Contractor Registration, General Contractor License (local, not state), Plumbing Contractor Registration and Roofing Contractor License. A auto repair shop needs nothing here that a contractor or trade does not.
| Business | Its own permits | Shared with a contractor or trade | Only a contractor or trade needs | Only it needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto repair shops | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Childcare centres | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Coffee shops | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Fitness studios | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Food trucks | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Restaurants | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Retail stores | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Salons and barbers | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Veterinary clinics | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
Sources
Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Aurora permits page and the IL state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- City of Aurora — contractor registration, $200 feeCity of Aurora · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation — complete list of professions and industries regulated by IDFPRIllinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity — Starting Your Business in Illinois handbook, 2026 editionIllinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Illinois Department of Public Health — plumbing contractor registration application and renewalIllinois Department of Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation — roofing contractor license applicationIllinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
Related
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.