11 published records
Business licenses and permits in Chicago, Illinois
Chicago splits business licensing between BACP (most trades) and the Department of Buildings (general contractors specifically), the latter on a one-year rather than two-year cycle. Retail food licensing runs by square footage rather than a flat fee.
What are you opening in Chicago?
- RestaurantsFull-service restaurants carry the densest permit load of any small business: food, fire, occupancy, waste, and usually alcohol.See the full permit list
- Coffee shopsCafés are permitted as food service establishments even where no cooking happens, and the plan review step catches most operators by surprise.See the full permit list
- Retail storesRetail is the lightest common permit load, but the sales tax permit and the certificate of occupancy are non-negotiable in every jurisdiction.See the full permit list
- Salons and barbersPersonal care is licensed at state board level as well as locally, so the shop license and the practitioner licenses are separate obligations.See the full permit list
- Food trucksMobile food is the one category with no certificate of occupancy — but it gains a commissary agreement, and the unit itself is inspected rather than the premises.See the full permit list
- Fitness studiosPrepaid memberships trigger state registration and often a surety bond, which catches operators who budgeted only for the fit-out.See the full permit list
- Childcare centresThe heaviest permit load of any small business: state agency licensing, per-person background checks, and a stricter fire standard than ordinary commercial use.See the full permit list
- Contractors and tradesLicensed at state board level rather than locally, and the only common category with no premises permits at all — the bond is usually the long pole.See the full permit list
- Auto repair shopsOrdinary commercial permitting plus an environmental layer: waste oil, solvents and stormwater are each registered separately.See the full permit list
- Veterinary clinicsA state facility permit, controlled substances registration at both state and federal level, and a medical waste manifest — none of which a general business license covers.See the full permit list
Permits that apply to every type of business in Chicago
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sign Permitonly if it applies to you | Chicago Department of Buildings | A zoning review fee of $200 for an on-premise sign or $500 for an off-premise one, plus a separate building department review fee by sign size — $50 under 50 square feet, rising in bands to $1,000 for 500 square feet or more. | per sign | 2026-09-04 |
| Certificate of Occupancyonly if it applies to you | Chicago Department of Buildings | No fee | issued once per qualifying project — not a recurring license | 2026-09-04 |
| Commercial Building Permitonly if it applies to you | Chicago Department of Buildings | Floor area multiplied by a construction factor of $0.23 to $1.06 per square foot, set by occupancy group and construction type, multiplied again by a scope-of-review factor of 0.25 to 1.25 — subject to a minimum fee, typically $2,450 to $3,650 for an initial tenant build-out depending on occupancy group, with an overall floor of $602 on any commercial permit. | one-time, per project | 2026-09-04 |
| Business License | Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection | $500–$1,000 for a 2-year term — $500 for a Limited Business License, $1,000 for a Regulated Business License; specific trades are often priced on their own separate schedule instead | 2 years | 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.
What do these permits involve in Chicago?
Sign Permit
A sign over 100 square feet or taller than 24 feet above ground needs a City Council order on top of the standard permit.
Certificate of Occupancy
No fee — there is no standalone issuance charge, because the cost sits inside the building permit fee itself. Required for construction or substantial alteration of more than 10,000 square feet of non-residential space, any change of occupancy, or construction or rehabilitation of assembly, educational, institutional or hazardous occupancy space regardless of size — which reaches every child day care center other than a small home-based one.
Commercial Building Permit
This multi-factor formula genuinely resists reduction to one number — the city itself provides an official online calculator rather than a simple printed table, because the answer depends on occupancy classification, construction type, exact square footage and scope all at once.
Business License
Chicago has no single flat business license fee — most specific trades either fall into the Limited or Regulated category shown here, or carry their own dedicated license entirely, as the salon, restaurant, contractor, auto repair and animal care records below show.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Chicago DOB — sign permit zoning and building review feesChicago Department of Buildings · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Chicago DOB — certificate of occupancy, when requiredChicago Department of Buildings · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Chicago DOB — building permit fee calculator and fee tableChicago Department of Buildings · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
- Chicago BACP — general business licence fee schedule, effective January 1, 2026Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
Who issues business permits in Chicago?
Permitting in Chicago is split across 3 agencies we hold records for, with tax registration handled at state level. No single office issues everything, which is why an opening usually means filing in several places rather than one.
Chicago issuing agencies
- Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer ProtectionRetail food licensing · Salon and barbershop licensing · Child care licensing · Auto repair licensing · Animal care licensing5 permits
- Chicago Department of BuildingsCertificates of occupancy · Building and sign permits · General contractor licensing4 permits
- Chicago Department of Public HealthFood establishment inspection · Food safety certification2 permits
Other Illinois jurisdictions we cover
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.