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12 permits · verified 2026-09-04

What permits do you need to open a contractor or trade in Chicago?

In short

A contractor or trade in Chicago, IL has 4 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 8 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Illinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services charges $150 one-time filing for the articles of organization (llc). 4 of the 12 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 Chicago

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
General Contractor Licenseonly if it applies to youChicago Department of Buildings$300–$3,500 a year, by class — Class E (up to $500,000 in work) $300 up to Class A (unlimited project value) $3,5001 year2026-09-04
General Contractor License (local, not state)Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Professional RegulationNo feeset by the issuing municipality or county2026-09-03
Plumbing Contractor Registrationonly if it applies to youIllinois Department of Public Health, Plumbing Program$150 a yearannual — expires 30 September2026-09-03
Roofing Contractor Licenseonly if it applies to youIllinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Division of Professional Regulation$125 application, plus a $226 examination fee paid to the testing providernot published — roofing is not in the department's current renewal window2026-09-03

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 Chicago

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Certificate of Occupancyonly if it applies to youChicago Department of BuildingsNo feeissued once per qualifying project — not a recurring license2026-09-04
Commercial Building Permitonly if it applies to youChicago Department of BuildingsVaries — formula on the Chicago pageone-time, per project2026-09-04
Business LicenseChicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer ProtectionVaries — formula on the Chicago page2 years2026-09-04

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

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to youIllinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services$150 one-time filingno expiry, but an annual report is due every year2026-09-03
Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to youIllinois Secretary of State, Department of Business Services$175 one-time — $150 filing fee plus $25 minimum initial franchise taxno expiry, but an annual report and franchise tax are due every year2026-09-03
Annual Reportonly if it applies to youIllinois Secretary of State, Department of Business ServicesVaries — formula on the IL pageannual — an LLC files before the first day of its anniversary month2026-09-03
Certificate of Registration (Form REG-1)Illinois Department of Revenue, Central Registration DivisionNo feecontinuous — no renewal2026-09-03
General Business License — Illinois position (city, not state)Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic OpportunityNo feeset by the issuing municipality2026-09-03

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 Chicago?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 12 records listed for a contractor or trade in Chicago, IL, 4 apply to every business of this type and 8 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

4 of the 12 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 4 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

General Contractor License: $300–$3,500 a year, by class — Class E (up to $500,000 in work) $300 up to Class A (unlimited project value) $3,500

The other 3 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Chicago permits page and the IL state page.

Which offices issue these permits in Chicago?

Permits for a contractor or trade in Chicago, IL come from 7 separate offices: Chicago Department of Buildings, Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, 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.

What does a contractor or trade need in Chicago 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 Chicago: General Contractor License, General Contractor License (local, not state), Plumbing Contractor Registration and Roofing Contractor License.

General Contractor License

Unlike almost every other Chicago business license, which runs two years, this one renews annually. Liability insurance scales with the class — $5,000,000 per occurrence for Class A down to $1,000,000 for Class E — and the license automatically deactivates if that insurance policy lapses. Issued by the Department of Buildings rather than BACP, and administered through a third-party firm, Continental Testing Services.

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 3 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Chicago, IL; what each one involves is set out on the Chicago 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 Chicago?

The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 0 of these permits. A contractor or trade also needs General Contractor License, General Contractor License (local, not state), Plumbing Contractor Registration and Roofing Contractor License. A auto repair shop needs Motor Vehicle Repair License, which a contractor or trade does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Chicago, IL, compared with a contractor or trade
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a contractor or tradeOnly a contractor or trade needsOnly it needs
Auto repair shops1041
Childcare centres2042
Coffee shops5045
Fitness studios0040
Food trucks3043
Restaurants5045
Retail stores0040
Salons and barbers2042
Veterinary clinics2042

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 Chicago permits page and the IL state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Chicago DOB — general contractor license, calendar year 2026 fee tableChicago Department of Buildings · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. Illinois Department of Public Health — plumbing contractor registration application and renewalIllinois Department of Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
  5. 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.