Building Permits in Chicago, Illinois

Part of Cook County.

We checked Chicago's own official pages for 7 types of projects (fence, deck, roof, pool, tree removal, solar panels, demolition). Permits are issued by City of Chicago building department. Every rule below links to the page it was taken from, so you can confirm it before you start work. Last verified September 29, 2026.

Verified permit information is available for 5 project types in Chicago.

Verified Permit Categories

Chicago rules in detail

Fence

Height limit (ft): 5 source: chicago.gov

Deck

Size limit (sq ft): 50 source: chicago.gov
Height limit (ft): 6 source: chicago.gov
Exempt from a permit: Repairing or replacing (in-kind) an entire exterior porch, deck, or stair system that is no more than 6 feet above the ground and has a landing area of 50 square feet or less source: chicago.gov

Roof

Conditions: A building permit is also not required for the following types of work on a residential building up to 4 stories above grade or an associated accessory building (such as a garage) on the same lot: Performing roof repair, recover, or replacement on a roof with a pitch of at least 2:12 (A building permit is required for any structural repair and any work on low-slope roofs.) source: chicago.gov
Exempt from a permit: Performing roof repair (limited to 25% of the area of a roof surface), such as patching, that does not involve cutting away or removal of part of an exterior wall or roof source: chicago.gov

Pool

Permit required: Yes source: chicago.gov
Exempt from a permit: Pool or water feature exempt from a building permit if water depth is no greater than 48 inches (4 feet), among other conditions source: chicago.gov
Setback (ft): 10 source: chicago.gov

Tree Removal

Permit required: No source: chicago.gov

Solar Panels

Conditions: With drawings and calculations prepared by an Illinois-licensed architect or structural engineer: Installing a solar photovoltaic system with an inverter output of 13.44 kW or less source: chicago.gov
Permit required: Yes source: chicago.gov

Demolition

Exempt from a permit: Removing up to 1,000 square feet of plaster or drywall per building (more than 1,000 square feet of exploratory openings in one building requires a building permit) source: chicago.gov
Permit required: Yes source: chicago.gov
Size limit (sq ft): 1000 source: chicago.gov

Not yet verified

These permit categories do not yet have enough verified information to publish a linked permit page.

Shed
Fence
Roof
Patio
Pergola
Garage
Carport
HVAC
Electrical
Plumbing
Driveway
ADU
Home Addition
Windows
Water Heater

Where to apply

City of Chicago building department · official website · apply online

Illinois statewide rules

State defaults apply everywhere in the state; cities and counties may add stricter local rules.

Issued by: Illinois Capital Development Board (CDB), Division of Building Codes and Regulations source: cdb.illinois.gov
Building code: IRC (International Residential Code) current edition, effective 1/1/24 (excluding Parts IV and VII), applies to residential new construction in jurisdictions without a locally adopted building code source: cdb.illinois.gov
Local changes allowed: Limited source: cdb.illinois.gov