Yes, for most remodels. The City of Chicago requires a building permit before most construction, demolition and repair work, and the exceptions are narrow: finishes, some like-for-like replacements and small repairs that leave walls, structure, wiring and pipes alone. As of 2026, the City offers 3 main permit paths for a home remodel, and the right one depends mostly on scope: whether walls or structure change, and whether an architect’s drawings are needed.
This guide maps those rules in plain English, from the Chicago Department of Buildings’ own pages, for your Chicago home remodeling project. Rules change, so confirm your project with the City or your contractor before work begins.
What Needs a Permit in Chicago, and What Does Not
The Department of Buildings requires a permit before most construction, demolition and repair work, and publishes the exceptions on its What Types of Work Do Not Require a Building Permit? page.
Work That Does Not Need a Building Permit
As of 2026, the City’s list includes these common home projects:
- Painting, wallpapering, tiling, carpeting, or installing cabinets or countertops, without plumbing or electrical connections.
- Removing and replacing up to 1,000 square feet of drywall or plaster, without altering any mechanical, electrical or plumbing system.
- Installing or removing a domestic cooking appliance, electric or gas.
- Removing and reinstalling a toilet, or stopping a leak in a pipe.
- Installing low-voltage fixtures such as a doorbell, thermostat or security camera.
- In a residential building up to 4 stories: replacing a hot water heater in-kind, or an exterior window or door in-kind in its existing opening. The City defines in-kind as the same type, size and shape.
Nonstructural repairs also need no permit, as long as they do not cut away part of a wall, subfloor or roof, cut or remove a structural beam, column or load-bearing support, change a required exit, or involve mechanical, electrical, plumbing or gas systems.
Two caveats from the City matter. Exempt work must still meet the Chicago Construction Codes. And these exceptions may not apply to a proposed or designated Chicago Landmark, or to a home in a landmark district.
Work That Does Need One
Work that is not on the City’s full list of exceptions generally needs a permit. For a remodel, that usually means adding, removing or moving walls or doorways, structural work, new or relocated plumbing, electrical work beyond minor items, new heating or cooling equipment, a new window or door opening, an addition, or turning unheated space into living space.
The 3 Permit Paths for a Chicago Remodel
Of the City’s permit programs, these 3 matter most for a home remodel.
Express Permit Program
The Express Permit Program launched on November 6, 2023, replacing the old Easy Permit Process. Everything runs online, from application and payment to inspection results. It covers most repairs and a limited range of small improvement projects.
For remodeling, the key option is Interior Alteration (Nonstructural). Within a single home or residential unit, as of 2026 it covers:
- Nonstructural remodeling up to 2,000 square feet, without adding, removing or reconfiguring walls or doorways (closets excepted).
- Electrical, heating and cooling work, including new air conditioning.
- Plumbing work, including adding up to 5 water supply fixture units of demand. The City’s own example puts a new private bathroom at 4.
- With drawings by an Illinois-licensed architect or structural engineer: the same remodeling, including adding, removing or reconfiguring walls or doorways.
It does not cover structural work, new or rearranged interior stairs, exterior work, a change of occupancy, or converting unheated space, such as an attic or garage, into living space.
Standard Plan Review
Standard Plan Review is the City’s main process for permits that require architectural plans. It covers new construction, additions, alterations and rehabilitation, including in homes and condominiums. An architect prepares the drawings, the application is filed online through the City’s E-Plan system, and the City assigns a project manager as the applicant’s single point of contact. The City also notes that all projects require zoning approval.
Self-Certified Permits
Under the Self-Certified Permit Application Program, a registered Illinois-licensed architect or structural engineer with additional City training certifies the drawings and takes full responsibility for code compliance. After zoning approval, the City says these permits are typically issued within 10 business days, provided all contractor licenses are valid and the property has no building violations or stop work orders.
Kitchen, Bathroom and Basement Remodels: How the Rules Apply
Your home’s details decide the final answer, but these are the patterns.
Kitchens
New cabinets and countertops without plumbing or electrical connections, and a swapped range, are on the no-permit list. New circuits or a relocated sink bring in a permit, and removing or moving a wall requires an architect’s or structural engineer’s drawings, even on the Express path. For kitchen remodeling in Chicago, that line between finishes and systems usually decides the path.
Bathrooms
Retiling is exempt when no plumbing or electrical connections are involved. Replacing an existing plumbing fixture is not on the no-permit list; it is one of the Express Permit Program’s plumbing work types. Adding a bathroom inside a single unit can fit the Interior Alteration permit’s 5-fixture-unit limit, with drawings if walls move. Planning bathroom remodeling in Chicago starts with knowing which side of that line your plan falls on.
Basements
Basements deserve the earliest conversation. The Express rules exclude converting unheated space into living space (the City’s examples are an attic or garage), and the Express masonry option excludes reconfiguring concrete elements such as lowering a basement floor slab. If your basement is unfinished today, confirm the path before you settle on a design for basement remodeling in Chicago.
High-Rise Condos and Landmark Homes
For an Express Interior Alteration in a condominium, including an individually owned unit, the City requires an approval letter from the association describing the work, signed by an authorized representative such as the property manager. That permit cannot cover heating or cooling equipment serving common areas or more than one unit. High-rise owners should also note that some exemptions, such as in-kind window and hot water heater replacement, apply only to residential buildings up to 4 stories. For landmark properties, the City directs owners to its Historic Preservation Division.
Who Can Pull the Permit, and Who Must Do the Work
According to the City, a homeowner, building owner, tenant or contractor can apply through the Express Permit Program. When an owner or expediter names a licensed contractor, that contractor must accept the job by email before the permit is issued, a step the City says helps prevent license fraud.
Plan-based applications are filed electronically by the architect or structural engineer, or by a City-licensed expediter. For any plan-based permit, the City says you must hire an Illinois-licensed architect or engineer to prepare the plans.
Licensed Trades
- General contractor: a licensed and insured general contractor is required for most construction, rehabilitation and demolition work, and only 1 general contractor may be on a project at a time.
- Electrical: a licensed electrical contractor must perform all electrical work that requires a permit.
- Plumbing: a licensed and bonded plumbing contractor is required for most plumbing work.
- Masonry: a licensed mason contractor is required for most masonry work.
Before it issues a permit, the Department of Buildings verifies that the contractors named have the proper qualifications and insurance. You can check a license yourself with the City’s licensed contractor lookup. For more on why licensing matters, see our guide to the differences between a handyman and a general contractor.
When an Owner Can Act as the Contractor
The City allows an individual to act as their own general contractor, without a license, on an entirely residential property that is their primary residence, with no more than 6 units and no building taller than 3 stories. The exemption can be used for 1 property per calendar year and does not cover work that needs a demolition permit or excavation notice.
The owner, occupant or lessee of a detached single-family home may personally do their own plumbing, subject to code and inspection, but may not hire anyone other than a licensed plumbing contractor. The City’s electrical rule has no homeowner exception; its one exception covers Illinois-licensed private alarm contractors.
Inspections, Deadlines and Fees
The City places the responsibility on you to request rough and final inspections (City of Chicago). As of 2026:
- Plan-based permits require inspections, usually several. Begin work and request the first inspection within 180 days of paying for the permit or its issue date, whichever is later.
- Express permits: if the certificate requires inspections, request the first within 365 days of issue. Some Express work types have optional inspections.
- Follow-ups: request and pass one at least every 365 days until all are complete, or the permit is suspended and a reinstatement fee applies.
- Expiration: a permit expires if it does not pass a first inspection within 540 days of the date work may begin, or a follow-up within 730 days of the last one. The City says it has no legal authority to reinstate an expired permit.
- Posting: an Express permit certificate must be printed and posted at the work site before work begins.
On fees, the City’s permit fee calculator estimates the cost from construction type, occupancy type, square footage and project scope. Building permit fees adjust annually with the Consumer Price Index, and new tables take effect on January 1, 2027.
The codes are changing too. As of October 1, 2026, applicants may choose the new 2026 Chicago Fuel Gas, Mechanical and Energy Transformation Codes, and these provisions become mandatory for permit applications started on or after December 1, 2026 (City of Chicago).
What Happens When Work Is Done Without a Permit
The City says it takes unpermitted work very seriously. Here is what follows when it finds some (City of Chicago):
- A stop work order and warning notices are posted on the property.
- Work resumes only after the required permits are obtained and a stop work order penalty of $1,000 or more is paid.
- In most cases, the permit fee is tripled.
- The City may begin an enforcement case or lawsuit, and the owner must correct any code or zoning violations and may have to remove work that cannot be corrected, at their own expense.
The same consequences apply when work goes beyond what a permit allows, and existing permits may be suspended or revoked.
Unpermitted work can also follow a home. The City offers an online search of building permit, inspection and violation records by address, so a home’s permit history is easy to check, including by a future buyer. For questions about disclosure when you sell, or how past work affects your policy, speak with your real estate attorney or insurance agent.
Questions to Ask Your Contractor About Permits
Ask these before you sign:
- Which permit path fits my project, and why?
- Who will prepare the drawings, and is that person an Illinois-licensed architect or structural engineer?
- Is your company a Chicago-licensed general contractor, and which licensed electrical, plumbing and mason contractors will be named on the permit?
- Who files the application and schedules inspections, and how will I see the results?
- If we open a wall and find something the permit does not cover, how will we revise the permit before continuing?
- Which code edition will my drawings follow, given the December 1, 2026 change?
At Areté, design and construction sit under one roof, and every project is run by a Project Manager, so you have one Project Manager to ask. It is how we have approached design-build remodeling in Chicago since 2002.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Need a Permit to Replace Kitchen Cabinets and Countertops in Chicago?
Not when the work has no plumbing or electrical connections. The City lists cabinets, countertops, tiling and painting as exempt. Moving a sink or adding circuits changes that. The exemption may not apply to a Chicago Landmark.
Can a Homeowner Get Their Own Building Permit in Chicago?
Yes, in some cases. A homeowner can apply through the Express Permit Program and, at a qualifying primary residence, act as their own general contractor. Permitted electrical work still requires a licensed electrical contractor.
How Long Does a Chicago Building Permit Take?
It depends on the path. The City says Self-Certified permits are typically issued within 10 business days after zoning approval, when contractor licenses are valid and the property has no violations or stop work orders. For other paths, ask your contractor for an estimate based on their recent permits.
What Happened to the Easy Permit Program?
It stopped accepting new applications on November 2, 2023, and was replaced by the online Express Permit Program on November 6, 2023.
Planning a remodel and unsure which permit path fits your home? Contact us to schedule a consultation with our design-build team.
