Building Permit Overview: A Guide to Getting Started

What are you building?

In a city as diverse and cosmopolitian as Chicago, a permit is required for a variety of functions. This could be as small as a new shed in your back yard, to building a skyscraper. All of those plans go through the permit process. The Department of Buildings has set up special permit sections to address one's particular needs. The following are brief descriptions of each section, with links to more detailed information.

Small Projects: Easy Permit Process

For a homeowner, a project might be a small as a fence, to a new porch or an addition. To help the home owner, the Easy Permit Process section has been developed.

The Easy Permit Process allows home and building owners to obtain a permit to repair or replace the same or existing elements of a building, without making any changes to the structure of the building. The types of projects that would benefit from the Easy Permit Process within one’s home or building are:

Inside the Building

Repair or replace existing non-structural elements
Drywall – patch, plaster
Floors – doors, cabinets
Light fixtures
Furnaces (except if part of a major conversion)– replacement only
Scaffolding - An Easy Permit can be received same day if the work has been approved by the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT)
Outside the Building

Outside the Building

Fences – 5 ft. or above
Sheds
Garages
Trash Enclosure – wood only
Same Day Permits

Depending on the complexity of your project, an Easy Permit can be issued the same day if the following criteria is met. Please go to the Easy Permit Process Overview for more detailed information, as well as a flow chart of the process. In addition, Homeowners who are applying for Easy Permits and need assistance with plans can visit one of the three permit centers located throughout the city. To see a complete list of permit locations and hours, please click onto the link to Neighborhood Permit Centers.

Medium Projects: Standard Plan Review

For small to mid-sized construction or renovation projects, The Standard Plan Review Program is set up to help. These are projects that require drawings, and so before the process can begin, the design phase must be completed the permit process can begin. As part of this process, a Project Manager meets with you initially and coordinates with internal plan reviewers and keeps you fully informed at every step along the way, giving you greater control over the process.

Eligible Projects

Buildings up to 80 feet high
Institutional or mercantile properties under 100,000 square feet
Residential properties of up to 12 units
Foundations no deeper than 12 feet

If your project meets these requirements, or to read a more detailed description, click on the Standard Plan Review Overview. Or click on the flow chart of the Standard Plan Review process. Also, a helpful guide through the steps of Standard Plan Review is the Project Submittal Checklist.

Large Projects: Developer Services Program

The Developer Services Program is designed to meet the special needs of owners, developers, architects and contractors working on moderately to highly complex construction or renovation projects.

Developer Services Projects

New and renovation construction projects that meet the following criteria will be required to participate in the Developer Services process:

New Construction

High rise buildings (buildings higher than 80 feet)
Buildings with more than 150,000-square feet
Buildings with foundations deeper than 12 feet
Residential projects that contain more than 40 units
Green Building Permit participants

To learn more about the Developer Services Program, or to see a flow chart of the process, please click on the Developer Services Program Overview.