Where to search Chicago permits
| Tool | Search by | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Building Permit and Inspection Records | Address | Permits, inspections, violations and enforcement for that address |
| Building Permits dataset | Any column: address, permit number, contact name, work description | Status, work type, issue date, fees, reported cost, up to 15 contacts |
| Our Chicago firm list | Contractor name | Each firm's permits by trade, share marked complete, usual job value |
The Department of Buildings' FOIA page describes the records site as letting you "view records related to building permits, inspections, violations and enforcement actions for a specific address" (Buildings FOIA, read 23 October 2026).
How to look up permits on a Chicago address
- Open Building Permit and Inspection Records, tick "I accept the terms of this license" and submit.
- Enter the street number, direction (N, S, E, W) and street name.
- Read each permit's type, issue date and work description. Electrical, plumbing and masonry work can each carry a separate permit, so a remodel may show several.
- Open the inspections for the permit you care about and look for a passed final.
- To see whether a company filed it, find the permit number in the Data Portal dataset and read the contact columns (the contact type says which is the general contractor, electrician and so on).
What the statuses mean
The Data Portal file uses these permit statuses (counted on 23 October 2026): COMPLETE, ACTIVE, EXPIRED, SUSPENDED, PHASED PERMITTING, CANCELLED and REVOKED. On our pages a permit counts as finished when it is COMPLETE. Chicago records no completion date, so our "usual days" figure is an estimate from status and age, and the Chicago about page says to treat it as rough (methodology).
| Trade | Permits | Firms | Marked complete (a year or more old) | Estimated usual days to complete |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renovation | 7,764 | 2,592 | 34.4% | 666 |
| Electrical | 12,436 | 855 | 38.4% | 235 |
| Plumbing | 6,680 | 645 | 26.9% | 705 |
| Masonry and tuckpointing | 5,706 | 563 | 40.8% | 391 |
| Roofing | 1,586 | 433 | 64.7% | 207 |
| Fence | 1,583 | 303 | 83.9% | 160 |
An ACTIVE permit is normal in Chicago: fewer than half of renovation, electrical and plumbing permits a year or more old were marked COMPLETE. Fence permits (83.9%) and roofing (64.7%) close far more often. EXPIRED or SUSPENDED on your own job is the one to chase: ask the contractor why and whether a new permit is needed.
When the record is not online
The Data Portal starts in 2006. For older permits, plans or inspection records, file a FOIA request with the Department of Buildings. Its page asks you to check the online sites first, says "If you submit a FOIA request for records that are available to the public online, you will be provided with links to these sites", and requires a name and mailing address on each request (Buildings FOIA). The records site's help line is 312-744-5844.
What our Chicago data adds
The City's tools answer "what was permitted at this address". Ours answers "what has this contractor done": the Chicago permit statistics page by trade and month, and the compare lists for renovation, electrical, plumbing and masonry. Chicago licenses its own contractors; how to check them is in the Chicago contractor license lookup. Whether your job needs a permit is in Do I need a permit?
See every Chicago renovation contractor by permits on file →
How we know this
Portal descriptions are from the City of Chicago's records site, Data Portal dataset page and Department of Buildings FOIA page, read 23 October 2026; the status list is a count of the Data Portal file on that date. Our counts are City of Chicago building permits on homes, October 2023 to September 2026. "Marked complete" uses permits a year or more old.
Numbers come from City of Chicago building permits (Chicago Data Portal), data through October 17, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- How do I find out if a permit was pulled on my house in Chicago?
Accept the user agreement on the Department of Buildings' Building Permit and Inspection Records site and search your address. It lists the permits and inspections on file for that address.
- Are Chicago building permits public record?
Yes. The City publishes every building permit issued since 2006 on the Chicago Data Portal, and the Department of Buildings answers FOIA requests for records that are not online.
- Can I search Chicago permits by contractor name?
Not on the address site, but the Data Portal's Building Permits dataset has up to 15 contact names per permit, so you can filter it by a company name. Our Chicago pages do that for you: 51,700 home permits filed under 8,623 firms.
- What does COMPLETE mean on a Chicago permit?
It is the status the City uses when a permit is closed out. In our file only 34.4% of renovation permits a year or more old were marked COMPLETE, so an ACTIVE permit years after the work is common here; ask the contractor to request the final inspection.
- How do I get Chicago permit records that are not online?
File a FOIA request with the Department of Buildings. Its FOIA page asks you to check the online records first and says requests must go to the department that keeps the records.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Chicago contractor license lookup: which license, where to search, and what the permits show
- How to check a contractor's license in Illinois
- Cambridge building permit search: the Permit Finder, OpenGov and public records
- Colorado Springs building permit search: PPRBD permit search and archived permit cards
- Do I need a masonry permit in Chicago? Yes for tuckpointing, with a 50-square-foot exemption
- Edina building permit search: property permit history, dates and records