Do I need a plumbing permit in Cook County? Who can file it, the fixture fees, and 15,170 permits

Who issues your permit

Each of the roughly 120 cities, villages and towns in suburban Cook County runs its own plumbing permits and inspections, so a water heater in Des Plaines or Calumet City is permitted there. Only unincorporated land is permitted by the County's Department of Building and Zoning. Check which applies in CookViewer with the "Unincorporated Area" layer. The rules below are the County's.

What needs a plumbing permit

The County's building permits page (read 24 October 2026) says all work in unincorporated Cook County needs a permit apart from ordinary repairs, and the plumbing application covers "installation, alteration, or repair of any and all plumbing fixtures and/or plumbing systems." The County's July 2026 plumbing permit packet uses the same form for plumbing, sewer, water, septic, well, lawn sprinkler and gas installer work. Fire sprinkler contractors never use it.

Who can file it

The packet says the plumbing permit application "must be applied for by the registered contractor only if they are working directly for the owner and they are the sole contractor on the job." If a general contractor runs the job or several trades are involved, the plumber sends its letter of intent to the general contractor for a full permit application.

To register with Building and Zoning, a plumbing firm needs an Illinois Department of Public Health plumbing contractor registration, a State plumber or Chicago journeyman plumber licence held by the applying officer, three installation and three business references and $1,000,000 of liability insurance; registration is $150, then $75 a year (Contractor Registration). The County's registration page says homeowners can do work themselves if registered, insured and living in the house, but the plumbing packet is written for registered contractors; ask the plumbing desk (plumbing.bnz@cookcountyil.gov, 312-603-0514) before planning your own plumbing.

What it costs in unincorporated Cook County

From the fee schedule amendment effective 1 December 2020:

Fixtures counted include tubs, showers, toilets, lavatories, kitchen sinks, dishwashers, laundry tubs, washing machines, floor drains and hose connections. A $100 residential deposit is due when you apply and is credited to the fee.

How to apply and get it inspected

1. Confirm the address is unincorporated and find your 14-digit PIN.
2. The plumber sends the packet to the plumbing department by email, fax or in person (it is applied for directly with the plumbing department), or the general contractor includes it in a full permit application.
3. Pay the invoice; you need the PIN and the permit application number to pay online.
4. The packet says inspections are required on issue: call the County field plumbing inspector for your township, listed in the County's field inspectors by township sheet.

What 15,170 suburban plumbing permits show

From the Assessor's copy of the suburbs' permits (plumbing permits):

Plumbing barely moves with the seasons: no month falls below 83 or rises above 114, against 29 to 146 for roofing. With electrical, it is one of only two of the eight largest kinds of work in the file that grew from 2024 to 2025. National figures are in plumbing labor cost; other cities' rules are in do I need a permit for plumbing repairs and do I need a permit to replace a water heater.

Checking the plumber and the permit

Check the plumber's Illinois licence and IDPH registration with how to check a contractor's license in Illinois, and permits already on your address with Cook County building permit search. The year and month breakdown is on permit statistics, and individual rows on browse permits.

What this does not tell you

The Assessor's file holds only the permits a suburb reported, names no plumber, has no ZIP code we can publish and no final inspection dates. Village fees and rules differ from the County's.