Do I need a roofing permit in Cook County? The state roofer license, the homeowner route, and 33,059 permits

Who issues your permit

Each of the roughly 120 cities, villages and towns in suburban Cook County runs its own building department, so a roof in Arlington Heights or Oak Lawn is permitted there, under that village's fees. 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 the County asks for on a re-roof

From Building and Zoning's Re-Roof Permit Requirements (read 24 October 2026):

1. The full application, with your Property Index Number (PIN) and whether the house is on well and septic or water and sewer.
2. A plat of survey by an Illinois registered surveyor, not more than five years old, showing where on the structure the work is.
3. A complete scope of work: any flashing, gutter, downspout, soffit or fascia work; the roofing material and its fire class; the statement that "all decking replacements must be made with the exact same material and thickness as existing or better"; where the ice and water shield goes; and how the roof is vented to code.
4. Drawings of any deck or framing reconstruction.
5. If a power vent or attic fan goes in, a letter of intent from a registered electrical contractor, signed by the supervising electrician.

A re-roof with structural changes (rafter replacement, skylights, chimney reconstruction) also needs drawings sealed by an Illinois architect or structural engineer.

Who can pull it

The sheet is direct: "All roofing contractors must have a State of Illinois roofing contractor license and Cook County Contractor Registration." The contractor is listed on the application with its registration number and signs a letter of intent. County registration is $150 per trade, then $75 a year (Contractor Registration).

A homeowner can do the roof on his or her own home. The County's Guidelines for Homeowner Roofers cite the state exemption in the Roofing Industry Licensing Act (225 ILCS 335/11) and set the conditions: register as a roofing contractor, file a certificate of $1,000,000 general liability insurance naming Cook County Department of Building and Zoning as certificate holder, and meet every re-roof requirement above. That 2015 sheet lists a $105 registration fee; the County's current registration page lists $150 per trade for anything beyond the free General registration, so confirm the amount when you apply.

What it costs in unincorporated Cook County

The County's fee schedule amendment (effective 1 December 2020) does not list re-roofs on their own line. Its alterations, remodeling and miscellaneous construction line is a $73.50 minimum plus $18.50 for each $1,000 of estimated cost over $5,000, based on the signed contract. You pay a $100 residential deposit when you apply (building permits page), credited to the final fee, and the invoice posted to your online profile is the final word.

How to apply

1. Confirm the address is unincorporated and find the 14-digit PIN.
2. Submit through the E-Permits portal or email intake.bnz@cookcountyil.gov, and pay the $100 deposit.
3. Answer any deficiency notice in one reply to permitcontrol.bnz@cookcountyil.gov.
4. Pay the invoice; the permit is issued. At issue the County gives the names of your field inspectors and the stages that need inspection.

What 33,059 suburban roofing permits show

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

July, August, September and October all run 35% to 46% above an average month, and January and December run at under a third of one, so book a roofer by early spring if you want a summer slot. Of the eight largest kinds of work in the file, roofing fell the most from 2024 to 2025. National cost figures are in roof replacement cost, and other cities' rules in do I need a permit to replace my roof.

Checking the roofer and the permit

An Illinois roofing license number starts with 104-; look it up as described in how to check a contractor's license in Illinois. Permits already on your address are covered in 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 contractor, has no ZIP code we can publish and no final inspection dates, so it cannot say whether a roof passed or how long that took. Village rules and fees differ from the County's.