Chicago electrical in numbers
| What we measured | Chicago |
|---|---|
| Electrical permits on homes, three years | 12,436 |
| Firms | 855 |
| Firms with a permit in the last 12 months | 604 |
| Usual filed value (permits with a value) | $3,500 |
| Share of permits with a filed value | 46.3% |
| Middle half of firms' usual value | $2,400 to $6,000 |
| Marked complete (permits a year or more old) | 38.4% |
| Usual days to completion | 235 |
| 10th / 90th-percentile firm (10+ permits) | 17.4% / 56.3% |
Filing peaks in September (index 125) and is lowest in December (79). National ranges are in electrical work cost.
Which license a Chicago electrician needs
Chicago licenses its own electrical contractors through the Department of Buildings, and DOB's Express Permit page says a licensed electrical contractor (general) is "required for most types of electrical work"; low-voltage work may be done by a low-voltage electrical contractor, and EV charger installers must also give an ICC certification number (City of Chicago DOB, read 23 October 2026). A licensed electrical contractor does not need a general contractor license for work inside its own license.
The five-minute check: open the City's Licensed Trade Contractors site, choose Electrical, and filter by the business name. The site lists current licenses and ones recently expired or inactivated, so an expired license shows rather than vanishing. The rest of the City's license classes are in the Chicago contractor license lookup.
The permit rule for electrical work in Chicago
Most home electrical jobs go through DOB's Express Permit Program, which covers "stand-alone electrical work that is not associated with another building permit". Its subtypes include repairing or altering devices on existing circuits, adding circuits to an existing panel (EV chargers and air conditioners are named), new or upgraded services under 1,200 amps, and generators. Solar PV, space heating and work by more than one electrical contractor on one permit are not eligible (City of Chicago DOB, read 23 October 2026). Once the job is booked, search your address on the City's Building Permit and Inspection Records: the permit should name your electrician. Other cities' panel rules are in do I need a permit for an electrical panel upgrade.
Red flags in the Chicago record
- A completion share near 17.4%. That is the 10th-percentile line among the 215 Chicago electricians with 10 or more permits; 204 of them are under 70%, so under 70% is normal here, but a firm at the bottom of the range still has the most open permits to explain.
- No City license on Licensed Trade Contractors, or one shown as expired or inactivated.
- A firm that went quiet. 25 electrical firms with 5 or more permits filed none in the last 12 months.
- A single permit and gone. 243 firms (28.4%) filed exactly one; there is no record to read.
- "You pull the permit." Chicago's homeowner exception is for your own work on your own home, not for a hired electrician.
The busiest Chicago electricians in the last 12 months
Ranked by electrical permits on homes in the last 12 months of the window. Volume, not quality; the busiest firm files mostly the electrical side of rooftop solar.
| Firm | Permits, last 12 months | Permits, three years |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrun Installation Services Inc | 617 | 1,359 |
| Blue Line Electrical Contracto | 170 | 456 |
| Alvarez Electrical Tech | 164 | 164 |
| Chavez Electric | 144 | 465 |
| Campanile Construction & Desig | 100 | 202 |
The compare list puts each firm's completion share and usual job value beside its volume.
See every Chicago electrician by permits and completion →
What the Chicago record does not tell you
Many Chicago permits are never marked complete even when the work passed inspection, so a low share is a question to ask, not proof of a bad job. We do not match Chicago firms to licenses, so our pages show no license status; run the City search yourself. Only 46.3% of electrical permits carry a value. Insurance never appears on a permit. The national checklist is in hiring an electrician, and state rules for the suburbs in how to check a contractor's license in Illinois.
How we know this
Permits are City of Chicago building permits classified as electrical, on homes (Chicago Data Portal), 2023-10 to 2026-09. "Marked complete" uses permits a year or more old; days to completion is the median for permits that reached it. Percentile and under-70% figures use electrical firms with 10 or more permits; the filed-value range uses firms with 3 or more priced permits. The busiest-firm table ranks by permits in the last 12 months. No license status is shown for Chicago. Rules are quoted from City of Chicago Department of Buildings pages, read 22 and 23 October 2026.
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 choose an electrician in Chicago?
Check the City electrical contractor license on Licensed Trade Contractors, make sure the firm files the permit in its own name, and compare its Chicago record with other electricians: 38.4% of Chicago electrical permits a year or more old were marked complete, and the 90th-percentile busy firm reached 56.3%.
- Does an electrician need a license in Chicago?
Yes, a City one. The Department of Buildings licenses electrical contractors, and its Express Permit page says a licensed electrical contractor is required for most types of electrical work. Search the name on the City's Licensed Trade Contractors site under Electrical.
- Do I need a permit to replace an electrical panel in Chicago?
Yes. Chicago's Express Permit Program has a subtype for new or upgraded services under 1,200 amps and another for adding circuits to an existing panel, such as for an EV charger or air conditioner. Solar PV is not eligible for the express electrical permit.
- How long does a Chicago electrical permit take to close?
Slowly: the usual Chicago electrical permit that was marked complete took 235 days. Many Chicago permits are never marked complete at all, so compare firms with each other, not with other cities.
- Who are the biggest electricians in Chicago?
On homes, by permits in the last 12 months, Sunrun Installation Services Inc led with 617, mostly solar wiring, then Blue Line Electrical Contracto with 170. The five busiest hold 21.7% of electrical permits.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Contractor red flags, including the three you can see in the public record
- Hiring an electrician: 5 red flags and 10 questions, checked against electrical permits in 45 cities
- Hiring an electrician in Austin: the TDLR license, the permit, and what 24,000 electrical permits show
- Hiring an electrician in Bellevue, WA: the L&I electrical license, the permit, and what 8,000 electrical permits show
- Hiring an electrician in New York City: the DOB license, the permit, and what 50,000 electrical permits show
- Hiring an electrician in Pittsburgh: the City electrical trade license, the permit, and what 4,600 electrical permits show
For one city
- Licensed Trade Contractors — City of Chicago (2026-10-22)
- Electrical Work (Express Permit Program) — City of Chicago Department of Buildings (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Building Permit and Inspection Records — City of Chicago (2026-10-22)
- Building Permits dataset — Chicago Data Portal (2026-10-22)