Do you need a permit for a kitchen or bathroom remodel in Chicago?

Why permits come up in kitchen remodels

The City of Chicago states that a permit is required before beginning most construction, demolition and repair work, and that permits exist to make sure the work meets the minimum safety standards in the Chicago Construction Codes. A kitchen remodel is unusual among home projects because one room can involve structure, electrical, plumbing, gas and ventilation at the same time. That is why a project that looks like a cabinet replacement from the outside can still carry several permits.

Work that commonly involves a permit

Structural changes

Removing or opening a load-bearing wall, adding or replacing a beam, column or joists, cutting a new opening for a window or door, or altering floor framing to route a drain are structural changes. Work of this kind stays out of the Express Permit Program: it goes through the City's plan-based permit process, with drawings by an Illinois-licensed architect or structural engineer.

Electrical work

New circuits for a range, dishwasher, disposal or microwave, relocated outlets and switches, new lighting circuits and any panel work are electrical work. The City's Express Permit Program lists Electrical Work as one of its guided worktypes, which is how most kitchen electrical scope is permitted when no structural change is involved.

Plumbing and gas

Moving a sink, adding a second one on an island, rerouting drain or supply lines, adding a pot filler or relocating a gas range are plumbing and gas work. The Express Permit Program's Plumbing Work worktype covers repairing and replacing existing plumbing, but the City lists altering, reconfiguring or extending an existing plumbing system as not eligible for it, noting that limited alterations may be possible as a nonstructural interior alteration; larger changes need a plan-based permit. In Illinois, the people who install and alter plumbing systems must be licensed by the Illinois Department of Public Health under the Illinois Plumbing License Law, so the permit and the licensed plumber go together.

Ventilation and mechanical

A new duct route for a range hood, a make-up air system for a large hood or changes to heating and cooling in the kitchen are mechanical work. The Express Permit Program has a mechanical worktype, but the City lists installing an exhaust hood where none existed as not eligible for it, and its interior alteration worktype excludes new penetrations of exterior walls such as exhaust vents, so a new hood ducted outside generally needs a different permit. In condominiums, whether an exterior duct route exists at all is a building question before it is a permit question.

Nonstructural interior alteration

Removing non-load-bearing partitions, reconfiguring a pantry or building a new soffit can fall under the Express Permit worktype for nonstructural interior alteration, within the City's limits for it: no new penetrations of exterior walls, and no plumbing work that raises the existing water demand by more than five water supply fixture units. Standard Plan Review, by contrast, is described by the City as the main process for applications that require architectural plans, which is where structural kitchen projects land.

Bathroom remodels: the same rules in a smaller room

A bathroom remodel touches the same trades as a kitchen in a smaller space, so the permit questions are the same. Replacing a tub with a walk-in shower usually moves or resizes the drain and adds a new waterproofed pan, which is plumbing work. Moving a toilet or adding a second sink reroutes drains and supplies. A heated floor, a lit mirror, a light inside the shower and the GFCI-protected circuits a bathroom requires are electrical work. A new exhaust fan ducted outside, or a duct route where none existed, is mechanical work.

Like-for-like replacements, such as a faucet in the same spot, a vanity swapped for one the same size, new tile over sound backing or paint, generally sit in the range the City describes as not needing a permit. In condominiums the association usually wants to see the plumbing changes even when the City does not, and a bathroom on a shared stack follows the same stack rules as a kitchen sink: fixtures can usually shift along the wall, and moving them across the room depends on the slope the drain needs and what sits in the ceiling below.

• Walk-in showers and wet roomsDrains, slope and waterproofing: the plumbing scope in a tub-to-shower conversion.
• Primary bathroom remodelingLayout changes, heated floors and the circuits they need.
• Condo bathroom remodelingStacks, slabs and association sign-off alongside the City permit.

Work the City describes as not needing a permit

The City's Guide to Building Permits states that a building permit is not needed for a limited range of site work, nonstructural repairs, minor alterations and non-occupied structures. Painting, replacing a faucet in the same location or swapping hardware are the kinds of like-for-like repair that usually sit in that range. The City publishes the full list by type of work; read it for your specific items rather than assuming, because the boundary between repair and alteration is where most surprises happen.

• What types of work do not require a building permit?City of Chicago Guide to Building Permits.

How Chicago's permit processes are organized

Two details matter for homeowners. First, when an Express Permit application says a licensed contractor will do the work, the City notifies that contractor by email and requires them to accept the job before the permit is issued, which is meant to prevent license fraud. Second, inspections for Express Permits are visible to the owner online, so you can see for yourself that rough-in was inspected before the walls were closed.

• Express Permit ProgramCity of Chicago Department of Buildings.
• Standard Plan Review Permit ProgramCity of Chicago Department of Buildings.
• Self-Certification Permit ProgramCity of Chicago Department of Buildings.
• Which work is eligible for an Express PermitCity of Chicago Guide to Building Permits.
• Illinois plumbing licensingIllinois Department of Public Health.

What Chicago permits cost and how long they take

Plan-based building permit fees follow a formula in the Chicago Construction Codes. The City's fee calculator asks for the construction type, the occupancy type, the area of the work in square feet and the project scope, and multiplies factors from its fee tables. For an alteration inside a house or a small residential building those factors are small, so kitchen- and bathroom-sized projects usually pay the minimum fee in the 2026 tables, about $600, plus a separate zoning fee.

Two rules catch owners by surprise. Since January 2026 a plan-based application carries a non-refundable $600 deposit when it is submitted, and the City charges a penalty equal to that deposit when it finds an application substantially incomplete. Once a plan-based permit is issued, the work must begin and an inspection must be requested within 180 days, or the permit may be suspended or voided.

Timing depends on the route. The City says self-certified permits are typically issued within 10 business days after zoning approval, as long as the contractors' licenses are valid and the property has no violations or stop work orders. For permits that go through plan review, the Department of Buildings publishes a running figure: on September 14, 2026 it showed 29 days of City processing and 43 days with applicants, 72 days in total. Express Permits skip plan review, which is one more reason a kitchen that keeps its structure is simpler to permit.

• Permit fee calculatorCity of Chicago Department of Buildings.
• Department of Buildings changes for 2026Including the $600 non-refundable deposit.
• Time to permitThe Department of Buildings' current processing figure.
• What removing a load-bearing wall costsThe structural permit alongside the engineer, the beam and the kitchen around it.

Landmark and historic-district considerations

Chicago's Historic Preservation Division, which staffs the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, reviews all permit applications for work involving designated and proposed Chicago landmarks and landmark districts. The review is meant to make sure a project does not adversely affect the significant historical or architectural features of the property. The Commission encourages owners to seek its advice before filing, and a pre-permit submission can clarify what applies and speed the later review.

For most kitchens the practical question is whether the work changes anything the designation protects. Interior kitchen work that stays inside the walls is usually a different matter from a new window, a new vent through a facade or an addition, but the designation for your particular property decides that, and the Division confirms it. If your home is in a Chicago landmark district, plan for this review in the schedule rather than discovering it at the permit counter.

The suburbs run their own programs with their own rules. Evanston's Preservation Commission, for example, states that it has no purview over interior projects with no exterior change, while Hinsdale and Wilmette review exterior alterations to landmarked properties through certificates of appropriateness, and Highland Park's commission reviews exterior alterations to landmarks and to contributing features in its historic districts. Our local pages describe what each town publishes.

• Landmark Permit ReviewCity of Chicago Department of Planning and Development.
• Kitchen remodeling in EvanstonPreservation review and registered-contractor inspections.
• Kitchen remodeling in Oak ParkThree historic districts and electronic permitting.

Why the answer depends on scope and jurisdiction

• Scope. Two kitchens or bathrooms with the same finishes can differ entirely in permitting because one moves the sink and opens a wall and the other does not. Settle the layout before asking what the permits will be.
• Address. Chicago, Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka, Hinsdale, Oak Park, Park Ridge, Northbrook and Highland Park each publish their own permit rules, fee schedules and inspection requirements. What is an express worktype in the city may be a full application in a suburb.
• Building type. Condominium work adds association approval and often a building engineer's sign-off on top of the municipal permit.
• Designation. A landmark or historic-district property adds a review that has its own timeline.
• Time. Programs change. Chicago moved demolition permit applications to a new online portal in August 2026, and the Express Permit Program itself is only a few years old. Check the current process at the time you apply.

How we handle permits

Permits are part of the scope, not an extra. During the in-home visit Lakefront Interiors identifies which parts of the kitchen or bathroom design involve structure, electrical, plumbing, gas or ventilation. The proposal names the permits the scope is expected to require, and once it is approved we prepare the drawings and application, file them, and build the inspection points into the construction schedule so rough-in is not covered before the inspector has seen it. Construction starts only when permits are in hand.

• How our process worksWhere permits sit among the four stages.
• What shapes the costPermits and structural work as cost factors.
• Open concept remodelingThe structural project that most often needs plan review.