Illinois · Remodeling licensing · official-source guide
Illinois issues no statewide remodeling license. The Office of the Illinois Attorney General enforces the Home Repair and Remodeling Act, which requires a signed written contract and a consumer rights pamphlet on jobs over $1,000 and sets liability insurance floors. Licensing comes from cities such as Chicago, from Cook County, and from state boards for roofing and plumbing.
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Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-10-05. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Illinois has no state license for residential remodeling. There is no state remodeling board, no state classification system, and no statewide registration number a remodeler can hand a homeowner. What Illinois does instead is regulate the paperwork. The Home Repair and Remodeling Act sets the contract, disclosure and insurance rules that every home repair and remodeling business in the state has to follow, and the Office of the Illinois Attorney General runs consumer enforcement under it. The Attorney General publishes the consumer rights material that contractors are required to hand out, and takes complaints from homeowners who believe a remodeler broke the rules. Two things fill the gap the missing state license leaves. The first is the city and county layer. Chicago licenses general contractors and home repair businesses directly, Cook County registers contractors working in unincorporated areas, and other municipalities run their own registration desks. The second is the trade licenses Illinois does issue at state level. Roofing contractors are licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Plumbers and plumbing contractors are licensed and registered by the Illinois Department of Public Health. A remodeler who touches a roof or a drain line in Illinois is inside a state licensing system even though the remodeling itself is not. So the practical answer for a remodeler working in Illinois is that the state regulates how you sell and document the work, and the city, the county and the trade boards regulate who is allowed to perform parts of it.
Sourcesillinoisattorneygeneral.gov 1illinoisattorneygeneral.gov 2idfpr.illinois.gov 3
The Act defines home repair and remodeling as fixing, replacing, altering, converting, modernizing, improving or adding to any real property primarily designed or used as a residence, other than maintenance, service or repairs under $500. The definition is written broadly on purpose. As enacted, it names driveways, swimming pools, porches, kitchens, bathrooms, basements, chimneys and chimney liners, garages, fences, fallout shelters, central air conditioning, central heating, boilers, furnaces, electrical wiring, sewers, plumbing fixtures, storm doors, windows, roofs and awnings, plus other improvements to structures within the residence or on the land next to it. If you sell kitchens, baths, basements or additions in Illinois, you are inside this Act. The exclusions matter as much as the inclusions. The Act carves out the sale, installation, cleaning or repair of carpets. It carves out work on home appliances such as disposals, refrigerators, ranges, garage door openers, washing machines and water heaters when the person doing the work is an employee or agent of the merchant that sold the appliance. Residence means a single family home or dwelling, or a multiple family home or dwelling containing six or fewer apartments, condominiums, town houses or dwelling units used as dwelling places. The Act does not apply to original construction of single family or multi family residences, and it does not apply to repairs on buildings with more than six apartments or family units. A new build from a bare lot sits outside it. A gut remodel of a two flat sits inside it.
Sourcesillinoisattorneygeneral.gov
Before starting home repair or remodeling work for over $1,000, an Illinois remodeler has to give the customer a written contract or work order to sign. The Act is specific about what that document states. It has to show the total cost, with parts and materials listed with reasonable particularity, and any charge for an estimate. It has to state the business name and address of the person engaged in the business of home repair or remodeling. If that business uses a post office box, a mail receiving service or an agent to receive its correspondence, the contract also has to state the residence address of the person running the business. That last clause exists because out of town operators used box numbers to stay hard to find. The Act turns the missing contract into a standalone violation. It is unlawful for anyone in the home repair and remodeling business to remodel, make repairs, or charge for remodeling or repair work over $1,000 before obtaining a signed contract or work order. Charging for the work is enough to trigger it. The Act also says this listed conduct is not exclusive and does not limit other acts or practices that may be unfair or deceptive, so a technically signed contract does not immunize the rest of the sale. For a remodeler the operational takeaway is simple. No signed paper above $1,000 means no demolition, no ordering, no invoicing, and no deposit.
Sourcesillinoisattorneygeneral.gov 1illinoisattorneygeneral.gov 2
Illinois makes the remodeler the delivery mechanism for its own consumer education. For any contract over $1,000, the business has to give the customer a copy of the pamphlet titled Home Repair: Know Your Consumer Rights before the contract is executed. The customer then signs and dates a Consumer Rights Acknowledgment Form stating that the homeowner has received the pamphlet from the contractor. The contractor or a representative signs and dates the same form, which carries the name and address of the home repair and remodeling business. The form is in duplicate and built into the pamphlet. The original stays with the contractor and the duplicate stays inside the pamphlet with the consumer. For a contract of $1,000 or under, the pamphlet still has to be handed over, but no written acknowledgment of receipt is required. The pamphlet itself has to be a separate document, set in at least 12 point type, in legible ink. Its text is written into the statute, so a remodeler cannot summarize it or fold it into the contract. The Attorney General publishes the pamphlet in English, Spanish and Polish, and tells homeowners that the contractor should present the document for any work valued at $1,000 or more. Treat the signed acknowledgment as the file copy that proves you complied. It is the cheapest piece of paper in an Illinois remodeling file and the one a homeowner complaint will ask about first.
Sourcesillinoisattorneygeneral.gov 1illinoisattorneygeneral.gov 2
The Home Repair and Remodeling Act sets insurance floors even though it sets no license. Any person engaged in the business of home repair and remodeling has to obtain and keep in full force, during the operation of the business, public liability and property damage insurance. As enacted, the required amounts are $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence of bodily injury, $50,000 per occurrence for property damage, and $10,000 per occurrence for improper home repair or remodeling not in conformance with applicable state, county or municipal building codes. That last figure is unusual and worth reading twice. It is coverage aimed at work that fails code, not at an accident. The Act supplies one way out. The insurance requirement does not apply to a person with a net worth of not less than $1,000,000, determined on the basis of that person's most recent financial statement prepared within 13 months. For nearly every remodeling business in Illinois the policy is the practical route. Two points follow for a remodeler who sells rather than just builds. First, these are statutory floors, not market expectations, and they sit below what most Illinois general contractors and city licensing desks ask for. Second, the Attorney General tells homeowners to treat a contractor who refuses to provide proof of insurance on request as a warning sign. Carrying more than the floor and producing the certificate without being chased is a selling position in Illinois, not a compliance chore.
Sourcesillinoisattorneygeneral.gov
When a home repair or remodeling sale is made and signed at the customer's home, Illinois gives the homeowner three business days from signing to cancel the contract. The Attorney General states the rule plainly and states the limit on the contractor just as plainly. The contractor cannot take the right away by starting work, by selling the contract to a lender, or by any other tactic. The statutory pamphlet carries the same language, so the homeowner reads it in the document the remodeler is required to hand over. The window is longer for older customers. Seniors over the age of 65 have up to fifteen business days to cancel a contract made and signed at their home. A remodeler selling into an aging neighborhood needs that number in the sales process, not discovered later. The cancellation right is tied to where the sale happens. A contract signed in the customer's home triggers it. The practical consequence is scheduling. A storm response or an urgent bath remodel signed at the kitchen table cannot be mobilized the same afternoon on the assumption the deal is closed. Material orders placed inside the window are the contractor's risk. The Attorney General also warns homeowners about unsolicited door to door sellers with no local connections, contractors demanding cash or payment before completion, and checks made out to third parties. A remodeler who sells in person in Illinois is selling against that list.
Sourcesillinoisattorneygeneral.gov 1illinoisattorneygeneral.gov 2
The Home Repair and Remodeling Act is enforced by lawyers, not by a licensing board that can pull a number you do not have. The Attorney General, or the State's Attorney of any county in Illinois, may bring an action in the name of the people of the state to restrain and prevent any pattern or practice of violation. In enforcement, either office may accept an assurance of voluntary compliance from a business, and failure to perform the terms of that assurance is prima facie evidence of a violation. The heavier consequence is the link to Illinois consumer fraud law. All remedies, penalties and authority granted to the Attorney General or a State's Attorney by the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act are available for enforcing this Act, and any violation of this Act is a violation of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. The same public act amended Section 2Z of that statute so that knowingly violating the Home Repair and Remodeling Act is an unlawful practice within its meaning. So a missing signed contract on a $4,000 bathroom is not a paperwork lapse in Illinois. It is the predicate for a consumer fraud claim. The Attorney General takes complaints through an online consumer complaint form and runs regional hotlines, and publicly prosecutes home repair cases, including storm chasing operations after hail and flooding events. Document the contract, the pamphlet and the acknowledgment, and that exposure mostly closes.
Sourcesillinoisattorneygeneral.gov 1illinoisattorneygeneral.gov 2
Chicago is the licensing authority that matters most for Illinois remodeling revenue. A City of Chicago general contractor license is required to perform most types of building construction, alteration, repair and demolition work inside the city, and the licenses are issued by the Department of Buildings. The license is required before preparing or submitting a bid, proposal or offer for a regulated activity, before undertaking one directly or through others, before hiring or supervising people carrying one out, and before exercising control over the means, methods or manner of accomplishing one. Bidding without the license is itself the violation. A regulated activity includes any work that requires a sign permit, building permit or demolition permit from the Department of Buildings, work needing a sewer permit, sandblasting, grinding or chemical washing permits from the Department of Public Health, work exempt from a building permit under Section 402 of the Chicago Construction Codes Administrative Provisions, and work under a required stormwater management plan. The license comes in five classes set by maximum project value, demolition allowed, and insurance. Class A carries unlimited project value, ordinary or complex demolition, and $5 million per occurrence. Class B is capped at $20 million with $3 million per occurrence. Class C is capped at $10 million with $2 million per occurrence. Class D is capped at $4 million with $2 million per occurrence. Class E is capped at $500,000, allows no demolition, and requires $1 million per occurrence. Most residential remodelers in Chicago live in Class E or Class D.
Sourceschicago.gov
For calendar year 2026 the City of Chicago general contractor license fee and renewal fee are the same figure in each class. Class A is $3,500. Class B is $1,800. Class C is $1,300. Class D is $900. Class E is $300. A reinstatement fee of $100 applies for each year or fraction of a year the license has been expired. An administrative processing fee of $50 applies to any modification or change to an existing license that requires staff assistance, other than updating required insurance or bond information. A replacement document costs $50, and written verification of an existing license costs $50. The application package asks for a completed city general contractor application, a statement of financial solvency in the format included with the application, proof the applicant is authorized to do business in Illinois unless it is a sole proprietor, an Assumed Name Certificate from the County Clerk if the business operates under an assumed name, proof of insurance at the amount required for the class, certification that the insurer is rated B plus or better, and copies of government issued photo identification. Insurance minimums are set by Section 4-36-090 of the Municipal Code, and a combination of primary and excess or umbrella policies may be used where the required limit exceeds $1 million. Licenses are issued to businesses, including sole proprietorships. A license is valid for one year from issuance and is automatically inactivated if the associated insurance policy expires. Continental Testing Services processes applications and renewals by mail. Class C and D insurance increases take effect January 1, 2026.
Sourceschicago.gov
Chicago runs a second license aimed squarely at remodelers. A City of Chicago home repair business license is required to engage in the business of fixing, replacing, altering, converting, modernizing, improving or making an addition to any property primarily designed or used as a residence. The license fee is $1,000. The license is issued for a period of two years and has to be renewed before it expires. The applicant files a certificate of insurance with limits not less than $300,000. The application sequence runs through the city: submit initial business information in person or online, receive zoning approval, complete and submit the full license application, pay, then receive the license once every requirement is met. The sharp limit on this license is permits. Home repair licensees may not pull building permits. If the work requires a building permit, the city requires a general contractor license instead. A business that holds the general contractor license does not need a separate home repair license, but a general contractor doing residential work still has to comply with the consumer protection requirements that apply to licensed home repair companies. A home repair license is not required for installing, cleaning or repairing carpets, for work on a home appliance performed by an employee of the merchant that sold it, or for television repair. A separate residential real estate developer license applies when a project renovates more than half the existing floor area, increases floor area, substantially alters plumbing or electrical, or converts a building to condominium ownership.
Sourceschicago.gov
Chicago is where Illinois gets explicit about what a remodeler has to show the public. A home repair licensee has to print or display the licensee's name and license number on the front page of contracts or estimates, in advertisements, and on vehicles used in the business. That covers a yard sign, a truck door, a printed estimate and a website that advertises the service. There is no state level ad display rule for remodeling in Illinois, because there is no state license number to display, which makes the Chicago requirement the operative one for anyone selling in the city. The estimate rules run alongside it. The licensee prepares a written statement of repairs before performing any work, and that written estimate includes the total cost of parts, labor, incidental services, and any charge for preparing the estimate. The customer gets a signed copy of the written estimate before work begins. On completion the customer gets a written invoice carrying the licensee's name and address, describing in detail all services and work performed and all parts supplied, with the exact charge for each part or service. Going over the estimate is regulated too. The licensee has to notify the customer and obtain prior approval before performing work that will push charges above the amount in the written estimate, and it is illegal to require a customer to pay more than the estimated amount if the customer did not approve the extra cost before the work was done. Build the change order into the process, not the invoice.
Sourceschicago.gov
A remodeler in Illinois who sells a reroof alongside the addition needs a separate state license. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation licenses roofing contractors under the Illinois Roofing Industry Licensing Act. There are two license types. A limited roofing license covers contractors whose roofing business is limited to residential roofing, including residential properties of eight units or fewer. An unlimited roofing license covers residential, commercial and industrial roofing. Every roofing contractor application has to designate a qualifying party: the sole proprietor, partner, officer, trustee or other party legally qualified to act for the business in all matters connected with its roofing work, with authority to supervise roofing installation operations, and actively engaged in day to day activities of the business. The qualifying party has to pass either the Illinois Residential Examination or the Illinois Residential, Commercial and Industrial Examination within three years of the application date, or the fee is forfeited and a new application is required. The application fee is $125, and an application stays active for three years from receipt. The bond is $10,000 for a limited license and $25,000 for an unlimited license, written by a bonding company licensed in Illinois. The applicant holds property damage insurance of at least $250,000 for each occurrence and liability insurance of at least $500,000 for each occurrence of personal injury. The license expires on December 31 of each odd numbered year regardless of when it was issued. One person generally may not be the qualifying party for more than one licensee.
Bathrooms and kitchens are the center of the Illinois remodeling market, and the plumbing in them is state licensed. Under the Illinois Plumbing License Law, the Illinois Department of Public Health licenses plumbers, plumbing contractors, apprentice plumbers, irrigation contractors and retired plumbers. A plumber applicant files for examination at least 30 days before the exam date, pays the fee, and must have worked as a licensed apprentice plumber for at least four years while also completing at least two years of high school or the equivalent plus an approved course of instruction through a college, university or trade school. Plumber licenses are renewed by April 30 following issuance. An apprentice has to be at least 16 and sponsored by an Illinois licensed plumber or an approved apprenticeship program, with a maximum apprenticeship period of six years. A plumbing contractor is any licensed plumber or apprentice plumber who performs work for another person. Plumbing contractors register with the state and pay an annual fee, and must carry general liability, bodily injury, property damage and workers compensation insurance. The registration fee is $150 a year, renewal is $150, and a reinstatement or late fee of $100 applies. Required coverage per occurrence is $100,000 general liability, $300,000 bodily injury, $50,000 property damage and $500,000 workers compensation, and a contractor with no employees may elect exemption from the workers compensation requirement. A surety or indemnification bond of $20,000, or a letter of credit in the same amount, is also required. Fees are not refundable.
A remodeler working the suburbs around Chicago runs into a county registration desk as well as municipal ones. All contractors performing work in unincorporated Cook County are required to register with the Cook County Department of Building and Zoning. The county provides a mapping tool so a contractor can confirm whether a specific project address is actually in unincorporated territory rather than inside a village or city. The initial registration fee is $150 per trade. Keeping a registration active costs an annual fee of $75 per trade, due by December 31 each year. If a registration has not been renewed in at least two years, the contractor has to contact the department directly rather than renewing online. Registration is available online for crane operators, electrical contractors, plumbing contractors, other trades and homeowners. For all other trades, which is where a general remodeling business registers, the owner or corporate officer applies for the initial registration. A firm, corporation or limited liability company submits its Articles of Incorporation or a current annual domestic report listing the officers. The county requires a certificate of insurance showing a minimum of $1,000,000 in general liability, naming Cook County Building and Zoning as certificate holder. For roofing, a State of Illinois roofing license has to be submitted. For demolition, a fully approved bond is required. A homeowner may do the work personally but has to be registered and listed on the permit, receives general contractor registration at no charge, pays for any other trade on the permit, and files homeowner insurance showing $1,000,000 of general liability.
Sourcescookcountyil.gov
Illinois housing is old, and that shapes remodeling compliance here more than in newer states. The Illinois Department of Public Health reports that roughly 1.6 million homes in Illinois may contain lead based paint and that about 840,000 homes may have deteriorating or significant lead hazards. Lead based paint was used inside and outside homes, especially on windows, baseboards, trim and doors. The department notes that even the deepest layers of lead based paint can be disturbed during remodeling or home repair, which is exactly what window replacement, trim removal and plaster demolition do. The only way to know for certain whether a home contains lead based paint is testing by a licensed lead professional, and the department points homeowners to its own search tools for finding a licensed lead inspector or risk assessor. Lead abatement and mitigation work in Illinois is licensed. The department's lead and asbestos licensing unit issues those licenses and publishes license qualification requirements for lead abatement contractors, and its code sets what has to appear in a lead inspection and risk assessment report. For a remodeler this is a sales and scoping issue, not only a safety one. A kitchen or bath quote on a pre war Chicago bungalow that ignores paint condition is a quote with a hole in it. Naming testing and lead safe practice in the proposal, and knowing which part of the scope requires a licensed lead professional rather than your own crew, separates a serious Illinois remodeler from a price sheet.
Sourcesdph.illinois.gov
Illinois gives homeowners several public lookups, and a remodeler should know which one a given customer is about to use. For work in Chicago, the city publishes a licensed contractors search covering general, electrical, elevator, mason and plumbing contractor licenses, so a Chicago homeowner can confirm a general contractor license and its class before signing. For state issued trade licenses, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation runs an online license lookup on its eLicense system, which is where a roofing contractor license shows up. Plumbing credentials sit with the Department of Public Health, which publishes its plumbing program information and online verification separately from the professional regulation system. There is no statewide lookup for a remodeling license, because Illinois issues none, and that absence is worth addressing head on in a sales conversation. A homeowner who searches for your state license number will find nothing, and the honest answer is that the state regulates the contract and the insurance rather than issuing a remodeling number. What you can produce instead is a city license number where one applies, a certificate of insurance, the signed consumer rights acknowledgment, and the roofing or plumbing license of whoever is doing that part of the work. The Attorney General also tells homeowners to confirm the business name and address, to check whether the business is incorporated with the Secretary of State or registered with the county clerk under an assumed name, and to check with local and county government about required permits and inspections.
Sourceswebapps1.chicago.gov 1online-dfpr.micropact.com 2idfpr.illinois.gov 3dph.illinois.gov 4illinoisattorneygeneral.gov 5
These are common details other guides publish about Illinois, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
No. Illinois issues no statewide remodeling or home improvement contractor license. The Home Repair and Remodeling Act instead sets contract, disclosure and insurance rules for every home repair business, and the Illinois Attorney General handles consumer enforcement. Licensing you may still need comes from cities such as Chicago, from Cook County, and from state trade boards for roofing and plumbing.
For work over $1,000 the customer signs a written contract or work order before the job starts. It states the total cost, parts and materials listed with reasonable particularity, any estimate charge, and the business name and address. A business using a post office box or mail service also states the residence address of the person running the business.
Before the contract is executed. For any contract over $1,000 you give the customer the Home Repair: Know Your Consumer Rights pamphlet and both parties sign and date the Consumer Rights Acknowledgment Form built into it. You keep the original and the customer keeps the duplicate. For contracts of $1,000 or under the pamphlet is still required, without signed acknowledgment.
The Act requires public liability and property damage insurance of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence of bodily injury, $50,000 per occurrence for property damage, and $10,000 per occurrence for improper work not conforming to state, county or municipal building codes. A business with a net worth of at least $1,000,000 on a recent financial statement is excepted.
Yes, when the sale was made and signed at their home. The homeowner has three business days to cancel, and you cannot defeat that by starting work or selling the contract to a lender. Seniors over the age of 65 get up to fifteen business days. Plan material orders and crew scheduling around that window.
Yes. Chicago requires a home repair business license for residential fixing, altering, modernizing or additions, at a $1,000 fee for a two year license with insurance of at least $300,000. Home repair licensees cannot pull building permits. Permit work requires a Department of Buildings general contractor license instead, which also satisfies home repair requirements.
Classes are set by maximum project value and insurance. Class E caps projects at $500,000, allows no demolition, requires $1 million per occurrence, and costs $300. Class D caps projects at $4 million, allows ordinary demolition, requires $2 million per occurrence, and costs $900. Most residential remodelers in Chicago sit in one of those two.
In Chicago, yes. A home repair licensee prints or displays the licensee name and license number on the front page of contracts or estimates, in advertisements, and on vehicles used in the business. Illinois has no equivalent statewide ad display rule for remodeling, because the state issues no remodeling license number to display.
Yes. Roofing is licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. A limited license covers residential roofing up to eight units, and an unlimited license adds commercial and industrial. The application fee is $125, the bond is $10,000 limited or $25,000 unlimited, and a designated qualifying party has to pass the state examination.
Only if they hold Illinois plumbing credentials. The Illinois Department of Public Health licenses plumbers and registers plumbing contractors under the Illinois Plumbing License Law. Contractor registration costs $150 a year and requires per occurrence coverage of $100,000 general liability, $300,000 bodily injury, $50,000 property damage and $500,000 workers compensation, plus a $20,000 bond.
Contractors working in unincorporated Cook County register with the county Department of Building and Zoning. Initial registration is $150 per trade and the annual fee is $75 per trade, due by December 31. General trades file a certificate showing at least $1,000,000 in general liability naming the county, and roofing work requires the state roofing license.
Chicago publishes a licensed contractors search for general, electrical, elevator, mason and plumbing licenses. State trade licenses such as roofing appear in the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation online license lookup, and plumbing credentials are verified through the Department of Public Health. No statewide remodeling lookup exists, so produce insurance and city licensing instead.
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