STATE LICENSE
NoneSee what applies
No Illinois statute licenses electricians statewide. The Municipal Code instead lets each municipality require registration of electrical contractors, with an annual registration fee of $25, and provides that a contractor registered in one municipality cannot be required to register again in another (65 ILCS 5/11-33-1).
Chicago runs its own licensing: a city electrical contractor license ($150 a year in 2026) is required to install, alter, or maintain any wiring regulated by the Chicago Electrical Code — permit or not — and the business must employ at least one licensed supervising electrician. Class 1 work (buildings over 55 feet or large assembly occupancies) adds apprenticeship-level qualifications for every worker on site.
The state sets the license floor; the county or city permit office controls filing, inspections, and local rules wherever the job site sits.
With no state license, the local layer is the whole credential. 65 ILCS 5/11-33-1 caps municipal registration at $25 a year and makes one municipality's registration good in the others; Chicago separately licenses electrical contractors and supervising electricians through its Department of Buildings. Permits and inspections are always local.
The local offices section below names the exact permit desk for every Illinois county on file.
Each row names the issuing authority, cost, timeline, citation, and status behind the requirement — verified against the official source.
Published fees from the issuing authorities, as of October 2026. Local permit fees vary by project and jurisdiction — the basis is stated where a flat number does not exist.
Under 65 ILCS 5/11-33-1 a contractor registered in one municipality cannot be required to register or pay again in another.
A Chicago electrical contractor license covers work by the business's employees under a supervising electrician — not 1099 independent contractors.
Expired Chicago electrical contractor licenses can only be renewed within three years of expiration.
A practical sequence for a new electrical contractor in Illinois. Actual agency processing times are noted in the ledger above.
Each item names the issuing authority, cycle, and citation.
Statutory consequences with their citations — not estimates, not “commonly cited” guesses.
Knowingly failing to provide required coverage is a Class 4 felony for owners and officers, each day a separate offense; extra-hazardous employers can get an ex parte work-stop order.
Residential electrical wiring is home repair; violating the written-contract, brochure, or insurance rules is a Consumer Fraud Act violation.
Inside city limits, the city office listed here issues the permit; the county office serves unincorporated areas. Every office links to its official page.
Every fact in this file was checked against these official sources on October 2026.
Pending verification: How 65 ILCS 5/11-33-1's $25 cap and one-registration rule interact with home-rule municipalities that run their own electrical exams and licenses — confirm city by city · Chicago supervising electrician exam and license fee amounts (not reviewed)
General information, not legal advice. Always confirm requirements, deadlines, and forms with the issuing authority before filing or contracting.
Store licenses, permits, policies, and renewal dates in one place.