Building permits in Chicago
Every permit we hold for Chicago, what gets built, and how long the city actually takes to issue one.
How long a permit takes in Chicago
Measured from the application date to the issue date on 3,000 permits that carry both. The city publishes both dates and joins neither.
The slowest few run to years — a permit left dormant rather than a queue — so the median and the 90th percentile are the honest summary, not the average.
How long each kind of permit takes
The city-wide figure hides the spread — reinstate revoked pmt runs same day here while wrecking/demolition runs 62 days. Slowest first.
| Permit type | Typical | 9 in 10 within | Fastest | Permits measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PERMIT - WRECKING/DEMOLITION | 62 days | 105 days | same day | 40 |
| PERMIT - RENOVATION/ALTERATION | 58 days | 186 days | same day | 514 |
| PERMIT - SIGNS | 49 days | 141 days | 13 days | 191 |
| PERMIT - NEW CONSTRUCTION | 49 days | 193 days | same day | 186 |
| PERMIT – EXPRESS PERMIT PROGRAM | 3 days | 25 days | same day | 1,942 |
| PERMIT - ELEVATOR EQUIPMENT | same day | 7 days | same day | 85 |
| PERMIT - REINSTATE REVOKED PMT | same day | same day | same day | 42 |
Types with fewer than eight measurable permits are left out: a median over three permits is an anecdote, not a typical duration.
What gets permitted in Chicago
Permit types as the city classifies them.
| Value | permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| PERMIT – EXPRESS PERMIT PROGRAM | 1,942 | 64.7% |
| PERMIT - RENOVATION/ALTERATION | 514 | 17.1% |
| PERMIT - SIGNS | 191 | 6.4% |
| PERMIT - NEW CONSTRUCTION | 186 | 6.2% |
| PERMIT - ELEVATOR EQUIPMENT | 85 | 2.8% |
| PERMIT - REINSTATE REVOKED PMT | 42 | 1.4% |
| PERMIT - WRECKING/DEMOLITION | 40 | 1.3% |
Where those permits stand
| Value | permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| ACTIVE | 2,472 | 82.4% |
| COMPLETE | 196 | 6.5% |
| PHASED PERMITTING | 5 | 0.2% |
Recently issued
- 1 710 N FAIRBANKS CT 2026-09-04
- 2 30 S WACKER DR 2026-09-04
- 3 833 W BELLE PLAINE AVE 2026-09-04
- 4 104 S MICHIGAN AVE 2026-09-04
- 5 100 S WACKER DR 2026-09-04
- 6 5117 N MANGO AVE 2026-09-04
- 7 8725 W HIGGINS RD 2026-09-04
- 8 6822 S CLAREMONT AVE 2026-09-04
Look up an address
Search Chicago permits by address, contractor or permit number, or compare against every city we cover.
Permit records come from Chicago’s own open-data publication. The city’s record is authoritative and we link it on every permit page.