Business licenses and permits in Illinois

Illinois licenses by activity and by place. Start with the state’s free help line, then your city or county, then the agency that regulates your kind of work.

What’s different in Illinois

• Licenses follow the activity. Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) regulates more than 100 professions. The Illinois Liquor Control Commission (ILCC), the Illinois Department of Public Health and IDFPR (for roofing) each license their own trades. Whether Illinois has one general state business license wasn’t stated on the pages we read.* Check the official source.
• Chicago has its own license and its own zoning check. In Chicago, most business activities need a City license from the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP), and the zoning review comes before the application is processed.
• Alcohol takes a state license and a local one.
• A free help line sorts it out. Call the Business Information Center at the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), a single statewide resource for licensing and permit information.

Do this

1. Call the Business Information Center at 800.252.2923. Describe what you will do and where. It gives you the state, local and federal licensing contacts that apply. Illinois Small Business Development Centers also offer business consulting at no cost.
2. Check your city or county. Local licenses and zoning vary by place. Whether you may run the business from your home is a local question. Ask the city or county before you sign a lease.
3. In Chicago, apply through Chicago Business Direct. The City’s licensing site walks through it, and the Chicago Small Business Center (SBC) can help. Zoning comes first: zoning approval for the business address comes before the license application is processed. The City’s advice: do not sign a lease or make another financial commitment until the City confirms the activity is allowed at the address. Fees are non-refundable, and set by license type. Some license types add a $40 processing fee per person. Also, any debt the applicant or a controlling person owes the City must be resolved first. The application requirements list the rest.
4. Get any professional license your work needs. Start at IDFPR. To check a license, use the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation's License Look-Up.
5. Roofing or plumbing? Roofing needs a state roofing contractor license from IDFPR, and a limited license exists for residential work on 8 units or fewer. A permit office may ask for proof, since a building permit issued to a roofing contractor requires proof of current state licensure. The Illinois Department of Public Health handles plumbing. Employees of a plumbing firm must be licensed plumbers or licensed apprentice plumbers, and plumbing contractors are registered under the Plumbing License Law.
6. Serving food? Food safety runs through the Illinois Department of Public Health, working with local health departments. Who issues the permit for your kind of food business wasn’t clear on the page.* Check the official source with your local health department.
7. Selling alcohol? Apply to the Illinois Liquor Control Commission (ILCC) through the Illinois Liquor Control & Compliance Portal for a retailer's license, and to your local government too.
8. Selling taxable goods or services? Register with the Department of Revenue: Get your tax IDs.
9. Ask for help if the list gets long. The SBA’s Illinois District Office in Chicago offers counseling and connects you to partner organizations.

What you get back

One license or permit from each agency that regulates your work, each on its own renewal schedule, plus any local license. In Chicago the City sends a renewal notice 60 days before the license expires. Write down the renewal date on each license you receive.