How long does a remodel permit take in Chicago?
In Chicago, the typical remodel permit took 52 days from application to issue, across 1,033 permits issued from September 2024 to September 2026.
The two steps
The numbers behind the chart
| Step | Median | Middle half | Permits | Permits issued |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application to permit issued | 52 days | 21 days to about 3 months | 1,033 | September 2024 to September 2026 |
Remodeling contractors with the most jobs in Chicago
| Rank | Contractor | Jobs | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Airoom, LLC | Get a quote | |
| 2 | Clancy & Company Contracting | Get a quote | |
| 3 | Leonard & Son Construction Company, Inc | Get a quote |
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Permit wait by year issued
| Year issued | Jobs | Median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 125 | 48 days | 24 days to about 3 months |
| 2025 | 535 | 52 days | 20 days to about 3 months |
| 2026 | 373 | 54 days | 22 days to about 3 months |
Why it takes this long
- 0% of permits were issued the day they were applied for, and 33% within 30 days (1,033 permits).
- The time to final inspection is not shown: the city's permit data has no final inspection date.
Days are counted between the dates on each city permit: application_start_date, issue_date. Median and middle half: half of the jobs took longer than the median; the middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile. A figure is shown only when it rests on 30 or more permits. Kinds of work are sorted by the same rules as our contractor lists. Source: Chicago Building Permits (data.cityofchicago.org ydr8-5enu), read 2026-09-24. The same figures as data: remodel.json.