What's Required in Chicago
- Tiling, painting, cabinets and countertops without plumbing or electrical connections, and removing and reinstalling the same toilet, need no permit.
- Replacing a fixture, water heater or piping with new material requires an express plumbing permit.
- Moving fixtures, adding a bathroom or adding circuits requires an express interior alteration permit, which allows up to 5 water supply fixture units of new demand in a home.
- Plumbing must be performed by a licensed plumbing contractor or personally by the owner-occupant of a detached single-family residence.
- Electrical work must be performed by a Chicago-licensed electrical contractor.
- Every plumbing application includes an existing-condition photograph and the energy and water efficiency compliance form.
- New toilets, shower heads and lavatory faucets must carry the EPA WaterSense label.
- Wall or doorway changes require drawings by an Illinois-licensed architect or structural engineer.
Do You Need a Permit to Remodel a Bathroom in Chicago?
It depends on whether you touch the plumbing or wiring. The Department of Buildings' list of work that needs no permit covers painting, wallpapering, tiling, carpeting, installing cabinets or countertops, or performing similar finish work, without plumbing or electrical connections; clearing a stoppage or repairing a leak that does not replace or rearrange a valve, pipe or fixture; removing and reinstalling a water closet (toilet); and, at a residential building up to 4 stories, replacing a water heater in kind. So a cosmetic refresh, new tile, a vanity top, paint, and the same toilet pulled and reset for the floor, needs no permit at all.
The exemption ends when a pipe is removed and replaced with new material, a fixture is replaced rather than reinstalled, or wiring is added. Replacing a toilet, sink, tub or shower valve in the same spot, replacing supply or drain piping inside the building, or replacing a water heater in a larger building uses the Plumbing Work worktype in the Express Permit Program (which replaced the Easy Permit process on November 6, 2023). Moving fixtures, adding a new bathroom, or combining plumbing with new circuits and layout changes is not the plumbing worktype; it is the Interior Alteration (Nonstructural) worktype, which allows plumbing that adds up to 5 water supply fixture units (a private bathroom is 4) and electrical work within a single home, with architect or engineer drawings only if walls or doorways change.
Chicago Bathroom Remodel Permit Rules by Scenario
| What you are doing | City filing | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Retiling, painting, new vanity top, reinstalling the same toilet | None | DOB list of work not requiring a permit (Interior Finishes; Plumbing) |
| Replacing the toilet, faucet, tub or shower valve in the same location | Express plumbing permit, $75 per toilet room | Table 14A-12-1204.2 (Plumbing) |
| Replacing supply or drain piping in the walls, same layout | Express plumbing permit, $150 per toilet room | Table 14A-12-1204.2 (current compiled table) |
| Adding a GFCI outlet or replacing the light on an existing circuit | Express electrical permit, $75 per service, licensed electrical contractor | Table 14A-12-1204.2 (Electrical) |
| New circuits for an exhaust fan, heated floor or outlets | Express electrical permit, $150 for up to 10 circuits | Table 14A-12-1204.2 (Electrical) |
| Moving the toilet or shower drain, or adding a new bathroom, walls unchanged | Express interior alteration, $250 (up to 500 sq ft) + trade rows, floor plans by any responsible person | Table 14A-12-1204.2 (Alteration); EPP Interior Alteration |
| Same remodel with a wall or doorway moved | Express interior alteration at the same fee, architect or engineer drawings | EPP Interior Alteration eligibility |
How Much Does a Bathroom Remodel Permit Cost in Chicago?
Bathroom work is priced from the flat stand-alone fee table, and fees stack when one permit covers more than one listed scope. Repair or in-kind replacement of plumbing fixtures without alteration to plumbing in walls is $75 per dwelling unit, toilet room, or tenant space, which also covers a water heater; replacing plumbing piping with or without fixture replacement is $150 per toilet room. No drawings are required for those rows, so the fee is paid at issuance, plus a $25 review fee if the online application has to be reviewed. A relayout uses the interior alteration row, $250 for up to 500 square feet, plus the trade rows: a bathroom that moves the toilet and shower and adds two circuits for a fan and heated floor is $250 + $150 = $400, and because the alteration row requires drawings the code collects a non-refundable $600 deposit at submission with any balance at issuance, so confirm the total in the portal.
Who Files and What They Submit
A fixture-only or piping-only job is a single trade, so no general contractor is needed when a Chicago-licensed plumbing contractor performs it; the owner, occupant or lessee of a detached single-family residence may instead do the plumbing personally and is listed on the permit as the homeowner. Any electrical work needs a Chicago-licensed electrical contractor with no owner exception. An interior alteration also lists a licensed general contractor, or the owner acting as general contractor on their primary residence (no more than 6 units, no building over 3 stories) once per calendar year via Form 401. Plumbing applications upload an existing-condition photo and the energy and water efficiency compliance form; interior alterations add existing and proposed floor plans, drawn by any responsible person if walls stay put. New toilets, shower heads and lavatory faucets must carry the WaterSense label, and a replacement water heater needs a full-port shutoff on the cold line with no valve on the hot side. Listed contractors e-accept the job, and a first inspection must pass within 540 days.
How to Get a Bathroom Remodel Permit in Chicago
Classify the work
Cosmetic work and a reinstalled toilet need nothing; same-spot fixture or pipe replacement is the Plumbing worktype; moved fixtures, a new bathroom or new circuits are the Interior Alteration worktype.
Line up the trades
Choose a Chicago-licensed plumbing contractor, or do the plumbing yourself as owner-occupant of a detached single-family house with Form 401, and a licensed electrical contractor for any wiring.
Apply in the Express Permit portal
Upload the photo and energy and water efficiency form; for an alteration add existing and proposed floor plans and list the general contractor or yourself as owner-contractor.
Pay the fee
$75 per toilet room for fixtures or $150 for piping at issuance; $250 for an alteration plus trade rows, with the $600 deposit collected at submission.
Inspect before closing walls
Request the rough plumbing and electrical inspections, then the final; the first inspection must pass within 540 days.