Bathroom Remodel Requirements in Illinois
Four answers in one bathroom: the plumbing CONTRACTOR half (the $150 annual IDPH registration for work 'for another person' with a named Plumber of Record, four coverages and the $20,000 sole-proprietor bond of 77 IAC 894.20), the plumbing PERSON half (apprentice 48–72 months → $175 examination → $100 licence), the electrical half with NO statewide credential (verified absence — Chicago's $150 electrical licence, Cook County's acceptance of a municipal supervising electrician's licence, or the village's call), the second $150 Chicago plumbing licence inside the City, and the local health department's permit under the statewide Illinois Plumbing Code. Every credential and figure machine-read.
01 The requirements, sourced
- Plumbing contractor registration — annual $150, named Plumber of Record, insurance — IDPH page verbatim: 'Plumbing Contractors are any licensed plumber or apprentice plumber who performs work for another person… All plumbing contractors must register with the state and pay an annual fee.' The application sets the price and duties: '$150 annual registration fee (Registration fees are non-refundable.)'; footer 'Renewal Fee: $150 / Reinstatement/Late Fee: $100 / Returned Check Fee: $200'; a named Licensed Plumber of Record who 'must have an Illinois plumbing license and Illinois license active'; certificate(s) of insurance showing general liability, bodily injury, property damage and workers' compensation coverages; entity filings per ownership type (SOS Articles/Certificate of Authority, Assumed Business Name 805 ILCS 405, partnership agreement, annual corporate report); a child-support certification; late filing suspends the registration and forces re-registration at a $100 penalty. S-IL-PC-APP
- Individual plumber licence on the apprentice ladder — 4-year statutory apprenticeship before the exam — IDPH page verbatim: 'To obtain a license, individuals must pass a state licensing exam after working under a licensed plumber as a licensed apprentice for a 48 to 72 month period.' The examination application (225 ILCS 320/10(d) quoted on the form): 'requires an applicant to have been employed as an Illinois licensed apprentice plumber under supervision in accordance with this act for at least four years preceding the date of this application', filed 'at least 30 days prior to date of examination'. After the maximum six-year apprenticeship, an apprentice who never sits the exam 'will not be eligible for a renewal of the apprentice license'. The licence fee after passing is $100 (IDPH retired-plumber form). S-IL-PHL-EXAM
- No statewide electrician or electrical contractor licence exists (verified absence) — Illinois licenses no electrician and no electrical contractor at state level. The IDFPR profession list (machine-read 2026-10-11) contains no electrical profession of any kind, and neither IDPH nor OSFM touches electrical work. Electrical licensing in Illinois is MUNICIPAL: Chicago licenses Electrical Contractors ($150/yr, all classifications), Electrical Supervisors and journeyman/master electricians under Title 4 and the DOB trade pages; Cook County's unincorporated registration accepts any 'supervising electrician's license … from a city, town or village in the State of Illinois that has an electrical commission that administers an examination'; villages that license do so under home-rule ordinance. Everywhere else, only the permit regime binds. S-IL-IDFPR-PROFLIST
- Chicago Plumbing Contractor licence — $150 per year (MCC ch. 4-336), layered on the IDPH registration — § 4-5-010 row verbatim: 'Plumbing Contractor (Chapter 4-336). – $150.00 (1 year). $150.00 (1 year)'; § 4-336-040: 'The license fee shall be as set forth in Section 4-5-010 of this code.' A Chicago plumbing contractor therefore holds BOTH the IDPH state registration ($150/yr) and the City licence ($150/yr). Chicago separately licenses Master Plumbers (Cook County's registration page references the 'Chicago Journeyman Plumber's license'). S-IL-CHI-4-5-010
- Building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits and inspections are LOCAL everywhere in Illinois — IDPH page verbatim: the Illinois Plumbing Code (77 IAC 890) is adopted statewide, but plumbing permits and inspections are run by local health departments and municipalities under IDPH oversight; building, mechanical and electrical permits run through municipal or county building departments (Chicago DOB; Cook County Building and Zoning; village building departments). Illinois has NO state building-permit office — every permit fact is LOCAL_AUTHORITY_REQUIRED. S-IL-DPH-PLUMBING
02 Which credentials this project can touch
| Credential | Relation | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbing Contractor registration (IDPH) | may require | IL-PLUMBING-CONTRACTOR | S-IL-PC-APP |
| Plumber licence (IDPH) | component basis | IL-PLUMBER-LICENCE | S-IL-PHL-EXAM |
| Chicago Electrical Contractor licence (MCC Title 4, DOB) | alternative | IL-CHI-ELECTRICAL | S-IL-CHI-4-5-010 |
| Chicago Plumbing Contractor licence (MCC ch. 4-336) | component basis | IL-CHI-PLUMBING | S-IL-CHI-4-5-010 |
Each row is one (project, classification, relation) triple the research record can source — the rendered sections and the seeded evidence can never disagree.
03 Deterministic rules applied
- IL-PLUMBING-CONTRACTOR
- IL-PLUMBER-LICENCE
- IL-CHI-PLUMBING
- IL-CHI-ELECTRICAL
- IL-LOCAL-PERMITS
Illinois has no conflict rows (the research pass found no official-vs-official disagreement), so this page publishes no conflict notice — the eleven named gaps live on the fees page's withheld list instead.
04 What it costs
| Fee | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cook County contractor registration — initial, per trade County service page verbatim: 'The initial registration fee is $150 per trade.' Initial registration is filed IN PERSON by the owner or a corporate officer (application PDF); homeowners' 'General' registration is free of charge. | $150 | S-IL-COOK-REG |
| Roofing contractor licence — application (Limited and Unlimited alike) RF application packet verbatim: 'Payment of $125.00 in the form of a U.S. check or money order made payable to IDFPR', and the checklist's 'An application fee of $125' — the SAME price for Limited and Unlimited (packet machine-read 2026-10-11). Fees are non-refundable; the application 'is active for three years from the date of receipt by the Department' and the Department asks applicants to 'allow eight business weeks'. | $125 | S-IL-RF-APP |
| Roofing contractor licence — renewal price NOT PUBLISHED on the application (cycle verified) PRICE WITHHELD BY NAME (research §O.1): the RF packet prints the $125 application fee and the biennial term ('The license will expire on December 31st of each odd numbered year regardless of when it is issued') but NOT the renewal price, and no IDFPR page read this session published it — unofficial secondary sources circulate $150/$300 figures and NONE was verified, so this row records the duty with amount 0 = 'unpublished', never a guess. See RENEW-IL-ROOFING for the verified cycle. | not published | S-IL-RF-APP |
| Fire sprinkler contractor licence — initial (2-year licence) Application fee table p. 4 verbatim: 'Initial License (2-year license) $3,000' — the most expensive Illinois state construction credential. 'Do not remit fees with application. Once your application has been reviewed and approved, you will be invoiced for the applicable fees.' | $3,000 | S-IL-SFM-APP |
| Fire sprinkler contractor licence — renewal on or before the expiration date Application fee table verbatim: 'Renewal of License (before or on expiration date) $3,000'. Continuing education is required for renewal (OSFM approved-provider list). | $3,000 | S-IL-SFM-APP |
| Fire sprinkler contractor licence — late renewal (up to one year after expiry) Application fee table verbatim: 'Late Renewal of License (up to a year after expiration; includes a $500 late filing fee) $3,500'. The $500 late component is printed inside the row itself — after the year, the licence is expired rather than late. | $3,500 | S-IL-SFM-APP |
| Fire sprinkler contractor licence — duplicate or corrected licence Application fee table verbatim: 'Duplicate or Corrected License $50'. | $50 | S-IL-SFM-APP |
| Chicago general contractor licence — Class A (no value limitation), annual DOB application classification block verbatim, cross-checked against the codifier's § 4-5-010 table: '$3,500' per year. § 4-36-070: the fee 'shall be payable annually. A general contractor license shall expire one year after issuance.' | $3,500 | S-IL-CHI-GC-APP |
| Chicago general contractor licence — Class B (contracts over $20,000,000), annual DOB application verbatim: '$1,800'; § 4-5-010 indexed snippet cross-check verbatim: 'General Contractor, Class B (Chapter 4-36). – $1,800.00 (1 year)'. | $1,800 | S-IL-CHI-GC-APP |
| Chicago general contractor licence — Class C (contracts over $10,000,000), annual DOB application classification block verbatim: '$1,300' per year. | $1,300 | S-IL-CHI-GC-APP |
| Chicago general contractor licence — Class D (contracts over $4,000,000), annual DOB application classification block verbatim: '$900' per year. | $900 | S-IL-CHI-GC-APP |
| Chicago general contractor licence — Class E (contracts over $500,000), annual DOB application verbatim: '$300'; the floor of the Chicago value ladder — and the class whose § 4-36-090 insurance floor is $1,000,000 per occurrence. | $300 | S-IL-CHI-GC-APP |
| Chicago plumbing contractor licence — annual (MCC ch. 4-336) Codifier § 4-5-010 indexed snippet verbatim: 'Plumbing Contractor (Chapter 4-336). – $150.00 (1 year). $150.00 (1 year)'; § 4-336-040: 'The license fee shall be as set forth in Section 4-5-010 of this code.' This City fee STACKS on the $150 IDPH state registration (FEE-IL-PC-ANNUAL-001) — two $150 duties for the same Chicago plumbing business. | $150 | S-IL-CHI-4-5-010 |
| Chicago electrical contractor licence — annual, all classifications (MCC ch. via § 4-5-140) Codifier § 4-5-140 annual-adjustment snippet verbatim: 'Electrical Contractor, all classifications … $150.00 (1 year). $150.00 (1 year)'. The chapter number and the Electrical Supervisor / journeyman / master fees could NOT be machine-read this session (research §O.7) — flagged, never guessed. | $150 | S-IL-CHI-4-5-010 |
| Plumber licence — fee after passing the state examination IDPH 'Retired Plumber's License Application' verbatim (read via the official page's indexed text 2026-10-11): 'apply for the plumber examination with the proper fee ($100) and successfully pass the exam. After passing the exam, the fee for a plumber license is $100.' The plumber and apprentice RENEWAL prices are not on any page read this session (research §O.4) — no renewal fee row is seeded. | $100 | S-IL-PHL-LIC-FEE |
| Plumbing contractor registration — annual (initial and renewal alike) Application body verbatim: '$150 annual registration fee (Registration fees are non-refundable.)'; the IDPH page independently states that 'All plumbing contractors must register with the state and pay an annual fee'. The company registers, the named Plumber of Record carries the competency. | $150 | S-IL-PC-APP |
| Plumbing contractor registration — reinstatement / late fee Form footer verbatim: 'Reinstatement/Late Fee: $100'. The form warns that a late filing suspends the registration and forces re-registration at that penalty; the footer also prints 'Returned Check Fee: $200'. | $100 | S-IL-PC-APP |
| Plumbing contractor registration — returned check fee Form footer verbatim: 'Returned Check Fee: $200'. | $200 | S-IL-PC-APP |
| Plumber state examination — application fee (Illinois apprentice route) Official IDPH examination application verbatim: 'FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. Application Fee for Illinois Licensed Apprentice Plumber: $175.' The parallel line for plumbers registered/licensed in Chicago or out of state is CUT in the retrieved snippet (research §O.3) — no second amount is asserted. Due 30 days before the examination date (225 ILCS 320/10(d)); retakes use the separate Examination Retake Form plus the applicable fee. | $175 | S-IL-PHL-EXAM |
| Cook County contractor registration — annual renewal, per trade County service page verbatim: 'To keep your registration active, there is an annual fee of $75 per trade due by December 31 each year. If you have not renewed your registration in at least two years, please contact the Department…' — the two-year gap is when the registration is treated as lapsed rather than merely late. | $75 | S-IL-COOK-REG |