Help and Advice
BUILDING PERMIT HELP + ADVICE
Common Questions
In this section you can find answers to common questions about building permits. Questions are organized by Department.
Resources
When planning your construction or building rehabilitation project, the following resources may be helpful:
The Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities offers preliminary plan review meetings to review accessibility issues for proposed projects.
The Great Lakes ADA Center provides free guidance on compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by phone and email.
Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST, a program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, provides free technical guidance on the design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing Act.
The Department of Housing maintains information about the Additional Dwelling Unit (ADU) Ordinance, adopted in 2020.
ComEd's energy efficiency programs provide technical assistance and financial incentives for high performance building construction and rehabilitation projects.
The Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC) provides free technical assistance on compliance with the Illinois Energy Conservation Code and Chicago Energy Transformation Code.
The Chicago Department of Public Health's Food Protection Program offers pre-construction plan review and other types of technical assistance on the Chicago Food Code.
The Historic Preservation Division in the Department of Planning and Development offers preliminary plan review meetings to review preservation requirements and incentives for proposed projects.
The Office of the Zoning Administrator in the Department of Planning and Development can provide information on compliance with the Chicago Zoning Ordinance and the zoning requirements applicable to a specific property.