Illinois Contractor License Requirements
Illinois has no statewide general contractor license — general contracting is licensed city by city and county by county instead. The one major statewide exception for the building trades is roofing, licensed through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), and Chicago runs its own five-class general contractor licensing system through its Department of Buildings.
- Quick facts
- Why there’s no state “general contractor” license
- Statewide roofing contractor license (IDFPR)
- Chicago’s general contractor license
- Other cities and counties
- FAQ
Quick facts
| Statewide general contractor license | None — general contracting is regulated locally by cities and counties, not the state |
|---|---|
| Statewide trade licenses | Roofing contractors (IDFPR) and plumbing contractors (Illinois Department of Public Health) are the two building trades licensed statewide |
| Roofing license fee | $125 application fee (limited or unlimited license); renewal is $62.50/year, billed as $125 for the 2-year renewal cycle |
| Roofing exam | Administered by Continental Testing Services for the license’s designated qualifying party; commonly reported around $248 |
| Roofing bond | Reported at $10,000 for a limited license and $25,000 for an unlimited license |
| Chicago general contractor license (example city) | 5 classes (A–E) by project value, $300–$3,500/year fee, no bond (financial solvency statement instead), $1M–$5M liability insurance depending on class, valid 1 year |
Why there’s no state “general contractor” license
Illinois is one of the states — alongside Texas and Ohio — that never created a state board to license “general contractors” as a category. If you’re framing, remodeling, painting, or doing most other general building work, there’s no Springfield-issued license to apply for. That surprises contractors coming from states like California that license general contracting directly. Instead, Illinois regulates construction in two other ways: a small number of specific trades are licensed statewide (roofing and plumbing being the two that touch general building work), and cities and counties — Illinois has more than 1,300 of them — run their own separate contractor licensing or registration systems for work inside their borders.
Statewide roofing contractor license (IDFPR)
Roofing is the one general-building trade Illinois licenses at the state level, under the Illinois Roofing Industry Licensing Act (225 ILCS 335), administered by IDFPR. There are two license types: a limited license, which covers roofing on residential properties of 8 units or fewer, and an unlimited license, which covers residential, commercial, and industrial roofing. Every roofing business must designate a qualifying party — the individual actively engaged in the day-to-day roofing operations — who has to pass a state exam covering the relevant scope of roofing practice, administered through Continental Testing Services. Applicants also have to submit proof of bonding and liability/property-damage insurance; reported bond amounts are $10,000 for a limited license and $25,000 for an unlimited license, though this page could not verify those figures — or the exact insurance minimums — against IDFPR’s or the Illinois General Assembly’s own pages this run (see the source note above). If you do any roofing work anywhere in Illinois, this license applies regardless of which city or county you’re working in.
Chicago’s general contractor license
Chicago doesn’t rely on a state license — it runs its own general contractor licensing system through the Department of Buildings, and if you plan to bid on, perform, or supervise most construction, alteration, repair, or demolition work within city limits, you need one. There are five license classes, split by the maximum project value they cover: Class E ($500,000 cap, $300/year), Class D ($4 million cap, $900/year), Class C ($10 million cap, $1,300/year), Class B ($20 million cap, $1,800/year), and Class A (no cap, $3,500/year). Chicago doesn’t require a surety bond — instead you submit a statement of financial solvency with your application — but it does require commercial general liability insurance from a carrier rated B+ or higher by A.M. Best, in amounts scaling from $1 million per occurrence at Class E up to $5 million per occurrence at Class A (Class C and D moved to a $2 million minimum starting January 1, 2026). Licenses are processed by Continental Testing Services on the Department’s behalf, run for one year from issuance, and are automatically inactivated if the underlying insurance policy lapses. A general contractor license is not required for licensed subcontractors working under a licensed GC’s supervision, for work under most homeowners’ primary-residence exception, or for separately licensed trades like electrical, plumbing, or mason contractors working within the scope of their own license.
Other cities and counties
Chicago is the highest-profile example, but it’s far from the only Illinois municipality with its own contractor licensing rules — suburban municipalities and downstate cities each set their own requirements, and there’s no statewide list or portal that covers all of them. If you plan to work in more than one Illinois jurisdiction, check with the building or licensing department in each specific city or county before you bid on work there; a license in one Illinois municipality does not carry over to another.
Do I need a state license to work as a general contractor in Illinois?
No — Illinois has no statewide general contractor license. Depending on where you work, you may need a city or county contractor license (Chicago is the largest example), and if your work includes roofing, you’ll need the statewide IDFPR roofing contractor license regardless of location.
What’s the difference between a limited and unlimited Illinois roofing license?
A limited roofing license covers residential roofing on properties of 8 units or fewer. An unlimited license covers residential, commercial, and industrial roofing work. Both require designating a qualifying party who passes a state exam covering the relevant scope of work.
Does a Chicago general contractor license let me work elsewhere in Illinois?
No — a Chicago GC license only authorizes work within Chicago’s city limits. Other Illinois cities and counties run their own separate licensing systems, so you’d need to apply separately in each additional jurisdiction where you plan to work.
Penalty for unlicensed roofing or contracting
Since roofing is the one trade Illinois licenses statewide, unlicensed roofing practice carries a civil penalty of up to $15,000 per offense under 225 ILCS 335 Section 10a — a figure raised from $5,000 by a more recent amendment (SB 2503). At the city level, Chicago’s own contractor and trade licensing rules (Municipal Code Chapters 4-4 and 4-36) carry penalties of $500 to $1,000 per offense, with each day of continued violation treated as a separate offense. Because Illinois splits enforcement between the state (roofing only) and individual cities and counties (everything else), confirm the specific penalty that applies to your trade and location directly with IDFPR or the relevant local licensing office.
Reciprocity with other states
IDFPR does not maintain reciprocity agreements for roofing licensing with any other state, and since Illinois has no statewide general contractor license, there’s no state-level GC reciprocity to speak of either. Chicago’s general contractor license is local to the city, with no stated reciprocity for out-of-state or out-of-city licenses — every jurisdiction in Illinois that requires a license expects you to apply through its own process.