Illinois Contractor & Trade Licensing Costs (2026)
Illinois licenses roofing at state level through IDFPR and plumbing through the Department of Public Health. General contractors are licensed locally, for example by the City of Chicago. Select a trade classification below to calculate application fees, PSI examination costs, surety bond minimums, and renewal schedules.
Illinois licenses only two of the eight trades on this page at state level, and it hands them to two unrelated departments. Plumbers answer to the Department of Public Health under the Plumbing License Law. Roofers answer to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation under the Roofing Industry Licensing Act.
Everything else is local. Electricians, HVAC contractors, general contractors, painters, landscapers and carpenters hold no Illinois state license, and their rules come from city hall, building permits and federal certifications instead. Chicago runs the heaviest local systems in the state, including its own GC and supervising electrician licenses.
This page walks through the two state routes with verified first-time costs, $325 for a plumber and $373 for a roofer, then the Chicago layer and the six unlicensed trades. Every figure matches the verified schedule on the linked trade page, checked against the licensing authority in October 2026.
Two trades, two departments, and a border that runs through every project
The state map is short. Plumbing is licensed by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), under the Illinois Plumbing License Law, 225 ILCS 320, with its fees set in the Plumbers Licensing Code. Roofing is licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), under the Roofing Industry Licensing Act, 225 ILCS 335.
No other trade on this page has a state board behind it. An Illinois electrician or HVAC contractor looking for a state license will not find one; electrical and mechanical licensing was left to municipalities. The same is true for the general contractor who runs the job.
Plumbers: a personal license run by the health department
IDPH licenses the person, not the company, and it keeps the ladder short: an Apprentice Plumber license underneath a single grade of Licensed Plumber, with no journeyman or master tier at state level. The apprentice license costs $100 a year and starts at 16 with a sponsor.
Qualifying takes at least four years as a licensed apprentice plus completion of a US Department of Labor approved apprenticeship program, and the apprentice license can be renewed only inside a six-year maximum window. Drift past six years without applying for the exam and the license cannot be renewed at all.
The examination application goes to IDPH at least 30 days before the exam date, and the fee splits by where you come from: $175 for Illinois licensed apprentices, $225 for applicants registered in Chicago or licensed in another state. Passing is not the last payment. The license fee itself is $150, charged on issue and at every renewal, making the first-time total $325.
Every IDPH credential expires on the same day, April 30, and licensed plumbers owe four hours of IDPH-approved continuing education a year to renew. Illinois offers no reciprocity: an out-of-state license buys a seat at the exam, at the $225 rate, and nothing else.
The plumbing bond hides in a second credential, the contractor registration
The individual license authorizes a plumber to do plumbing work. It does not authorize selling that work to the public, and Illinois keeps the two permissions apart. Contracting takes IDPH's Plumbing Contractor registration instead: $150 to register and $150 a year to renew, attached to one business at a time.
The registration carries the financial package the license never asks for: a $20,000 surety bond on IDPH's own form, or a $20,000 letter of credit deposited instead. Behind it sit insurance minimums of $100,000 general liability, $300,000 bodily injury and $50,000 property damage per occurrence, plus workers' compensation cover. That bond also expires every September 30 and must be replaced annually.
Roofing: a business license that stands or falls on one named person
IDFPR licenses the roofing business, not the roofer, through a designated qualifying party, an owner, partner, corporate officer or full-time employee who passes the state examination. The license comes in two tiers, split by buildings, not dollars: Limited covers residential properties of eight units or fewer, Unlimited covers residential of any size plus commercial and industrial work.
The fees are the same for both tiers: a $125 application to IDFPR and a $248 examination fee to Continental Testing Services, IDFPR's vendor, which makes the first-time total $373. The exam comes in three versions, Residential, Commercial/Industrial after Residential is passed, and a combined exam, passed at 70 percent, with no experience requirement to sit. Exams run on scheduled dates at Hillside and Springfield.
What differs by tier is the bond: $10,000 for Limited, $25,000 for Unlimited, and both are continuous. The surety must give the Division 60 days of written notice before canceling, and a lapse lets IDFPR cancel the license without a hearing. Insurance is filed on the state's certificate form at $500,000 per occurrence for personal injury and $250,000 for property damage.
Licenses expire on December 31 of odd-numbered years, the current cycle ending December 31, 2027, and renewal is $125 for the two-year cycle with no continuing education. The license number must appear on contracts, bid proposals, vehicles and advertising, which makes a missing number easy for a homeowner to spot.
Chicago runs a second licensing system inside the state one
Chicago does not wait for the state. The city licenses general contractors itself through its buildings department, in classes tied to the value of work the holder may contract, so the class caps the size of job it can take in the city. It is a real license, and it stops at the city boundary.
Chicago licenses its own electricians around the supervising electrician, an exam-tested individual under whose license city work is performed and permits are pulled. Chicago plumbers hold city apprentice, journeyman and contractor credentials alongside the state system, which is why IDPH charges Chicago-registered applicants $225 for the state exam.
Outside Chicago the patchwork thins but never quite disappears. Other municipalities license or register electricians and contractors on their own terms, or ask little beyond permits and code compliance. The Illinois Municipal Code leaves that licensing power to municipalities, which is why no honest page can print one Illinois fee for these trades.
Six trades with no state license, and the rules that still reach them
Electricians and HVAC contractors work under local licensing, permits and adopted codes, Chicago's electrical code included. The one credential that follows an HVAC technician across every city line is federal: EPA Section 608 certification, required to handle refrigerants, graded Type I, II, III and Universal.
Painters and carpenters meet the state's old housing stock instead of a board. Paid work disturbing paint in pre-1978 homes runs under the federal EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, certified firm, certified renovator and lead-safe practices, and Illinois does not run the program, so certification comes from the EPA. Deliberate lead abatement is a separate activity, licensed through public health authorities.
Landscaping is unlicensed until chemicals enter the truck. Applying pesticides for hire takes a commercial applicator license from the Illinois Department of Agriculture: a General Standards exam plus category endorsements, Turfgrass and Ornamentals covering most landscape work, on a three-year cycle. Illinois then makes the license visible: treated lawns must be flagged after application.
For homeowners, consumer law substitutes for the missing boards. Illinois's Home Repair and Remodeling Act sets written-contract requirements for home repair work, and it, not a licensing board, frames disputes with an unlicensed GC. Permits and inspections do the rest of the policing.
What unlicensed work risks, and where the criminal line sits
Roofing is where Illinois drops the paperwork tone. Working without the IDFPR license is a Class A misdemeanor on a first offense and a Class 4 felony on later offenses, with IDFPR civil penalties up to $10,000 per offense. A general contractor gets no shelter: the roofing license is required in its own right, including for GCs who self-perform roof work.
Trade License Categories in Illinois
General Contractor
Oversees residential and commercial construction, manages subcontractors, pulls building permits, and coordinates turnkey building projects.
Electrical Contractor
Installs, maintains, and repairs electrical power, communications, lighting, and control systems in homes, businesses, and industrial factories.
Plumbing Contractor
Installs and repairs water supply lines, waste disposal systems, gas piping, and related appliances and fixtures.
HVAC / Mechanical Contractor
Installs and services heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems, adhering to EPA Section 608 refrigerant compliance.
Roofing Contractor
Repairs and installs commercial and residential roofs using shingles, tile, metal, and waterproofing membranes.
Painting Contractor
Applies paints, stains, wall coverings, and protective coatings to interior and exterior surfaces of structures.
Landscape Contractor
Designs, installs, and maintains outdoor living spaces, hardscaping, irrigation lines, and pesticide applications.
Carpentry & Framing Contractor
Constructs, erects, installs, and repairs structures and fixtures made of wood, steel studs, and composite materials.
Mistakes that cost Illinois applicants time and money
- Budgeting $175 as the full plumber license cost: it is the examination fee. The $150 license fee follows on passing, $325 all in, and Chicago-registered or out-of-state applicants pay $225 for the exam, $375 in total.
- Assuming an out-of-state plumbing license transfers: Illinois has no reciprocity. The license qualifies you to sit the Illinois exam at the $225 rate, nothing more.
- Contracting with homeowners on the individual license alone: selling plumbing work to the public needs the separate contractor registration, its $20,000 bond and its insurance minimums.
- Budgeting the roofing exam from old IDFPR sheets at $226: Continental Testing Services charges $248 for every exam now.
- Taking a ten-unit residential re-roof on a Limited license: the tier turns on the building's unit count, eight or fewer, not on the contract price.
- Letting the roofing bond lapse, or saying nothing when the qualifying party leaves: a lapse lets IDFPR cancel without a hearing, and a replacement designated within 30 business days.
Illinois Contractor Licensing FAQ
Which construction trades does Illinois license at state level?
Only two of the eight on this page. Plumbing is licensed by the Department of Public Health under the Plumbing License Law, and roofing by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation under the Roofing Industry Licensing Act. The other six trades are licensed locally or not at all.
How much does an Illinois plumber license cost the first time?
$325 in state fees on the Illinois apprentice route: a $175 examination application fee plus the $150 license fee charged when you pass. Applicants registered in Chicago or licensed in another state pay $225 for the exam instead, $375 all in. Apprentice years before it cost $100 a year; the contractor registration is a separate $150.
How much does an Illinois roofing license cost the first time?
$373 in state and exam fees: a $125 application to IDFPR plus the $248 qualifying party examination paid to Continental Testing Services. On top come the surety bond, $10,000 for Limited and $25,000 for Unlimited, paid as a premium, not the face amount, and the required liability insurance. Renewal is $125 every two years.
Do Illinois electricians and general contractors need a state license?
No state license exists for either. Electrical licensing is municipal: Chicago runs an exam-based system around the supervising electrician, and other cities license or register electricians on their own terms. General contractors are licensed locally too, Chicago's class-based license being the big example.
What happens if I roof in Illinois without a license?
It is a criminal offense, not a paperwork problem. Under the Roofing Industry Licensing Act, unlicensed practice is a Class A misdemeanor on a first offense and a Class 4 felony on later offenses, and IDFPR can impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per offense.
Fee figures on this page match the board-verified schedules on each trade page above, checked against Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) sources in October 2026. Renewal fees vary by entity type and are shown on each trade page.