Chicago express vs standard permit: timeline
Read this first: The figures come from 190 City of Chicago renovation/alteration permits issued 2025-10-16 to 2026-10-14, picked because the work description mentions a kitchen or bath and residential use. Reported cost is what the applicant wrote on the permit, which may not be what the job cost. These permits lean toward large or structural jobs: many small kitchen and bath updates use express permits or need none, so they are under-represented. Treat the numbers as context, not a quote.
Standard renovation/alteration permits for residential kitchen/bath work took a median 69 days to issue in our sample. The City also runs express and easy permit processes for limited scopes, and those usually take far less time. We plan to add measured express-permit timelines in a later refresh. Until then, we won't publish an estimate.
Ask your contractor early which path your scope qualifies for. Moving walls or plumbing usually rules out the faster paths.