Chicago, Illinois
Electricians in Chicago
Chicago writes its own electrical code and licenses its own electrical contractors, because Illinois has no state license. The best-known local rule is that branch wiring runs in metal conduit, in houses as well as commercial buildings.
- Licensing
- City of Chicago, Department of Buildings
- Code
- Chicago Electrical Code
- Wiring method
- Metal conduit in most buildings
- Utility
- ComEd
- Typical housing
- Bungalows, two-flats and courtyard buildings
Why Chicago houses are wired in conduit
The Chicago Electrical Code has long required conductors to be run in metal raceway, typically thin-wall steel conduit, where most of the country allows plastic-sheathed cable in houses.
- What it means for repairs
- New conductors can often be pulled through existing pipe, so replacing old wire is less destructive than in a cable-wired house.
- What it means for new work
- Adding an outlet or circuit means bending and fitting pipe, which takes longer than fishing cable.
- The suburbs
- Many Cook County and collar-county municipalities follow similar practice, but each adopts its own code.
Who may do electrical work in Chicago
The Department of Buildings licenses electrical contractors, and each must have a supervising electrician who has passed the city's examination. A license from a suburb does not carry into the city, and a city license does not carry out to the suburbs unless that municipality recognizes it.
Ask for the contractor's City of Chicago electrical contractor license number and confirm it with the Department of Buildings before work starts.
How a permitted job runs in Chicago
Permit application
The licensed electrical contractor applies to the Department of Buildings. Small jobs go through a streamlined permit; larger ones need plans.
ComEd coordination
For a service change, the contractor requests the disconnect and the new service from ComEd.
City inspection
A city electrical inspector checks the work before it is covered and again at completion.
Reconnection
ComEd restores service once the city has approved it.
What electricians find in Chicago buildings
- Brick bungalows from the 1910s and 1920s
- Often still on 60 or 100-amp services, with original pipe and few circuits.
- Two-flats and three-flats
- Separate meters and panels for each unit, commonly in a shared basement.
- Cloth-insulated wire in old conduit
- The pipe is reusable. The wire inside it is usually what needs replacing.
- Basement flooding
- Combined sewers back up in heavy rain, and panels in basements sit in the path.
Confirming Chicago requirements
Permit types, fees and the current edition of the Chicago Electrical Code are published by the Department of Buildings. For the general picture in the rest of the state, see electricians in Illinois. Panel and service work has its own page: panel upgrades in Chicago.
Chicago electrical questions
Can a homeowner do electrical work in Chicago?
The city's rules are stricter than most. Electrical permits are generally issued to licensed electrical contractors, so check with the Department of Buildings before planning any work of your own.
Is flexible cable ever allowed in Chicago?
Short lengths of flexible metal conduit are permitted for specific uses such as connections to fixtures. The code sets the limits.
Does a panel upgrade cost more in Chicago?
Conduit work and city permit requirements generally add labor compared with cable-wired regions. See the panel upgrade cost guide for what drives quotes.
Reach an electrician in Chicago
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