- The Home Repair and Remodeling Act does not cover maintenance, service or repairs under $500. Written contracts are required for jobs over $1,000.
- No state license, so check with your city.
- No state license to renew.
Do you need a state license in Illinois?
Illinois does not issue a statewide handyman license. Any license you need comes from the city or county where the job is, so the rules can change from one town to the next.
The Home Repair and Remodeling Act does not cover maintenance, service or repairs under $500. Written contracts are required for jobs over $1,000.
Cities can require their own license. In Chicago, most work that needs a building permit needs a city general contractor license (Class E covers projects up to $500,000).
How to get set up in Illinois, step by step
- Ask your city or county if it requires a license for small repair work.
- Buy liability insurance that meets the Home Repair and Remodeling Act.
- Use a written contract with the total cost for any job over $1,000.
- Hand out the Attorney General's consumer rights brochure.
- Skip roofing jobs unless you hold the state roofing license.
What it costs in Illinois
There is no state license fee for handyman work in Illinois. Ask the city or county where you work about any local fees.
Insurance and bond
Insurance. If you do home repair or remodeling: liability of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence for bodily injury, plus $50,000 per occurrence for property damage, and $10,000 per occurrence for work that does not meet code, unless net worth is at least $1,000,000.
Bond. No state license, so check with your city.
Renewal
Renewal. No state license to renew.
Good to know in Illinois
- Give customers the Attorney General's consumer rights brochure. For jobs of $1,000 or less you still give it but no signed receipt is needed.
- Roofing work needs a state roofing license from IDFPR.
Once you are cleared to work
The license lets you take the work. Getting the work is the next job.
- Register the business. If you work under a name other than your own, register it where your state asks (often the Secretary of State, sometimes the county), and keep the name the same on your license, your truck and your invoices.
- Claim your Google Business Profile. It is the listing people see when they search for a handyman near them. Fill in your service area, hours and real photos of your work.
- Put up a website that shows the license. Customers look for it before they call. Koira builds a contractor website for you and keeps it current.
- See where you stand. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where this comes from
Every fact on this page comes from the official pages below, checked October 8, 2026. Fees and rules change, so confirm with your city or county before you file.
More for your trade: how handyman businesses run on Koira.