Get Quotes from Top Handymen in Chicago, IL

Are You Licensed to Practice as a Handyman in Chicago?

Individuals who wish to provide home repair services in Chicago are required to obtain a Regulated Business License from the city's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP). Applications for this license can be made online or in person at:

The BACP advises applicants to make an appointment with one of its Business Consultants before submitting license applications, and these appointments can be made by calling (312) 744-6249. Regulated business license applicants are typically required to meet certain eligibility criteria, such as providing proof of general liability insurance, registering with relevant state and federal agencies, and paying a licensing fee. Queries concerning the requirements and procedures for obtaining a Chicago Regulated Business License can be directed to the BACP at (312) 744-6060 and (312) 744-6249.

Per Section 4-6-280 of the Municipal Code of Chicago, any individual who wishes to provide home repair services and already possesses a city-issued General Contractor's License is not required to obtain a Regulated Business License. General Contractor Licenses are issued by the Chicago Department of Buildings, and they must be obtained by any handyman in the city who wishes to perform jobs that require permits. Examples of these types of jobs include drywall or plaster repair and replacement of more than 1,000 square feet and building fences that are more than five feet above ground.

Chicago General Contractor Licenses are grouped into five classes based on the monetary limitations placed on the license holder. These are:

• Class A Licenses: Handymen with this class of license do not have any monetary limitations placed on the types of jobs that they can perform
• Class B Licenses: Handymen with this class of license cannot perform jobs worth more than $10,000,000
• Class C Licenses: Handymen with this class of license cannot perform jobs worth more than $5,000,000
• Class D Licenses: Handymen with this class of license cannot perform jobs worth more than $2,000,000
• Class E Licenses: Handymen with this class of license cannot perform jobs worth more than $500,000

Providing services outside the scope of a contractor license classification can result in fines of up to $5,000 per offense. Chicago handymen who wish to obtain a General Contractor's License may do so by contacting the city's Department of Buildings at:

Inquiries concerning the procedure for obtaining this license can also be directed to (800) 359-1313 or via email.

Before hiring any handyman in Chicago, confirm that this professional possesses either a Regulated Business License or a General Contractor's License. You can do this by accessing the Business License Lookup Portal and the List of Licensed General Contractors provided by the city's Department of Business Affairs, Consumer Protection, and Department of Buildings, respectively.

How Much Do You Charge Compared to Handymen in Chicago?

When searching for a suitable professional to provide home repair services in Chicago, getting and comparing estimates from several handymen near you is a good way to avoid falling victim to a scam. Handymen in the city typically charge hourly rates for their services, and these rates are determined by several factors, such as the nature of the home repair or improvement job and the urgency of the required service. Other factors that influence Chicago handyman hourly rates include the types of tools and materials that will be required for the job and the labor intensity of the job.

Regardless of these factors, the estimates provided for a specific job should not greatly vary. Consider it a red flag if a handyman provides a quote that is significantly different from the quotes provided by other handymen that you reached out to, especially if the handyman in question cannot satisfactorily explain the reason for this difference.

Chicago handymen earn an average wage of $48,620 annually. The table below compares and contrasts the average hourly wages of handymen and other general maintenance and repair workers in Chicago with those of workers in this industry across the State of Illinois and major American cities:

Do You Require a Permit to Complete This Work in Chicago?

Per the provisions of Section 14A-4 of the Municipal Code of Chicago, a permit is generally required before most home repair jobs can be commenced in the city. However, some types of jobs that are commonly performed by handymen are statutorily exempt from the city's permit requirements, and these include but are not limited to:

• Painting, carpeting, papering, and other similar finish work that do not involve plumbing or electrical connections
• Drywall or plaster replacement or repair that does not exceed 1,000 square feet and does involve an alteration of plumbing or electrical devices or systems
• In-kind replacements of ceiling tiles that are not part of a fire-rated assembly or interior doors that are not required to have a fire-resistance rating
• In-kind replacements of a structure's windows or glazing, either at the basement level or in the first or second-story above-grade plane
• Work involving fences that are not more than five feet above the ground on both sides and retaining walls that are not more than four feet in height when measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall. These retaining walls must also not be supporting surcharges or impounding liquids.
• Minor electrical work, such as the replacement of lamps or the alteration of low-voltage electrical fixtures
• Work involving the repair or replacement of any part within an HVAC equipment provided that this work does not alter the function of the equipment.
• Repair work that does not involve cutting away or removing any portion of a building's exterior or interior walls, partitions, floors, roof, structural beams, columns, or load-bearing supports
• Repair work that does not involve removing or changing a building's required means of egress or rearranging parts of its structure that affect its egress requirements

The Chicago Department of Buildings handles the issuance of permits for works that are not considered permit-exempt by the city's municipal code, and these permits can be obtained by homeowners or individuals who possess a valid city-issued General Contractor or Trade License. Interested parties that wish to obtain these permits will be required to undergo a permit review process, which includes completing and submitting an appropriate permit application form. Depending on the nature and scope of the repair work, the submission of architectural plans and other relevant documents may also be required. Permit applications can be made in person at the Department of Buildings' main office located at:

Permit applications can also be submitted online via a dynamic permitting portal provided and maintained by the department for this purpose. Note that first-time applicants will be required to create a user account before they can utilize this portal. Also, once permit applications have been reviewed and approved, the permitted work may be subject to inspection by city officials to ensure compliance with all applicable provisions of the Municipal Code of Chicago.

It should be noted that it is your responsibility as a homeowner to ensure that all necessary permits for your repair job have been obtained before any work commences. You can contact the Chicago Department of Buildings at (312) 744-3449 to get additional information on the city's permitting requirements and procedures.

What Works Can You Do Legally as a Handyman in Chicago?

Handymen in Chicago with a valid city-issued Regulated Business License are legally empowered to perform any home repair work that does not require a permit from the Chicago Department of Buildings. However, home repair work requiring a permit can only be performed by handymen with a General Contractor's License. Note that this does not include specialized work like electrical, plumbing, or masonry work, which must be performed by an individual with an appropriate Department of Buildings-issued Trade License.

As such, when you contact any handyman in the city, you should find out the type of license that they possess and make sure that it is relevant to the nature of your required home repair or improvement job. It is also a good idea to provide the handyman with as many details about the job as you can to enable them to determine whether or not you will require the services of a specialized professional. Finally, find out how much the handyman charges for their services, and make sure that you agree to these rates before any work begins. Listed below are cost estimates for some common home repair and improvement services offered by Chicago handymen:

Do You Carry the Necessary Insurance Policy for Handymen in Chicago?

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 4,700 fatal and 2.7 million nonfatal work-related injuries were reported across the country in 2020. Choosing a properly insured handyman ensures that you remain financially and legally protected in situations where on-the-job injuries or other detrimental work-related events like property damage occur during your project. To this end, handymen who operate in Chicago are required to meet specific insurance requirements, and these requirements are primarily dependent on the type of license that they possess.

Handymen with a Regulated Business License issued by the city's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) must maintain commercial general liability insurance coverage of at least $300,000 per occurrence for bodily and personal injury and property damage. Note that this mandatory minimum coverage is a combined single limit per occurrence. On the other hand, handymen who possess a General Contractor's License issued by the Chicago Department of Buildings must maintain a minimum commercial general liability insurance coverage of between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000 per occurrence for bodily injury and property damage.

Ask any handyman you intend to hire to provide you with a copy of their insurance certificate and contact the issuing organization to confirm its authenticity and find out if the coverage is adequate for your repair work. You can also contact the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection and the Chicago Department of Buildings at (312) 744-6060 and (312) 744-3449, respectively, to inquire about the mandatory insurance requirements for handymen in the city.