Chicago building violations and permits
Enter a City of Chicago street address to see the Department of Buildings violations and the building permits on record since 2006: how many violations are open, how many were cited in the last three years, which permits are active or expired, and any unpaid permit fees. The answers come from official city records, updated daily.
Start with the house number. The first 5 results of each list are free; HeritageDeed Pro shows them all. Usually answers in a few seconds.
What the violation records show
Each record is one violation written during a Department of Buildings inspection, with its code, a short description, the inspector's comments and a status: open, complied or no entry (the inspector could not get in). One inspection can produce many violations, so a single visit to a large building can add a dozen rows.
Statuses are not always updated after repairs, and more than half of the violations on record still read open, many from years ago. The city itself cautions that these records are historical in nature and should not be relied upon for real estate transactions. Read old open violations as questions to ask the seller, and recent ones as likely current.
Building permits and unpaid fees
The city's permit records list every building permit issued since 2006, except permits voided or revoked after issuance. Active and suspended permits mean work is under way or stopped; an expired permit can mean the work was never finished or never passed final inspection. The city notes that most permits are issued subject to the permit fee and that work may not begin until the fee is paid, so unpaid fees are shown separately.
Buying a Chicago property
For closings, the city directs lenders and title companies to the title commitment for enforcement actions pending in the Circuit Court of Cook County or the Department of Administrative Hearings. A HeritageDeed report puts the violations and permits shown here in one PDF together with the owner of record, the Cook County Clerk's recorded deeds, mortgages, releases, liens and lis pendens, federal court cases, the flood zone and nearby EPA-listed sites. Where the records are kept and what the report searches: Cook County title search and property records.
Questions
How do I look up building violations for a Chicago address?
Enter the street address with its house number and direction (for example 233 S Wacker Dr) in the lookup above. It searches the Department of Buildings violations the city has on record, from 2006 to the present, and shows how many are open, how many were cited in the last three years and the most recent ones.
Are Chicago building violations public record?
Yes. The City of Chicago publishes the violations issued by the Department of Buildings since 2006. Each record is one violation tied to an inspection, with its code, description, inspector comments and status.
What does an open violation mean in the city's data?
It means the city has not recorded the violation as complied. Statuses lag: more than half of the violations on record still read OPEN, many of them years old. That is why the lookup separates violations cited in the last three years, and why the city warns that the data should not be relied upon for real estate transactions.
How do I search building permits on a Chicago property?
The same lookup lists the property's building permits from official city records: how many are active, expired or complete, the newest permits and any permit fees the city shows as unpaid. Voided permits and permits revoked after issuance are not published by the city.
Does it cover suburbs such as Evanston or Oak Park?
No. These are City of Chicago records. Suburban Cook County towns and villages run their own building departments; the lookup says so when an address is outside the city.
What should a buyer check before closing?
The city points lenders and title companies to the title commitment for outstanding enforcement actions in the Circuit Court of Cook County or the Department of Administrative Hearings. A HeritageDeed report adds the owner of record, recorded mortgages, releases, liens and lis pendens and federal court cases to the violations and permits shown here.
Official public records; statuses can lag the building's current condition. Not legal advice.