ILLINOIS · electrician
Municipal electrician licensing (no statewide license)
Individual Illinois municipalities (IDFPR does not license electricians statewide) →Scope of Work
Illinois does not issue a statewide electrician license. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) publishes its full roster of regulated professions, and electricians and electrical contractors are not on that list; the construction-adjacent credentials IDFPR does issue are limited to Roofing Contractor, Architect, Professional Engineer, Structural Engineer, Landscape Architect, and Home Inspection. Source: IDFPR Licensed Professions (https://idfpr.illinois.gov/profs/proflist.html). Electrical licensing in Illinois is handled at the municipal level, so the credential that lets a worker perform electrical work legally depends on the city or village where the job site sits.
CHICAGO
The City of Chicago Department of Buildings issues two credentials that govern non-exempt electrical work inside city limits: the Electrical Contractor License (held by the business that pulls permits) and the Supervising Electrician License (held by the individual who qualifies the business). An Electrical Contractor must be owned by or employ at least one licensed Supervising Electrician. The Supervising Electrician exam is administered by Continental Testing Services, is open-book against the Chicago Electrical Code (2018 Edition, which is NFPA 70 with Chicago Amendments), and carries a $150 exam fee per attempt with no refunds. Applicants must document at least two years of cumulative experience in installation, maintenance, or alteration of building wiring systems in the category they are testing into. Sources: Chicago DoB Electrical Contractor License (https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bldgs/supp_info/TLdetails/ELcontractor.html); Chicago DoB Supervising Electrician License (https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bldgs/supp_info/TLdetails/SupvEL.html); Continental Testing Services Profession 303 (https://www.continentaltesting.net/Profession/Index/55).
Other Municipalities
Outside Chicago, each city or village sets its own electrical-contractor registration or license rules, and many of them accept a Chicago Supervising Electrician license or a neighboring municipality's license as a qualifying credential rather than running their own exam. Cook County and suburban jurisdictions maintain their own registration forms and fee schedules; requirements vary widely, so verify with the municipal building department where the permit will be pulled before accepting work. Source: Cook County service directory (https://www.cookcountyil.gov/).
Local Trade Union Pathway
The IBEW Local 134 / Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Trust is the largest unionized training pipeline into Chicago-area electrical work. Completion of a registered apprenticeship does not by itself substitute for a municipal license, but the documented work hours and classroom instruction are commonly used to satisfy the experience documentation required for a Chicago Supervising Electrician application. Non-union and merit-shop training programs exist in parallel and are treated equivalently by the City for experience-verification purposes when the employer letter meets the DoB format.
RENEWAL
A Chicago Electrical Contractor License is valid for one year from issuance and is renewed through the Department of Buildings web portal; reinstatement after lapse is $100 per year (or fraction thereof) the license has been expired, and administrative modifications carry a $50 processing fee. There is no Illinois statewide continuing-education mandate for electricians because there is no statewide license; municipal CE requirements vary. Source: Chicago DoB Trade License Renewal Instructions (https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/bldgs/supp_info/H7licenserenewal.html).
Verification Advice
Before accepting electrical work in Illinois, confirm the license or registration the municipality requires by calling the local building department and asking which credential is accepted for permit-pulling. A Chicago Supervising Electrician license does not automatically authorize work in every Illinois city, and a suburban registration usually does not authorize work in Chicago.