Do you need a license to be a handyman in Illinois?

Illinois Handyman License Requirements

By Ray Duke, Founder of Bulletproof Handyman · Illinois rules checked November 2, 2026

Illinois has no statewide general contractor license for this work, so local and trade rules decide.

No statewide general license

Illinois

No license threshold. HRRA Sec. 10: definition excludes 'maintenance, service, or repairs under $500'. Sec. 15: written contract/work order required 'Prior to initiating home repair or remodeling work for over $1,000'. Sec. 20: consumer-rights pamphlet for all contracts; signed acknowledgment only for contracts 'over $1,000' ('$1,000 or under' = pamphlet, no acknowledgment).

What counts toward it: other: no licensing threshold. HRRA contract rules: written contract required for work 'over $1,000' (total cost incl. parts and materials); 'home repair and remodeling' definition excludes 'maintenance, service, or repairs under $500'.

""Home repair and remodeling" means the fixing, replacing, altering, converting, modernizing, improving, or making of an addition to any real property primarily designed or used as a residence other than maintenance, service, or repairs under $500."

Source: ilga.gov · ilga.gov · checked November 2, 2026

Who regulates this

None for general contracting. Trades: Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) - roofing contractors; Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) - plumbers/plumbing contractors. HRRA enforced via Consumer Fraud Act (Attorney General / private action).

Source: idfpr.illinois.gov · checked November 2, 2026

When a permit changes the answer

n/a at state level (no state exemption). Permits are local; HRRA pamphlet tells homeowners to check with local and county units of government.

Source: ilga.gov · checked November 2, 2026

Registration

No state GC registration. Plumbing contractors register with IDPH under 225 ILCS 320. Roofing contractors licensed by IDFPR (no handyman/small-job carve-out verified).

Source: dph.illinois.gov · checked November 2, 2026

Trade work

Plumbing: IDPH licenses plumbers, plumbing contractors, apprentices, irrigation contractors (225 ILCS 320). Roofing: IDFPR.

Source: dph.illinois.gov · idfpr.illinois.gov · checked November 2, 2026

City and county rules

Yes - general contractor licensing/registration is left to municipalities (e.g., Chicago Dept. of Buildings). Official explicit statement not located; see HRRA pamphlet direction to check local/county government for permits.

Source: ilga.gov · checked November 2, 2026

What a handyman should charge in Illinois

Statewide planning estimate: $81 to $110 an hour. It's an estimate from public data, not the market rate. City pages use local wages when we can match them.

Step	Low end	High end
Your pay (employee wage for this work in Illinois)	$56,720 median	$68,680 top quarter starts here
Overhead ($33,148 national, adjusted to local prices at 100.0)	$33,134	$33,134
Profit 15% + PTO 10% + warranty 3% + business taxes 12%	+40%	+40%
Yearly total to cover	$125,796	$142,540
Billed hours a year (hours on the job × 52)	30 × 52 = 1,560	25 × 52 = 1,300
Hourly rate	$81	$110

Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, occupation 49-9071 Maintenance and Repair Workers, General, Illinois (statewide figure, because we could not match a metro for this place). The top-quarter figure is in the BLS data file.
Local prices: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024, Illinois, all items index 100.0 (US = 100).
Overhead, hours and percentages: median answers from members using our hourly rate calculator, the same formula that tool uses. National, not local.

Run your own numbers in the free calculator.

Illinois places we cover (44)

Rules change. This page shows what official sources said on the dates above. It is not legal advice.