Oak Park, IL
Oak Park building permit cost
A Village of Oak Park building permit is priced from the International Code Council's square-foot construction cost chart
which the fee schedule reproduces in full: new construction and additions are Area (SF) × Construction Cost (CC) × .0194, and remodel or tenant-buildout work is Area × CC × .008 with a printed minimum of $300.00 residential or $500.00 multi-family, commercial and institutional. There is no valuation field on the schedule — the cost per square foot comes from the ICC, not from a contract price. The chart runs 27 use groups across nine construction types, from $69.64 for a Group U utility building of Type VB to $473.85 for a Type IA hospital, and five of its cells are printed NP — Not Permitted, where the Village publishes no cost at all. Plan review is charged from its own list: $500.00 per dwelling unit for a new one- or two-family home and $500.00 per floor for multifamily, commercial or institutional work.
How this fee is calculated
These are the components the schedule defines for this permit, as they applied on 2026-09-28. A component only applies to your project if its conditions match — read that column before assuming a figure. Want a figure for your own project? Estimate this fee with the permit fee calculator.
| Component | Formula | Applies when | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exterior hardscape, residential — steps, stoops, driveways, sidewalksPermit fee | $150.00 flat fee | building alteration is exterior hardscape | — |
| FencingPermit fee | $50.00 flat fee | building alteration is fencing | — |
| Fire alarm system, new or alteredPermit fee | $200.00 flat fee | building alteration is fire alarm | — |
| Fire sprinkler system, new or alteredPermit fee | $200.00 flat fee | building alteration is fire sprinkler | — |
| Parking lot, flatwork, grading or site developmentPermit fee | $250.00 flat fee | building alteration is parking lot | — |
| Structural only — building, repair or alterationPermit fee | $200.00 flat fee | building alteration is structural only | — |
| New construction and additions: area × construction cost × .0194Permit fee | Construction cost × 0.0194 per sq ft | project scope is new construction addition, and where the schedule publishes a rate for Use group and Construction type | — |
| Remodel and tenant buildout: area × construction cost × .008Permit fee | Construction cost × 0.008 per sq ft; minimum fee from the schedule's own row | project scope is one of remodel, tenant buildout, and where the schedule publishes a rate for Use group and Construction type | — |
| Plan review, roofed accessory structure (multifamily, commercial, institutional)Plan review | $200.00 flat fee | plan review is ibc accessory roofed | — |
| Plan review, non-roofed accessory structure (multifamily, commercial, institutional)Plan review | $150.00 flat fee | plan review is ibc accessory unroofed | — |
| Plan review, multifamily, commercial or institutional new structures, additions and alterationsPlan review | $500.00 per story | plan review is ibc new or alteration | — |
| Plan review, roofed accessory structure (one and two family)Plan review | $100.00 flat fee | plan review is residential accessory roofed | — |
| Plan review, non-roofed accessory structure (one and two family)Plan review | $50.00 flat fee | plan review is residential accessory unroofed | — |
| Plan review, residential interior alterationsPlan review | $150.00 per story | plan review is residential interior | — |
| Plan review, new one- and two-family dwelling unit or additionPlan review | $500.00 per dwelling unit | plan review is residential new family | — |
A real permit fee is these components added together. The department’s final calculation is the one that applies — this is the schedule it will be based on.
A worked example
Follow the arithmetic by hand. Every line is produced by the engine from the rules above, so the total cannot drift away from the schedule behind it.
Worked example
A new one-family home of 1,000 square feet, Group R-3, Type IIIA construction, two dwelling units, with the residential plan review for a new dwelling.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Project area | 1,000 sq ft |
| Dwelling units | 2 |
| Use group | R-3 one and two family |
| Plan review | residential_new_family |
| Project scope | new_construction_addition |
| Construction type | IIIA |
Example total
$4,802.01
An estimate, not an official fee. It is calculated from the published fee schedule as it applied on 2026-09-28. The permit office’s own calculation is the one that applies, and your project may fall under rules this schedule does not describe.
Fee schedule as of 2026-09-28Rules applied 2Rules considered 15
| Component | How it is calculated | Amount |
|---|---|---|
New construction and additions: area × construction cost × .0194Permit feeNew Construction and Additions: "Area (SF) x Construction Cost (CC) x .0194", where CC is the square-foot construction cost read from the ICC chart the schedule reproduces — 27 use groups across nine construction types. The Village prices from **area and type, with no valuation field at all**: the chart supplies the cost per square foot, and the .0194 printed beside it is the multiplier. The five cells the chart prints "NP — Not Permitted" publish no cost, and this page excludes the rule for them rather than charging a neighbouring use group's rate. The schedule notes the fee "does not include any exterior work or other required fees for Water Service, Sprinklers, Alarms, Electric Service, Demolition, Plan Review Fees".Show the working
| $3.802012 per sq ft | $3,802.01 |
Plan review, new one- and two-family dwelling unit or additionPlan reviewCertificate of Occupancy / Plan Review & Other Fees: "New one (1) and two (2) family dwelling units/additions $500.00 per unit". The schedule states that third-party plan review, "when required", is billed at the Village's cost plus these base fees, and that plan review fees are non-refundable (§7-8-2.A), so the amount is charged with the permit it belongs to.Show the working
| $500.00 per dwelling unit | $1,000.00 |
| Total | $4,802.01 |
Fees that do not apply here
Listed so you can see what was considered and left out, rather than wondering whether something is missing. A rule can also be left out because it is not published for this permit at all, and that is stated where it matters.
- Exterior hardscape, residential — steps, stoops, driveways, sidewalks — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Fencing — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Fire alarm system, new or altered — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Fire sprinkler system, new or altered — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Parking lot, flatwork, grading or site development — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Structural only — building, repair or alteration — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Remodel and tenant buildout: area × construction cost × .008 — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Plan review, roofed accessory structure (multifamily, commercial, institutional) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Plan review, non-roofed accessory structure (multifamily, commercial, institutional) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Plan review, multifamily, commercial or institutional new structures, additions and alterations — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Plan review, roofed accessory structure (one and two family) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Plan review, non-roofed accessory structure (one and two family) — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
- Plan review, residential interior alterations — This fee does not apply to the inputs provided.
Assumptions
- Calculated from 2 fee rules in effect on 2026-09-28.
- Amounts are rounded to the nearest cent, once, at the end of each component.
The chart's R-3 Type IIIA cell is $195.98 per square foot, and new construction multiplies the area by it and by .0194: 1,000 × $195.98 × .0194 = $3,802.01. Plan review for a new one- or two-family dwelling is $500.00 per unit, and the home has two: $1,000.00. The permit total is $4,802.01, before the $100.00 application deposit that is credited back.
Three variations show the shape of the schedule. The same home as a remodel (a gut renovation within the walls) reads the same $195.98 cell at .008 — $1,567.84, above the $300 residential minimum. A 2,000-square-foot hospital (Group I-2, Type IA, $473.85) is 2,000 × $473.85 × .0194 = $18,385.38 plus $500.00 per floor of plan review. A Group I-2 hospital in Type IIIB cannot be priced at all: the chart prints NP there, and the Village publishes no cost for that combination.
What is different in Oak Park
Three things decide the building fee, and none of them is a dollar the applicant spent. The use group and construction type pick the chart's cell — a 1,000-square-foot R-3 one-family home in Type IIIA reads $195.98 — and the project scope picks the multiplier: .0194 new, .008 remodel. That home is 1,000 × $195.98 × .0194 = $3,802.01. The row also excludes, in the schedule's own words, "any exterior work or other required fees for Water Service, Sprinklers, Alarms, Electric Service, Demolition, Plan Review Fees" — so the plan-review amount is added on top, and the trades are permits of their own. Five chart cells are NP, and this page refuses to price them rather than charging a neighbour's rate.
What this figure does not include
Impact fees, utility connections and other departments’ permits are the usual omissions, and in some jurisdictions they are larger than the permit fee itself.
Not included in these figures
This estimate is the building fee and the plan-review rows the schedule prices from a count this calculator asks for. It excludes:
- The permit application deposit — $100.00 residential or $200.00 commercial, non-refundable but applied to the permit, so it changes what is paid at the counter and not the fee itself.
- Demolition, which the schedule prices as "whichever is greater" between a per-structure or per-unit amount and $.35 × SF — a comparison between two products this site names rather than computes.
- The Alteration – General rows ($150.00 residential, $250.00 IBC, charged "per type of work"), where the count is the number of kinds of work on the application, which this calculator does not ask for. The named alterations it can price — fencing, structural-only, fire alarm, fire sprinkler, parking lot, residential hardscape — are computed above.
- Fire-alarm and fire-sprinkler final inspections at $25.00 per unit with a $350.00 minimum, and the Fire Department's plan reviews, which belong to the fire permit process.
- Water service, sewer and right-of-way fees, which the schedule defers to the Water & Sewer Division's separate schedule, plus the $1,000.00 ROW restoration deposit where an opening is made.
What you need before applying
- The fee is area and construction type, not the value of the workRequired
New Construction and Additions reads "Area (SF) x Construction Cost (CC) x .0194", where CC comes from the ICC Square Foot Construction Cost Chart attached to the schedule itself. There is no valuation field anywhere in the fee: the cost per square foot is the ICC's published figure for the use group and construction type, not the applicant's contract price. Remodel work is the same chart at .008, with the printed minimum ($300 residential, $500 multi-family, commercial and institutional) charged when the product is smaller.
- The building fee excludes exterior work and every other tradeRequired
The schedule says so in the row itself: the new-construction fee "does not include any exterior work or other required fees for Water Service, Sprinklers, Alarms, Electric Service, Demolition, Plan Review Fees". Plan review is charged from its own list on top of the building fee, and the trades are permits of their own with their own fees — a reader should expect the building page's figure to be one part of the project's permit cost, not the whole of it.
- NP on the chart means no fee is published, not a nearby feeMay be required
Five cells of the ICC chart are printed "NP — Not Permitted" (H-1 explosives in Type VB, both I-2 rows in Types IIIB and VB). The schedule publishes no construction cost for those combinations, so this site leaves the rule out for them rather than charging a neighbouring use group's rate — the same policy the engine applies to any schedule that publishes no rate for a combination of its inputs.
Common questions
How is an Oak Park building permit calculated?
From area and construction type: Area × Construction Cost × .0194 for new construction and additions, and Area × Construction Cost × .008 for remodel work. The Construction Cost is the ICC's square-foot figure for the use group and construction type, read from the chart printed in the fee schedule. There is no valuation input anywhere on the schedule.
Village of Oak Park 2026 Construction Fees
What is the minimum building permit fee in Oak Park?
New construction has no printed minimum — the fee is the product itself. Remodel work carries one: $300.00 for residential and $500.00 for multi-family, commercial and institutional projects, charged when SF × CC × .008 comes out smaller. A very small bathroom remodel still pays $300.00.
Village of Oak Park 2026 Construction Fees
Why can't this page price my Type VB hospital or nursing home?
Because the Village doesn't either. Five cells of the ICC chart are printed NP — Not Permitted: H-1 explosives in Type VB, and both I-2 (hospitals and nursing homes) rows in Types IIIB and VB. No construction cost is published for those combinations, so no fee can be computed from the schedule — this page names the cell rather than substituting a neighbouring use group's rate.
ICC Square Foot Construction Cost Chart, 2026 Construction Fees
Does the building permit include plan review?
No. The schedule says the new-construction fee "does not include any exterior work or other required fees for Water Service, Sprinklers, Alarms, Electric Service, Demolition, Plan Review Fees". Plan review is its own list: $500.00 per dwelling unit for a new one- or two-family home, $150.00 per floor for residential interior alterations, $500.00 per floor for multifamily and commercial work, and $50–$200 for accessory structures. Plan review fees are non-refundable under §7-8-2.
Village of Oak Park 2026 Construction Fees, §7-8-2
How much is the permit for an unfinished basement in an R-3 home?
The chart's footnote 2 prices unfinished basements at $31.50 per square foot, on top of the above-grade area's fee at the usual R-3 cell. Finishing the basement is remodel work instead, priced from the same chart at .008 with the $300.00 residential minimum.
2026 Construction Fees, chart footnote 2
Source and verification
The documents behind every figure on this page, with the dates that make them checkable.
- Fee schedule (PDF)CityPrimary source
Village of Oak Park 2026 Construction Fees (Annual Fee Ordinance §7-8-1)
One document, updated 01/26/2026 on its face, carrying the ordinance's own heading 'Construction Fee(s) Effective on March 1st, 2026'. Read with pdftotext; the ICC chart was transcribed cell by cell and re-checked against the schedule's own arithmetic (an R-3 Type IIIA building at $195.98 × .0194 × area). The chart and its footnotes are credited to ICC Building Valuation Data, August 2025.
Verification
Last verified against the official source in Sep 2026.