Chicago Building Permits and Permit Expediting

Permit Expediting is a challenging and rewarding career.  I’m the owner of a Permit Expediting service in the city of Chicago called BIVRIC Permit Expediting, and I can tell you that there are no normal days in this business.  Every day is treated as a learning experience because, at least here in Chicago, the rules change almost on a weekly basis. 

So, you might be asking yourself, what is permit expediting and what does a permit expediter do?  There is a short answer and a long answer so for now, here is the short answer; a permit expediter is a person that maneuvers through the mazes of bureaucracy in several buildings and locations throughout the city on behalf of his or her clients in order to procure the necessary permits so that the clients can start, maintain, or complete their projects.  Clients hire permit expediting services to save them time and money.  Time is money and if the client has to learn the paperwork that goes along with the bureaucracy then they are taking time away from their project, thus loosing money.   

A good portion of my business consists of procuring Chicago Building Permits. Sometimes they are easy and I can get them in about a day. The easy permits are those that do not require going through a zoning review and consist of projects that do not change the original structure or layout of the building.

Any project that changes the original structure or layout of the building will have a longer permitting process and require architectural drawings. With these projects and expediter will make an appointment with zoning to review the architectural plans to comply with the zoning rules where the project is located. If discrepancies are found then they will have to be taken care of before proceeding to the next phase, which would be a review with a city project manager. Once everything is cleared by the project manager a permit can be issued. These types of permits normally take anywhere between two weeks to several months, depending on the size and scope of the project and how many corrections have to be made.

Another portion of my business consists of procuring business licenses for those that wish to do business in the city of Chicago.  Every entity that does business in Chicago must be licensed, whether it’s  a dog walking service from your home or a local convenience store, it must be licensed as well as insured. 

Hiring and expediter to help you can save you time and aggravation, as well as money.  An expediter knows the required steps and paperwork that needs filed as well as where to file it.  An expediter will meet with the city business consultants to determine all aspects of the business needs.  He or she will get the zoning review as well as the aldermanic letters.  He or she will also canvas the neighborhood where the business is to be located and get any necessary signatures from the neighborhood residents if needed.

The process of procuring a Chicago business license can be long and tedious, especially if you are trying to learn it all on your own.  Thankfully, there is no need to learn it on your own you hire an expediter to do it for you.  The cost of expediting services is a cost of doing business and therefore tax deductible.

Some other expediting services we routinely perform include helping with Chicago building code violations, Scaffolding and Demolitions, Occupancy Placards, as well as special event and film permits and permits for the change of use and street closures.  Basically, anything that is going to impede the public right of way in the city is going to require a permit of some kind, and that is what I do.  I get permits!