Methodology
How we calculate closure rates and which permits we count for Chicago.
What is a closure rate?
When a contractor pulls a building permit in Chicago, an inspector needs to verify the work was completed correctly before the permit can be closed. A closure rate measures the percentage of an applicant’s permits that have been properly closed:
The 365-day eligibility rule
A contractor who pulled a permit last month hasn’t had time to complete the work yet. To avoid penalizing recent activity, we only count permits issued more than 365 days ago when calculating closure rates.
Permits issued within the last year still appear in the data but are dimmed in the table and not factored into the rate.
Which permits are included?
Chicago’s building permit data covers many types of work. We include permits that represent real construction trade work where closure is a meaningful signal of contractor accountability:
| Category | Included Types |
|---|---|
| Electrical Work | Express Permit Program — electrical installations and modifications |
| Fire Alarm System | Express Permit Program — fire alarm installations |
| Masonry Work | Express Permit Program — masonry repair and construction |
| Plumbing Work | Express Permit Program — plumbing installations |
| Mechanical Work | Express Permit Program — HVAC and mechanical systems |
| Solar PV System | Express Permit Program — small-scale solar panel installations |
| Reroofing | Express Permit Program — roof replacement |
| Detached Frame Garage | Express Permit Program — garage construction |
| Exterior Windows/Doors | Express Permit Program — window and door replacement |
| Porch/Deck/Balcony | Express Permit Program — porch and deck work |
| Fence or Trash Enclosure | Express Permit Program — fence installation |
| Communication Equipment | Express Permit Program — telecom equipment |
| Renovation/Alteration | Full permit — renovations and building alterations |
| New Construction | Full permit — new building construction |
| Wrecking/Demolition | Full permit — building demolition |
| Porch Construction | Full permit — porch construction (legacy type) |
Applicant identification
Chicago’s permit data lists up to 15 contacts per permit, each with a role (e.g., Electrical Contractor, Owner, General Contractor, Architect, Expeditor). We use Contact #1 — the primary contact who applied for the permit.
Who appears as Contact #1 depends on the permit type:
| Permit Type | Contact #1 is typically... |
|---|---|
| Express Permit (electrical, fire alarm, etc.) | The trade contractor who filed the permit (e.g., Electrical Contractor) |
| Easy Permit (minor single-trade work) | The general contractor or owner acting as GC |
| Renovation / Alteration | The property owner or architect — the GC is listed as a separate contact |
| New Construction | The property owner or architect — the GC is listed as a separate contact |
| Signs | The sign contractor or electrical contractor |
| Wrecking / Demolition | The wrecking contractor |
| Elevator Equipment | The elevator contractor |
For Renovation and New Construction permits, the applicant shown is the person who applied for the permit (typically the property owner or architect), not necessarily the general contractor performing the work. This means some permits may be attributed to property owners or architects rather than the contractors who are responsible for closing them.
What is excluded?
We exclude permits where low closure rates are systemic or the permit type doesn’t represent inspectable construction work:
Entire permit types
| Permit Type | Reason |
|---|---|
| Signs | Sign installation, not building construction |
| Scaffolding | Temporary access equipment, not permanent work |
| Elevator Equipment | Specialty equipment permits |
| Reinstate Revoked Permit | Administrative — reinstating a previously revoked permit |
| Extension of Permit | Administrative — extending an existing permit deadline |
| Easy Permit Process | Legacy permit type — all records predate status tracking |
Express Permit work types
| Work Type | Reason |
|---|---|
| Monthly Maintenance Permit | Recurring inspections, not one-time construction work (98% closure — near-automatic) |
| Administrative Change | Paperwork changes, not construction (99.7% closure — purely administrative) |
| Storm Water Management Plan | Planning documents, not construction work (0% closure — systemic) |
| Nonstructural Interior Work | 12% closure rate — systemically unclosed, likely administrative artifacts |
| Other Work | Catch-all category with 16% closure — unclear scope, unreliable signal |
| Scaffolding (Express) | Temporary access equipment, not permanent construction |
Deduplication
Each row in the Chicago dataset has a unique permit number — no deduplication is needed. This is different from Boston (where permits span multiple parcels) and NYC (where permit renewals create additional rows).
Status classification
Chicago permits have seven possible statuses, plus a large number of older permits with no status value. We classify three statuses for closure rate calculations:
| Status | Classification |
|---|---|
| COMPLETE | Counted as closed — work verified complete |
| ACTIVE | Counted as open — permit active, work not yet completed |
| EXPIRED | Counted as open — permit expired without completion |
| SUSPENDED | Excluded — work halted, similar to Stop Work |
| CANCELLED | Excluded — permit cancelled before work |
| REVOKED | Excluded — permit revoked |
| PHASED PERMITTING | Excluded — multi-phase permit, closure not applicable |
| (empty) | Excluded — older permits predating the electronic status tracking system (~39% of all records) |
We classify EXPIRED as “open” because it indicates the contractor did not complete and close the permit before it expired. The ~322,000 permits with no status value are from before Chicago implemented electronic permit tracking and are excluded entirely.
Leaderboard criteria
The leaderboard applies two additional filters:
- Minimum 20 rated permits — avoids surfacing statistically insignificant data.
- Active in the last 3 years — prevents the list from being populated by defunct companies.
The leaderboard can be filtered by permit type (e.g., Electrical, Building). When filtered, both thresholds apply only to permits of the selected type.
Median comparison
On applicant detail pages, each closure rate is compared to the median closure rate across all leaderboard-eligible applicants in the same category. This gives context — a 50% closure rate means something different in a category where the median is 40% versus one where it’s 80%.
Medians are calculated from the same pool of applicants who meet the 20-permit minimum threshold.
Data source
All data comes from the Building Permits dataset on Chicago Data Portal. The dataset is refreshed nightly.
Limitations
This site shows permit closure data. It does not evaluate the quality of anyone’s work. There are legitimate reasons a permit may remain open:
- Client non-cooperation — the property owner may fail to schedule the final inspection or grant access.
- Administrative backlog — work may be inspected and approved but not yet updated in the system.
- Project delays — financing, design changes, supply chain issues, or other factors outside the applicant’s control.
- Multi-phase projects — large commercial projects may legitimately take years to complete.
- Permit holder vs. contractor — the applicant may be a GC, architect, or owner — not necessarily the person scheduling the inspection.
If you believe there are inaccuracies in the underlying permit data, contact the Chicago Department of Buildings at [email protected].