Aurora building department

The City of Aurora Division of Building and Permits (Development Services Department) reviews plans, issues permits, inspects construction, and issues certificates of occupancy for property inside Aurora city limits. The office is at 77 S. Broadway, 1st floor, and is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Before you submit formal plans, you can request a design-development pre-review meeting.

What needs a permit

Aurora’s permit list groups the work it permits as follows.

• Residential: new single-family homes and additions, remodels, new garages, EV chargers, water service.
• Residential or commercial: accessory structures, demolition, driveways, fences, HVAC, pools, roofing, solar.
• Commercial: alarms, certificates of occupancy, elevators, grease traps, hoods, fire suppression, signs, temporary structures.
• Miscellaneous: right-of-way work, lawn irrigation, communications poles, and historic certificates of appropriateness.

Properties in a historic district or the Fox Walk district need an additional permit application, and that application has its own review timeframe. Some work also needs approval from another agency, such as sewer work, county health department approvals, fire pits, and street closures.

How to apply

Apply, pay, schedule inspections, and track permits in the eTRAKiT portal (auro-trk.aspgov.com/etrakit). Paper and fillable PDF applications are also published, and they list two email addresses: [email protected] for initial submittals and permit questions, and [email protected] for revisions. Digital drawings are accepted in place of hard copies, although the City may ask for paper sets at any time.

Residential roof replacements and furnace or A/C replacements are issued over the counter unless the property is in the historic district.

Application fees and review timeframes

From the City’s timeframes handout. Timeframes are estimated business days and depend on workload when you submit.

Application type	Application fee	Initial review	Revision review
Zoning (fence, driveway)	$82	3 days	3 days
Residential single trade	$56	3 days	3 days
Residential solar	$77	5 days	5 days
Residential addition / remodel	$278 / $77	10 days	5 days
Residential new (masterplan)	$278	10 days	5 days
Commercial remodel under $50k	$64–$254	5 days	5 days
Commercial new construction	$1,003	15 days	5 days
Commercial certificate of occupancy	$232	5 days	5 days

2026 fee schedule

Aurora has indexed its fees every year since 2010. The 2026 schedule applies to permits applied for after January 1, 2026. Applications submitted earlier keep the 2025 rates unless they are abandoned or extended. The application fee is a non-refundable deposit that is credited toward the final fees. Total fees are the application fee plus a Permit Inspection Fee (PIF, a percentage of valuation) plus a Plan Review Fee (15% of the PIF) plus a certificate fee.

Permit	Fee basis / minimums
Residential fence	$82 application; optional final inspection $31
Residential shed	$77 flat
Deck / gazebo	1.75% of valuation; $77 application, $93 minimum PIF
Residential roof or furnace replacement	$55 application, $31 minimum PIF
Above-ground / in-ground pool	$77 application; $186 / $217 minimum PIF
Single-family garage	2.08% of valuation; $155 minimum PIF
Residential remodel (2–4 trades)	2.5% of valuation
Residential new / addition	0.5% of calculated valuation; $1,817 minimum PIF; $115 certificate of occupancy

Other fees:

• Reinspections are $109 per trade.
• The penalty inspection fee is $200 per trade.
• Permit extensions cost 10% of the PIF or $41, whichever is greater.
• A residential temporary certificate of occupancy is $230.
• New construction may also owe engineering ($300 plan review and site inspection), fire impact ($250 per new owner-occupied dwelling unit), water meter and connection, and Fox Metro sewer fees.

Fence rules (from the fence application)

• Submit a current plat of survey that shows fence heights, dimensions, materials, style, and location.
• No part of the fence, including footings, may cross the property line. The finished side faces out, and posts go on the owner’s side. Keep the fence at least 1 ft back from a public sidewalk.
• Fences are not allowed in the right-of-way, floodways, drainage swales, or easements unless approved in permit review.
• Within the 15 ft sight triangle at streets, walks, driveways, and paths, the maximum height is 3 ft.
• Chain link is prohibited in front yards and along any right-of-way. Commercial fences are limited to 6 ft, or 8 ft when screening bulk materials.
• Call J.U.L.I.E. at 800-892-0123 before digging. HOA approval is a separate process.

The Aurora Zoning Ordinance Fence Booklet sets the residential height limits for each yard type.

Inspections

Schedule inspections through eTRAKiT. The stamped approved field plans must be on site for every inspection. For a general arrival window, call the inspector between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. on the day of the inspection. Desk and cell numbers for each inspector are listed on the timeframes handout.

Contractor registration

Section 117 of the City code requires contractor registration for anyone doing construction work in Aurora. The 2026 contractor license fee is $200. Email the Contractor Registration Application to [email protected] along with a certificate of insurance that names the City of Aurora as primary and non-contributory additional insured. A surety bond is required only for dumpster and obstruction work.

Electrical contractors qualify with an ICC Master, Residential, or Journeyman Sign Electrician certification. Mechanical contractors need ICC Master Mechanical (N29). Aurora also accepts reciprocity testing from other municipalities. Renewals can be done online, but delinquent permits may need to be cleared first.

Codes

Aurora adopted the 2015 International Building Code by Ordinance O18-013 on January 23, 2018. The City’s Code Development page describes 2025 Building and Fire Code Commission and Electrical Code hearings to move to the 2024 I-codes, which were targeted for April 2025. Aurora is also considering the Illinois Stretch Energy Code, which municipalities have been able to adopt since January 1, 2025. As of this page’s verification, it had not been adopted.