Get help with a permit

1. Print the checklist for your project

Every permit page includes a free, printable checklist for that project and locality: what to bring, what the office typically asks for, and the source pages we checked. Find your project on the browse page and use the checklist section on its permit page.

2. Request Permit Help

In a small number of localities where our research shows permits running slow, stuck, or where work often gets done without one, we run a Permit Help request. You describe your situation and, with your consent, we either connect you with a vetted local permit expediter or contractor, or reply with the exact steps and office links for your case.

PermitNotebook is not a government agency and does not file permits. This is a free, disclosed referral: we may earn a fee if you hire a pro we introduce, and partners never influence our permit data. Nothing is shared without you agreeing to it first.

Permit Help is live for:

• Chicago, IL
• Building without a permit in Illinois
• Building without a permit in Maryland
• Building without a permit in Massachusetts
• Building without a permit in New Jersey
• Building without a permit in Pennsylvania
• Building without a permit in Virginia

3. Report an error

Found something out of date or incorrect? Use the correction form and we will check it against the official source, fix it, and update the page's verification date.