Throwing a party in Chicago and not sure whether a permit comes into it? We can help! Plenty of smaller gatherings need nothing at all.
But once you’re setting up a canopy, serving alcohol, running a generator, or bringing in amplified music, you’ll want to check with your local offices first.
Below, we’ve pulled together everything you need to know about permitting in Chicago, plus who to call when it’s time to sort one out.
- What Trips a Permit in Chicago
- Park Ground, City Ground, and Block Parties
- Tents, Stages, and Anything That Needs Power
- Millennium Park and the Sites the Park District Doesn’t Book
- What Isn’t Allowed, Permit or Not
- Serving Alcohol in Chicago
- What Chicago Publishes Two Different Ways
- What to Ask Before You Book
- Who to Call with Permitting Questions in Chicago
- Planning an Event in Chicago?
What Trips a Permit in Chicago
Headcount is the wrong place to start. The Chicago Park District requires a Special Event Permit for any one of a long list of features, whatever your guest count. A canopy over the food table, alcohol, a generator, amplified sound or an inflatable each trip it on their own. Their list runs longer than that, so read it against your equipment list before you decide you’re clear.
Headcount is on that list too, so check the number you’re planning for against both places Chicago publishes it, since they don’t always match. The Park District’s website and its Code set it differently. Confirm which one you’re held to when you apply, and plan to the stricter.
If you want a specific spot, plan to reserve it ahead of time.
Park Ground, City Ground, and Block Parties
On park grounds, you’re dealing with the Chicago Park District, a separate unit of government from the City with its own code and its own permits. It covers what it calls “most green space and lakefront trail.”
- Ask what window your permit actually covers, and give your rental company that window up front, since delivery and pickup usually have to fit inside it
- Ceremonies and weddings usually run on their own permit type with a fixed block of time, so ask what yours is before you build a timeline around it
- Commercial photography needs its own permit, so ask your photographer who is pulling it
On city ground, the permit comes from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Which outdoor events DCASE exempts and which it pulls in is not obvious from the outside, and putting up a tent or a stage is one of the things that can pull you in. Email SEPermits@cityofchicago.org and get classified before you order anything: a Park District permit does not by itself mean your event is permitted.
A block party runs on its own track. Your alderman’s office issues it, it won’t be issued to a commercial enterprise, and it comes with no city services, so plan on your own barricades and cleanup.
Animals bring in one more office. Chicago Animal Care and Control has its own permit for bringing animals to an event, on top of the Park District’s animal trigger, so ask your petting-zoo provider which of the two they handle.
Tents, Stages, and Anything That Needs Power
The Department of Buildings issues tent and stage permits; the Fire Department does not. Anything larger than a 10×10 pop-up is worth checking with Buildings before you book, and even a smaller structure still has to meet the Chicago Construction Codes. Height counts separately from floor area, so a tall structure can need a permit on a modest footprint.
Who puts the structure up matters here too. Above a certain size the City wants a licensed contractor responsible for putting it up and taking it down. Ask your supplier whether they hold that licence and whether they’re the ones named on the application. Ask early about power too, since a generator or a ride can need something separate from the tent permit.
Expect to be asked for a high winds plan, and expect it to name the individual responsible for taking the structure down. Settle in writing with your rental company who is on call if the weather turns. On park ground the Code bars disturbing or severing sod and earth, so plan on weights instead of stakes. Water barrels work on grass and hard surfaces alike.
Millennium Park and the Sites the Park District Doesn’t Book
Some of the best-known downtown green space is not the Park District’s to book. Its permits page names sites that are “independently managed” and says to call them directly, Millennium Park and Maggie Daley among them. Start with the park’s own events page instead, and ask what it allows, who it lets you bring in, and which seasons are open to private events.
What Isn’t Allowed, Permit or Not
Check with whoever owns your ground, since these come from different offices.
- Open fire pits and bonfires, in any park. Grilling is allowed only in an enclosed metal container, in an approved spot, away from trees.
- Fireworks, which the Park District says are illegal. Pyrotechnics at a permitted event run on a permit of their own.
- Glass on the beaches. The Code keeps glass and cans off the bathing beaches and out of the water, so plan lakefront bar service around plastic.
- Propane cylinders under cover. The City’s fire rules keep L.P.G. cylinders out of tents and canopies and set a minimum clearance, so ask about hose lengths before you place rented patio heaters.
- Anything tied to a tree. The Code bars ropes, signs and anything else fastened to a tree or shrub, so bring uprights.
- Smoking in Park District playgrounds, beaches and buildings.
- Booths, tents and trailers on a sidewalk or in a fire lane, which the City requires to stay clear at all times.
- Dogs off leash outside the designated dog-friendly areas, and out of playgrounds and sports fields. The lakefront beaches post their own rules on top of that.
Serving Alcohol in Chicago
Alcohol triggers the permit on its own, and on park grounds it also determines who can pour. The Park District Code keeps alcohol off park property unless it’s under a permit or concession it has issued, and it must come through a company licensed by the state and the city.
Bringing your own isn’t an option, and expect security at any event with alcohol. Illinois writes a private-party carve-out into its own special event licence, and that carve-out does not travel onto park property.
A couple of Chicago rules appear in conflicting versions, so confirm with the office issuing your permit and plan for the stricter of the two.
What Chicago Publishes Two Different Ways
A couple of Chicago rules appear in versions that don’t match, so confirm with the office issuing your permit and plan to the stricter of the two.
- Lead times. The Park District’s website and its Code don’t set the same deadline, and the longer one kicks in once your event involves things like alcohol, amplified sound or a structure going up, so ask which track you’re on and work back from there.
- Tent sizes. Fire Prevention and Buildings publish different sizes for when a licensed tent erector is required, so ask which of them applies to your setup.
What to Ask Before You Book
- Is this ground Park District or City, and do I need something from both?
- Does anything on my equipment list trip the permit on its own, whatever my guest count?
- Am I on the short filing track or the long one, and what would move me to the long one?
- Who is licensed to erect this tent, and are they named on the application?
- Can anything go into the ground here, or does the tent need weights?
- Who is licensed to serve the alcohol, and does this venue keep its own caterer list?
- Does DCASE class my event as one that needs its application, even though it’s private?
- What time does the permit window start and end, and does that cover my delivery and pickup?
Still choosing a site? Our guide to event venues in Chicago and our Chicago party planning guide are next.
Who to Call with Permitting Questions in Chicago
- Chicago Park District. The Special Event Permit and park bookings, on Permits & Rentals 101.
- Chicago Park District. Grilling, fires and service animals, on Park Policies.
- DCASE. The City’s permit, and classifying your event, via its Special Events Permit Application page.
- Department of Buildings. Tents and canopies, on Temporary Tent Permitting Procedures.
- Department of Buildings. Stages, generators and rides, in the Permit Prep Guide: Events.
- Chicago Animal Care and Control. The Temporary Animal Exhibition Permit, via its department page.
- Millennium Park. Independently managed bookings, through Millennium Park Private Events.
- Illinois Liquor Control Commission. The state licence behind your bar, at ilcc.illinois.gov.
Planning an Event in Chicago?
Work the equipment list first. It tells you which offices you are dealing with, which lead time applies, and what to ask your supplier.
Reventals stocks tents and canopies, tent weights and staging across Chicago, with delivery and setup details you can check while the permit question is open. Browse party rentals on Reventals.
