Chicago Business License

The Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) ensures a fair and vibrant marketplace for businesses, workers and consumers in the City of Chicago. BACP licenses businesses and public vehicles, regulates business activity, protects consumers from fraud, enforces Chicago's labor laws, partners with business service organizations and provides education and resources for businesses. BACP issues business licenses and regulates business activity in Chicago. A business license issued by BACP is required to conduct most business activity in the City of Chicago. The Chicago Small Business Center (SBC) is the business licensing and permitting division of BACP and the City's one-stop-shop for business licensing, public way use permitting and other resources to start and grow the business. The Small Business Center (SBC) issues business licenses and regulates the business activities of industries as diverse as retail, food and liquor establishments, entertainment venues and theaters, day care centers, manufacturing facilities and motor vehicle repair shops.

The business actitivities include Accommodations, Food, Manufacturing, Personal Services, Animal Care and Services, Home Based Businesses, Motor Vehicle Services, Public Vehicles, Children Services, Home Repair and Construction Services, Outdoor Vending, Tobacco, Commercial and Business Services, Hospital and Commercial Care Facilities, Parking Lot/Parking Garage, Valet Operator, Entertainment, Liquor, Pawnshop/Secondhand Dealer.

This dataset includes current and previously licensed businesses and trades. The registered information for each business includes account number, license number, legal business name, doing business as (DBA) name, business location, license code and description, applicate type and date, license approval, issue, start and expiration date, etc.

The City of Chicago is committed to creating an unprecedented level of transparency, honesty and accountability to the public in City government. Each city agency shall, to the extent practicable, and in consultation with the open data advisory group, make available online, through the City of Chicago data portal required under Section 6 and at a level of granularity acceptable to DOIT, all appropriate data sets and associated metadata under such agency's control. The City of Chicago's Data Portal is dedicated to promoting access to government data and encouraging the development of creative tools to engage and serve Chicago's diverse community. The site hosts over 600 datasets presented in easy-to-use formats about City departments, services, facilities and performance.