Collector’s Office
100 North Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue
Waukegan, Illinois 60085

City Ordinance requires that all businesses operating in the City of Waukegan obtain a business license. The Collector's Office is generally the first stop a business owner makes when initiating activity within the City of Waukegan. Our objective is to assist each business in obtaining the proper business license and/or permit, to ensure proper compliance to the business license code and to make this process as user-friendly as possible.

We have many different types of business licenses. By going to the General Information page, you may search our general business list, review our requirements, costs and access the documents needed to obtain a business license. Bring all of the required information to the Collectors Office in City Hall and we will help you obtain your business license. If you have any questions pertaining to this process please do not hesitate to contact the office at one of the numbers listed.

The term of the business license is January 1st through December 31st. The business license must be renewed each year by January 1st. There is a 50% penalty fee for late renewals.

License applications may be obtained from the City Collectors Office Monday - Friday between the hours of 8am - 5pm or
(Click here to go to Business License Application in PDF Format)  
 
Submit the completed application to the City Collectors Office Monday - Friday between the hours of 8am to 5pm. Your application will be routed to the departments for review and approval.

Planning and Zoning will conduct a review of the application to ensure the proper zone-use. If you have any zone-use questions, the Planning and Zoning office can be reached at 847-625-6878.

The Planning and Zoning Department, Building Department, Fire Department and Police Department must all approve an application before a license will be issued. You will be contacted to schedule all inspections.
 
Click here to view Business License Category Codes

 
A Business Cannot Open Until It Has Acquired the Proper License!

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