An over-the-counter permit is a permit the city issues without plan review. The name comes from the permit counter, where standard work — a furnace swapped for a furnace, a water heater for a water heater — was handed across in a single visit while the reviewed work went to the back room. That split still decides how fast a permit moves. What changed is where the counter is: it moved online, into the city’s portal, and “over-the-counter” is now read the way buyers have always meant it — same-day.
The counter came to you
Nobody drives to a counter, takes a number, and waits on a bench anymore — the cities closed that era themselves. Jurisdictions run their counters through portals now: OpenGov is the biggest new home of the counter, alongside Accela and BS&A. Even Fremont — a counter city for decades — now takes tenant improvement and most permits online only; same-day or not, the filing happens at the online counter. So the counter came to you: it sits in your phone. Order the permit, send the plans and documents once, and the filing happens the same day the complete package is in — no drive, no line, no parking.
OTC is not Express — the honest tiers
Two labels get blurred by people selling speed, so we keep them apart. Over-the-counter (OTC) means the jurisdiction issues the permit without plan review — same-day where the city issues it that way. Express means the permit is reviewed, on a fast track measured in days — Evanston states a 3–5 business-day goal for its express permits, and Palatine states the same. A reviewed permit is never labeled OTC here, and a no-review permit that takes two weeks to process is never sold as same-day. The Index below prints each jurisdiction in its own honest tier — including the rows we could not verify, marked as unverified instead of filled in.
The Susan Standard
Every jurisdiction has a Susan — the permit tech at the processing station who decides what “complete” means that day. She is the human gate of counter speed, and her law is simple: a complete application gets served first and fastest; a package with blanks goes to the back of the line. That is why our order flow mirrors each jurisdiction’s own intake — the same fields, the same forms, the license and insurance references matching across the application and the plans — so the package is approvable from the moment you enter the order, not after a week of chasing missing pieces. Over-the-counter speed is not luck. It is what a Susan does with a package that arrives finished.
The OTC Index
What is over-the-counter, express, online-only, or still paper — jurisdiction by jurisdiction, from our own corpus and filing record. We add jurisdictions as we prove them, and we print the gaps as gaps.
| Jurisdiction | What’s over-the-counter (or the fast lane) | Filing lane | Speed class |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | Two-way communication / ERCES alterations have no online pathway at all — filed over the counter, in person, with paper plans. The one permit family that still lives at a literal counter. | Paper counter — 49 South Van Ness | Counter — OTC only |
| San Francisco, CA | Fire alarm and building filings: the counter here is online — filed through OpenGov with plan review. Online, but not OTC, and we label it that way. | OpenGov (PermitSF) | Online — plan review |
| Fremont, CA | Tenant improvement and most permits are online only — same-day or not, the filing happens at the online counter now. (Field knowledge of our founder, who has filed in Fremont for years; the portal itself is bot-walled to outside readers, so we mark this row attested, not portal-read.) | Accela Citizen Access | Online only |
| San Jose, CA | 56 self-service online permit project types; Residential Express issued during an online meeting; a walk-in over-the-counter lane still exists for single-family/duplex work with limited structural scope. | SJPermits (Accela) + SJePlans (ProjectDox) | OTC + Express |
| Skokie, IL | Air conditioners, furnaces and water heaters sit in the Village’s Over-the-Counter Permits category by name — simple projects, no plan review. | BS&A Online (Skokie Permits) | OTC — no plan review |
| Schaumburg, IL | Express Permits — roofing, siding, air conditioner, furnace, water heater, sewer repair, plumbing — do not require plan review. A guest can be added to the record, the most agent-friendly feature in the region. | OpenGov | Express — no plan review |
| Evanston, IL | The Express list expressly includes water heater / boiler / furnace and air-conditioner replacement, with no plan review — and a city-stated turnaround goal of 3–5 business days. Fast review measured in days is Express, not OTC. | Accela Citizen Access | Express — 3–5 business days |
| Chicago, IL | Express Permit Program: the Department of Buildings states it issues many permits the same day through Express. One flag we print rather than hide: in-kind replacement of a hot water heater, boiler, furnace or AC may be exempt from permit under MCC §14A-4-402.2 — unverified until the Department confirms it in writing, so we do not sell Chicago in-kind swaps as permits in the meantime. | Express Permit Program (online) | Express — many same-day (city-stated) |
| Downers Grove, IL | One flat-fee simple category — residential water-heater replacement, furnace replacement and A/C condenser replacement, $75 including one inspection — treated as a simple permit, not ordinary plan review. The Village publishes no timeline for it. | Village online portal | Simple permit — speed unverified |
| Palatine, IL | Express permits carry a stated goal of 3–5 business days. Which trades are Express-eligible is not expressly published — HVAC eligibility is an open question in our files, printed as one. | Tyler EnerGov CSS | Express — eligibility unverified |
| Tinley Park, IL | HVAC/furnace, water heater, sewer and plumbing require no plan review — but typical processing runs 10–14 business days. No-review is not the same as same-day, and the Index says so. | BS&A Online | No plan review — not same-day |
| Lake in the Hills, IL | Air conditioner, furnace, roofing/siding, water heater and water softener are expressly online-eligible; a review step still applies and no speed is published. | Village public portal | Online — speed unverified |
| New Lenox, IL | Air conditioning units, furnaces and water heaters are expressly online-eligible; the application is signed by the property owner. | BS&A Online | Online — speed unverified |
| Lisle, IL | Water heaters are filed online, with an $85 fee due at issuance — and emergency installs may apply the next business day. | Village online application | Online — fee at issuance |
| Lake County, IL (unincorporated) | Water-heater and air-conditioner replacement needs no permit at all — an online registration instead. The fastest counter is the one that isn’t there. | County online | No permit — registration only |
| Cicero, IL | Applications and issuance stay at the physical counter — no email application lane, nothing to send to plan review on a simple heating swap. The exception that proves the map still has counters. | In person | Counter only — not online |
Sources: the PermitsPros jurisdiction corpus and filing record, October 2026 — Chicago-metro rows from our jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction portal study of the villages’ own published pages; San Francisco rows from our worked filings; San Jose from our jurisdiction playbook. Rows marked “unverified” are open questions in our own files. Don’t see your city? Call (888) 907-9511 — the map grows jurisdiction by jurisdiction, on filed proof.
Permits we file over the counter
- Furnace replacement — like-for-like, no plans
- Water heater replacement — like-for-like, no plans
- HVAC changeout — like-for-like, no plans
- Electrical panel upgrade — no plans
- Reroof — like-for-like, no plans
- Window replacement and kitchen/bath fixture swaps — in-kind, no structural work
In the portal order flow, these trades carry the badge “OTC · No plan review · Filed online today.” Where a specific jurisdiction classifies one of them differently, the filing follows that jurisdiction’s rule — the badge is the class, the city has the last word.
How it works
- Order online at portal.permitspros.com/order/ — pick the trade and upload the documents once.
- We pre-check and file — every package is checked against the jurisdiction’s intake before it files, then submitted the same day the package is complete.
- Watch it move — statuses, fees and receipts live on one board in Coordinator, and the issued permit is delivered to your portal folder.
What it costs
Our service fee is $125 for a simple permit, which covers the over-the-counter trades. City and county permit fees are always separate and paid to the city — Downers Grove’s flat $75 heating category (inspection included) is the shape of them. Call (888) 907-9511 and we will confirm the tier and the city fee before you order.
Questions and answers
Q: What is an over-the-counter permit?
A: An over-the-counter permit is a permit the city issues without plan review. It is the standard work a jurisdiction has already decided does not need a reviewer to look at drawings — like-for-like furnace, water heater, air conditioner and panel replacements are the classic examples. The name comes from the permit counter, where these were handed across in a single visit. Today most of them are filed online, and buyers read the term for what it always promised: same-day.
Q: Which permits are over-the-counter?
A: It depends on the city, and every city publishes its own list. The common ones are like-for-like replacements: furnace replacement, water heater replacement, air-conditioner changeouts, electrical panel work, and reroofing. Skokie, Illinois puts air conditioners, furnaces and water heaters in an Over-the-Counter Permits category by name. Schaumburg’s OpenGov Express permits — roofing, siding, air conditioner, furnace, water heater — require no plan review. San Jose offers 56 self-service online permit types. If a project changes structure, capacity, location or life-safety systems, it usually leaves the counter and goes to plan review.
Q: Can I get an over-the-counter permit online?
A: In most cities, yes — the counter moved online. Jurisdictions run their counters through portals like OpenGov, Accela and BS&A, and even a historically counter-driven city like Fremont now takes tenant improvement and most permits online only. PermitsPros files at that online counter for you: order at portal.permitspros.com, send the plans and documents once, and we file the same day the complete package is in.
Q: Do over-the-counter permits need plans?
A: Usually no drawings are required — that is the point of the category. What the city wants instead is a complete application: the right forms, the contractor’s license and registration, equipment information, and the fee. A complete package is what keeps an over-the-counter permit moving at counter speed; a package with blanks goes to the back of the line.
Q: What is the difference between an over-the-counter permit and an express permit?
A: An over-the-counter permit skips plan review entirely. An express permit still gets reviewed, just on a fast track measured in days — Evanston, Illinois states a 3–5 business-day goal for its express permits, and Palatine states the same for its express type. We label them honestly: OTC means no plan review; express means fast review. Anyone who calls a reviewed permit “over-the-counter” is blurring the line.
Q: How much does an over-the-counter permit cost?
A: Our service fee is $125 for a simple permit, which covers the over-the-counter trades. City fees are separate and set by the jurisdiction — Downers Grove, Illinois, for example, charges a flat $75 for a residential water-heater, furnace or A/C condenser replacement, including one inspection. Call (888) 907-9511 and we will confirm the tier and the city fee before you order.
Q: Are any permits still filed at a physical counter?
A: A few — and knowing which ones is the job. In San Francisco, two-way communication (ERCES) alterations have no online pathway at all: they are filed over the counter, in person, with paper plans at 49 South Van Ness. Cicero, Illinois still takes applications and issues permits at the counter only. The map has exceptions, and we file each one the way that jurisdiction actually works.
Q: How do I start an over-the-counter permit?
A: Order at portal.permitspros.com — pick the trade, upload the documents once, and we file the same day the package is complete — or call (888) 907-9511, Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 Pacific.