Rock Island County, IL Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing code
- Illinois Plumbing Code (current edition)
- Vent stack minimum
- 4 inches, 1 foot below roofline
- Contractor registration
- Required annually, $50 fee
- Compliance bond
- $10,000
- State license
- Plumber-of-record license required
- Unpermitted work penalty
- Equals full permit fee
Summary
Plumbing work in unincorporated Rock Island County runs on the Illinois Plumbing Code, not a locally written plumbing chapter. Section 150.17(D) of the county's building code amendments makes the "most recent edition of the Illinois Plumbing Code" the governing standard for installing, altering, or repairing plumbing systems, with the IRC filling in anything the state code doesn't cover.
Section 101.4.3 Plumbing. Remove the paragraph and replace with: “The most recent edition of the Illinois Plumbing Code shall apply to the installation, alteration, repair, relocation, addition, replacement, and maintenance of plumbing systems as stipulated by the Illinois Plumbing Code. The provisions of the International Residential Code shall apply to all plumbing and piping systems not covered by the Illinois Plumbing Code. In addition, any structure in which a building drain is installed shall have at least one vent stack carried through the roof and increased to a minimum size of four inches at a point one foot below the roof line.”
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-1: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. 2024-12-A, passed 12-17-2024; and State legislation current through 2024 Illinois Legislative Service, Pamphlet #6).
Full Breakdown
3, replaces the model code's plumbing chapter with a direct adoption of "the most recent edition of the Illinois Plumbing Code" for installing, altering, repairing, relocating, adding to, replacing, and maintaining plumbing systems, with the International Residential Code filling gaps the state rules don't cover. The same subsection adds a locally written minimum: any structure with a building drain needs at least one vent stack run through the roof, sized up to four inches at a point one foot below the roofline. 16(F). 17(F) for a repeat violation within five years.
Violations & Fines
Plumbing work done before permit issuance draws a penalty fee equal to the entire permit cost for the project under § 150.17(E). A second unpermitted start within five years triggers § 150.17(F): the Building Official can post stop-work orders on the job and any other permitted project the same contractor holds in the county, and refer the matter for fines of $25 to $1,000 per day under that same subsection, with each day counted as a separate violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What plumbing code applies in unincorporated Rock Island County?
Do plumbers need to register with the county?
What if I start plumbing work before getting a permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rock Island County
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