Will County, IL Ordinances (2026)

Unincorporated Will County's zoning code treats native plants as an approved way to meet mandatory landscaping. Section 155-12.90(A) lets developers cover required landscape areas with…

In unincorporated Will County, removing a tree with a trunk six inches or more in diameter as part of permitted development requires planting replacement trees totaling at least 125%…

Unincorporated Will County allows home composting of yard and food waste as an accessory use, but caps pile size and sets strict setbacks.

Unincorporated Will County zoning lets homeowners install rain barrels up to 5 feet tall inside required street, side and rear setbacks without a variance, and the landscape code…

Unincorporated Will County property maintenance code caps weeds and plant growth at 10 inches; violations are a petty offense enforced by the Building Official, punishable by up to…

Will County prohibits barbed wire, razor concertina, and electric wire fences in residential zoning districts and on lots abutting them, with a narrow exemption for electric fencing…

In unincorporated Will County, fences top out at 7 feet in residential/agricultural side and rear yards, 4 feet in street yards, with a corner sight-triangle exception.

Unincorporated Will County requires no permit to build a fence, but height and material limits still apply by district.

Will County bans parking on designated snow routes once accumulation hits two inches, with tow-away enforcement by the Highway Commissioner or County Superintendent of Highways.

Unincorporated Will County allows private EV charging stations for apartment and condo renters as an accessory use in every zoning district, and lets those stalls count toward the…

Will County makes it unlawful to park a vehicle beyond the time limit posted on official signs under Code § 74.09, enforced on county highways in unincorporated Will County outside…

When a Will County Sheriff's deputy impounds your vehicle, the county charges a $350 administrative fee on top of the tow and storage bill, must mail you a hearing notice within ten…

Unincorporated Will County limits residential parking to five vehicles outside an enclosed building and requires every vehicle parked outside to sit on a regularly constructed…

Will County Code § 74.07 bars overstaying marked passenger loading zones and caps curbside waiting near hospitals, hotels and public buildings at 75 feet, while § 74.10 reserves posted…

Leaving a vehicle or any part of one on a county roadway is unlawful, and an abandoned vehicle left in public view on private property can be towed by the Sheriff's Department after a…

Will County bars parking in front of driveways, near hydrants and crosswalks, and requires vehicles to park facing traffic within 12 inches of the curb on county-maintained roads.

In unincorporated Will County, heavy commercial trucks over a Class D plate can't park in A-2 or residential districts, and even lighter commercial vehicles face strict numeric caps…

Unincorporated Will County caps RVs, boats and trailers parked outside a garage at 2-3 per lot, all on a driveway, and bans living in them.

Unincorporated Will County has no do-not-knock registry for individual addresses, but it does cap when peddlers and solicitors can come to your door: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday…

Door-to-door peddlers, hawkers and itinerant merchants in unincorporated Will County must register with the County Clerk and secure a license before soliciting; solicitation is limited…

Will County's zoning code sets no fixed height cap for houses in the E-1 through R-4 residential districts, height follows the county Building Ordinance instead, while R-5 tops out at…

Will County caps building coverage, the roofed footprint of a house and its accessory buildings, at 20% of lot area in the E-1, E-2, R-1 and R-2 zoning districts, rising to 25% in…

Unincorporated Will County sets minimum yard setbacks by zoning district under the county zoning ordinance's lot and building standards table, ranging from the rural E-1 district's…

Will County will not enforce fire sprinkler mandates in one- and two-family homes, duplexes or townhouses built to the residential code.

Reroofing a home outside Joliet, Bolingbrook and Will County's other cities requires a building permit before work starts, per Code Section 150.003 - emergency repairs get only a…

Will County adopts the International Green Construction Code 2018, but only as a voluntary option contractors can request: it's not a mandatory building standard for unincorporated…

Unincorporated Will County's building code amendment requires every elevator's emergency phone to dial directly to the local fire protection district's emergency line, not a private…

Unincorporated Will County requires a building permit before any plumbing installation, following the adopted 2014 Illinois Plumbing Code.

Will County's Building Code classifies day care operations serving twelve or fewer children as Group R-3 residential occupancy instead of commercial Group E, applying only in the…

Will County requires up to 20 staged inspections during construction, from footing to final, called 48 hours ahead of the Building Division.

Unincorporated Will County adopts the 2017 National Electrical Code and requires a permit for all electrical work, issued only to a licensed, bonded electrical contractor listed on the…

Unincorporated Will County bars adult-use cannabis cultivation centers and craft growers within 2,500 feet of schools, day cares, or residential zoning, and caps dispensaries…

Adult-use cannabis growers, processors and dispensaries are zoned uses in unincorporated Will County, kept back from schools and homes by distance rules.

Dumping garbage, rubbish, trash or refuse on real property you don't own without consent is a Class B misdemeanor in Will County, escalating to a Class 4 felony on a third offense.

Will County's Building Code requires construction dumpsters on unincorporated job sites to be placed before framing starts and emptied once full, enforced by the Building Official…

Will County Code Enforcement Officers must give property owners at least 30 days' written notice under the IPMC's notice-and-cure process before a property maintenance or building code…

In unincorporated Will County, premises and exterior property must be kept free of weeds and plant growth taller than 10 inches under the county's amended Property Maintenance Code.

Mobile food units and push carts need a Will County Health Department permit before operating anywhere in the county, including Joliet.

Hawkers, peddlers and itinerant merchants working unincorporated Will County must register with the County Clerk and secure a license before selling door-to-door or on the street.

A towing company holding a vehicle the Sheriff impounded can't release it until the driver shows a paid $350 county fee receipt or a hearing officer's order overturning the impoundment.

Unincorporated Will County's zoning code flatly bans automobile or truck repair as a home occupation, no matter how small the operation.

Retailers selling alternative nicotine products (vapes, e-liquids) or tobacco in unincorporated Will County must obtain a $25 annual county license before any sale.

Will County zoning classifies tattoo parlors and piercing studios as personal improvement service uses, permitted by right only in the county's C-1 through C-4 commercial districts in…

Unincorporated Will County requires every bath house or massage parlor to hold a county license before opening. The County Clerk collects a $2,000 annual fee, the Sheriff fingerprints…

Unincorporated Will County confines adult entertainment establishments to the I-3 industrial district as a special use, with 1,000-foot buffers from other adult businesses and…

Unincorporated Will County bars any person or business from emitting sound beyond their property line in excess of the Illinois Pollution Control Board's property-line noise-source…

Unincorporated Will County bans electronically amplified sound, including car stereos, audible 75 feet beyond a residential property line, and treats vehicle or engine noise the same…

Unincorporated Will County residential districts ban electronically amplified sound audible 75 feet past the property line, at any hour, under County Code § 133.04(B): a tight limit on…

Unincorporated Will County bars amplified sound audible 75 feet beyond a property line and bars all regulated noise in residential areas between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. under Code § 133.04…

Unincorporated Will County bars amplified and mechanical noise audible 75 feet off-property between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. in residential districts and adjacent business districts.

Will County law bars dogs from barking, howling or whining excessively, capping outdoor noise at 15 minutes by day and 10 minutes overnight before owners can be cited for a nuisance.

In unincorporated Will County, R-1 and R-2 lots may keep up to two goats or one neutered hog by right if fenced, weight-capped and set back 25 feet from neighbors' homes; horses and…

In unincorporated Will County, veterinary clinics and animal care/boarding facilities in agricultural and estate districts need a special use permit and must sit at least 250 feet from…

Unincorporated Will County requires a special use permit before running an exotic or wildlife rehabilitation facility or sanctuary.

Will County classifies pet grooming shops, dog bathing and clipping salons, and pet stores as an "animal sales/grooming" use under Code § 155-8.40(B)(2). The use needs special use…

Will County's animal-control ordinance bars letting any domestic or companion animal run uncontrolled countywide, but § 90.14 carves out feral cats from that at-large prohibition…

Unincorporated Will County allows up to five adult companion animals per household as a zoning accessory use; keeping six or more requires an animal care/boarding permit.

Will County requires any dog or cat placed under bite-observation quarantine to be microchipped at the first veterinary exam, with the chip number reported to Animal Protection…

Will County requires dogs deemed potentially dangerous to be spayed or neutered and microchipped within 14 days of reclaim from impoundment.

Unincorporated Will County bars owners from letting a domestic or companion animal run uncontrolled at any time. Animal Protection Services can seize and impound any loose dog or cat…

Unincorporated Will County bars keeping exotic, crossbred, or hybrid wild animals as pets outside licensed zoos, circuses, research labs, or sanctuaries under the zoning code's…

Will County allows backyard beehives by right in most unincorporated residential districts, capping density at two hives per acre on 22,000-square-foot minimum lots, but bans…

In unincorporated Will County, home day care for up to 12 children is permitted by right in every agricultural, estate, residential and commercial district if the provider lives on…

Home occupations in unincorporated Will County may only receive customers on-site between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Unincorporated Will County requires anyone running a cottage food operation to register annually with the Will County Health Department and pay a $25 fee, rather than obtain a full…

Unincorporated Will County caps home occupation signage by zoning district: one wall or freestanding sign, non-illuminated, with size limits down to 2 square feet in residential…

Will County's zoning ordinance allows home occupations as an accessory use in unincorporated areas, capping business floor area at 33% of the dwelling and barring retail stores…

Unincorporated Will County zones farmland A-1 to preserve agriculture and protect farmers' property rights, with a 10-acre minimum lot and A-2 closed to new rezonings.

Will County's zoning ordinance exempts land used for agricultural purposes and farm buildings in unincorporated Will County from zoning regulations and permit requirements, letting…

New subdivisions in unincorporated Will County must plant one parkway or front yard tree per 40 feet of street frontage, with a minimum of two and a maximum of four trees required per…

Unincorporated Will County allows campaign signs without a permit for 60 days before an election and requires removal within six days after.

Unincorporated Will County limits advertising signs, the billboards oriented toward highway traffic, under Zoning Code § 155-13.60. Signs facing an interstate can run up to 700 square…

Unincorporated Will County's outdoor lighting ordinance, Zoning Code § 155-14.110, exempts temporary holiday lighting used fewer than 30 days in a calendar year from the county's…

Unincorporated Will County caps temporary window signs at 64 square feet and 33% of window area, with a 100-square-foot total per business.

In unincorporated Will County, a new digital billboard requires special use approval under the zoning code's dynamic display rules, with strict brightness, dwell-time and spacing…

Illuminated billboards in unincorporated Will County must use shielded, downward-cast fixtures and can't spill more than 0.1 footcandles onto nearby residential land.

Unincorporated Will County caps outdoor light spillover at 0.5 to 1.0 footcandles at the property line and bans search lights and lasers.

Unincorporated Will County caps outdoor light spillover at 0.5 to 1.0 footcandles at the property line and requires all fixtures to be shielded from neighbors and roads.

Will County's Engineer issues a special event permit before closing any county highway for filming, per Code § 56.120; the rule covers only county-maintained roads, not city streets in…

Will County requires a special event permit from the Division of Transportation before any movie, TV, commercial, or documentary shoot closes a county highway, arranged with WCDOT at…

Film and TV productions in unincorporated Will County must keep noise from carrying beyond the property line, per the county's noise nuisance ordinance enforced by the Sheriff's Police.

Filming on a Will County highway that closes or impacts traffic is regulated as a special event, not a separate film permit, under WCDOT rules.

Closing a county highway in Will County for a parade, festival or race requires a special event permit from the Division of Transportation, applied for at least 30 days ahead, with…

Will County requires a special event permit from the County Engineer to temporarily close any county highway for parades, festivals, block parties, or filming, with 30 days' advance…

Parades, marathons, and festivals that need to close a Will County highway require a special event permit from the County Engineer under County Code § 56.054, authorized by 605 ILCS…

Will County's Code Enforcement Officers act on violations they personally observe; only animal control complaints can be formally filed to trigger an investigation, under the county's…

Unincorporated Will County lets conservation design subdivisions earn up to a 25% density bonus for trails, extra open space and design quality.

Ground-mounted AC and heating units over 30 inches tall must sit 15+ feet from residential property lines and be screened if within 25 feet.

Will County bars electronically amplified sound - including bass-heavy music and car audio - audible 75 feet beyond the property line in unincorporated residential areas, plus all…

Unincorporated Will County's residential noise ordinance, Code § 133.04, exempts "emergency related sound" from its 75-foot amplified-sound rule and its 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew. That…

Will County's health code treats a food establishment lacking a nationally recognized Certified Food Protection Manager as a correctable violation, escalating to a mandatory informal…

Storing debris or letting a pool go stagnant so it breeds mosquitoes, rodents or other pests is a public nuisance in unincorporated Will County, subject to a $100 fine and forced…

In unincorporated Will County, landlords must heat rental units to 68°F from September 15 through April 30 under the county's amended Property Maintenance Code.

Any private work in a Will County highway right-of-way, utilities, landscaping, retaining walls, service connections, needs a WCDOT use permit before you touch the shoulder or ditch.

Will County makes it a public nuisance to obstruct or encroach on public highways, streets, alleys, and rights-of-way -- a category that legally reaches sidewalks, since a sidewalk is…

In unincorporated Will County, recreation fires used for cooking or entertainment cannot exceed six feet by six feet and must sit at least 50 feet from any neighboring structure.

Renovations, repairs and reconstruction of single-family homes, duplexes and townhouses in unincorporated Will County must upgrade smoke detectors to meet IRC R314, per the county's…

Possessing, igniting, or discharging display or consumer fireworks in unincorporated Will County without a county permit is declared a public nuisance and a code violation. The…

Will County bars burning waste materials without a state or Illinois EPA permit, requires all outdoor fires to sit at least 50 feet from neighboring structures, and caps recreation…

Unincorporated Will County caps garage and yard sales at four per calendar year, with each sale running no more than three consecutive days, and requires sale items removed from view…

Before Will County will record a final subdivision plat, any property owners association taking over streets, drainage, open space or other common areas must prove it has real legal…

In unincorporated Will County, boat docks, boathouses and piers are allowed within required wetland and stream buffer areas, but they must meet the buffer-width standards of the…

Will County requires new and substantially improved residential structures in the regulatory floodplain to elevate their lowest floor to the Flood Protection Elevation, the base flood…

Will County requires a stormwater management permit before any development that could raise flood elevations or shift drainage costs onto neighbors, with detention required for most…

Will County requires construction sites to route all disturbed-area runoff through sediment control facilities before it leaves the site, with a written erosion control plan mandatory…

New and substantially improved homes in unincorporated Will County's regulatory floodplain must have their lowest floor built up to the flood protection elevation, two feet above the…

Unincorporated Will County allows building-mounted and ground-mounted solar systems as accessory uses, but sets height, setback and street-facing design limits and puts the burden of…

Will County bars anyone under 17 from public places overnight: 10 p.m.-6 a.m. for under-16s, 11 p.m.-6 a.m. for 16- and 17-year-olds, enforced countywide by the Sheriff's Office.

Will County designates landmarks and historic districts by County Board ordinance after Preservation Commission review, covering unincorporated-area properties and structures nominated…

Will County's zoning ordinance bans planting or maintaining invasive and noxious plant species on land covered by county landscaping rules, applying only in unincorporated areas…

Running a bed and breakfast, Will County's zoning category for short-term paid lodging in a home, requires a special use permit in the A-1, A-2, E-1 and E-2 districts and is barred…

Will County's only licensed short-term-stay use in a private home, the bed and breakfast, is capped at four guest rooms with a maximum of two adults per room under Code § 155-9.30(A)…

Unincorporated Will County licensees must keep alcohol consumption inside the establishment: drinking on the public way, sidewalk, or a connected parking lot is prohibited, and the…

Unincorporated Will County requires every accessory swimming pool to have a perimeter barrier at least five feet high, per the zoning code's swimming pool regulations: separate from…

Unincorporated Will County requires a $175 building permit for any above-ground pool, hot tub or spa capable of holding 24 inches of water, plus a five-foot safety barrier and minimum…

Will County requires the property owner to live in either the main house or the accessory dwelling unit at least six months a year, on unincorporated land only.

Unincorporated Will County allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot with detached houses, capped at 650 square feet or 49% of the main home's floor area.

Unincorporated Will County caps accessory buildings at 1,200-3,000 sq. ft. depending on district, allows a 5-foot rear setback, and requires a building permit even for the smallest…