In Machesney Park, nearly every construction project needs a permit, and the short list of things that do not is shorter than most homeowners assume. The village says so on its permits page, and it names the exceptions one by one. Siding and window replacements of the same size, kitchen cabinets and countertops, and carpeting or flooring. That is the list. Almost everything else, from a fence to a roof to a driveway, goes through Village Hall.

This matters to a buyer because the permit trail is part of the house. Anyone looking at homes for sale in Machesney Park will see decks, sheds, fences and finished basements that someone built at some point. The question is whether the village ever saw them. Gambino Realtors has been in business since 1923, and checking the paper trail on a house is as old a habit as checking the roof.

What Needs A Permit In Machesney Park, And What Does Not

The village's permits page opens with a blunt overview. Nearly all construction projects that occur in the village require a building permit. If you are unsure, the page says to call the village at 815-877-6072. Then it lists the categories. Plumbing, HVAC and electrical work requires a building permit. So do new residential buildings, residential additions and alterations, and external wall signs and freestanding signs. A project that does not need a building permit still may need something else, such as a fence permit, a driveway permit or a demolition permit, so the village runs a separate application for each.

Here is how the process runs. The Building Division reviews applications, collects the review fees, issues the permit, and facilitates inspection scheduling. Plans for new residential homes, garages, sheds, fences, swimming pools, parking lots and signs are reviewed internally by village staff. Commercial projects go to an outside plan reviewer. Then there is a detail that surprises people. Building inspections are performed by the City of Loves Park through a cooperative agreement. When the village issues a building permit, it gives you instructions for requesting inspections, and the village's FAQ gives the Loves Park number for scheduling one, 815-654-5030. The permit lives in Machesney Park, and the inspector comes from next door.

A good share of the paperwork can be done online. The village's Citizenserve portal lets you apply and pay for residential building permits and business licenses and track the progress of a request. The permits page lists the ones eligible for online application, which are plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits, public works permits, demolition permits, small structure permits, fence permits and sign permits. You need an account to apply. The same portal has a Search Permits link, which matters later in this guide.

Some categories have extra rules worth knowing before you sign anything.

• Roofing. Any roofing or re-roofing project requires a building permit. If a contractor does the work, the contractor's license has to be submitted. So a new roof is not a quiet job. It should have a permit on file.
• Demolition. All structural demolition requires a demolition permit, and the village requires gas and electric utilities to be shut off before it starts, with copies of the shut-off orders on file before the permit is issued.
• Driveways. A new driveway requires a permit plus an erosion and sediment control statement, and the regulations sit in Chapter 30, Article III, Division 3 of the village code. The village page notes that under Ordinance 25-26, approved by the village board in August 2026, driveway permit fees rise to $30 for driveways under 2,000 square feet and $50 for larger ones, starting on October 13, 2026.
• Solar. A solar panel installation needs its own permit application. The page says application fees were increased to cover review and inspection, at $100 for every 25 panels, with processing fees on top.
• Work in the public right of way. New construction in the right of way needs a public works permit and an erosion and sediment control certification. If more than 1,000 square feet is disturbed, an erosion control permit is required. Sidewalk repairs fall here. The village FAQ says that if your property is next to a public sidewalk you are responsible for repairing or replacing it, and that the right of way permit costs $5 and lasts a year.
• Manufactured and mobile homes. Placement requires its own application.

The permits are not the only checkpoint. For a house on well and septic, the village FAQ says approval from the county health department is required before you apply for a village permit on projects such as an addition, deck, shed or pool. In a mapped floodplain, a floodplain development permit applies on top of the building permit. Each layer adds a record that someone looked at the work. It also adds a record whose absence can tell you something.

Fences, Sheds, Decks And Pools, One Project At A Time

The village sorts the backyard projects by size and by what could go wrong, and the rules differ enough that it helps to take them one at a time.

A fence needs a fence permit. You fill out the application and draw a simple site plan showing the height of the fence and where it sits in relation to the house and the property lines. The village stipulates that fences are to be no more than 4 feet high in the front yards of residential lots and 6 feet in side and back yards. If you are touring a house with a 6-foot privacy fence along the street side, ask which yard line that fence follows. A fence that is too tall in the front yard is one of the easier violations to spot from the curb. If the property is in the floodplain, the village's flood ordinance counts the erection of a fence as development, so a floodplain parcel adds a second layer of review.

A shed splits at 120 square feet. A shed no larger than 120 square feet in area needs only a shed permit, with a site plan that shows where it sits relative to the house and the property lines. Anything over 120 square feet needs a building permit, and the village decides the cost once zoning and building approval are in. A property on well and septic needs a quick county health department inspection first. A buyer can use this rule as a test. If a shed looks bigger than a typical garden shed, ask whether it was permitted, because the permit line sits at 120 square feet.

A deck needs a building permit and zoning approval on file, whether it is new or an expansion of an existing one. An attached deck has to follow the setback rules for the property's zoning classification. A detached deck over 4 feet high counts as an accessory structure and must follow the accessory structure rules. The application needs a site plan showing the deck's height and its location relative to the house and the property lines. A deck carries weight and sits close to the ground and the lot line, so look at it in person. Look at how it is attached, how it is flashed where it meets the house, and whether it is close to a property line.

A garage, attached or detached, requires a building permit, and the cost is set once the project has zoning and building approval. Again, on well and septic, the county health department comes first.

A swimming pool has the longest rule set, and the pool page is worth reading in full if a house has one. Pools are allowed in all residential zoning districts except the Rural Residential classification. A pool has to be at least 6 feet from the side and rear property lines and at least 10 feet from the principal structure or any overhead or underground cables. The county health code requires the pool to be enclosed within a wall, fence or hedge with a maximum height of 8 feet. A pool under 4 feet in height needs a fence with a locking gate, and a pool over 4 feet needs a removable or locking ladder. Every pool needs permanent electrical wiring and a GFCI outlet, and the electrical trench has to be at least 18 inches deep and 6 inches from any gas line. An above-ground pool needs a building permit and zoning approval of a site plan. An in-ground pool adds a soil and erosion application, and county health department approval if the property is on well or septic. If the pool is heated, there is supplemental information on the permit application.

One trap sits in that last paragraph. The village's rule makes no exception for a pool that could be taken down. An above-ground pool needs a permit too. If the house has a pool, ask for the permit, the setback site plan and the inspection sign-off, and look at the fence and gate with the rule in your hand.

Checking A House's Permit History Before You Offer

There are three ways to learn whether past work was permitted, and you should use all three on any house with visible changes.

First, use the village's own permit search. The Citizenserve portal has a Search Permits link, and permits issued through the portal are tracked there. We could not confirm how far back the portal's records go, so a missing record is a reason to ask more questions and not proof of a problem. Second, make a public records request. The village follows the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140, and takes requests by form at Village Hall, by mail, or by email to clerk@machesneypark.org. Ask for the permit and inspection records for the specific address. Third, ask the seller for what they have. Sellers who pulled permits usually kept the final inspection paperwork, and sellers who did not will usually say so when asked directly.

The Illinois seller disclosure form helps here too. Item 23 asks whether the seller has received notice of a violation of local, state or federal laws or regulations relating to the property that has not been corrected. A seller answers from actual knowledge and does not have to investigate. So a clean answer on that line is useful and not conclusive. If the answer is yes, find out what the notice said and who has to fix it.

Why does the village care enough that you should? Because it says so in writing. The Code Enforcement Division is responsible for overall compliance with all adopted village codes. It does that work through regular village-wide inspections and by investigating complaints. And the village's comprehensive plan lists, as a residential objective, strictly enforcing all building, safety, zoning and fire codes to prevent overcrowding, unsafe conditions, and misuse of residential dwellings including garage conversions and basement apartments. That sentence is the reason to look hard at a garage that has been turned into a room and a basement that has a kitchen.

The strongest written consequence sits in the flood ordinance, so it is worth knowing if the lot touches the floodplain. Failing to obtain a permit for development in the floodplain, or to follow the conditions of a permit, is a violation. The village notifies the owner in writing. If the owner fails to correct the violation after ten days, the village applies to the circuit court for an injunction, and a person who violates the ordinance can be fined not less than $50 and not more than $750 for each offense, with each day a separate offense. The village is also required to record a notice of violation on the title of the property, and it must tell the owner that the violation may cause coverage under a Standard Flood Insurance Policy to be suspended. In other words, an unpermitted addition in the floodplain can follow the property to the next owner. That is the one place where the ordinance spells the consequence out so plainly.

Outside the floodplain, the consequences depend on what the unpermitted work is, and we are not going to guess. What we can say is that unpermitted work does not disappear because the seller sold the house. The new owner is the one at the counter at Village Hall. If you find work without a permit, you have choices that are better made before closing than after. Ask the village what it would take to bring the work into compliance. Get a written quote from a contractor. Then decide, with your agent and your attorney, whether to ask the seller to fix it, to credit you, or to walk away. We do not promise any of those outcomes will be available, and the contract and the timing control what you can ask for.

If you want the general method for what an inspector looks at, Rockford Home Inspections: What the Inspector Checks covers the standard walk-through. An inspection report and a permit search answer different questions. The inspector tells you what the house is like today. The permit record tells you what the village knew when the work was done.

The other Gambino guides for buyers in this area are collected in the Illinois Real Estate Guide.

Bottom Line

In Machesney Park, assume a project needed a permit unless it is on the village's short exception list. Fences, sheds over 120 square feet, decks, pools, garages, roofs, driveways and additions all go through Village Hall, and in the floodplain or on a well and septic lot they pick up a second approval. The permit is issued in Machesney Park and the inspection is done by the City of Loves Park, so a missing file can mean either office.

Before you offer, search the village's permit portal for the address, ask the seller for permits and final inspections, and put a public records request in if anything looks changed. Read item 23 on the disclosure form. If a deck, a pool, a finished lower level or a converted garage has no paper trail, treat that as a negotiating fact, not a reason to panic. When you are ready to look at homes for sale in Machesney Park, bring this list with you. We will help you ask the questions while the answers still matter.

That covers the rules. Here are the questions buyers ask us most about permits in the village.

Frequently Asked Questions