8 items, in order: articles of organization (llc) or an assumed business name, employer identification number (ein), illinois business registration (form reg-1) for sales tax, certificate of occupancy or occupancy approval, aed on the premises and a trained staff member and city business license, and 2 more.
How to open, Illinois
How to open a gym in Illinois
8 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them, each with the agency, the fee and the official page, and what the Census counts of gyms in Illinois say.
8 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 17, 2026.
Set up the business
Articles of organization (LLC) or an assumed business name
An LLC keeps your personal assets apart from the business and is what landlords and lenders expect to see on a lease. A sole proprietor trading under any name but their own must file the assumed name with the county clerk and publish a notice in a local newspaper once a week for three weeks, within 15 days of filing.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Illinois Secretary of State; county clerk for sole proprietors and partnerships
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Employer Identification Number (EIN)
Needed to hire, to open a business bank account and for most state registrations. Issued at once online.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Internal Revenue Service
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Register for tax
Illinois business registration (Form REG-1) for sales tax
Register before the first sale or the first hire. The state Retailers’ Occupation Tax is 6.25% on general merchandise and on food prepared for immediate consumption; cities and counties add their own, so check the combined rate for the address in the MyTax Illinois rate finder. Online registration takes one to two business days.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Illinois Department of Revenue, through MyTax Illinois
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Approve the space
Certificate of occupancy or occupancy approval
Ask the building department whether your space’s last approved use matches yours before you sign. Turning a store into a restaurant or a warehouse into a studio is a change of occupancy, with plans, inspections and build-out to code. Outside Chicago, most cities require an occupancy inspection for every new tenant.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Your city or county building department
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
AED on the premises and a trained staff member
Every physical fitness facility keeps at least one automated external defibrillator on site and a trained user on staff during staffed hours; IDPH may require more by floor area or patrons.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Illinois Department of Public Health (Physical Fitness Facility Medical Emergency Preparedness Act)
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Get the permits for your kind of business
City business license
Chicago licenses every business the code does not license some other way: stores, salons, studios and offices. The city checks zoning for the address before issuing it, so confirm the use is allowed at the storefront first. Many suburbs require their own license.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Your city; in Chicago the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (Limited Business License)
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Membership contract rules
Contracts must allow cancellation within three business days, and prepaid memberships are backed by escrow or proof of financial responsibility the Attorney General accepts. From 2026 the Act also limits how lifetime memberships are advertised. Keep contracts to the Act’s terms before selling the first one.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Illinois Attorney General (Physical Fitness Services Act)
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Before the first hire
Unemployment insurance account (Form REG-UI-1)
Register within 30 days of starting the business. New employers pay contributions at a rate built on a 2.7% floor for the first three years. Report each new hire to the state directory within 20 days.
Checked Oct 17, 2026
- Agency
- Illinois Department of Employment Security, through MyTax Illinois
- Official page
- Members
- Fee
- Members
- Renewal
- Members
Gyms already in Illinois
- Establishments, County Business Patterns 2023
- 50
- Per 10,000 residents
- 0.0
- Change since 2018
- +37 (+284.6%)
Metro areas with the most
| Metro area | Gyms | Per 10,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | 1,285 | 1.4 |
| Rockford | 49 | 1.4 |
| Peoria | 39 | 1.1 |
| Springfield | 30 | 1.4 |
| Bloomington | 27 | 1.6 |
| Champaign-Urbana | 25 | 1.0 |
How they fare in Illinois
- Closed in 2023, arts, entertainment and recreation
- 9.0%
- Opened in 2023
- 12.4%
Then pick the place
- The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the gyms already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
- The full reportWhether the rules allow a gym at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
Have an address in mind?
Check the address freeNo account. The gym check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Illinois Secretary of State LLC pages; Form LLC-1.20; Cook County Clerk assumed business name page; IRS EIN page; Illinois Department of Revenue business registration page; City of Chicago Department of Buildings certificates of occupancy page and 2025 permit fee tables; IDPH EMS other programs page; Public Acts 96-873 and 96-748; City of Chicago business licensing pages and January 2026 fee update; 815 ILCS 645, Physical Fitness Services Act; IDES new employer page; U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023; U.S. Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.