For an Illinois public-school construction project covered by 23 Ill. Adm. Code Part 180, ask first which completion record the project required. The state’s school facility rule distinguishes a certificate of occupancy (CO) for work that requires one from a Statement of Completion for permitted work on an existing facility that did not affect its CO. A building permit, final inspection and signed completion document answer different questions. Request the signed CO or Statement tied to the project, plus the inspection records reviewed for it, rather than assuming every school alteration produced a new CO.
Match the project to the correct approval path
Confirm that this regional-superintendent process covers the school. Part 180’s applicability provision limits its reach: districts governed by Article 34 of the School Code and charter schools within those districts follow local building codes for these matters, apart from the specified sprinkler provision. Ask the district which authority issued the permit before choosing the regional route.
Illinois’s 23 Ill. Adm. Code 180.225 places the CO application with the school board and the decision with the regional superintendent. The rule addresses general, partial and temporary occupancy, along with mobile structures. For permitted work to an existing facility that did not affect its CO, the district may instead submit a Statement of Completion. That option is conditional: the word “alteration” in a permit description does not prove the project qualified, and an unsigned template is not evidence that the district finished the process.
Start a record request with the district and school name, facility address, approximate work period and permit or project number if known. Identify the wing, addition, classroom area or system affected; large campuses can have several distinct projects. Ask the district or the relevant Regional Office of Education (ROE) to identify whether the file contains a signed CO, a signed Statement of Completion, or neither. The ISBE ROE directory helps find the regional office serving the school. Confirm the office for the district rather than choosing an ROE from a neighboring county’s address.
Request the underlying inspection trail
The rule says the regional superintendent reviews the inspection statements and records of called inspections before signing. The rule does not establish a public address-search portal or an online start year for all school construction records. Make a specific records request to the district or responsible ROE:
- Identify the project: school and district, address or campus building, project description, approximate year and any permit number.
- Name the decision record: ask for the signed CO, including its occupancy scope, or the signed Statement of Completion if the existing CO was unaffected.
- Ask what supported signature: request the inspection statements and called-inspection record associated with that permit. Note any inspection number or date already visible on a document.
- Resolve a missing item: if the custodian has only a permit or an unsigned form, ask which office maintains the final signed record and whether another project number was used.
Our final inspection status guide explains why a scheduled or called inspection should not be read as a passed final.
Read a partial or missing file carefully
A partial or temporary CO identifies a narrower approval than a general CO. Match its named area, conditions and date to the portion of the school you are researching; it does not silently clear later work elsewhere on campus. A Statement of Completion says something different: it documents the permitted work’s completion under the rule’s existing-CO path. It is not a replacement CO for a newly occupied addition that actually required one. For a broader comparison of permit and occupancy records, see our permit-versus-CO guide.
An empty document search does not prove that no completion record was issued. The district may hold its project file while the ROE holds the signed approval or inspection review, and older identifiers may differ from a current campus name. Ask both custodians to search the project period and original school name, and record which files each office actually checked. Do not infer present occupancy or code compliance from an incomplete historic file; later renovations and decisions need their own records.
Official Illinois rule, ISBE guidance and ROE directory checked September 29, 2026. The published rule and guidance were reviewed; no individual school file, account or request response was accessed.