What to tell a provider about access, placement and street closures so units reach the right spot in a dense city.
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Delivery and pickup in Chicago turn on access: where a truck can stop, where units can stand and whether streets are closed. Chicago Porta Potty Rental is a call line that connects you with an independent local provider, who delivers and removes units when it can serve. No delivery time or day is promised here.
Ordering the toilets is the easy part. Getting them to the right place is where Chicago makes things interesting. The Near North Side is the most densely populated community area in the city and has the second most skyscrapers after the Loop. A truck that could pull onto a suburban lot in minutes may have a very different problem on a block of galleries and commercial lofts in River North.
That is why this page is mostly a list of things to tell the provider. The truck needs to know where it can stop, how close it can get, what is on the ground where the units will stand and what time the street is open. A provider with that information plans the run. A provider without it finds out when the driver arrives.
Chicago Porta Potty Rental is a call line, not a trucking company. It connects you with an independent local portable-sanitation provider that delivers, sets and removes the units when it can serve. Call (888) 351-0294 with the address, the date you want and the answers to the questions below.
On a surface the provider's truck can reach and the owner permits, clear of doorways, fire access and lot lines. Chicago's code says non-sewer toilets on private property must be at least 5 feet from property lines. On public streets, sidewalks and parks, ask the office that governs the space.
The 5 foot figure comes from the Chicago Plumbing Code's rule for non-sewer facilities on private property. It is a reason to measure a small lot before choosing a spot, not a promise that any given placement is acceptable. Ask the project's permit office when you are unsure.
On public ground the question is different. A street, a sidewalk or a park belongs to someone, and that someone sets conditions. For Chicago Park District events, the permit sets what is required. For street events, the Mayor's Office of Special Events phone is (312) 744-3315, and the Park District's revenue department phone is (312) 763-6710.
Neither this page nor Chicago Porta Potty Rental says that a unit placed in any spot is permitted. The permit office and the property owner decide.
They set the delivery window and often the pickup window. Sundays on State closes State Street from Randolph to Jackson on select dates, and the Pride Parade route runs south on Broadway and Halsted. Units for such an event have to be in place before the closure and collected after it, so the provider needs the times.
A closure is a wall for a truck. Once a street is closed, a truck that was supposed to deliver cannot get through, and the organizer's staff cannot fix that on the day. Plan delivery for before the closure and ask the provider what it needs from you.
The Chicago Marathon runs through 29 neighborhoods, with 20 aid stations one to two miles apart, and the toilets at those stations are placed with the course in mind. A smaller race or a neighborhood fair does the same thing on a smaller scale. See marathon and race toilets and parade and crowd restrooms.
Pickup is the part people forget. A street that reopens late, or a crowd that lingers, can delay a truck. Tell the provider where to go and who to call.
Treat it as a delivery plan: name the gate, the contact and the hours. A film shoot that affects streets or sidewalks needs a Chicago Film Office permit with at least 3 full business days to process, so the date for the units is set around the shoot. A construction site has its own gate and schedule.
For film, see film shoot restrooms; the permit timeline there is the one to build around. For a building site, the project's superintendent usually controls the gate, and the provider needs that person's number.
A site with a locked or staffed gate is a common reason for a missed delivery. If the gate is opened only at certain hours, say so. If it is opened only by one person, give that person's number.
Call early and say the date. No delivery day or time is promised by this page or by Chicago Porta Potty Rental; the provider confirms what it can do when it can serve. A date set by a permit or an event is a reason to call as soon as the date is firm, and to ask for the delivery plan in writing.
A provider that is told the date and the reason can usually say quickly whether it can help. If it cannot, you learn that early and can ask for another provider through the call line, instead of finding out the night before.
Do not assume a unit can come on the day you call. Treat the delivery date as something the provider confirms, not something you set.
Do not try to move, drag or reposition a delivered unit, and do not stand a tipped one upright yourselves. Call the provider, who moves units with its own equipment.
Say the full site address, the date and the hours the units are needed. For an event, give the setup and teardown times too, not just the hours the public is there.
Tell the provider whether the street is open, whether there is a loading zone, whether a gate or an alley is the way in, and who can open it. Send a photo or a sketch if the approach is awkward.
Say where the units should stand and what the ground is. Mention anything the units must keep clear of, such as a fire lane, a doorway or a lot line.
A contact who answers a phone and can open the site is worth more than a perfect plan. A driver who cannot find the spot or cannot get in cannot set the units.
Tell the provider when the event or job ends, and make sure access is open for the truck then. Leave the units where they stand; do not move them to make room.
On a block in the Loop or River North, the question is where a truck can legally and safely stop and how the units get from the curb to the spot. The provider may want to know about loading zones and any hours when the block is restricted.
A park lawn or an open lot gives more room but has its own concerns: soft ground, a locked gate, a route across grass that the property owner will or will not permit. Ask the owner what the truck may drive on.
A parade, a festival or a race closes streets, and delivery windows are set around the closure. Units usually have to be in place before the street shuts and collected after it reopens, so the provider needs the closure times from the organizer.
No sourced Chicago prices exist for this service, so this page shows no dollar figures. Delivery and pickup are quoted by the provider, and what shapes the number is how hard the site is to reach.
| Job | Typical range | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Distance from the provider's yard | Quoted by the provider | The call connects you with a provider that works in your part of Cook County |
| Access difficulty | Depends on the site | Tight blocks, gates and closed streets change how a run is planned |
| Timing constraints | Discussed with the provider | Delivery before a closure or after one ends can affect the quote |
| Number of units and the placement | Follows your order | A large bank spread over a site takes longer to set |
| Pickup | Quoted with delivery | Ask whether pickup is included in the same line |
Ask for delivery and pickup to be written into the quote, with the access conditions the provider assumed. Chicago Porta Potty Rental does not set or publish provider prices.
Most portable toilet delivery and pickup calls are scheduled the same day when a technician is free, and you approve the price before any work starts.
On the Near North Side, dense blocks, tourist crowds and constant renovation mean temporary toilets are mostly for construction staging, film shoots and permitted street events rather than open lots. The delivery question there is almost always about the curb: where a truck can stop and how the units reach the spot. See the Near North Side area page.
In the Loop, Daley Plaza hosts food truck meet-ups, a farmers market and the Christkindlmarket, and Sundays on State closes State Street from Randolph to Jackson on select dates. Events like these mean that a truck's approach changes from one week to the next, so give the provider the date as well as the address. The Loop area page has more on the neighborhood.
In the suburbs, such as Franklin Park and Bedford Park, the question is different. Industrial lots have more room for a truck and more gates to pass, and the answer to where the units go is usually closer to the work. A provider that knows the lot's gate and the route in can plan the run.
What a provider's servicing visit covers, how often to ask for it, and what your crew or event staff should leave alone.
Portable restrooms near base camp for crews filming on Chicago streets, in parks and on private sites, through an independent local provider.
Portable toilets and handwashing for Chicago street festivals and art fairs, placed along closed streets by an independent local provider.
Units for parade staging areas, side streets and closed-street crowds, arranged through an independent local provider.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
A portable toilet quote in Chicago is built from five things: the unit type, how many units, how long they stay, how often a provider services them, and how hard the site is to reach.
Someone should be reachable by phone and able to open the site. You do not always need to stand at the spot, but a driver who cannot find the placement or cannot get in cannot set the units. Give the provider a contact number for the day.
That depends on the street, the owner and any permit. A public street or sidewalk is governed by the city, and a park by the Chicago Park District. Ask the office that governs the space before you plan around it. Chicago Porta Potty Rental does not say any particular placement is allowed.
The truck cannot get through, and the delivery has to be rescheduled. That is why the provider needs the closure times and the organizer's contact before the day. Plan for the units to be in place before the closure, and ask the provider how it handles pickup after it reopens.
Often, if it has a truck available, but ask. Do not move units yourselves or ask workers to shift them. A unit moved by hand can tip or spill. Call the provider with the new spot and the reason, and let it do the move.
On private property the Chicago Plumbing Code says non-sewer toilet facilities must be at least 5 feet from property lines. Check your lot against that figure before choosing a spot, and ask the project's permit office if you are not sure how it applies.