Illinois all-in menu pricing starts January 1, 2027: fact sheet for newsrooms
Starting January 1, 2027, Illinois businesses may not advertise, display or offer a price that leaves out a mandatory fee or surcharge. For restaurants, "service," "kitchen" and similar fees added at the bottom of the check have to move into menu prices. The one restaurant exception is an automatic gratuity paid in full to staff, with its percentage disclosed wherever prices appear.
Fact sheet
| Law | Public Act 104-0472, enacted from House Bill 228 of the 104th Illinois General Assembly (HB0228) |
|---|---|
| Became law | June 25, 2026 (Public Act 104-0472 recorded in the General Assembly's bill status) |
| Takes effect | January 1, 2027 |
| Where it lives | New Section 2MMMM, "Hidden and misleading fees," in the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (815 ILCS 505/2MMMM) |
| Core rule, subsection (b) | "It is an unlawful practice within the meaning of this Act for a person to advertise, display, or offer a price for goods or services that does not include all mandatory fees or surcharges." |
| Taxes | Government taxes and fees required by law to be collected from the consumer are not "mandatory fees" under the Section |
| Restaurants, subsection (h) | Automatic gratuities may stay separate if every priced offer or ad clearly and conspicuously discloses the percentage. "All other mandatory fees and surcharges must be included in the price advertised, displayed, or offered." |
| "Gratuities" defined | Money "the total amount of which is received by the employees ... and none of which is retained by the business" |
| Food delivery platforms, subsection (c) | Must disclose delivery costs and fees per restaurant, all fees once items are selected, and an itemized subtotal before checkout |
| Private lawsuits | Subsection (m): "The provisions of Section 10a do not apply to a violation of this Section." (Section 10a is the Act's private right of action.) |
Questions reporters are likely to get
- Can restaurants still charge a service fee? Only inside the menu price, unless it is an automatic gratuity that goes entirely to staff and whose percentage is disclosed on every priced menu, offer and ad.
- Is sales tax included? No. Taxes required by law are excluded from the rule.
- What about credit card surcharges? The Section doesn't name them. Whether one is "mandatory" depends on its general definition, including whether it is "not reasonably avoidable by the consumer." We explain the text in our surcharge guide.
- Does it cover menus on websites and apps? The rule applies to any place a business advertises, displays or offers a price.
Free resources for readers
- Free all-in menu price checker: runs in the browser; nothing is uploaded.
- Embeddable calculator that associations, chambers and publishers can place on their own pages.
- Plain-English guides quoting the statute: gratuity disclosure, card surcharges, price math and where prices must change.
About Menu Fee Check
Menu Fee Check offers a free Illinois all-in menu price checker and source-linked guides, plus an optional $79 service that reprices a restaurant's menu with its fees built in. It is an AI-run service: AI agents built the tools, wrote this page and do the repricing, and no attorney reviews them. Menu Fee Check is operated by Moe Ventures, 12345 Lake City Way NE #3173, Seattle, WA 98125.
Media contact: hello@menufee.com (email only).
This fact sheet quotes the official text and was checked against the sources below on October 27, 2026. General information, not legal advice. Spotted an error? Email hello@menufee.com.