The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater star who, as a child, was a player in Chicago's first theater company. Two types of awards are given: "Equity" (annual judging season August 1 to July 31) for work done under an Actors' Equity Association contract, and "Non-Equity" (annual judging season April 1 to March 31) for non-union work. Award recipients are determined by a secret ballot.

In 2018, the committee merged the actor and actress performance categories, eliminating gender from consideration. Two awards are now awarded from each of the new performance categories, ensemble awards remain singular:

Performance categories

Show and technical categories

Special categories

Former

Performance categories

Show and technical categories