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Why a complete search requires more than one DOB website
New York City’s construction records are divided by filing system and agency. DOB NOW contains filings made in DOB NOW, while BIS continues to contain many earlier records and filings made through legacy eFiling or at a borough office. The Department of Buildings specifically advises searching both systems when researching all filings and permits for an address.
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DOB NOW’s public building profile can refresh status information in real time, but that does not mean it includes every historical record or every approval issued by another city agency. A zoning action, landmark permit or environmental review can remain outside DOB’s record set even when it is essential to the project.
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Start with the exact street address and borough. Record apartment, lot or building details if you have them. The most reliable identifier is often the building identification number (BIN). DOB says a BIN search is more inclusive than an address search because one building can have multiple addresses.
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- BIN: Preferred when available; it can connect records associated with multiple addresses in one building.
- Address: Useful when the BIN is unknown, but search variations in street name, direction and suffix may be necessary.
- Borough-block-lot (BBL): Helpful for linking property and land-use records.
- Job or application number: The fastest route when an owner, applicant, contractor or prior document has already supplied the identifier.
Keep the address, BIN, BBL and every job number together in one working note. A single property can have separate jobs for different scopes, construction phases or amendments.
2. Search the DOB NOW Public Portal
- Open the DOB NOW Public Portal.
- Choose the available search method: address, BIN, borough-block-lot or job number.
- Review the building profile and the BUILD: Job Filings area for job filings and permits.
- Check the portal’s related searches for violations, applications and other records tied to the property.
- Open each relevant filing and save its job number, filing type, status, status or modification date when shown, and the document or page URL.
The public portal reflects DOB NOW filings, not the complete legacy BIS record. Its status display is intended to update in real time, but a current portal status is not proof that every required city approval has been obtained.
What a public profile may not show
DOB explains that a public DOB NOW profile does not display pre-filing jobs. If you are logged in and have access to the relevant account, use the portal’s Job Number Search function to look for those records. A public address search remains useful for filings visible to anyone, but it should not be treated as an exhaustive list of every preliminary action.
3. Search BIS for older and legacy records
- Open BIS Building Information Search from DOB’s building-data page.
- Search by address, BIN, BBL or another identifier available in the system.
- Review the property profile’s jobs and filings, permits and applications, occupancy information, violations, complaints and inspections.
- Open each potentially relevant job and record the job number, filing type, status, dates and available documents.
BIS is particularly important for work filed before the property moved to DOB NOW and for submissions made through eFiling or at a borough office. The two systems are still operating with different scopes, so a search of only one can omit material records.
Search results that look different
DOB NOW and BIS do not use identical layouts or necessarily present the same status vocabulary. Treat the system in which a record appears, its filing era and its identifier as part of the record’s meaning. Do not assume that a line marked “completed” in one context closes every related filing.
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4. Build a record-by-record status trail
Do not track a project as one undifferentiated “permit.” Create a separate row for each job, application, permit and outside-agency approval. At minimum, capture these fields:
| Field | What to record | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Agency and system | DOB NOW, BIS, DCP/ZAP, BSA, LPC or CEQR | Shows which agency controls the status and which portal is authoritative. |
| Identifier | Job number, application number, CEQR number or other case ID | Prevents similarly named filings from being combined. |
| Property reference | Address, BIN and BBL | Helps reconcile one building with multiple addresses or parcels. |
| Filing or approval type | Construction job, permit, zoning application, variance, landmark permit or environmental review | Defines what the record actually authorizes. |
| Current status and date | Status label plus decision, modification or last-updated date shown | Creates a dated trail instead of relying on memory or a screenshot. |
| Next action | Inspection, response, permit issuance, hearing, resolution, sign-off or document request | Makes the tracker operational rather than merely archival. |
| Evidence | Saved PDF, page URL or downloaded record | Preserves what was visible if the online page later changes. |
DOB documentation uses job-filing statuses such as Approved, On Hold and Permit Entire. Read these labels in the context of the specific filing and system; they are not interchangeable with a zoning approval, a permit inspection or a final completion sign-off.
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A project can pass through several DOB milestones that answer different questions:
- Application or filing: The proposed work has been submitted for review.
- Approval: DOB has accepted the filing under its review process; approval is not necessarily the same as an issued permit.
- Permit issuance: The authorization to perform the permitted work has been issued for the applicable filing.
- Inspection: Required inspections or sign-offs are being performed and recorded.
- Post-approval amendment or renewal: The approved job has been changed or extended through a separate workflow.
- Letter of Completion or final close-out: The job’s completion documentation has been approved when the applicable prerequisites are satisfied.
DOB describes DOB NOW: Build as supporting applications, permits, inspections, post-approval amendments, renewals and Letters of Completion. For a DOB NOW job, a Letter of Completion becomes viewable in the public portal after approval. DOB describes completion prerequisites that can include signed-off permits, required inspections and completed applicable documents. Therefore, a permit that appears in the record is not by itself proof that the work has received final sign-off.
6. Set up monitoring that matches the filing type
DOB weekly job status emails
DOB offers a free weekly email service through its Job Status page. It is designed for entered construction job numbers. To locate an eligible number, DOB directs users to BIS and the property profile’s Jobs/Filings section.
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The service has important limits:
- It does not currently accept DOB NOW: Build job numbers.
- It does not send updates for jobs already completed, signed off or signed off with a Letter of Completion.
- It is a weekly notification service, not a complete project dashboard.
For DOB NOW: Build filings, check the DOB NOW Public Portal directly instead of waiting for the BIS email service.
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Emails and dashboards for filing participants
DOB NOW can send milestone emails to individuals associated with a filing. The online account dashboard lists filings associated with that user’s account; it does not automatically list every filing at an address. Owners, neighbors and researchers who are not filing stakeholders should use the public portal and maintain their own address-based tracker.
7. Find approvals outside the Department of Buildings
“Approval” can mean different legal or administrative actions. Identify the action first, then use the agency’s own record system. A DOB permit search cannot substitute for these searches.
Land-use and zoning applications: ZAP and City Planning Commission records
The Department of City Planning’s City Planning Commission Reports site contains official Commission actions, summaries of public review and recommendations. DCP’s Zoning Application Portal (ZAP) provides project pages and application materials and can be used to follow ULURP progress.
For many ULURP actions, review can involve community and borough bodies, the City Planning Commission, the City Council and the Mayor, although the required path depends on the action and exceptions apply. A zoning or land-use approval is a separate milestone from DOB construction-permit issuance.
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Board of Standards and Appeals applications
Use the BSA Applications 1998–Present search for active application status and written resolutions. After a vote, a resolution may take a few weeks to appear while it is drafted or prepared for upload. Record the vote date separately from the date the written resolution becomes available.
Landmark approvals
The Landmarks Preservation Commission’s Permit Application Search covers current application status and permits issued since January 1, 2016. Descriptions of pending applications rely on information identified by applicants and can change while LPC reviews them. Older records require a Records Access Request rather than the online search.
Environmental review and CEQR
Use the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Coordination CEQR Project Search to search by keyword, lead agency, CEQR number, project name, community district or borough/block/lot. The portal describes coverage for records filed since January 1, 2005, with some older records. If a record is missing, the portal advises requesting it from the lead agency.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.8. Compare parallel approvals without mixing them
When several agencies are involved, sort the tracker by the following comparison axes:
| Comparison axis | Question to answer |
|---|---|
| Agency and approval type | Is this a DOB construction filing, a zoning action, a BSA resolution, a landmark permit or an environmental record? |
| Identifier | Which job, application, resolution or CEQR number should be cited in correspondence? |
| Status and date | What does the controlling agency currently say, and when was that status recorded? |
| Portal coverage | Does the system cover this filing era, or should a legacy portal or records request be checked? |
| Next decision or close-out step | Is the next event a hearing, permit issuance, inspection, amendment, resolution upload or Letter of Completion? |
This approach prevents a zoning vote from being mistaken for a construction permit and prevents a “completed” label in one record from being treated as closure of every approval.
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9. Troubleshoot missing or confusing records
The address returns no useful result
- Verify the borough and street formatting.
- Try the BIN, BBL or a known job number.
- Search both DOB NOW and BIS; the property may be represented in only one system for the filing period.
- Check whether a multi-address building has separate address entries.
A job appears in BIS but not DOB NOW
That can be expected when the filing predates DOB NOW or was submitted through eFiling or a borough office. Keep the BIS record as the controlling source for that legacy filing and search DOB NOW separately for newer work.
The public profile does not show a pre-filing job
Use the logged-in Job Number Search function when you are authorized to access the filing. If you are not associated with the filing, document the public record’s limitation rather than assuming the job does not exist.
A status looks final, but construction is not fully closed out
Check for permits, inspections, amendments, renewals and a Letter of Completion as separate records. Confirm whether required inspections and documents have been completed before treating the project as closed.
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A zoning, landmark or environmental record is absent
Search the relevant agency’s system using the project name, BBL, application number or CEQR number. Confirm the system’s coverage dates. For older LPC material, use a Records Access Request; for a missing CEQR record, contact the lead agency as the CEQR portal instructs.
10. A repeatable research checklist
- Write down the exact address, borough, BIN and BBL.
- Search DOB NOW by BIN first, then address, BBL and known job numbers.
- Review BUILD: Job Filings, permits, violations, applications and related public records.
- Search BIS and inspect the Jobs/Filings section and the property’s permits, applications, inspections and violations.
- For every record, save the identifier, agency, filing type, status, date and supporting document.
- Classify each item as application, approval, permit, inspection, amendment, renewal or completion record.
- Determine whether zoning, BSA, landmark or CEQR review is plausible for the project scope, parcel and building status.
- Search ZAP and City Planning Commission records, BSA, LPC and CEQR as applicable.
- Subscribe to DOB weekly job-status emails only for eligible legacy job numbers; monitor DOB NOW jobs in the public portal.
- Recheck records after hearings, inspections, permit issuance, amendments or other expected milestones and update the status date.
What this method can—and cannot—establish
This workflow can assemble a defensible record of the filings and approvals visible in the responsible public systems. It cannot determine every approval required from an address alone. Required actions depend on the work scope, zoning circumstances, landmark status and the project’s filing history. Use the project-specific agency records to establish what has been approved, what remains pending and which close-out step is still outstanding.
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