If you are filing for a permit in New York City today, you will do it through DOB NOW, the Department of Buildings' online portal. Paper filings and the older BIS system have been retired for nearly every job type. For owners and contractors who last pulled a permit a few years ago, the shift can be disorienting: different account types, different forms, different names for the same alteration. This guide explains what DOB NOW is, how a filing moves through it, and where filings most often get stuck.
What DOB NOW is
DOB NOW is a set of connected web applications the department uses to run its work. The parts you will meet most often:
- DOB NOW: Build handles job filings, plan examination, permits, inspections requests tied to a job, Letters of Completion and Certificates of Occupancy. Nearly all alterations, new buildings, demolitions, plumbing, mechanical, sprinkler, standpipe, elevator and sign work is filed here.
- DOB NOW: Safety handles recurring compliance filings for existing buildings: facade inspection (FISP / Local Law 11), boilers, elevators, retaining walls, gas piping periodic inspections and similar programs.
- DOB NOW: Inspections is where inspections are scheduled and results are posted.
- DOB NOW: Licensing is where trade licenses, registrations and Site Safety Training records are managed.
- DOB NOW: BIS Options covers a few legacy transactions that still run against the older Building Information System.
Everything is tied to an eFiling account. The owner, the applicant of record (a licensed architect or engineer), the filing representative and the contractor each need their own account, and each has to take specific actions in the system for a filing to move forward. A filing cannot be submitted until the owner has electronically signed it, and a permit cannot be issued until the contractor has been added and has attested.
How a filing moves through DOB NOW: Build
- Job filing. The applicant of record creates the job, selects the job type (Alteration, Alteration with a change to the Certificate of Occupancy, New Building, Full Demolition, and so on) and the work types, and uploads the PW1 information, drawings and required documents. The owner signs. Fees are paid.
- Plan examination or professional certification. Standard filings are reviewed by a DOB plan examiner, who either approves the job or issues objections. Professionally certified filings are approved on the applicant's certification and may be audited later.
- Approval. Once every objection is resolved, the job is approved. Approval is not a permit.
- Permit. The contractor is added to the job with current registration and insurance, the required construction-stage documents are uploaded (site safety plan, tenant protection plan, TR1 inspector assignments as applicable), and the work permit is issued. Work can start.
- Inspections. Special inspections are performed by the assigned special inspection agency; DOB inspections are scheduled through DOB NOW: Inspections.
- Sign-off. Final inspection results, TR1 and TR8 sign-offs, and any other close-out documents are submitted. The job receives a Letter of Completion, or, where the use or occupancy changed, a new or amended Certificate of Occupancy.
What you can do in DOB NOW as an owner
- See every filing on your property and its current status
- Electronically sign filings and permit requests
- Pay fees
- Track objections and the applicant's responses
- Confirm which contractor is on the permit
- Look up open violations and required periodic filings under DOB NOW: Safety
Owners do not file jobs themselves. The applicant of record files, and a registered filing representative can handle the administrative work on the applicant's behalf. What owners can do is check on progress, sign promptly and pay fees on time, which removes the three most common owner-side delays.
Where filings most often get stuck
Property information that does not match DOB records. BIN, BBL, stories, units and occupancy on the filing have to agree with the Certificate of Occupancy and the property profile. Mismatches generate objections immediately.
Wrong job type or missing work types. Filing a job that changes use or egress as a plain alteration, or omitting plumbing or mechanical work types that appear on the drawings, leads to objections and sometimes a required refile.
Credentials and insurance. A contractor whose DOB registration, general liability, workers' compensation or disability coverage is not current in the system cannot be added to a permit.
Documents uploaded under the wrong category. DOB NOW requires each document to be tagged with a specific document type. A TR8 uploaded as a "supporting document" is treated as missing.
Nobody watching the queue. Objections, requests for information and permit-stage tasks appear in DOB NOW and generate emails, but if the owner, applicant and contractor are not coordinating, items sit for weeks. Most delayed jobs we take over were simply waiting on someone to act.
A few practical tips
- Set up your eFiling account before the project starts, and make sure the name matches the deed exactly.
- Ask the applicant for the job number as soon as the filing is created, and check the status in the DOB NOW Public Portal weekly.
- Confirm the contractor is registered and insured with DOB before signing the contract, not when the permit is requested.
- Keep the Schedule of Occupancy and the description of work in front of you when reviewing drawings. If they disagree, ask why.
- Plan for sign-off from day one. A permit without a Letter of Completion is an open item that will surface at refinancing or sale.
Where we come in
DOB NOW is unforgiving of small errors, and the errors are the same ones on every job. We handle DOB NOW filing assistance for owners and contractors who do not want to learn the system on a live project: setting up accounts, coordinating the applicant and contractor, tracking objections, and pushing the job through to sign-off. If a filing is already stuck, we can review it and tell you exactly what is holding it up.