An open DOB violation you never knew about tends to surface during someone else’s title search — usually a week before closing, when your leverage is already gone. Under NYC Administrative Code §28-204.4, failing to file a certificate of correction the Commissioner ordered carries a $1,250 penalty that jumps to $6,250 the moment the OATH hearing is missed. That record is public, free, and searchable by address — by you, and by every buyer’s attorney, lender, and title company in the city.
Most owners search once, see nothing alarming, and stop. The mistake is searching only DOB NOW — the newer portal — and missing years of history that still sits in the Building Information System. The second mistake is treating a repaired condition as a closed violation. Those are two different things, and only one of them clears a title search.
New York City DOB violations are public records searchable by property address at no cost through the Department of Buildings’ Building Information System and the DOB NOW Public Portal. Both accept an address, a Building Identification Number, or a borough-block-lot. No account, attorney, or title company is required to run the search.
At a Glance
- Searching BIS and DOB NOW costs nothing — DOB charges $8.00 per copy only for official copies of a violation, and $5.00 for each additional duplicate
- Miss the OATH hearing and the penalty is five times the standard amount — a $1,250 work-without-a-permit violation becomes $6,250
- 48 RCNY §6-21(e) gives you 75 days from a missed hearing to request a new one, and OATH grants that request only once per summons
- 1 RCNY §102-01 requires a certificate of correction acceptable to DOB within 60 days of service for Class 3 and cure-eligible Class 2 violations
- Work without a permit is charged under Admin Code §28-105.1 as a Class 2 violation: $1,250 standard, $6,250 on default
- BIS and DOB NOW search by address, BIN, or borough-block-lot — neither searches by owner name
How Do I Search DOB Violations by Address in NYC?
A DOB violation search by address is a free public lookup that takes about ten minutes when it’s done properly. The Department of Buildings publishes the records; nobody has to request them on your behalf. The sequence below pulls both the historical record and anything filed recently.
- Run the address through the ECB side first. Use the ABE ECB ticket finder to pull current ECB violations and hearing status in one step, so you know immediately whether a hearing date is pending.
- Search the Building Information System. Enter the address or borough-block-lot in DOB’s Building Information Search to pull the full property profile — jobs, filings, complaints, inspections, and violations.
- Cross-check the DOB NOW Public Portal. DOB’s Find Building Data page links the portal that holds applications, certificates of occupancy, and violations filed in DOB NOW — records that may not appear in BIS.
- Write down the violation number and issuing unit. Every DOB violation is corrected through the unit that issued it — Boiler, Elevator, Facade, Fire Safety, or Parking Structure each have their own path.
- Read the status field on every line. Open, Default, Dismissed, or Resolved determines whether anything is still owed. Dismissed DOB violations appear in BIS with an asterisk in the number, as in V*7052-18P.
- Confirm a certificate of correction is on file. A corrected condition with no accepted certificate still reads as open to a lender.
Finding the violations is the first step; closing them is the longer one. The complete guide to removing NYC building violations covers the filing process for each agency once you know what is open.
BIS or DOB NOW — Which System Has the Full Violation History?
The Building Information System and DOB NOW are two separate DOB databases that overlap but do not mirror each other. BIS holds the older record, including permits issued before DOB NOW launched. DOB NOW holds what has been filed in the newer system. Searching one and skipping the other is how owners miss violations.
| BIS (Building Information System) | DOB NOW Public Portal | |
|---|---|---|
| What it covers | Property profile with jobs, filings, complaints, inspections, violations, and permits issued before DOB NOW | Applications filed in DOB NOW, certificates of occupancy, compliance filings, and violations issued to owners |
| Best for | Full historical violation record on a property | Current job status and recent filings |
| Search by | Address, BIN (Building Identification Number), or borough-block-lot | Address, BIN, or job/filing number |
| Access | Free and public, no login to search | Free and public; an account is needed to file, not to look up |
Start with BIS for the history. Confirm anything recent in DOB NOW. If a violation appears in one system and not the other, that is not an error — it is why a complete search checks both.
What Does Each DOB Violation Status Actually Mean?
A violation status is the single field that determines whether a property can close, refinance, or pull a new permit. The status describes the record at the agency, not the condition at the building — a distinction that costs owners real money at the closing table.
| Status | What It Means | What It Blocks |
|---|---|---|
| Open | Active and unresolved at the issuing unit | New permits, refinancing, and frequently the sale itself |
| Default | The OATH hearing was missed; the penalty was imposed at five times the standard amount | Everything Open blocks, plus a judgment that can become a lien against the property |
| Dismissed | Contested and thrown out at hearing; shown in BIS with an asterisk, as in V*7052-18P | Nothing — the entry stays visible but is no longer an obstacle |
| Resolved / Closed | Corrected, proof accepted by the issuing unit, and civil penalties paid | Nothing, provided the certificate of correction is actually on file |
Why Does a Violation Still Show as Open After the Repair?
A certificate of correction is the filing that closes a violation in DOB’s records, and it is separate from the physical repair. DOB states the requirement plainly on its DOB Violations page: the condition must be corrected, proof of that correction must be provided to the issuing unit, and applicable civil penalties must be paid. Fix all three or the record does not move.
The clock is short. Under 1 RCNY §102-01, the DOB penalty schedule in force in 2026, a certificate of correction acceptable to the Department must be received no later than 60 days from the date the Notice of Violation was served for Class 3 violations and for Class 2 violations eligible for a cure. Class 1 violations require certification forthwith.
Ignoring the order has its own price tag. NYC Administrative Code §28-204.4 charges failure to comply with the Commissioner’s order to file a certificate of correction as a Class 2 violation at $1,250 — $6,250 if it goes to default. That is a penalty for paperwork, assessed on a building where the work may already be finished.
What Does an Open Violation Cost If It Goes to Default?
A default is what happens when nobody appears at the OATH hearing for a Notice of Violation. DOB’s OATH Hearings & Penalties guidance states the rule directly: fail to attend and you are found in violation with a penalty five times higher than the standard amount. The multiplier is automatic and applies whether or not the underlying condition was ever real.
| Charge | Admin Code Section / Class | Standard Penalty | Default Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work without a permit | §28-105.1, Class 2 | $1,250 | $6,250 |
| Failure to comply with the Commissioner’s order to file a certificate of correction | §28-204.4, Class 2 | $1,250 | $6,250 |
Penalty amounts above are as printed in the DOB penalty schedule at 1 RCNY §102-01, current in 2026. Other charges carry their own figures, but the five-times default structure is consistent across the schedule.
The 75-day window: Under 48 RCNY §6-21(e), if OATH’s Hearings Division receives the request for a new hearing within 75 days of the missed hearing date, OATH will grant it — and each defaulted summons gets that request only once. Past 75 days, the standard is discretionary and considerably harder. Check the date on the default before you do anything else. See OATH’s reopen a missed hearing instructions for the required form.
Which Agency Issued the Violation — and Why Does That Change the Fix?
Four city agencies write violations against New York City property, and each one closes them differently. A search result that says “violation” tells you nothing about the process until you identify the issuer. Route it wrong and you spend weeks filing with an agency that never had the record.
| Issuing Agency | Where It Shows Up | How It Closes |
|---|---|---|
| DOB | BIS and DOB NOW | Correct the condition, file proof with the issuing unit, pay civil penalties — see DOB violations |
| ECB (adjudicated at OATH) | BIS, DOB NOW, and OATH’s case system | Hearing, stipulation, or payment — see what an ECB violation actually is |
| HPD | HPD Online, not BIS | Correct and certify by class deadline — see HPD violations |
| FDNY | FDNY Business, with ECB summonses at OATH | Correct, then answer the order — see FDNY violation orders |
| DOT | DOT permit records and OATH | Sidewalk, roadway, and street-permit issues — see DOT violation services |
What Should I Do After I Find an Open Violation on My Address?
An open violation found on your own schedule is a manageable problem. The same violation found by a buyer’s attorney eleven days before closing is a price negotiation. The difference is entirely timing, and the steps below are what buys the time back.
- Identify the issuing agency and unit before doing anything else — DOB, ECB, HPD, FDNY, and DOT each have their own correction and hearing process.
- Find the hearing date and protect it. A hearing you attend is a negotiable penalty; a hearing you miss is five times the standard amount and a judgment on the property.
- Check the service date against the 60-day certificate window in 1 RCNY §102-01 if the violation is Class 3 or a cure-eligible Class 2.
- Pull documentation of any repair already made — invoices, permits, sign-offs, photographs — even if you are not sure it was ever filed with the agency.
- Confirm civil penalties are paid, not just assessed. DOB requires payment as part of removing a violation from the property record.
- Escalate anything older than a year or spanning multiple agencies. Stale records, prior owners, and cross-agency violations rarely resolve on a first filing.
For brokers and title professionals: a pre-listing violation search costs nothing and takes minutes, and it prevents the deal-stage surprise that shifts negotiating power to the buyer. See how All Boro Expediter works with real estate professionals on pre-listing and pre-closing violation reviews.
Search Your Address Before a Title Company Does
Valerie Samuel has spent years reading NYC violation records for owners, brokers, and title companies across all five boroughs — DOB, ECB, HPD, FDNY, and DOT. If a search turned up something you do not recognize, or a violation reads as open after the work was finished, she can tell you what it is, what closes it, and how long that realistically takes.
Contact Valerie Samuel at All Boro Expediter before a closing deadline sets your timeline, or review the full range of expediting and violation-clearing services.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a fee to search NYC DOB violations by address?
No. The Building Information System and the DOB NOW Public Portal are free public search tools, and no account or payment is required to look up a property’s violation history. The Department of Buildings charges only for official copies of a violation record — $8.00 per copy, and $5.00 for each additional duplicate copy.
What is the difference between a DOB violation and an ECB violation?
A DOB violation is the citation for the underlying code or permit condition, closed by correcting the condition and filing proof with the issuing unit. An ECB violation is the Notice of Violation that carries a civil penalty and is adjudicated at OATH. A property can have an open DOB violation with no ECB penalty settled yet, or the reverse — the condition corrected while the fine sits unpaid. Read more on what an ECB violation means.
Can I search NYC violations by owner name instead of address?
No. The Building Information System and DOB NOW are built around address, Building Identification Number, and borough-block-lot searches, not owner name. An owner holding several properties has to search each address individually to assemble a complete picture.
How long do I have to reopen a missed OATH hearing?
Under 48 RCNY §6-21(e), OATH will grant a request for a new hearing when its Hearings Division receives the request within 75 days of the missed hearing date, using the official OATH form. That request is available only once per defaulted summons. After 75 days, reopening is no longer automatic, and the default penalty — five times the standard amount — stands in the meantime.
Why does a violation still show as open after I fixed the problem?
Because correcting the physical condition and closing the violation in the agency’s system are two separate steps. DOB requires proof of correction provided to the issuing unit and payment of applicable civil penalties before the record changes. Until that certificate of correction is accepted, the address reads as open to any lender, attorney, or title company running a search.
How often should a NYC property owner search their own address?
At minimum before any sale, refinance, or new permit application — and on a routine schedule otherwise, because complaints and inspections can generate a Notice of Violation without advance notice to the owner. Owners carrying HPD exposure should also track certification deadlines; see how to clear HPD violations.
Do dismissed violations disappear from the record?
No. Dismissed and resolved violations stay visible in the historical record with a status showing they are no longer active. In the Building Information System, a dismissed DOB violation is displayed with an asterisk in the violation number, as in V*7052-18P.
