NYC DOB permit search: look up building permits by address
Search NYC DOB permits by address: the Department of Buildings' permit issuance and DOB NOW job filings, refreshed daily on NYC Open Data. Filter by zip or work type, free.
NYC DOB permit issuance data. Shows the most recent matching filing.
Enter a value above to run the lookup.
What permit data reveals
NYC's Department of Buildings publishes permit filings as open data: new buildings, demolitions, major alterations, plumbing, electrical, and more. A permit is a dated commitment to real work, which makes it one of the cleanest buying signals for the trades and suppliers that serve a project.
What the fields mean
- Permit type, new building, demolition, alteration; each predicts different work.
- Filing date, recency matters; the earlier you reach the account, the fewer competitors are there.
- Applicant, often the GC or architect; the owner is the account behind them.
Limits of the public record
Permit data tells you work is happening, not who to call to win the next job, the owner's decision-maker and their contact aren't in the file. That's the enrichment step we run daily.
NYC permit search questions
How do I look up a building permit in NYC?
Enter the address in the search above and it queries the Department of Buildings permit records directly, returning the most recent matching filing with its type, filing date, work description, applicant, and the owner on file. You can also search DOB records yourself through NYC Open Data, or the DOB NOW and BIS portals; this tool reads the same public data and shows the fields that matter for prospecting.
Are building permits public record?
Yes. Building permits are public records in effectively every US jurisdiction, and NYC publishes its permit filings as open data with a public API. Anyone can search them by address, and the filing includes the work type, the date, the applicant, and the property owner of record. What is never in the file is a verified way to reach the decision-maker.
What is the difference between DOB NOW and BIS?
BIS (Buildings Information System) is the legacy DOB system holding older filings; DOB NOW is the current system where new job filings and permits are submitted. Records live in both, split by era and filing type, which is why a single address can have history in each. This tool reads the published permit data so you do not have to check both.
How current is the NYC DOB permit data?
The Department of Buildings publishes permit data as open data with roughly daily updates, so a filing typically appears within a day or two of being issued. Recency is the whole point for prospecting: a permit is worth the most the week it is filed, and it decays from there as competitors notice it.
Can I search NYC permits by owner or contractor instead of address?
The underlying open data supports it, but address is the practical entry point for most work, which is what this tool takes. Searching by owner or contractor across a whole market, joining the results to violations and registrations, and verifying who to call is what the FieldClients feed does every day.
Related
Every permit, with the account attached.
We read the DOB feed daily and match each filing to its account. Browse the ones that fit what you do.
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