How to look up violations on any NYC building
Every city agency keeps its own records. Here is where each one lives, what to search by, and what you will not find online.
Updated October 2026 by Central Fire, a veteran and firefighter owned fire protection company.
Open the building in DOB BIS and note the BIN. Check the DOB NOW Public Portal for newer filings. Check HPD Online if it is residential. Search FDNY Business and the OATH Summons Finder by address. Anything missing from all of those may simply not be online.
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Start with the building's DOB profile (BIS)
Go to the DOB Building Information Search (BIS), choose the borough, type the house number and street, and open the Property Profile.
Write down the BIN (Building Identification Number) and the block and lot. Every other search goes faster with them.
The profile shows DOB complaints, DOB violations and ECB violations, plus older job filings, permits and the certificate of occupancy.
DOB: Get Building History - 2
Check the DOB NOW Public Portal too
Newer filings live in DOB NOW, not BIS. Search the Public Portal by address, BIN, block and lot, or job number. No account is needed.
It shows DOB NOW job filings and permits, registered boilers and elevators, and compliance violations for things like boilers, elevators, facades and sprinklers.
For most of those types, only violations issued after November 2024 appear there. Older ones and ECB violations are in BIS, so you need both.
DOB NOW Public Portal FAQs - 3
Residential building? Search HPD Online
HPD Online covers housing maintenance complaints and violations, property registration, litigation, charges and vacate orders.
It only applies to residential buildings, so skip it for a store or office.
HPD Online - 4
Look for FDNY summonses and violation orders
FDNY Business has a search for FDNY summonses, criminal court summonses and violation orders. A basic search works without logging in.
Not every FDNY record is online. If you cannot find one, FDNY takes records requests.
A summons has a compliance date and an OATH hearing date. A violation order needs the condition fixed and a reinspection request.
FDNY: Violations - 5
Search OATH for summonses from every agency
Summonses from FDNY, DOB, Sanitation (DSNY), DEP and other agencies are heard at OATH, the city's hearing office (the old ECB).
The OATH Summons Finder searches by name, address or summons number, and shows the summons, the hearing date, the result and what is owed.
Restaurant summonses from the Health Department and Consumer Affairs cases are not in the Summons Finder.
OATH: Case status
- Some FDNY records and older violation copies, which take a records request.
- Pre-filing DOB NOW jobs, which need a login.
- Restaurant Health Department summonses, which are not in the OATH Summons Finder.
Found a fire violation?
Send it to us. We will tell you what it needs and what it costs to clear.
Questions
Looking up NYC building violations
Not from the city. DOB, HPD, FDNY and OATH each keep their own records, and some FDNY and older records are not online at all. That is why owners and managers either check each system or use a service that pulls them together, like Spotter NYC.
A DOB violation is a notice from the Department of Buildings to fix a condition, and it stays open until DOB accepts proof that it was fixed. An ECB violation is a summons, now heard at OATH, that can also carry a fine. Both show on the building's BIS profile.
The BIN, or Building Identification Number, is the number the city uses for one building. It is shown at the top of the building's Property Profile in DOB BIS. Searching by BIN avoids mix-ups with similar addresses.
Fix the condition, then send FDNY proof by the compliance date, usually a certificate of correction through FDNY Business. If it is a summons, it also has an OATH hearing. Central Fire handles fire extinguisher and fire safety violations start to finish. Send us the notice and we will tell you what it needs and what it costs.
Coming soon: Spotter NYC
Watch every building you manage with Spotter NYC.
The full record for any NYC building, from DOB filings to FDNY, HPD, OATH and Sanitation violations, with an email the moment something new is posted.
