A building-record search can produce a reassuring word such as approved without answering whether a particular piece of work has an issued permit or reached completion. Read the record’s system, job and scope before interpreting the status. This is a New York City record-reading guide for a discussion with the building and qualified professionals, not a determination that proposed renovation work is lawful or needs no further approval.
Identify the system before decoding the word
The Department of Buildings says its public portal reflects DOB NOW filings, while filings made through eFiling or a borough office remain in BIS. Its FAQ also says plans are not visible in the public portal and directs users to a separate records-request process. A missing result or absent drawing should not silently become proof that a job never existed.
Retain the exact address/property identifier, job number, work scope, system and date you checked. If a building has several filings, keep them separate. A record for an elevator or a different unit is not automatically a record for the renovation you are asking about.
The agency itself separates the stages
In the city’s BIS job-status table, Approved refers to plan-examination approval, while Permit-Entire describes a permit issued for the entire job/work. Separately, the DOB NOW filing guide places job-filing approval before submitting and reviewing a permit request. Do not collapse those stages into one general label.
Completion also needs the right record
The DOB NOW guide says post-permit activities differ: some applications require a new or amended Certificate of Occupancy, while others should be signed off after work is completed. This does not identify the requirement for your particular job. Ask the owner/applicant or qualified professional what completion evidence applies to the actual scope.
An original question note can separate what the public record shows from what needs confirmation: the selected filing/status, the specific work it covers, any issued-permit details and the relevant completion question. Keep the exact labels rather than translating all of them into finished. No private job or permit was checked for this article.
Use the record to ask, not to self-authorize
Before paying for work or making dependent arrangements, have the responsible building representative and qualified professionals resolve the actual authorization, scope and completion questions. This guide gives no instructions for filing, performing construction or deciding whether a particular project is exempt. A useful status note makes the evidence and unanswered questions easier to discuss without claiming that one screen supplies legal clearance.
Sources & further reading
Published sources for the details and examples discussed in this story.
