The NYC Department of Buildings runs two distinct online systems — Building Information System (BIS) and DOB NOW — and the relationship between them is the source of real confusion for owners, expediters, and even some agency staff. The migration from BIS to DOB NOW has been underway for years and is still incomplete. Knowing which system handles what saves hours.
The short answer
DOB NOW is the modern system. New permits, new applications, most periodic compliance filings (LL84 doesn't go through DOB NOW — that's PM/EPA), inspections scheduling, and certificates of occupancy are all in DOB NOW.
BIS is the legacy system. Historical records, older job filings, older permits, and certain niche workflows that have not yet been migrated still live in BIS.
If you are looking up the history of a building — what permits were filed in 1998, what the original CO was — you go to BIS. If you are doing something today — filing a permit, scheduling an inspection, certifying a deficiency — you go to DOB NOW.
What DOB NOW handles
The DOB NOW migration is now complete or near-complete for these workflows:
- Job filings: NB (new building), Alt-1, Alt-2, Alt-3 alterations. All current job applications.
- Plumbing, electrical, and elevator filings.
- Inspections: scheduling, results, follow-up.
- Permits: issuance, renewal, certificate of occupancy.
- Periodic compliance filings: LL97 emissions reports, LL87 EER and RCx, LL11/FISP TFR, LL126 reports, LL152 gas certifications.
- License renewals: contractor, plumber, electrician, hoist operator, etc.
- Penalties and after-the-fact filings.
The portals split by domain:
- DOB NOW: Build — job filings.
- DOB NOW: Inspections — inspection scheduling.
- DOB NOW: Safety — periodic compliance.
- DOB NOW: Licensing — credentials.
Each requires a separate eFiling account, though they share login credentials.
What still lives in BIS
BIS retains:
- Historical permit records prior to the BIS-to-NOW migration date for that filing type.
- Older Certificates of Occupancy that haven't been re-issued since migration.
- Complaint history, particularly older complaints. The 311 / DOB complaint search lives partially in BIS.
- OATH violation history — though the ECB / OATH portal also covers this.
- Some specific filings that have not been migrated: certain hoist applications, certain niche legacy jobs.
If you are doing diligence on a building and need to know its full history, you check both systems and triangulate.
The migration headache
The migration is the source of practical pain. Some specific failure modes owners hit:
A job filed in 2018 in BIS, with permit issued in 2018, that needs a renewal in 2026. The renewal sometimes has to be filed in DOB NOW even though the original is in BIS. Sometimes DOB requires the original to be "migrated" first, which is its own subprocess.
A Certificate of Occupancy issued in 2010, currently visible in BIS but not in DOB NOW. If you are getting a refinance and the lender's title company pulls only DOB NOW, the CO may not appear and you need to direct them to BIS.
Open jobs in BIS that block new filings in DOB NOW. A 2014 alteration job that was permitted but never finaled stays open in BIS. When you try to file a new alt in DOB NOW, the system flags the open job and you have to close it (sometimes by re-opening, sometimes by withdrawing) before proceeding.
Different status terminology. BIS uses different status codes for the same lifecycle state. A job "PERMIT ISSUED" in BIS maps to "Permit Issued" in DOB NOW, but the date format and the specific status may differ.
Day-to-day workflows
A pragmatic mental model:
Filing anything new today: DOB NOW. Always. Even if there is an open BIS job that needs to close first, the new filing happens in NOW.
Looking up records older than five years: start with BIS. Verify in NOW.
Inspections: NOW (Inspections module). The day of the inspection, the inspector's tablet shows the NOW record.
Periodic compliance: NOW (Safety module). LL97, LL87, LL11, LL126, LL152.
Boiler and elevator filings: NOW. Boiler annual inspections, elevator periodic inspections.
License renewals: NOW (Licensing). Architects, engineers, plumbers, electricians, hoist operators.
Title insurance / refinance diligence: BIS for history, NOW for current status. Provide both to lenders.
OATH / ECB violation history: NOW or the OATH portal directly. ECB Search is separate again.
If you are training a new property manager, the single most useful thing you can teach them is the mental map of "where does this live." The systems are not intuitive and you cannot search across them.
The "Property Profile" hack
The single most useful page for owners is the Property Profile in DOB NOW (and the equivalent in BIS — the BIS Property Profile). It pulls together:
- All open and closed jobs.
- All current permits.
- Inspections history.
- Open violations.
- Periodic compliance status.
If you spend any time looking up buildings, bookmark the profile pages. Use the BIN — Building Identification Number — as the primary key, not the address. Addresses change; BINs do not.
Common mistakes
Searching by address only. Addresses get aliased, abbreviated, and change format. "123 Main Street" and "123 Main St." may not match. Use the BIN.
Trusting BIS for current status. BIS data lags. If you are checking whether a permit is still active, NOW is authoritative.
Not checking both systems during diligence. A buyer's attorney who only pulls BIS misses recent filings; a buyer's attorney who only pulls NOW misses historical violations.
Filing in the wrong portal. Specific filings have specific portals (Build vs. Inspections vs. Safety vs. Licensing). Filing in the wrong one rejects the submission.
What is changing
DOB has been incrementally migrating remaining BIS workflows for years. Each year a few more job types and filing categories shift. The roadmap is published, but slip. As of 2026:
- The bulk of new workflows are in NOW.
- Historical records will likely remain in BIS indefinitely for searchability.
- Specific niche workflows still vary.
Staying current means subscribing to DOB Service Updates and watching the Industry Notice releases. Or letting a system like LLDesk translate the agency's announcements into the practical implications for your portfolio.
Key takeaways
- DOB NOW handles new filings, inspections, permits, and periodic compliance. BIS retains historical records and some legacy workflows.
- New filings always go in NOW. Diligence on older buildings requires both systems.
- Use BIN (Building Identification Number) as the primary key. Addresses are unreliable.
- Open BIS jobs can block new NOW filings — close them out before starting new work.
- The split is real and not going away soon. Build the mental map and bookmark the property profile pages.