NYC DOB NOW Inspections: Safety Violations, Elevators & Boilers Guide (2026)

The New York City Department of Buildings processes the vast majority of its active safety inspections, civil penalties, and compliance filings through DOB NOW: Safety — the digital portal that replaced legacy paper-based systems for a growing range of inspection types. For property owners in 2026, understanding DOB NOW inspections is essential: an active violation in DOB NOW can generate compounding monthly penalties, affect financing, and appear in due diligence searches without any direct notice to the owner.

This guide explains what types of inspections are processed through DOB NOW, what violations are issued, what financial penalties apply, and how to monitor your buildings for DOB NOW inspection activity automatically.

What Is DOB NOW: Safety and What Inspections Does It Cover?

DOB NOW: Safety is the inspection management and civil penalty processing module of the Department of Buildings' DOB NOW platform. It was introduced as a replacement for the older Electronic Buildings Information System (eBIS) and handles compliance for:

Elevator compliance inspections — annual testing, periodic inspections, and device certifications
Boiler and pressure vessel inspections — annual certificates and periodic compliance checks
Construction site safety inspections — site safety plans, sidewalk sheds, construction fences, and required safety officer designations
Facade compliance filings (FISP) — Facade Inspection Safety Program TR6 reports (Local Law 11) for buildings six stories and taller

All violations, civil penalties, and compliance records generated through DOB NOW: Safety are published to NYC Open Data, accessible to any system — including DOBGuard — that queries the public API.

Elevator Inspections in DOB NOW: FTC and CAT1 Violations Explained

Elevator compliance is one of the most active sources of DOB NOW civil penalties for NYC property owners. The NYC Construction Code requires that all elevator devices — passenger elevators, freight elevators, escalators, dumbwaiters, and accessibility lifts — undergo annual testing and periodic inspections. All filings and violations are processed through DOB NOW.

FTC — Failure to Certify

An FTC (Failure to Certify) violation is the most common elevator violation in DOB NOW. It is issued when an elevator device reaches the end of its annual certification period without a valid Certificate of Operation on file with the Department of Buildings. FTC violations appear automatically in DOB NOW: Safety when an elevator's certification expires, and civil penalties begin accruing from the date of issuance.

The certification process requires:

Annual inspection by a licensed elevator inspection agency (third-party or DOB direct)
Required periodic tests (Category 1 and Category 5, depending on device type and installation date)
Filing of test results and certificates through DOB NOW
DOB issuance of a valid Certificate of Operation — the Certificate must be posted in or near the elevator

Many FTC violations arise not because the inspection was not performed but because the paperwork filing through DOB NOW was delayed or contained errors. The DOB's system is automated: the penalty is issued the moment the certification period lapses, regardless of when the physical inspection occurred.

CAT1 — Category 1 Test Violation

A CAT1 violation is issued when a required Category 1 periodic test has not been completed and filed within the mandated timeframe. Category 1 tests are required annually for most elevator types and involve a no-load safety test of the elevator's braking and overspeed governor systems. CAT1 penalties are separate from FTC penalties and can compound simultaneously if both conditions exist for the same device.

IMMD — Immediately Hazardous

An IMMD designation (Immediately Hazardous) is the most serious elevator violation category. It is issued when an inspector finds an active safety defect that renders the elevator dangerous to operate. An IMMD designation typically requires the elevator to be taken out of service immediately (out-of-service tag applied) until the defect is repaired and re-inspected. IMMD violations generate the highest civil penalty exposure and must be resolved before the device can legally resume operation.

Elevator Civil Penalty Schedule (2026)

Violation Type	Penalty Range	Accrual
FTC — Failure to Certify	$1,000–$5,000 per device	Monthly until resolved
CAT1 — Test not completed	$1,000–$3,000 per device	Monthly until resolved
IMMD — Immediately Hazardous	$2,500–$10,000 per violation	Per occurrence

A building with three elevators, all on overlapping FTC cycles, can generate $3,000–$15,000 in elevator-related civil penalties per month through DOB NOW: Safety without any physical inspection failure — simply through paperwork and filing timing delays.

Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspections in DOB NOW

Boilers, pressure vessels, and high-pressure steam systems in NYC buildings require annual inspections and certificates of operation issued through DOB NOW. The compliance cycle mirrors the elevator certification process:

Annual inspection by a licensed inspection agency or authorized insurer
Filing of inspection results through DOB NOW
DOB review and Certificate of Operation issuance
Certificate must be displayed in the boiler room

Boiler Violation Types in DOB NOW

FTC — Failure to Certify: Expired or missing boiler Certificate of Operation. Same concept as elevator FTC; penalties accrue monthly.
Operating Without a Permit: Running a boiler without a current valid operating permit. This is separate from the Certificate of Operation and is a more serious violation.
Safety Defect: Inspector identifies a physical defect — relief valve failure, cracked boiler shell, malfunctioning safety controls — requiring out-of-service status and repair before resuming operation.

Boiler Penalty Schedule (2026)

Violation Type	Penalty Range
FTC — Failure to Certify	$500–$3,000 per device/month
Operating Without Permit	$1,000–$5,000 per occurrence
Uncorrected Safety Defect	$2,500–$10,000 per violation

Construction Site Safety Inspections in DOB NOW

For buildings undergoing construction, renovation, or demolition, DOB NOW: Safety handles enforcement for active construction site safety requirements. Construction sites with permitted work above a certain scope are required to maintain:

A DOB-approved Construction Site Safety Plan
A designated Site Safety Manager or Coordinator (for larger projects)
Required fencing, sidewalk sheds, and protected walkways meeting DOB specifications
Current and valid building permits for all work in progress

DOB inspectors conduct unannounced site safety inspections at active construction sites across all five boroughs. Violations issued through DOB NOW for construction site safety deficiencies include:

Expired permits: Continuing construction after a permit expires without renewal
Missing safety documentation: Site safety plan not on file or Site Safety Manager not designated for a qualifying project
Inadequate protection: Pedestrian protection (sidewalk shed, fence) not meeting DOB specifications
Stop Work Order (SWO): Issued when imminent danger is observed; all work must cease immediately until the SWO is lifted

DOB NOW Facade Compliance (FISP) Inspections

All Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP) filings — previously known as Local Law 11 — are now submitted and processed through DOB NOW: Safety. This is a critical point: older monitoring systems that only check the legacy BIS database will miss FISP violations entirely, because FISP filings no longer appear in BIS.

FISP applies to any NYC building six stories or taller. Every five years, a licensed Qualified Exterior Wall Inspector (QEWI) must inspect the building's exterior walls and file a TR6 report through DOB NOW, assigning one of four ratings:

SAFE: No remediation required; cycle obligation satisfied
SWARMP: Repair program required within the five-year cycle; follow-up filing required upon completion
UNSAFE: Immediate public protection required within 24 hours; emergency repairs required
No Report Filed: Deadline missed; $1,000/month late filing penalties accrue automatically

All three FISP penalty fields — late filing amount, failure-to-file amount, and failure-to-correct amount — are tracked in real time in the public DOB NOW dataset (xubg-57si) and monitored continuously by DOBGuard.

How DOB NOW Violations Are Issued

DOB NOW violations are issued through two mechanisms:

Automated System-Generated Violations

Many violations — particularly elevator and boiler FTC violations and FISP late filing penalties — are generated automatically by DOB NOW's backend system when a certification or filing deadline passes without a valid record on file. No inspector visit is required. The violation appears in DOB NOW: Safety and is published to NYC Open Data as soon as it is generated.

This is why building owners are often surprised to discover violations they were never notified about: the DOB does not send direct notification for system-generated violations. The penalty is simply issued and begins accruing.

Inspector-Issued Violations

DOB inspectors conducting physical site safety inspections, elevator inspections, or boiler inspections can issue violations directly through DOB NOW during or immediately after the inspection visit. Inspector-issued violations typically appear in the public record within 24–48 hours of issuance.

Borough Patterns in DOB NOW Inspection Activity

Manhattan

Highest absolute volume of DOB NOW violations of any borough, driven by the density of high-rise buildings, the number of FISP-eligible buildings, and the concentration of elevator and boiler devices per building. Midtown and Upper Manhattan have the most active DOB NOW enforcement records.

Brooklyn

Rapidly growing construction activity drives high DOB NOW permit and site safety inspection volume. Pre-war multifamily buildings in Crown Heights, Flatbush, and Bushwick generate significant elevator FTC and FISP violation activity.

Queens

Large commercial portfolio and growing mid-rise residential construction. Long Island City and Flushing have active DOB NOW construction safety inspection activity. Many Queens buildings built in the 1960s–1980s are entering peak elevator certification complexity periods.

The Bronx

High concentration of public housing and older multifamily stock generates significant elevator and boiler violation activity in DOB NOW. Penalty balances per building are often higher in the Bronx relative to building values than in other boroughs.

Staten Island

Lower absolute volume but still subject to all DOB NOW requirements for qualifying buildings. Commercial properties in St. George and New Springville generate the most DOB NOW inspection activity in the borough.

DOB NOW Inspections and Property Due Diligence

Before acquiring or refinancing any NYC building, the DOB NOW Safety record should be reviewed as part of standard property due diligence. Specifically:

All active safety violations (dataset 855j-jady) — open elevator FTC, boiler violations, construction safety violations with accrued penalties
Current FISP status (dataset xubg-57si) — any UNSAFE or SWARMP designation with penalty balances
Active permit status — any expired or unapproved permits for work in progress
Stop Work Orders — any active SWOs that restrict construction activity

Open DOB NOW violations with accrued penalties are enforceable as property liens. They are disclosed in title searches, visible to lenders' due diligence teams, and may appear as encumbrances in purchase and sale agreements. Buyers who close without identifying open DOB NOW violations acquire not only the property but all outstanding penalty obligations.

Automated DOB NOW Inspection Monitoring with DOBGuard

DOBGuard monitors both of the primary DOB NOW Safety datasets — the safety violations dataset (855j-jady) and the facades compliance filings dataset (xubg-57si) — along with 13 additional NYC Open Data building compliance datasets, every hour, for all of your registered properties.

When a new DOB NOW violation, status change, or penalty is detected for any of your properties, DOBGuard sends an immediate alert through your configured channels (email and SMS). Alert severity levels for DOB NOW inspection events:

CRITICAL: FISP UNSAFE facade designation — 24-hour public protection deadline
CRITICAL: Elevator or boiler IMMD (Immediately Hazardous) violation — device must be taken out of service
HIGH: New elevator FTC or CAT1 violation — penalties accruing monthly
HIGH: New boiler FTC or safety defect violation
HIGH: FISP SWARMP or No Report Filed with assessed penalties
MEDIUM: Construction site safety violation issued
MEDIUM: Stop Work Order issued for active permit

For owners and managers of multi-building portfolios, DOBGuard eliminates the need to manually check DOB NOW for each building on each inspection cycle. You receive notifications only when something changes — and you receive them before compounding penalties transform a resolvable issue into a significant financial liability.

Frequently Asked Questions About NYC DOB NOW Inspections

How do I know if my building has an open DOB NOW inspection violation?

You can check DOB NOW online at dobonline.nyc.gov using your building's address or BIN. Alternatively, the NYC Open Data portal provides API access to both the safety violations dataset (855j-jady) and the facades compliance dataset (xubg-57si). DOBGuard provides a free property lookup that checks all 15+ monitored datasets simultaneously.

Can elevator FTC violations appear even if the elevator was inspected on time?

Yes. FTC violations are generated when the Certificate of Operation lapses — which is driven by DOB filing dates, not physical inspection dates. If an elevator is inspected on time but the certification filing through DOB NOW is delayed or contains errors that prevent certificate issuance, an FTC violation will be generated automatically when the previous certificate expires. The physical inspection and the administrative filing are two separate events.

Does DOB NOW replace all BIS-era violations?

No. BIS-era violations — ECB violations, older DOB violations, HPD violations — remain in the legacy BIS system. DOB NOW contains only violations and filings processed through the new system from its rollout forward. Complete compliance monitoring requires both BIS and DOB NOW. DOBGuard monitors both.

How quickly do DOB NOW violations appear in public records?

System-generated violations (FTC, late filing penalties) appear in NYC Open Data within hours of being generated in DOB NOW. Inspector-issued violations typically appear within 24–48 hours of the inspection date. DOBGuard checks every hour, so you are notified within hours of a violation becoming public.

Are DOB NOW inspection violations the same as ECB violations?

No. ECB (Environmental Control Board) violations are civil penalties issued through the NYC Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) for DOB code violations. They appear in a separate dataset. DOB NOW civil penalties are assessed directly by the Department of Buildings through its own enforcement system. Both types are monitored by DOBGuard.

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Last updated: February 2026. This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a licensed architect, engineer, or attorney for specific compliance situations.