Understanding DOB NOW: Build and the NYC Filing Process

DOB NOW: Build is the system nearly every construction filing in New York City now goes through — sidewalk sheds and scaffold included — replacing the older BIS-based paper process for most work types.

The stages

1. Job filing: the applicant of record (a licensed professional, or a registered filing representative for eligible work) submits drawings and job details for the scope of work.
2. Plan examination or self-certification: many standard filings — sheds among them — can be self-certified by the applicant; others route to a DOB plan examiner, who can approve, object, or request revisions.
3. Objections: if DOB raises an objection, the filer responds with revised drawings or documentation; a filing can cycle through this more than once before it’s resolved.
4. Permit issuance: once approved, the permit is issued, fees are paid, and work can start within the scope the permit describes.
5. Inspections and sign-off: depending on the work type, DOB or a licensed special inspector verifies the completed work, and any required certificates get filed to close it out.

Where filings actually get stuck

In our experience it’s rarely the drawing itself — it’s a mismatch somewhere in the paper trail: an applicant of record who isn’t actually registered for that filing type, a property owner of record that doesn’t match ACRIS, an expired license on file, or a prior open violation at the address that DOB won’t let a new filing move past until it’s addressed. Catching those before submission is most of what separates a fast filing from a slow one.

Our pre-filing address report checks a site for exactly this kind of thing — open violations, landmark status, adjoining lots, active DOT permits on the block — before you price or schedule the job.