Certificates of Occupancy

We provide Permit and COO Drawings that can be submitted with Certificate of Occupancy applications. Our COO services typically include:

  • Field verification of existing space or building

  • Existing building drawings

  • Proposed building drawings

  • Code review and life safety drawings

  • Coordination with the municipality on building and zoning code requirements

  • Building Permit submission, where required

A Certificate of Occupancy (COO) can be required by a municipality when a building or space undergoes a change of use or tenancy. The purpose of this process is to certify that the existing building or space complies with building and zoning codes for the new use.

The intent of our COO services is to evaluate the space for building and zoning code compliance for the new proposed use, and provide drawings to the municipality demonstrating compliance. We look for things such as zoning allowances, parking counts, occupancy loads, accessibility, exits, and sprinkler requirements. If the building requires updates in order to meet compliance, a Building Permit will also need to be submitted showing the updates that will be made in order to bring the building into compliance. We will discuss any of these findings with you and create a plan for meeting any necessary requirements.

It is your responsibility to ensure that any required updates indicated in the drawings are made to the space, so that the building inspector can verify that the updates are in alignment with the submitted and approved drawings. These will need to be completed prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy.

In some cases, the building may require re-zoning or a special exception from the Board of Adjustments in order to comply with zoning code. We are able to assist with this process as well, as an additional service.