01 / 03
Missing an OATH hearing is an automatic default — up to the full fine amount.
NYC ECB · real-time
ECB · Detection engine
Find every ECB ticket on your building, before the default judgment.
ECB is where NYC violations become fines. Run the free ECB ticket finder to see every open NOV and OATH hearing tied to your address — then keep monitoring so the next one never lands without warning.
Live scan
Every few minutes
210K+
2024 volume
~15 min
Alert latency
app.violationwatch.nyc
— ECB ticket finder
How to find an ECB ticket on your building.
An ECB ticket is a Notice of Violation issued by DOB, FDNY, DEP, DSNY or another enforcement agency and heard at OATH. There are three ways to find one, and which you use depends on what you have in hand — an address, a ticket number, or nothing but the name on the deed.
01
By address
The most complete route. Every ticket is tied to a BIN, so an address search returns the whole history — open, paid, dismissed and defaulted — not just what is currently outstanding.
02
By ticket number
Fastest if you are holding the NOV. ECB ticket numbers are 9 or 10 digits and print in the top-right corner of the served notice. One ticket, one record — it will not show you anything else on the building.
03
By respondent name
Useful when a portfolio is held across LLCs. Matches on the name served, which is often the managing agent rather than the owner — so it misses tickets served on a different entity for the same building.
Why the search matters
A missed ECB hearing becomes a default judgment.
If nobody appears at the OATH hearing, the ticket defaults and the penalty jumps to the maximum for that violation class — frequently several times the amount that would have settled it. Default judgments attach to the property, block permit issuance and surface in due diligence on any sale or refinance. Reopening one means filing a motion to vacate and proving you were never properly served.
Served
The NOV lists a hearing date, usually 30–60 days out.
Hearing day
Appear, settle, or request an adjournment. Silence is the expensive option.
Default
Maximum penalty imposed, judgment docketed against the property.
This is the case for finding tickets early rather than at hearing time. Our detection engine fuses agency records, inspection filings and adjacency signals to surface a new ECB ticket on your building within about 15 minutes of it appearing — while the hearing date is still weeks away and the penalty is still negotiable.
The problem
Why ECB monitoring is hard to do manually.
02 / 03
Fines escalate 2–5× when left unpaid past 30 days.
03 / 03
NOVs move between agencies (DOB, FDNY, DEP) but all converge at OATH.
What we detect
Every signal our engine surfaces for ECB.
Our detection engine fuses filings, inspection outcomes, complaint routing, and derivative signals into one feed. Public records are one input among many — never the ceiling.
- Notices of violation (NOV) from any issuing agency
- Scheduled OATH hearing dates
- Hearing outcomes (dismissed / fined / upheld)
- Default judgments
- Payment status and outstanding balances
- Motion to re-open windows
- Stipulations and settlement offers
- Related enforcement agency actions
210K+
ECB notices issued citywide in 2024
ViolationWatch detects every one of them
Classes & fines
Know the severity before it knows you.
ECB violations escalate in tiers. Every alert we send includes class, fine exposure, cure window, and the exact source record — no digging required.
Severity
Class & description
Our handling
CRITICAL
Class 1 — Hazardous
Highest penalty tier. Hearing mandatory.
Instant alert · routed
WARN
Class 2 — Major
Significant fine. Can often be mitigated at OATH.
Instant alert · routed
INFO
Class 3 — Lesser
Lower fine. Often settled via cure by mail.
Instant alert · routed
Typical fine range · $100 – $25,000+
Check a specific address →The workflow
How ECB monitoring works for your buildings.
01
Add a building by address
Paste any NYC address. Our engine auto-resolves to BIN & BBL, backfills prior ECB history, and flags every open item on day one.
02
Our engine monitors 24/7
Signal fusion across every ECB source runs continuously. New filings, inspection outcomes, and derivative indicators are caught within minutes.
03
Alerts route to the right people
Email, WhatsApp, Slack, SMS — per-building and per-severity. Your super sees heat complaints; your counsel sees Class 1s and OATH dates.
Address-level search
Every NOV, every OATH hearing — before the default.
ECB monitoring needs to do three things fast: catch every new Notice of Violation (from DOB, FDNY, DEP, or any other issuing agency), surface the OATH hearing date attached to each ticket, and flag any default judgment before it crystallizes. Our detection engine does all three continuously. For a one-time search, use the free ECB ticket finder.
Missing an OATH hearing is an automatic default — up to the full fine. Real-time alerts catch every new NOV and every hearing date the moment they hit the ECB system, with calendar invites routed to the person who needs to show up.
Common questions
What is an ECB ticket?
An ECB ticket is a Notice of Violation issued by a New York City agency — DOB, FDNY, DEP, Sanitation, DOHMH or DCWP — that carries a monetary penalty and a hearing date before the OATH Hearings Division, formerly the Environmental Control Board. The agency writes the ticket; OATH decides it. It is a separate record from the underlying DOB violation, which is why curing the condition does not close the ticket.
How do I find an ECB ticket without the ticket number?
Search by property rather than by ticket. The OATH docket can be searched by address or by BIN, which returns every NOV tied to the building regardless of which agency issued it. If an address search returns nothing, look up the BIN first — corner buildings and complexes are frequently filed under a different primary address than the one on the door.
What happens if I miss an OATH hearing?
Missing the hearing produces a default judgment, and the penalty changes from the default amount printed on the NOV to the maximum amount — commonly a five- to ten-fold increase. You also lose the right to contest the violation. Under 48 RCNY §6-21 you can file a motion to reopen within 60 days of the default; motions filed in the first 30 days succeed more often than late ones.
How long does an unpaid ECB fine stay on a building?
Indefinitely, and it grows. Unpaid judgments accrue interest and can be referred to collection after roughly a year. Judgments of sufficient size and age can be converted into a judgment lien against the property through the NYC Law Department, which blocks refinancing and clouds title at sale.
Is this the same as searching the OATH website?
The OATH website searches one ticket or one property at a time, and shows you the record as it stands at that moment. ViolationWatch resolves the building once and keeps watching it, so a new NOV, a rescheduled hearing or an entered default judgment reaches you as it happens rather than at the next time you think to check.
ECB guides
Go deeper on ECB compliance.
DOB
HPD
ECB
FDNY
Best NYC Violation Monitoring Tools & Services (2026)
An honest, up-to-date comparison of the best ways to monitor NYC building violations in 2026 — ViolationWatch, SiteCompli, the free NYC.gov portals, DOBGuard and more.
Read the guide →
DOB
HPD
ECB
Best Free NYC Building Violation Lookup Tools (2026)
The best free ways to look up NYC building violations in 2026 — the official DOB, HPD, and OATH/ECB portals, what each covers, and where the free tools fall short.
Read the guide →
DOB
HPD
ECB
FDNY
311
NYC Building Violation Lookup by Address — All 7 Agencies (2026)
The complete 2026 walkthrough for searching every NYC compliance signal at any address — BIS, DOB NOW, HPD Online, OATH, FDNY, 311, and DOF — and the single shortcut that runs all seven at once.
Read the guide →
ECB
OATH
ECB Violations in NYC: Fines, Hearings & OATH
What an ECB violation is, how it converts to an OATH hearing, and the 7 moves every property owner should make in the 30 days between NOV and default.
Read the guide →
DOB
HPD
ECB
FDNY
311
NYC Building Compliance Monitoring: The Essential Guide
Why compliance monitoring exists, what "multi-signal detection" actually means, and the eight signals every NYC portfolio should be tracking today.
Read the guide →
DOB
HPD
ECB
Best NYC Violation Removal & Cure Services (2026)
How to clear open NYC violations in 2026 — removal firms, expediters, licensed pros, OATH hearing reps, and DIY legalization compared on what they fix, speed, and cost.
Read the guide →Related monitoring
Every NYC agency. One signal feed.
DOB
Department of Buildings
Permits · stop-works · FISP
View coverage →
HPD
Housing Preservation & Development
Class A / B / C · heat season
View coverage →
FDNY
Fire Department of New York
Fire code · C of F · vacates
View coverage →
311
City Service Complaints
Early warning · pre-violation
View coverage →Start today
Start monitoring ECB today.
Seven-day free trial. Cancel anytime. Setup in under a minute. Cover one building or a whole portfolio — same engine, same speed.