How to Look Up NYC Building Violations (2026 Methods)

01 · ORIENTATIONWhat "looking up violations" actually means in NYC

When you say "look up a NYC building's violations," you're really doing five searches at once. Each city agency maintains its own portal, each portal uses slightly different identifiers, and each one surfaces different kinds of records. An address's "full picture" requires pulling from all five — and reconciling them.

This guide walks you through each method, in the order most pros use them, with the gotchas that cause lookups to miss violations.

02 · IDENTIFIERSThe three keys to a NYC building

BIN — Building Identification Number

7-digit number. One per building. The primary key for DOB records. Example: 1086422. Starts with the borough digit (1 = Manhattan, 2 = Bronx, 3 = Brooklyn, 4 = Queens, 5 = Staten Island).

BBL — Borough, Block, Lot

A tax-lot identifier: 1 digit for borough, 5 for block, 4 for lot. Example: 1-00845-0041. One BBL can contain multiple BINs; one BIN can span multiple BBLs.

Address

Human-readable but the least reliable. NYC addresses have multiple valid forms (e.g., "350 5th Ave", "350 Fifth Avenue", "350 5TH AVE") and address-to-BIN lookup fails often for corner lots, new construction, and buildings mid-renumber.

Rule of thumb: start with an address, but convert to BIN and BBL as fast as possible. Every downstream search uses BIN or BBL, not address.

03 · METHOD 1 · BISThe DOB legacy portal (still the source of truth)

URL

a810-bisweb.nyc.gov

What it covers

All historical DOB records: violations, complaints, permits, inspections, certificates of occupancy, zoning maps. Pre-2020 records live here in their fullest form. Post-2020 records may be partial — see DOB NOW.

How to search

1. Go to the BIS homepage
2. Click "BIS Online Help" → "Property Profile Overview"
3. Enter BIN, BBL, or address
4. Select the property from the disambiguation list
5. You land on the Property Profile — the master view
6. Click "Violations" in the left nav for the DOB violation record
7. Click "ECB Violations" for the monetary violation docket
8. Click "Complaints" for 311-originated complaints

Gotchas

• BIS shows "Active" status but doesn't distinguish "cured pending certification" from "genuinely open"
• Cross-street corner buildings may have split records under different BINs
• Session timeout is aggressive — keep an eye on it

Full tutorial: NYC BIS Search Guide.

04 · METHOD 2 · DOB NOWThe modern DOB portal

URL

www.nyc.gov/dobnow

What it covers

Modern job filings, modern permit applications, inspection requests, electronic certificate of correction filings, facade (FISP) filings, certain violation responses. Anything filed digitally post-migration lives here.

How to search

Public search is under "DOB NOW Public Portal." Search by BIN, job number, or NOV number. Note: some data requires creating an account to view in full.

Gotchas

• Partial migration — some records are in BIS only, some in DOB NOW only, some duplicated
• The same violation may show different statuses across BIS and DOB NOW during cure periods

See also: DOB NOW vs BIS.

05 · METHOD 3 · HPDONLINEThe housing code portal

URL

hpdonline.nyc.gov

What it covers

HPD violations at the unit (apartment) level, open complaints, inspection history, registration status, AEP status, recent litigation. This is the definitive source for rental-building compliance.

How to search

1. Go to HPDOnline
2. Enter address or BIN
3. View the building summary — shows violations by class (A/B/C) and apartment
4. Click into specific violations for detail

Gotchas

• HPD violations attach to apartments, not buildings — same address can have many open violations spread across units
• "Cert pending" is a common middle state that neither counts as open nor closed
• The "Open Violations" count on the summary page is updated daily, but apartment-level detail is real-time

06 · METHOD 4 · OATH/ECB PORTALThe fine docket

URL

appsext.oath.nyc.gov (ECB search)

What it covers

The adjudication record for monetary violations: hearing dates, hearing outcomes, default judgments, payment status, motion history.

How to search

Search by violation number (starts with 35 for ECB, 13 or 14 for newer OATH, B for Buildings), by respondent, or by address.

Gotchas

• Payment status and violation status are separate fields — a violation can be dismissed but still show as "unpaid" if fees remain
• Motion to reopen windows close at 60 days from default — this portal doesn't flag the deadline
• Remote hearing links aren't stored here — they come by email to the respondent

Full OATH guide: ECB / OATH Hearings Explained.

07 · METHOD 5 · 311 COMPLAINT MAPThe pre-violation signal

URL

portal.311.nyc.gov or data.cityofnewyork.us for the 311 dataset

What it covers

Every 311 complaint logged, with agency routing (HPD, DOB, DEP, etc.), status, and close-out notes. This is where owners see problems before they become violations.

Why this matters

Roughly 40–60% of 311 complaints convert to violations within 30 days. A monitored 311 feed gives you 1–3 weeks of head start on a violation — enough time to cure before an inspector arrives.

08 · BOROUGH-SPECIFIC NOTESWhere addresses go wrong

• Manhattan: address-to-BIN lookup is most reliable. Numbered avenues and streets normalize cleanly.
• Brooklyn: pre-consolidation street names still appear in some DOB records. "Aberdeen" vs "Aberdeen Street" can split results.
• Queens: the dash-number street grid (e.g. "34-56 82nd Street") breaks naive normalization. Always verify by BIN.
• Bronx: similar to Brooklyn — expect some Spanish-language address alternates.
• Staten Island: most sprawling, most corner-lot issues.

09 · DOING THIS ALL AT ONCEThe one-search approach

Running all five searches manually for one address takes 15–30 minutes — and misses things when the portals disagree or when a violation appears in only one system during its cure window.

The ViolationWatch free lookup runs a parallel search across all five sources (plus DEP, FDNY, DOH, DOT, and 311) in about 3 seconds. For one-off checks it's the fastest option. For continuous monitoring, the ViolationWatch product alerts you when any new signal appears in any of these systems.

10 · QUICK REFERENCEThe lookup cheat sheet