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A building owner is responsible for the project, but who files with the Department of Buildings (DOB) depends on the type of filing. For most construction plans, a registered design professional serves as the Applicant of Record, while the owner provides the required consent or attestation.
Here we explain what that responsibility means for your project. It isn’t legal advice, and DOB or your design professional has the final word on your specific building.
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A DOB filing for roof work starts with an application, and the permit is what authorizes the work to begin. Most filings go through DOB NOW: Build, DOB’s online platform. A narrower set, including renewals on older jobs and a few specific work categories, still runs through DOB’s older eFiling system while that transition continues.
What goes into the application depends on the scope of the work, not the trade doing it. A like-for-like re-roof is a different filing than one that changes the assembly, adds rooftop equipment, or affects drainage or structure.
Drawings come into it when the scope calls for them: work that changes structure, load or life-safety systems generally needs plans a registered design professional seals. Not every roof job needs a permit at all; DOB exempts some minor and non-structural work. The applicable filing category depends on the scope of work and DOB requirements, with the registered design professional responsible for the filing where one is required.
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Owner | Ultimately responsible for the project. Provides the required consent or attestation where applicable, and may be the Applicant of Record directly for certain work types. |
| Registered Design Professional | Usually serves as the Applicant of Record on construction plans, preparing and sealing drawings when the scope requires them. |
| Filing Representative | Helps prepare the filing: entering information, uploading documents, and managing filing-related tasks on the applicant's behalf. Cannot be the Applicant of Record, cannot attest, and cannot submit the filing or the permit. |
| Roofing Contractor | Typically requests the separate work permit once the job filing is approved, and performs the work to that approved scope. Not the Applicant of Record on the underlying filing in most cases. |
Confusion about which of these four does what can stall a filed roof project before it starts.The job filing and the work permit are separate DOB records, and the person or entity responsible for each step can differ. A design professional is usually the Applicant of Record on the filing itself, while the contractor typically requests the work permit that follows it.
A co-op or condo board runs a separate approval track alongside DOB, not through it. A building that needs both board sign-off and a DOB permit needs both, on their own schedules.
Approvals come before the work: application, review, permit, then work. Building that sequence into a replacement programme from the outset keeps a schedule realistic.
Work that requires a DOB permit cannot begin until the required permit is issued, though preparatory steps that don’t depend on it, like surveying the roof or ordering long-lead materials, can often run in parallel. Confirm which steps are safe to run ahead with your design professional or filing representative.
Objections are a normal part of DOB review, not a sign something has gone wrong. A filing can come back needing more information or a correction before it clears, whether the job is straightforward or more complicated. Inspections continue once work starts, confirming the finished work matches the approved filing through to close-out.
Planning a replacement and not sure how approvals affect the schedule? Tell us about the building.
A permitted project isn’t fully closed out just because the physical work is finished. Required inspections, sign-offs and other completion documents, including a Letter of Completion where one applies, still have to go through before DOB considers the filing closed. A finished roof and an open permit can sit on a building’s record together for years without anyone noticing, which is exactly how this problem happens.
Open permits can surface during a sale, refinancing, or due-diligence review, when a title or records search reveals that a filing was never closed. Resolving it later can mean reconstructing a job that is years old, making the process slower and harder than closing it out at the time.
Found an open permit on work finished years ago? Tell us what you know about the job, and we’ll help you figure out what closing it out would take.
It depends on the filing and permit type. The owner is ultimately responsible for the project and provides the required consent or attestation. For most construction plans, a registered design professional serves as the Applicant of Record on the job filing, while a licensed contractor typically requests the separate work permit once that filing is approved.
No, not for work that requires one. Emergency situations fall under DOB’s own emergency provisions, a separate track from a planned filing.
It’s a normal part of review, handled by whoever manages the filing.
Someone who helps prepare a filing by entering information and uploading documents on the applicant’s behalf, also called an expediter. They cannot be the Applicant of Record, cannot attest, and cannot submit the filing or the work permit themselves.
Yes. An open permit stays on a building’s record until formally closed, no matter how long ago the physical work finished.
Once you know how the DOB filing and permit process applies to your project, the next step is defining the roof work itself. Tell us the building address, what work you’re considering, and whether you already have a DOB filing, permit, violation or plans. We can talk through the roofing scope and what information your filing team may need.
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