Plumbing Permits in New York City
DOB requires a permit, and inspections, for plumbing work that is not a simple repair. Permits are issued to a Licensed Master Plumber. S & M Expediting prepares and expedites the filings; we do not do the plumbing.
The NYC Plumbing Code covers installation, repair, modification, extension or alteration of waste, domestic water, gas piping, and fire standpipes. All plumbing job filings and permit requests go through DOB NOW: Build; paper filings are no longer accepted. The owner has to approve the filing in the system. The plumber does not have to learn every screen. That is the filing work.
Two ways plumbing gets filed
Limited Alteration Application (LAA). DOB uses the LAA for plumbing work that does not include construction: in general, repair or replacement of existing appliances and piping, plus some new installations, without a professional engineer or registered architect. A Licensed Master Plumber submits it in DOB NOW. Water plumbing and gas plumbing are separate scopes. DOB's plumbing permits page says LAA filings in DOB NOW are permitted in real time, and describes a cost limit for the repair permits handled by the LAA/Permit Renewal Unit; check the current DOB page for that dollar limit.
Alteration or new building. When the plumbing is part of a larger job, a professional engineer or registered architect files the plans as a new building or an alteration (Alt-1, Alt-2 or Alt-3). The plumbing itself is filed in DOB NOW and tied back to that application. We prepare the application for the design applicant to submit, track plan review, and stay with the job through permit and sign-off. See DOB NOW filings and inspections and permit expediting.
Permit life, sign-off and ordinary repairs
DOB says a permit in DOB NOW expires at the earliest of the insurance expiration, the license expiration, or one year from issuance. If insurance or the license lapses, the permit does not extend itself. We keep plumber insurance filings up to date.
When the work is done, the licensed master plumber needs the inspections and tests completed and a final plumbing sign-off. Inspections are requested in DOB NOW: Inspections. After sign-off, the applicant can request a letter of completion where the job calls for one.
Some minor work is not a permit job. Replacing an existing faucet, toilet or sink, with no other piping change, is treated as ordinary repair. A lot of ordinary plumbing work still has to be reported on the monthly OP128, filed with DOB's LAA Unit. We prepare OP128 reports too. Filing that report does not replace a DEP permit if the job also opens a water or sewer connection, or a DOT street opening permit if it opens the street.
Work without a required permit can draw a violation for the owner and for the person who did the work. If that is already on the building, start with the violation; see violation research and removal. Gas piping inspections under Local Law 152 are a separate filing.
We file in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Call 718-833-2333 or use the contact page.