Certificate of Occupancy
The City of Boston, like every municipality in Massachusetts, requires a Certificate of Occupancy (CO) before any newly constructed or substantially renovated space can be occupied by the public. The CO shows that your construction plans are up to code. This protects your customers, your staff, and your business.
A Certificate of Occupancy is also known as a Record of Legal Occupancy.
Who Can Apply
The Certificate of Occupancy process is managed almost entirely by your licensed general contractor. Be sure to work with a contractor who understands the CO process and allows enough time for inspections and approvals in the project schedule.
Before You Apply
You must apply for a Certificate of Occupancy if your property doesn’t already have a CO, or if you are completing one of the following types of building permit work:
- New construction
- Major renovations that change a building’s use, occupancy, egress, or life safety systems (like sprinklers or fire alarm systems)
- Change of use or occupancy, for example, converting a retail space to a restaurant or a one-family residence to a two-family residence
You don’t need a new CO if you’re taking over an existing business at a location that already has a CO for that use and:
- It doesn’t have any special zoning conditions (called provisos) attached
- You’re not making any changes to the space’s use
Both the Inspectional Services Department (ISD) Buildings Division and the Boston Fire Department (BFD) must sign off before ISD issues the CO.
The complete process can take several weeks or longer, depending on how complex your project is. Allow enough time for inspections and approvals in your project schedule. If you’ve submitted all the required documents for us to review, once you pass your inspections, we issue the CO within 10 days.
Required Documents
Your contractor will prepare and submit these documents. You don’t need to gather them yourself, but knowing what’s required can help you ask the right questions.
Both ISD and BFD must review your documents before we can issue a CO.
All applicants must submit:
- Building permits with final inspections signed off by each inspector (building, electrical, plumbing, fire alarm, low voltage, gas, sprinkler, sheet metal)
- Computer generated itemized final cost breakdown
If you the building is a place where people gather, like a hotel or school:
For new buildings, or changes to the sprinkler system:
- Fire Alarm Record of Testing and Completion Reports
- Sprinkler NFPA 13 Report
- Smoke Certificate Report
- Report on test for Emergency Generator
- Aboveground or Underground Sprinkler Report
- NFPA 241 (standpipe) Report
For commercial kitchens:
- Hood cleaning contract
- One-line diagram of the duct system showing all clean-outs
If your property is in a FEMA flood zone:
- As-built flood certificate (most commonly an Elevation Certificate). Please coordinate with ISDFlood@Boston.gov.
If your project includes an elevator:
- State Elevator Certificate
If your project includes opening a water or sewer line:
- Closed General Services Agreement from Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC)
If your building includes a garage:
- Copy of issued license from the Committee on Licensing for storage of flammable materials
For nail salons:
- Ventilation affidavit
If your project costs more than $6 million, you’ll need to get affidavits from architects, engineers, and builders, including a log book.
New residential construction and large additions over 1,000 square feet must meet HERS energy standards.
Fees
- $50 filing fee
- Plus a fee of 1 percent of the project’s total construction cost (or $10 per $1,000)
If the project ends up costing more than initially estimated, the final cost will be increased to reflect the actual, higher value. This final calculation happens at the end of the project, when you submit the actual costs.
How to Apply
You don’t fill out an application for a Certificate of Occupancy, but there is a process to follow. The process starts once your building permit inspections are complete.
Many of these steps take time to schedule. Your contractor should allow enough time in the project plan to avoid delays at this stage. Here’s what to expect.
All inspections on your building permit must pass before the CO process begins. Depending on your project, this may include electrical, plumbing, and other trade inspections. Your building inspector will let you know when you’re ready for the next step.
Your contractor will upload the required documents through the ISD online permitting portal for us to review. You can also bring them into ISD in person.
Have documents ready before this step. Missing documents are one of the most common causes of delays.
Once ISD has your documents, pay your fees through the ISD portal, or in person at ISD.
BFD also needs to review your documents. Your contractor should contact them directly to:
- Submit required documentation
- Schedule and complete any required system acceptance testing
- Schedule and complete a life safety inspection
This step doesn't happen automatically. Your contractor must initiate it. They should send an email to BFDCOO@boston.gov with the following information:
- The property address
- Full name
- Cell phone number
- Company affiliation
- COO application number
- Required documentation
- Request for system acceptance testing (for example: generators, fire pumps, standpipes, smoke control)
- Request for life safety inspection
After they submit the required documentation and pay the fees, BFD will review the documentation and conduct the life safety inspection.
Learn more about the Boston Fire Department Certificate of Occupancy process in the Certificate of Occupancy Testing and Acceptance Criteria section of this Fire Department guidelines document.
After You Apply
After all testing and inspections are complete, the Building Commissioner reviews the materials, including:
- All submitted documents
- Cost breakdown
- Energy code (HERS rating) requirements.
- Life safety reports
This is to make sure that everything is in compliance and the work meets life safety standards.
After Approval
If you pass your inspections, and all your required documentation is submitted and approved by our office, we’ll issue the CO within 10 days. We will email it to you, or you can come pick it up at the ISD office.
Renewals
A Certificate of Occupancy doesn’t expire and doesn’t need to be renewed.
But if you make changes to your space that affect its use, occupancy, egress, or life safety systems, you’ll need to go through the CO process again as part of your new building permit.
