The five states, before the detail
Every status the city publishes falls into one of five stages. This is how the rest of the site groups them, and it is enough to read most filings.
| Stage | What it means | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| Under review | An examiner is looking at the application, or waiting to be assigned to it. | 204 |
| Approved | The application has been accepted. A permit still has to be issued before work can begin. | 42,682 |
| Completed | The city has recorded the work as finished — a sign-off, a letter of completion or a certificate of occupancy. | 32,002 |
Every status, as the city writes it
The exact wording on a filing is more specific than the stage, and sometimes the specificity is the point: a filing waiting to be assigned to an examiner and one being examined are both “under review” and are in very different positions.
| Status | In plain language | Filings |
|---|---|---|
| LOC Issued | DOB has issued a Letter of Completion, which records that the work in this filing is finished. | 31,868 |
| Approved | A plan examiner has approved the application. A permit still has to be issued before work can begin. | 24,713 |
| Permit Entire | DOB has issued the permit covering the full scope of this filing, so the work is cleared to proceed. | 17,832 |
| Permit Issued | A permit has been issued for this filing. It may cover part of the work rather than all of it. | 129 |
| CO Issued | A Certificate of Occupancy has been issued, which is what makes a space legal to occupy. | 89 |
| Full Demolition Signed-off | DOB has signed off on the completed demolition. | 45 |
| On Hold – Administrative Action | The filing is paused until an administrative step is completed. It has not been rejected. | 44 |
| On Hold - Pending Supersede of Applicant of Record | The filing is paused until an administrative step is completed. It has not been rejected. | 43 |
| On Hold - Applicant Supersede Request Required | The filing is paused until an administrative step is completed. It has not been rejected. | 27 |
| OnHold-NoGoodCheck | The filing is paused because a payment did not clear. | 26 |
| On Hold - Pending Supersede of Special Inspector | The filing is paused until an administrative step is completed. It has not been rejected. | 15 |
| On Hold - Pending Withdrawal of Site Safety Coordinator | The filing is paused until an administrative step is completed. It has not been rejected. | 13 |
| On Hold - Pending Withdrawal of Site Safety Manager | The filing is paused until an administrative step is completed. It has not been rejected. | 11 |
| On Hold - Pending Supersede of Progress Inspector | The filing is paused until an administrative step is completed. It has not been rejected. | 9 |
| Permit Entire - BC/DBC Review Objections | No plain-language reading has been written for this one yet. | 6 |
| On Hold - Special Inspector Withdrew | The filing is paused until an administrative step is completed. It has not been rejected. | 6 |
| Plan Examiner Review | A DOB plan examiner is reviewing the application. Nothing has been approved yet. | 3 |
| On Hold - Progress Inspector Withdrew | The filing is paused until an administrative step is completed. It has not been rejected. | 3 |
| Permit Entire - BC/DBC Review | No plain-language reading has been written for this one yet. | 2 |
| On Hold - Pending Withdrawal of Special Inspector | The filing is paused until an administrative step is completed. It has not been rejected. | 2 |
| On Hold – Pending Withdrawal of TR | The filing is paused until an administrative step is completed. It has not been rejected. | 1 |
| On Hold - Pending Withdrawal of Progress Inspector | The filing is paused until an administrative step is completed. It has not been rejected. | 1 |
What these are not
These are summaries written for a reader who does not work in construction. They are not legal definitions, and the Department of Buildings remains the authority on what any status means for a particular filing. Where a status carries a consequence — an objection to resolve, a permit that has lapsed — the filing itself is the record, not this page.
Counts are recomputed from the catalog on every release. Built from DOB NOW: Build – Job Application Filings (w9ak-ipjd), accessed Sep 14, 2026.