How Does a NYC TCO or CO Get Fire Protection Sign-Offs?

A New York City temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) or certificate of occupancy (CO) gets its fire protection sign-offs on a Certificate of Occupancy Request in DOB NOW: Build, where the Department of Buildings (DOB) checks that the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) has approved the fire alarm, the fire protection plan and any fire suppression system it reviews, and that the special inspections for sprinklers, standpipes and smoke control are reported complete. DOB issues the certificate. FDNY never issues a CO, but its letters are line items on DOB’s list.

The rule behind every request is in Article 118 (Certificates of Occupancy) of Title 28 of the NYC Administrative Code: no building or open lot may be used or occupied without a certificate of occupancy issued by the DOB commissioner. As of November 2026, the fire protection items DOB asks for are set out on its Certificate of Occupancy Worksheet (Rev. 8/25), which travels with the request. This article follows those items from the last system test to the final CO.

Who Requests a NYC TCO or CO, and Where?

DOB issues every TCO and CO in New York City. The request is a Certificate of Occupancy Request in DOB NOW: Build, used for jobs filed in DOB NOW and for jobs still in BIS, and it can be filed only after DOB has approved the Schedule of Occupancy for the job. DOB technical and operations staff review the request, and DOB issues the certificate once every requirement is provided.

DOB’s industry guidance for BIS jobs (updated February 2021) says any user on the job filing can start a CO request, the requestor is the logged-in user, and a general contractor listed on the job must also sign. The worksheet offers four request types: Core and Shell, TCO Initial, TCO Renewal with Change and Final. DOB’s TCO page tells owners holding a TCO to consult a PE or RA about what the final CO still needs.

A new building must have a CO, and an existing building needs a current or amended CO when its use, egress or type of occupancy changes. Minor alterations that need no new or amended CO close with a DOB Letter of Completion instead, which is the path DGA describes in how a sprinkler job closes with a DOB Letter of Completion. The sign-offs in this article apply when the job ends in a TCO or CO.

Which Fire Protection Sign-Offs Does DOB Require Before a TCO?

DOB’s Certificate of Occupancy Worksheet lists the fire protection items line by line, and every item marked “submit a copy” is attached to the request. The worksheet treats the inspection sign-offs and the technical reports as required for all request types, including a TCO. The checklist below groups the fire protection items as the worksheet presents them.

Figure 1: Fire Protection Items on the DOB CO Worksheet

Special and progress inspection TRsCompleted TRs, or partial TRs with a sealed affidavit that special inspections are complete for the floors in the TCO request

Fire alarmFDNY Letter of Approval, Letter of Recommendation, or Letter of Defect with a sealed Affidavit of Correction approved by the borough office

Fire protection planFDNY Letter of Approval, or the FDNY receipt showing the plan was filed

Fire suppression systemsFDNY Letter of Approval for each system

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarmsAffidavit of Installation and Testing

Place of assemblyInspection status Final-Passed; until then occupancy may be held to 74 persons

Emergency generatorsSigned off, or TRs completed

ViolationsDOB civil penalties paid; a sealed plan of action for Local Law violations that affect the covered spaces or building-wide life safety systems

Sprinklers and standpipes do not appear on the worksheet by name. Sprinkler (SP) and standpipe (SD) work is permitted by DOB, so the systems enter the CO request through the special inspection TRs: 2022 NYC Building Code (BC) Section 1705.29 for sprinkler systems and Section 1705.30 for standpipe systems. Smoke control testing is BC Section 1705.18, and fire-resistant penetrations and joints, which apply to SP and SD filings among others, are BC Section 1705.17.

The Fire Code adds a floor under all of this. The 2022 NYC Fire Code bars occupancy of any part of a building that requires a sprinkler system until the installation is tested and approved (Fire Code Section 3314.2). A TCO for the lower floors of a tower still under construction therefore cannot come before the sprinkler installation serving those floors has been tested and approved.

Steps From the Last Fire Protection Test to the Final CO

The order below follows DOB’s worksheet and FDNY’s published procedures. FDNY items and DOB items run in parallel, but the CO request cannot be complete until both sides have produced their documents.

1. Finish system tests and special inspections. The special inspection agency, registered with DOB under Title 1 of the Rules of the City of New York (RCNY) Section 101-06, witnesses the sprinkler, standpipe, smoke control and firestopping work and completes the TRs. For a TCO covering part of a building, the TRs can be partial, backed by a sealed affidavit from a registered design professional that the special inspections are complete for the floors requested.
2. Sign off the DOB sprinkler and standpipe permits. Each SP or SD permit is signed off by a passed final inspection or a certified TR Final. How DOB reviews and permits that work in the first place is covered in how fire protection plan review works at NYC DOB.
3. Get the FDNY fire alarm inspection. Fire alarm work filed with FDNY on the TM-1 is inspected by FDNY after a request on Form B-45. A passed inspection ends with an FDNY Letter of Approval; the filing itself is the subject of how FDNY TM-1 fire alarm filing works.
4. Clear any fire alarm defects. Failed items are listed on an FDNY Notice of Defect. Most are cleared by correcting them and filing Form FA-26 within 90 days of the notice; for the CO request, DOB accepts the defect letter with a sealed Affidavit of Correction approved by the borough office.
5. Close the other FDNY approvals. The fire protection plan required by Administrative Code Article 109 is filed with and approved by FDNY, and any fire suppression system FDNY reviews needs its own Letter of Approval. Since Local Law 195 of 2018, FDNY reviews non-water suppression systems such as clean agent and commercial cooking systems.
6. Collect the DOB inspection sign-offs. A TCO needs temporary or final construction, plumbing and electrical sign-offs, plus a temporary elevator sign-off where applicable.
7. File the Certificate of Occupancy Request. The request goes in through DOB NOW: Build with the worksheet and the copies it calls for. DOB reviews the package and issues the TCO when it finds the requested portion of the building safe to occupy.
8. Renew the TCO and close everything for the final CO. A TCO is renewed until the job is complete. The final CO needs final construction, plumbing, elevator and electrical sign-offs, the final survey and Builders Pavement Plan, the owner’s cost affidavit (PW3), no open applications and no open violations.

Figure 2: From System Tests to the Final CO

System testsSprinkler, standpipe, smoke control and firestopping special inspections witnessed; TRs completed or partial TRs with a sealed affidavit.

FDNY lettersFire alarm inspection and Letter of Approval, fire protection plan approval, suppression system approvals; defects cleared on FA-26 within 90 days.

DOB sign-offsSP and SD permits signed off; construction, plumbing, electrical and elevator inspections signed off, temporary or final.

TCOCertificate of Occupancy Request in DOB NOW: Build with the worksheet; the TCO typically expires 90 days after issuance.

Final CONo open applications or violations, PW3 and final survey filed; the CO has no expiration date.

Which Document Closes Each Fire Protection System, and Who Prepares It?

Each system closes with a different document from a different agency. The table maps the system to the closing document DOB expects, the agency that issues it and the party that prepares it.

Fire alarm work filed with FDNY on or after June 2, 2019 has no separate Letter of Completion; FDNY’s FAQ says the inspection approval closes the job. The worksheet still uses the older term Letter of Defect, while FDNY now issues a Notice of Defect, so the two names refer to the same kind of document on a CO request.

DGA coordinates FDNY fire alarm and fire protection plan approvals with DOB sprinkler and standpipe sign-offs for New York City projects. Project briefs get confirmation and preliminary code feedback within one business day. NYC fire protection engineering with DGA →

What Delays a NYC TCO, and How Long Does the Sequence Take?

DOB’s CO and TCO pages publish no review clock for Certificate of Occupancy Requests. The published time limits around a TCO sit on the FDNY side and on the certificate itself. As of November 2026, a TCO typically expires 90 days after issuance, FA-26 corrections must reach FDNY within 90 days of a Notice of Defect or the system needs a reinspection, and an FDNY plan resubmission is free within six months of a deficiency letter.

FDNY scheduling sets much of the pace. Initial fire alarm inspections are requested in person at 9 MetroTech Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., and since November 7, 2025 follow-up inspections are requested online through FDNY Business. A failed inspection adds a correction cycle before the Letter of Approval or the affidavit DOB needs.

Four conditions stretch the sequence. A fire protection plan filed late holds the request even when every system has passed, and special inspection TRs that do not cover every floor in the request force a revised affidavit.

Open violations or unpaid DOB civil penalties stop a TCO outright, and a place of assembly space that has not passed inspection limits the occupancy the TCO can allow. For a dated planning range on a specific job, the Fire Protection Project Timeline Estimator gives engineering and review time by jurisdiction.

Why Do Fire Protection Items Hold Up a CO Request?

A CO request is checked against the worksheet, so most holds come from a missing or mismatched document rather than from a failed system. The table lists the fire protection reasons a request is sent back and the fix for each. Clearing an FDNY defect notice is covered step by step in what an FDNY Letter of Defect is and how it is cleared.

What Continues After the CO Is Issued?

A TCO is a holding position, not an end point. The owner renews it until the final CO, and DOB’s TCO page says a TCO may be renewed when outstanding issues are not resolved before it expires. The final CO has no expiration date, and later changes to the fire protection systems come back through new DOB and FDNY filings.

Once occupied, the systems move under the 2022 NYC Fire Code. Fire Code Section 901.6 sets the inspection, testing and maintenance regime, and Section 901.6.3 requires inspection, testing and servicing of sprinkler, standpipe and fire alarm systems to be personally conducted by an FDNY Certificate of Fitness holder. Section 903.5 adds a monthly sprinkler inspection by a Certificate of Fitness holder employed by the owner.

Assembly spaces carry one more step. Within one year of the DOB Place of Assembly Certificate of Operation, the space must obtain an FDNY Place of Assembly Permit, which expires each year and is renewed after FDNY’s annual inspection.

Frequently Asked Questions

This article is general information, not a substitute for a project-specific code analysis. Code editions, local amendments, agency forms and reviewer practice change; confirm the current requirements with DOB and FDNY for the project.