Inspection Tracker
Maps a project’s scope of work to required special and progress inspections under Chapter 17 of the NYC Building Code (BC §1705) and the DOB NOW Technical Reports schedule (TR1 to TR8, updated November 2025).
Selected Records
0 selectedSpecial Inspection Matrix
| Special Inspection Item | BC Section | Phase | Min. Special Inspector Qualification | Agency Class Note | Source PW1 Filing(s) | Assigned Agency / Inspector | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No items generated yet. Complete Section 1 and click “Generate Matrix.” | ||||||||
Class key:
CLASS 1/2 ONLY underpinning, mechanical demolition, and excavation sheeting/shoring/bracing >10 ft must be performed by a Class 1 or Class 2 registered agency (1 RCNY 101-06(c)(4)(iii) exception).
CLASS 1 LIKELY triggered when “Major Building” is checked. Class 2 agencies are barred from new major-building construction, full demolition of a major building, large alterations (≥1 full story removed, or ≥20,000 sf / 20% partial demolition), or enlargements >10,000 sf.
CLASS 1/2/3 no major-building restriction applies; class is otherwise a function of project size only.
SEPARATE PROGRAM not a standard TR1 Special Inspection Agency item, governed by its own DOB/OTCR/FDNY review track (see Energy Storage Systems below).
PROGRESS INSPECTION a DOB NOW Technical Report (TR1 to TR8) milestone inspection performed by the applicant/RDP of record over the course of construction. It is not a registered Special Inspection Agency item and has no Class 1/2/3 designation.
Not covered by this matrix: Facade Inspection Safety Program / FISP (Local Law 11/1998, renumbered under Local Law 126/2021, Admin Code §28-105.1), Local Law 152 periodic gas piping inspections, and the annual parapet observation that the same Local Law 126/2021 added at Admin Code §28-301.1.1 (rule 1 RCNY 103-15, annual since January 1, 2024) are periodic, filing-cycle obligations tied to the building itself rather than to this project’s scope of work. They apply on their own schedules regardless of what’s checked above. The parapet observation is the one most easily missed: it covers every building fronting the public right-of-way regardless of height, exempting only detached 1- and 2-family homes and buildings barriered off from the wall; it does not require a registered design professional; and it is never filed. The owner keeps the report for six years and produces it on request, so no DOB record and no Open Data dataset will ever show whether it was done. For Progress Inspections and TR8 Energy Code Progress Inspections (DOB NOW Technical Reports, updated November 2025), confirm the mandatory/conditional designation for your specific work type(s) against the current DOB NOW Technical Reports list before filing, since some are auto-populated by DOB NOW based on job type rather than by manual selection.
Frequency (continuous vs. periodic) is set at the sub-task level within each BC §1705 provision (e.g., concrete placement is typically continuous, while formwork/rebar review is periodic) and is not summarized per-category here. Confirm against the specific BC §1705.x subsection and your TR1 scope of inspection before filing.
Work type, applicable code, and scope characteristics
“Major Building” drives the minimum Special Inspection Agency class per 1 RCNY 101-06(c)(4). See notes below the matrix. If unsure, check with your expediter/PE of record.
Click a project area to reveal specific yes/no characteristics. Each characteristic you select is weighted 1 to 5 against the special inspections it triggers. No typing, no keyword guessing. The checklist and matrix below update live as you go.
No characteristics selected yet.
What this scope triggers, and anything you add by hand
When a filing is ticked in Selected Records, progress inspections come from DOB’s published work type table rather than from this tool’s reading of your scope. DOB MANDATORY means DOB auto-populates it on the filing for that work type. CONDITIONAL means DOB populates it if certain selections are made. AVAILABLE means it applies to the work type but the applicant adds it. An inspection DOB does not list for the work type is not shown. With no filing selected there are no work types to read, so items fall back to an estimate from your scope, tagged LIKELY or POSSIBLE. Anything can be overridden by hand.
Scope vs. Filed PW1
Compares what this scope of work implies against what the selected PW1 filing(s) actually list, and against the work types the filing declares to DOB. Divergence isn’t necessarily an error, but each one is worth explaining before you file.
What the plan has to provide for
Not triggered by the current scope. Tick Building occupied during construction in Project and Scope if a dwelling unit will be occupied while the work runsA tenant protection plan is required for the alteration, construction or partial demolition of any building in which a dwelling unit will be occupied during the work, including a newly constructed building that is partly occupied while work continues. Under Admin Code 28-120.1 it is prepared by a registered design professional who is retained by the general contractor, filed with the Department, and approved before any permit issues for the work.
The plan must be site specific, and the code expressly bars using a term such as “code compliant”, “approved”, “legal” or “protected in accordance with law” in place of an actual description of means and methods. TPP compliance is itself a special inspection, listed as BC 1705.26 in the matrix above.
Exception. In two cases the plan may be prepared and filed by the registered design professional of record as part of the underlying application, rather than by a separate professional retained by the general contractor: work in occupied one-family and two-family homes, and work limited to the interior of a single owner-occupied dwelling unit of an occupied multiple dwelling with no disruption to the essential services of other units. For a condominium unit, or a unit held by a shareholder of a cooperative corporation under a proprietary lease, the unit must be occupied by its owners of record.
Numbering above follows Admin Code 28-120.1, including its 3.1 subdivision. No NYC Open Data dataset records whether a building has a tenant protection plan on file, so this card is a checklist to work through rather than a status for a building. DOB NOW shows active plans per building under Active Tenant Protection Plans on its Property Profile.
Every agency DOB currently lists as active
Read live from the Department’s license registry, filtered to agencies whose Special Inspection Agency license is currently ACTIVE. Search by agency name, by the principal’s name, or by license number. Agencies whose license has expired, lapsed, been surrendered or been denied are deliberately not listed, so a firm you were handed that does not appear here is worth checking directly with DOB before it inspects anything. Business names are shown exactly as DOB stores them, which means some arrive truncated at the source.
Agency numbers run from 106 to 9934 and are never reused: all 3,212 records in the registry, active or not, carry a distinct number. A lower number therefore generally means a longer-established agency, though the registry publishes no issue date, so treat that as an indication rather than a record. Searching a number works with or without leading zeros, so a padded number copied off a PW1 still finds its agency.
A license being active is not a statement that the agency is approved for your particular inspection. Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 designations under 1 RCNY 101-06 turn on the agency’s qualifications for the specific item, and the matrix above shows the minimum class each item carries.
Disclaimer
This tool is a planning aid, not a substitute for a Registered Design Professional’s determination or DOB NOW filing. Special inspection code sections reflect the 2022 NYC Construction Codes per DOB Buildings Bulletin 2022-014 (the 2022/2014 crosswalk) and 1 RCNY 101-06 Appendix A (special inspector qualifications). Progress inspection categories (TR1, TR8, and related milestones) reflect the DOB NOW Technical Reports list, updated November 2025. Always verify current requirements, applicable Buildings Bulletins, and TR scope against the DOB NOW system before filing.
Items ticked in Selected Records at the top of the page and tagged PW1 FILING are matched from the specialinspectionrequirement and progressinspectionrequirement fields of the NYC Open Data DOB NOW Build Job Application Filings dataset, sourced from the filed PW1. Coverage is limited to DOB NOW electronic filings. Older BIS-era filings, filings still in progress, and some approved filings may have this field blank even where inspections are required. Text matching against this tool’s catalog is approximate; always cross-check the imported items against the live DOB NOW job record before relying on them.
When the record stops answering the question
Need this inspection scope confirmed before you file?
This matrix is matched from the scope you describe and the filed PW1, not a Registered Design Professional’s determination. BPD Consultants can confirm which special and progress inspections a project actually requires, and reconcile a scope that diverges from what the filing declares.