Write down one claimed use, the floor or space, and the dates it must cover. Then separate a record that merely describes the use from evidence that documents its history or continuity and from the final Department of Buildings (DOB) letter.
The City’s current LNO page says some buildings constructed before 1938 were not required to have a Certificate of Occupancy unless later alterations changed use, egress or occupancy. It directs readers to DOB NOW and the Buildings Information System (BIS) for building history and to the property’s borough office for a Letter of No Objection (LNO) request. DOB still decides whether to issue the letter.
Build a conditional evidence worksheet
| Evidence question | Record what the item proves | Record what remains open |
|---|---|---|
| What use and space? | Exact wording, floor, unit and source | Whether DOB accepts that description |
| During which dates? | First and last supported dates | Every unexplained interval |
| Is continuity required? | Documents spanning the relevant period | Any break longer than the claimed continuity allows |
| What did DOB decide? | Dated issued letter or written outcome | Application, tax entry or search result is not the decision |
Keep one row per item. Record its title, date, issuing office, location and the use it actually describes. If two sources use different floor labels or occupancy wording, retain both instead of silently harmonizing them.
Use the current form as a checklist, not a result
The currently linked LNO and Letter of Verification form, revised July 2024, is DOB’s official checklist for this route, not a conclusive statement of current law. It asks for property and use identifiers and states that the letter does not replace a Certificate of Occupancy.
For a no-CO file, the form points to the Property Profile, job filings, block-and-lot folder material, and plans or microfilm checked with the Records Clerk. For a residential or mixed-use multiple dwelling with three families or more, its branch adds Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) unit records, multiple-dwelling registration and available I-cards. If DOB information is insufficient, the form conditionally points to tax records, Sanborn pages or City archives. A claimed nonconforming use may require evidence that it was not discontinued for more than two years.
Those are conditional evidence branches, not a promise that every record exists or that any one item establishes the use. No form was completed, and no fee, decision deadline or approval outcome was verified.
Keep the 2017 note in its historical role
A January 2017 DOB code note discussed pre-1961 tax archives and warned that a current tax-code entry alone did not prove legal use. The current form gives a broader conditional archive branch without repeating that fixed cutoff.
That difference does not prove the older statement was repealed, and it does not make the 2017 note current law. Use it to explain why a present tax label and a historical-use decision are different questions. Let the current form and DOB’s written response control the present request.
Read BIS and DOB NOW as different record channels
The official BIS building-information search groups address and block-and-lot searches with a borough selector; Building Identification Number (BIN) is a separate search. Job- and permit-number fields are also shown. Its page says DOB NOW filings are excluded. No value was entered and no result was opened.
The City’s Find Building Data page assigns pre-DOB NOW permits, jobs and profiles to BIS and newer filed applications to DOB NOW. It also names DOB NOW: BIS Options for physical folders, plans, microfilm, dockets, reels, indexes, I-cards and curb-cut cards, with borough pickup notification. Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) plan, docket and block-and-lot collections and HPD I-card images are separate routes.
DOB NOW reached an Access Denied screen once in this review and was not retried. That access outcome is not evidence that a filing is absent. No login, record query, request or pickup was attempted.
Reconcile a fictional use-and-date conflict
Suppose a fictional folder claims a ground-floor retail use. A current tax entry calls the space commercial, an older card describes storage, and a later lease begins after a three-year gap. None is an LNO, and the dates do not form an unbroken chain.
First, copy each item’s exact use wording and date. Second, mark the unsupported interval rather than stretching either document across it. Third, identify whether the request depends on continuous nonconforming use; if it does, ask what evidence DOB requires for that interval. Finally, preserve DOB’s written outcome as a separate record.
If a search returns a record for the same block and lot but a different BIN, floor or unit, classify it as an identity mismatch. If the right folder lacks the named page, classify it as a missing copy. If the portal cannot be reached, classify it as an access limit. These outcomes call for different next steps.
Ask the borough office for one missing object
Prepare the address, borough, block, lot, BIN, claimed use, floor or space, relevant dates, and missing-record title. Ask the borough office or Records Clerk which named file addresses the gap, then record the written response.
Use the older-building no-CO guide for the broader question of why an older building may lack a CO. Use the DOB physical-record identifier guide to format a request for a known object. This worksheet addresses the narrower evidence chain for the claimed use.
A tax entry, permit, application, lease, utility record or missing portal result does not prove that DOB accepted the use or issued an LNO. No property, address, borough-block-lot, BIN, job, permit, BIS, DOB NOW, HPD, DORIS or archive query, login, request, pickup or contact was performed for this guide.
New York City sources reviewed October 9, 2026 UTC.