A Kansas City, Missouri building permit can be searchable online while an older certificate of occupancy requires a records request. The City’s Records Requests page says most permit records on properties dating back to 1986 are available in CompassKC. It gives a different boundary for a certificate of occupancy (CofO or CICO): certificates issued since CompassKC launched on August 6, 2018 can be found through its search; earlier certificates follow the City’s current records-request instructions, which identify Information Bulletin 165 and a Sunshine Law request. Those dates describe two different record classes.
Pick the KCMO permit, inspection or CofO record first
- Permit or plan history: Start with CompassKC and search the address or permit number. A permit establishes an application or authorization stage; inspect the status and work scope.
- Inspection or finalization evidence: Search the permit’s inspection or finalized-date information. A permit marked issued shows authorization, and final inspection is a later entry; our final inspection status guide explains the distinction.
- Copy of an issued CofO/CICO: Use CompassKC if it was issued on or after August 6, 2018. For an earlier issued certificate, follow the City’s IB165 plus Sunshine request instructions. If you’re unsure whether a certificate was issued, describe that uncertainty in the request rather than asserting that one exists.
This is the City of Kansas City, Missouri path. Confirm the property is within its jurisdiction before treating a mailing city or a nearby Kansas City, Kansas address as a KCMO building record. Our city versus county permit records guide explains why the issuing agency matters.
Work the CompassKC search in a useful order
The City’s CompassKC search guide recommends a property address, then narrowing by record type. For a permit, choose Permit from Search and open Advanced. Enter only a field that you know; the guide says the other fields are optional. A practical sequence is:
- Enter part of the street address. The guide says to omit periods, use abbreviations such as E and St, and retain ordinal endings on numbered streets, such as 23rd.
- If you have a permit number, try at least its last five digits in Permit Number. Add Permit Type or Status only if a broad result list needs narrowing.
- Use Issue Date for issuance questions and Finalized Date for completion questions. Each date answers its own question.
- Open the matching permit number and compare the address, work description and dates. The guide says results may have multiple pages; inspect more than the first page when needed.
The same guide has separate Plan and Inspection search types. Use the type that matches the evidence you need instead of treating every result as a building permit. The City describes its online coverage as most records since 1986; a failed search leaves the property’s permit history unresolved.
What KCMO permit data shows for the Central Library at 14 W 10th St
Kansas City Public Library identifies its Central Library at 14 W 10th St. On October 4, 2026, a City permits API request for address strings beginning 14 W 10 returned 12 rows. The prefix also reached a 14 W 109th St record, which we excluded. Treat those 12 rows as a prefix match and compare originaladdress1 and, where available, PIN 122488 before treating a row as the library.
- CICO-200510912 names Central Library and carries a
coissueddateof July 21, 2004; itscompleteddateis July 23. The date fields, rather than the 2005 inside the identifier, give the issue date. The row is certificate metadata; the certificate itself is a separate document. - CICO-200510944 names the Central Library roof garden terrace and carries a July 23, 2004
coissueddate. Its project description is narrower than a claim about every space or current use in the building. - CPVP-201827768 describes elevator hoist-rope work, with an issued date of March 19, 2018 and a completed date of October 8, 2018. That permit is a separate work record from both historical CofOs.
The two CICO rows also show why a dataset label needs the certificate behind it. Their permittype says Certificate of Occupancy (Commercial), while permitclass says Residential. Leave that mismatch for the certificate to resolve. Preserve both values with the record number, and ask the City for the issued certificate and its project or space description. A certificate for the roof garden terrace may answer a narrower question than a certificate for the library as a whole.
The dataset metadata reports a last data update in May 2025, so a statuscurrent value in that extract can lag CompassKC. Present legal use and final inspection results sit in the permit detail and the certificate. If the actual pre-August 6, 2018 certificate is needed, use the City request route below and cite the exact CICO number and address; ask which issued document the City can supply.
Request a pre-2018 certificate through the City
For a CofO issued before August 6, 2018, follow the City’s current Records Requests instructions for Information Bulletin 165 and a Sunshine Law request. Include the exact site address, a suite or tenant if relevant, the CICO number when known and the date shown in the record. Ask for a copy of the issued certificate or the specific final-inspection document, rather than assuming a dataset row supplies either. The City page lists potential copy and staff charges; confirm current requirements and costs there before submitting. A blank CompassKC search is a reason to ask City Planning and Development for the correct record.
Other cities also keep older certificates outside the address search. Grand Prairie’s issued-permit reports, for example, are organized by permit type and issue date rather than address; see how to find Grand Prairie permit and older CO records.
Kansas City Records Requests page, CompassKC search guide and City permits data checked October 4, 2026.