Start with the record that answers the current occupancy question. In New Orleans, a proposed use change can require a permit even when no physical work is planned. An interior-demolition permit produces neither a Certificate of Occupancy (CO) nor a Certificate of Completion.
Build one dated chain: prior CO; former and proposed use or occupant; assigned application route; review record; issued permit; inspection evidence; and later CO. A blank stage stays blank until a named document fills it.
Choose the route before reading status
If alterations or repairs are planned or required, the City’s No-Work CO page directs readers to other service sections. It says most commercial buildings have an existing CO, requires a premises inspection when commercial use or occupant changes, and lists conditions that may call for a new CO: a use change, a mismatch between the current building code and proposed use, or more than six months out of use.
The Change of Use service says a proposed use change requires a permit even without physical changes. When no significant work otherwise requires a building permit, this route verifies the new use and provides a CO. If complete plans are required, review can cover applicable codes, zoning and other agencies; a building permit is issued only after review and compliance are verified.
The City describes an interior-demolition permit as an optional early commercial-renovation permit before the full building permit. It covers specified interior nonstructural wall removal, wall openings or exploratory demolition when the full permit has not been issued. It allows no exterior work and yields no CO or Certificate of Completion.
Record the route the Department of Safety and Permits assigns. Keep that label even when a photo, listing or tenant file suggests more or less work.
Use a dated occupancy-chain worksheet
| Chain row | Preserve from the document |
|---|---|
| Prior occupancy | Title, number, issue date, use or occupant, and source |
| Proposed change | Former and proposed use or occupant, scope, application date, and reference |
| Review | Milestone, dated notice, responsible office, and unresolved item |
| Issued authorization | Exact permit or CO title, number, issue date, and stated scope |
| Later evidence | Inspection document, later CO, document date, and missing next object |
Keep the source file beside each row. A portal label, an application PDF and an issued document can share a project reference while answering different questions.
Diagnose an invented mismatch
Imagine a fictional folder for Suite Q. A 2018 CO identifies retail use. A later application proposes restaurant use, and a One Stop row is marked approved but unpaid for interior demolition. The folder also contains an inspection request but no issued use-change or building permit and no later CO. This is an invented example.
The One Stop About page distinguishes approved but unpaid from issued. It also says One Stop can research permits, licenses, planning projects and violations by location or period, and warns that issuance does not legalize unrelated unpermitted construction, improper occupancies, extra units or unauthorized land uses.
In the fictional folder, place the demolition row under early scope only. Preserve the prior CO as the last occupancy document actually present. Ask for the named missing issued permit, inspection result or later CO; record the gap as a missing document and leave legality and current condition open.
Search by an identifier, then log the limit
The One Stop Help page describes Basic Search by street address without city, state or ZIP, or by a reference code or permit, license or case number. Its Advanced Search description includes keywords, record types and application-date ranges but requires registered login.
The Help page describes a general online range from 2007 to today. Some COs, attachments and inspections may still be offline; for an earlier record or a missing later file, use the City’s existing-record request route below.
For each attempt, retain the entered address or reference exactly as documented, the search date, the displayed status, and whether the result opened a document or only a record row. If nothing matches, record the failure before changing punctuation, unit wording or the identifier.
The Help page notes that address problems can reflect the City legal address, GIS updates or database errors, and lists One Stop at 504-658-7100 for address help. Its unit-omission example comes from the application-location instructions; Basic Search may behave differently.
Request the named missing copy
The City’s Public Records Requests page links both a request route and a search of released requests. Its since-2016 date applies to the request index only.
Ask for an existing prior CO, identified permit, inspection result or final CO. Give the known number, City address, period and exact missing document name. Use these as locating clues in the request.
Use the New Orleans zoning-determination guide when the missing object is a zoning decision rather than an occupancy document. The address-not-found guide shows how to preserve a failed lookup before changing your search.
A portal status does not prove that occupancy approval was issued or an inspection passed. Report the last identified document and the exact missing next object.
If the property also has a blight case, our New Orleans code enforcement lookup shows how to find it in the One Stop App and read its stage and hearing results.
New Orleans Safety and Permits, One Stop and public-records pages checked October 9, 2026.