What Permits and Certificates Do You Need to Sell on LI?

A certificate of occupancy is a town document saying a building was approved for use as built. We cover what it means at the closing table in What Is a Certificate of Occupancy When You Sell?, so here is the practical side: getting your copy.

Requests go through your town's building department. The Town of Babylon, for example, lists a fee of $50 per request for a certified CO and $25 for an uncertified one (Town of Babylon FAQ). Ask which kind your attorney wants before you pay for one.

If the house is older and no CO turns up, ask whether your town has a separate request for a pre-existing certificate of occupancy. Southampton, for example, has one, listed as form CP-484 (Southampton request form). Check your own town's page for its version.

In general, building work that changes the structure or adds a new structure goes through the town's building department. That usually means a permit when the work starts and a sign-off or updated certificate when it is finished.

Before you list, walk the property and make a plain list of everything that was built, added, or finished since the house was first built:

• Additions and expanded living space
• Finished basements or attics
• Decks and porches
• Pools and pool fencing
• Docks, bulkheads, and other waterfront structures

Then ask the building department what its file shows for each item. Waterfront work can involve approvals beyond the town, so ask the department which agencies were part of any dock or bulkhead approval. If something has no paper trail, bring it to your attorney before you list. How to handle it is a legal question for them, not something we can decide for you. If you own on the water, our post on selling a waterfront home on the North Shore covers more of the property side.

The survey is the scaled drawing of your lot. It shows where the house, garage, deck, pool, and other structures sit.

Town requests can depend on it. Southampton's pre-existing CO request, for instance, asks for an original survey showing all buildings and structures on the property, signed and sealed by the surveyor.

So find your survey early and compare it to what is actually on the lot. If a deck, shed, pool, or addition was built after the survey date and is not on the drawing, tell your attorney. Whether you need an updated survey is something they decide with you.

Most of what you need sits with your town's building department, so start there.

• Look on the town website for the building department's page on certificates of occupancy and permit records, and for any forms and fees.
• Have your full address and tax map or section, block, and lot number ready if the form asks for it.
• Ask for specific documents that already exist: the CO, each permit, and the final inspection or sign-off for each project.
• Ask how long a request takes and whether the town can send copies by email.
• Ask the building department how it handles requests for records, and what it needs from you.

For a sense of how New York's Freedom of Information Law works, the Department of State notes that it is not required to create a new record in response to a request for its own records (NYS Department of State FOIL page). Asking for named documents is the clearest way to make a request.

A bill in the New York State Legislature, Assembly Bill A5026 of 2025, addresses certain sellers providing a certificate of occupancy to the purchaser (bill text on nysenate.gov). A bill is a proposal, so ask your attorney whether it, or any other rule, applies to your sale and where it stands.

Your attorney can also tell you whether a buyer's side will want the CO. Having it ready means one less item to chase during attorney review. For what happens next, see What Happens After You Accept an Offer in New York?

When we walk through your home with you, we note any additions, decks, pools, or waterfront structures so you know what to ask the town for. We then work with your attorney, the buyer's side, and the lender through the inspection and the contract, until the day you hand over the keys. Your attorney confirms the details for your own sale. To set up a walk-through, call or text (631) 213-2005 or use our contact page.