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Finals and certificates of occupancy

The last inspection on a permit is its final. What passing it does to the permit depends on the permit type, and the form tells you before you record it.

What a passed final does​

On a final inspection, a line under the checklist says one of two things:

  • Passing this final closes permit and the permit number. The permit closes the moment you record the pass.
  • Passing this final leaves permit and the permit number waiting for its certificate of occupancy. The permit stays open until someone issues the certificate. The building and demolition permit in the New Hampshire starter set works this way.

The confirmation repeats the same sentence before you commit. See recording a result.

Issuing the certificate​

An inspector cannot issue a certificate. Issuing needs the permission to issue permits, which land use staff have and the inspector role does not. Where the inspector is not also on the land use staff, the inspector passes the final and land use staff issue the certificate.

On the permit, once a final has passed, the page offers Issue the certificate of occupancy. The form asks for an Issue date, which starts as today and cannot be in the future.

Chiban refuses to issue the certificate in these cases:

  • The permit is not issued, or is under appeal.
  • The latest final inspection has not passed.
  • The permit type does not take a certificate.
  • Documents the permit type requires before a certificate are not on file.

When it succeeds, Chiban:

  • numbers the certificate, for example CO-2026-0001, with the year of the issue date;
  • closes the permit;
  • writes the certificate as a PDF from the town's certificate template, with the permit number, parcel, owner, use, issue date, the final inspection date and the inspector's name, and the permit's conditions;
  • files it under Documents on the permit as Certificate of Occupancy with its number.

The certificate is visible to town staff and the people on the permit. It is not shown on the public site. An administrator can change its wording and the signer under Settings, Templates and Signers.

Not the same as a certificate of occupancy request​

The New Hampshire starter set also has a permit type called certificate of occupancy request. It is an ordinary permit with its own fee and an occupancy walkthrough. The certificate described here comes from the final inspection on a building permit.