As the City of New York continually builds and rebuilds, the Department of Buildings (DOB) will occasionally issue selected directives, memoranda, policy and procedure notices, and interpretations to supplement the NYC Building Code.

Directive 2 and Directive 14 are two distinct filing types that fall under an Alteration Type Two application.

• Directive 14 was implemented in 1975 to streamline the filing process by allowing applicants of record to file for a limited examination. Applicants take responsibility for the sign-off of these applications, provided they do not affect the use, egress or occupancy of the space. The Directive 14 filing process takes on average about 3–4 weeks for initial plan review and comments issued by an examiner.
• Directive 2 was also implemented in 1975, allowing applicants to file projects in lieu of an Alteration Type One application when the change involved is limited to a change in egress (only), with no impact on the Certificate of Occupancy. The DOB often refers to a Directive 2 review as a full egress review. A Directive 2 review typically takes an average of 3-4 weeks for initial review and comments issued by the examiner.

Before introducing these filing types, the DOB would perform all inspections required to close out a project.

The Directive 14 sign-off process allows the applicants of record to take responsibility for the 'final inspection’ that is required and to secure the application sign-off. The applicant of record is not necessarily required to take responsibility for all the required inspections; they are only responsible for identifying them on the required Technical Report (TR1) forms. Upon completion of the project, they are also responsible for ensuring all inspections that were identified have been completed and the requisite reports have been filed with the DOB before applying for the Letter of Completion to close out the project.

Under a Directive 2 filing, the applicant cannot take responsibility for the ‘final inspection’ requirement . Instead, the DOB inspection division performs the final construction inspection, confirming the work was completed in accordance with the approved Directive 2 plans. The Letter of Completion can be issued upon completion of the DOB inspection.

For questions or concerns on how these requirements may affect your properties, please contact the New York office of Milrose Consultants by calling 212-643-4545 or clicking the Contact Us button below.