Before the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) will approve an application for a new building or existing building enlargement, applicants must file zoning exhibits with the county clerk’s office or city registrar’s office to verify the zoning lot.

To do so, applicants must file with the Department of Finance to obtain a City Register File Number (CRFN), which is the equivalent of a reel/page number. After that, the supporting documents can be submitted to the DOB.

There are five types of zoning exhibits:

• Exhibit I: Certification of zoning lot—Single ownership
  This applies to Zoning Lot Subdivision C for land with a single owner, and must be provided by the title insurance company.
• Exhibit II: Certification of zoning lot—Multiple owners
  This applies to Zoning Lot Subdivision D for land with more than one owner, which is treated as one zoning lot with a Declaration of Restrictions that may be individually or collectively written with regard to each party in interest. The boundaries of the lot may or may not coincide with comprising tax lots. This form is to be used in conjunction with Exhibit IV and/or Exhibit V, and a title insurance company should provide it.
• Exhibit III: Owner’s statement
  This includes a zoning lot description and ownership statement, in which the applicant specifies and describes the tax lots that are applicable to the zoning lot. This should be recorded in the city registrar’s office, or in the county clerk’s office if applicable, before a permit can be issued.
• Exhibit IV: Zoning lot restriction
  The exhibit declares that a certain parcel of land is to be treated as a zoning lot by the parties in interest. (See Exhibit II.)
• Exhibit V: Waiver of zoning lot restrictions
  This exhibit is submitted by the parties of interest who waive their rights to execute a declaration, such as Exhibit IV. (See Exhibit II.)

What exhibits are required together?

Zoning Exhibit I is filed with Exhibit III. Zoning Exhibit II must be filed in conjunction with III. Zoning Exhibits IV and V can be filed with either II or III. All parties listed in Exhibit II must sign Exhibit IV or V, and have executed and recorded the declaration or waived their respective rights.

Please note that these documents are often prepared with the assistance of counsel and a title company. To determine the applicable Exhibits for your specific project, please consult with your Expeditor and/or legal counsel. “