Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to get a City of Houston Certificate of Occupancy?

     Name Changes & Duplicate Certificate inspections are generally scheduled to take place within 1-2 weeks after the required paperwork is filed. A City of Houston Structural Inspector will perform the inspection and if the location passes inspection the certificate will be emailed within a couple of business days. A majority of the time a space passes inspection and a certificate is delivered all within a weeks time.

     If the inspector finds building code violations and fails the inspection he will leave a form detailing the item(s) needing to be corrected. Once the item(s) are corrected and they pass re-inspection the certificate will be emailed within a couple of business days.

     There are times when the business location does not qualify for a Name Change or Duplicate certificate inspection. Non-qualifying business locations will be required to go through a full inspection process. Full inspections generally take place within 2-4 weeks after the paperwork is filed due to the city's backlog of inspection requests. 

     This inspection process involves four City of Houston Building Inspectors (Structural, Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing) arriving around the same time on a scheduled day. Each inspector will perform their own inspection and usually within a week from the date of the inspection an Occupancy Inspection Report is emailed to the owner of the business. 

     The report will list all the item(s) in each department that need to be corrected. Business owners are then allowed 180 days/6 months from the date of the inspections to make the required corrections and have re-inspected. If a certificate of occupancy has not been obtained withing the 180 day time frame then the city will require a re-inspection, this will result in additional inspection fees. Extensions are given on a case by case situation. Many times the inspectors will require tradesman (Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing contractors) to pull permits to perform the required corrections. 

     The time frame for receiving a certificate for Name Change, Duplicate or full inspections will depend on whether the location passes or fails and if it does fails how long it takes the owner to make the required corrections.

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Houston Certificate of Occupancy Services is a locally owned business and is not affiliated with the City of Houston.