October 2022
Dear District Residents and Businesses,
Today is our first day operating as the Department of Buildings (DOB). Since the Department of Buildings Establishment Act of 2020 became law a year ago, there has been much preparation for this day and it is my sincere pleasure to welcome the District's newest agencies.
On Friday, Mayor Muriel Bowser appointed me as the Acting Director of DOB and I am thrilled to champion our mission, which is to protect the safety of residents, businesses, and visitors, and advance the development of the built environment through permitting, inspections, and code enforcement. Through our work, we fully intend to change the landscape of the District.
There will be more to come soon, but for now, on behalf of our staff, I'd like to thank you in advance for your partnership. As a community, we will be successful.
Stay Safe.
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 Ernest Chrappah
Acting Director
 This past Friday, our staff ended our work day as one agency and today, we stand ourselves up proudly as the Department of Buildings with no interruption in service.
As an agency that provides access to services through digital platforms, we are proud to launch a new website as an informative entry point for our customers to learn more about the agency and how to obtain our services.
In building dob.dc.gov, our intention was to improve efficiency, make frequently used services and applications prominent, and ease the path for reporting safety concerns. We also increased the prominence of our live chat feature to encourage customers to take advantage and get answers to their questions faster, and provided a stronger overview of our applications and platforms so that customers understand how each is used.
If you have not had the opportunity to do so, we encourage you to take a look. We hope you like it.
 In the impact of the law establishing the agency, changes to our divisions and program areas and reporting structure are included. We encourage you to learn more by reviewing the agency organizational chart, as well as the listing of divisions and program areas so that you become informed.
Office of the Director
The Office of the Director includes the following functions: administrative services including human resources, support services, procurement and contract administration, risk management, agency financial operations and records management; agency performance and data management; customer service and account management; legislative affairs; legal; communications; and information technology.
Office of Construction and Building Standards
The Office of Construction and Building Standards is responsible for permitting, construction compliance, building inspections, green building, and third-party inspections. This division conducts building and structure assessments for emergency and disaster response, and includes the Surveyor’s Office. This division contains the following six activities:
Permitting – serves as the District’s central application intake and issuance center for building permits and certificates of occupancy; conducts technical building plan reviews to ensure code compliance, and approves and issues building permits;
Construction Compliance – drives policy in support of legislation and code enacted by the DC Council, provides input to and administrative support for the Construction Code Coordinating Board (CCCB), and coordinates revisions to the District’s building and trade codes to meet current demands for adequate and safe construction as outlined by the International Code Council family of model codes;
Building Inspections – manages permit-based construction inspection requests including illegal construction inspections, issues appropriate orders and notices to ensure compliance with the District’s building codes and zoning regulations and provides emergency building damage assessments in support of ESF14 requirements for emergency and disaster response in coordination with the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency;
Green Building – regulates construction in the District of Columbia that falls under the regulations of green codes including the Green Building Act, Green Construction Code, and Energy Conservation Code. The activity operates within the structure of DOB’s permitting and inspection activities, with work including reviewing construction documents; conducting building inspections; and collaborating with sister agencies, the building industry, and the community to further the efforts to build a more sustainable DC;
Surveyor – produces and maintains legal records of all land plots and subdivisions of private and District government property within the District of Columbia; processes condominium recordation and conducts wall checks validations; and
Third-Party Inspections – authorizes nongovernmental persons or entities, with specialized knowledge and certification, to perform regular and special inspections and plan reviews to certify that work complies with the District of Columbia Construction Codes; provides oversight of approved third-party plan review and inspection companies; drafts and enforces policy manuals for each of those functions; Inspects and performs oversight of boiler and elevator installations within the District.
Office of Strategic Code Enforcement
The Office of Strategic Code Enforcement is responsible for code enforcement, civil infractions, and fine assessment. This division develops and implements enforcement strategies and procedures, monitors violations, enforces the collection of fines, and tracks the status of both, and other duties. This division also provides alternatives to resolve civil infractions outside of the courtroom like settlements when proof of abatement is provided. This division contains the following two activities:
Code Enforcement – develops and implements enforcement strategies and procedures; and
Civil Infractions and Fine Assessment – processes all civil infractions with the Office of Administrative Hearings, collects fines, and places property liens on unpaid fines.
Office of Residential Inspections
The Office of Residential Inspections is responsible for inspecting and classifying vacant and blighted properties, conducting rental housing inspections, and promoting housing rehabilitation through abatement and enforcement activities. This division contains the following three activities:
Vacant and Blighted Property – registers vacant properties in the District of Columbia, processes requests for vacant property tax exemptions, and inspects vacant and blighted properties to ensure compliance with vacant property maintenance standards, registration, and provides occupancy status to the Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) for tax classification purposes;
Rental Housing Inspections – inspects residential properties and issues citations of housing code violations; and
Housing Rehabilitation - abates property maintenance code violations, manages abatement contracts, and issues special assessments for unpaid abatement costs.
Office of Zoning Administration
The Office of Zoning Administration is responsible for administering and determining compliance with the Zoning Regulations.
Contact DOB via email, through our online inquiry form or during normal business hours using the live chat available on dob.dc.gov or by phone at 202.671-3500, and we will get back to you in three business days or less.
While our services are available virtually and we encourage you to continue to access them online, our staff in the Digital Service Assistance Center is available to serve those who arrive in person seeking information and assistance using our online platforms. For many of our staff, we are in a remote posture as our workspace is being prepared to serve the new agencies and we want to share a bit of a glimpse of what the second floor will look like when we return.
Our Floors
DOB will occupy the 4th and 5th floors exclusively while we will share the 2nd floor with the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. As of this writing, it is expected that the 2nd floor will be ready to serve customers seeking to use our Digital Service Assistance Centers on October 24, 2022.
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