There are four ways to create a certificate as part of the permit close out process. This article will describe those four methods and when it's most appropriate to use each.

Creating a printed or PDF certificate is available directly from the permit itself and is best used in a situation where the primary reason to create the certificate is to provide the applicant or owner with a printed confirmation that their permit has been successfully closed out. This method is not recommended for issuing a temporary or conditional certificate because it doesn't provide a way to search for expiring certificates.

Two types of printed certificates are discussed below.

A printed Certificate of Use can be created for any type of permit. This creates a printout with a title of Certificate of Use that shows basic permit information. Printing a Certificate of Use does not modify any permit data. For example, it does not change the permit Status or enter a Final CO Issued date.

To print a Certificate of Use, begin from the Edit Permit window. Go to Gear > Print Certificate of Use.

After choosing Print Certificate of Use, several options for the printed Certificate of Use are presented in the Report Options dialog box. Additional information about those print options is in this article. Choose the desired print options and click Done. An 8 1/2 X 11 Certificate of Use is created, which can be saved to the permit or exported to PDF for printing.

The Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (PA UCC) requires a Certificate of Occupancy to close out a building permit. To meet this need, a printed Certificate of Occupancy can be created, very similar to the Certificate of Use described above. This option is only available for a Building Permit or Zoning Permit. This creates a printout with a title of Certificate of Occupancy that shows basic permit information. Printing this certificate does not modify any permit data, such as Status or Final CO Issued date.

To print a Certificate of Occupancy, begin from the Edit Permit window. Go to Gear > Print CO or Gear > Print CO - Zoning.

Several options for the printed certificate are presented in the Report Options dialog box. Additional information about those print options is in this article. Choose the desired print options and click Done. An 8.5 X 11 Certificate of Occupancy is created, which can be saved to the permit or exported to PDF for printing.

An alternate method for generating certificates is to create a new permit for the certificate. This method is preferred for any situation where multiple certificates will be needed. This includes partial, temporary, and conditional certificates. This method is also preferred if a municipality would like to be able to query information about certificates that have been issued and track the expiration dates of certificates.

There are two methods to consider when creating a new permit for the certificate. The first method uses a permit sub-type within the primary permit type. The second method uses the built-in permit type of Certificate of Occupancy. Both are discussed below.

An unlimited number of permit sub-types can be created under each permit type. Create a specific certificate sub-type that is named to match the specific requirements of the permit ordinance. For example, The certificate sub-type for Building Permits could be called Certificate of Occupancy, while the one for Grading Permits could be called Certificate of Completion. In addition, conditional and temporary sub-types could be created.

The method to set up new permit sub-types is described in this article.

To issue a certificate, create a new permit and choose the appropriate certificate sub-type. It may be helpful to copy the permit data from the permit itself and paste it into the new permit certificate, as described in this article.

Then, print a Certificate as described in Methods 1 or 2 above. Refer to this article about the printing options presented in the Report Options dialog box.

Permit Manager has a built in permit type of Certificate of Occupancy. If desired, separate sub-types can be created for temporary, conditional, and partial certificates.

To issue a certificate using this method, create a new permit and choose the Certificate of Occupancy permit type and then the appropriate sub-type. It may be helpful to copy the permit data from the permit itself and paste it into the new permit certificate, as described in this article.

Then, print a Certificate as described in Method 1 above. Refer to this article about the printing options presented in the Report Options dialog box.