A printed certificate of use or occupancy is often used to provide a printed confirmation that a permit has been fully closed out. When printing a certificate, several printing options are available, and those options vary slightly depending on which print command you are using. Three print commands are available from a permit:

The sections below discuss the differences between these three options.

The option to print a Certificate of Use is available for all permits as a way to provide printed confirmation of a closed out permit. To print a Certificate of Use, begin from any permit in the Edit Permit window. Click Gear > Print Certificate of Use

Several options are available when printing a certificate. The first option is to choose the appropriate Permit Message to apply to the certificate. Footer messages can be edited or new ones created as described here.

Choose the appropriate Permit Message from the drop down menu in the Report Options dialog box. The title of the permit message can also optionally be used as the certificate title with the Use Permit Message Title checkbox. This is useful for a temporary or conditional certificate because it alters the title to accurately state what type of certificate it is.

Next, using the Dept. Official drop down list, choose the official that will issue the certificate. Optionally, specify an Additional Dept. Official. This article describes how to edit the list of department officials. To apply the official's electronic signature, use the Include Signature? checkbox. This article describes how to set up signatures.

Several optional check boxes are pre-checked by default, as shown in the screenshot below. Update any of the checkboxes as needed, and click Done.

The certificate generates and is displayed in a Permit COU window. To change the document's zoom level, click the Magnifying Glass button. To change permit printing options, click the Pencil button. To save a PDF of the printed permit to the permit's Documents tab, click the Floppy Disk button. To print the permit, click the PDF Document button, which opens the document in a PDF viewer for printing.

Building Permits and Zoning Permits have an additional print option under the gear menu. The Print CO and Print CO - Zoning options create a certificate with a title of Certificate of Occupancy.

These two certificates have a Report Options dialog box that is very similar to Print Certificate of Use, except it only has one Dept. Official. It's likely that the appropriate department official is the Building Code Official for a Building Permit and the Zoning Officer for a Zoning Permit.

The certificate generates and is displayed in a Permit CO window. To change the document's zoom level, click the Magnifying Glass button. To change permit printing options, click the Pencil button. To save a PDF of the printed permit to the permit's Documents tab, click the Floppy Disk button. To print the permit, click the PDF Document button, which opens the document in a PDF viewer for printing.

Close Out a Permit

Create a Certificate of Use/Occupancy

Permit Messages

Employees, Inspectors, and Permit Officials

Electronic Signatures