The three tiers of NYC plumbing work
DOB's plumbing requirements for owners and its 1- and 2-family alteration page (both read 23 October 2026) sort every job into one of three tiers:
| Tier | Examples from DOB | Permit | Who |
|---|---|---|---|
| No permit | Replacing an existing fixture (minor work under AC 28-105.4.2); "ordinary plumbing work" such as repair, replacement and relocation of installed piping and components (AC 28-105.4.4); initial emergency work | No | Licensed Master Plumber, who reports ordinary work to DOB monthly |
| Limited Alteration Application (LAA) | See the two categories below | Yes, filed in DOB NOW: Build | Licensed Master Plumber, no drawings needed |
| Full plumbing job | Work beyond the LAA limits below | Yes | P.E. or R.A. submits drawings for approval, then the Master Plumber pulls the permit |
DOB's general Do I Need a Permit? page also lists "Plumbing Fixture Replacement" as work that needs no permit. "No permit" is not "anyone": the no-permit tier is still the Master Plumber's work.
The LAA limits, which decide whether you need an engineer
Administrative Code 28-101.5 defines a Limited Plumbing Alteration in two categories (DOB, read 23 October 2026):
Category 1, with a cost and time limit: "$35,000 cost limitation per building including appliance and labor in any 12-month period". Within it, the plumber may add five or fewer fixtures in any 12 months, install new plumbing or gas piping, and add up to five sprinkler heads off the domestic water.
Category 2, with no cost limit: rerouting branch piping to the same fixtures; in-kind replacement of fixtures or gas appliances; relocating fixtures on existing roughing; backflow preventers; replacing gas-fired boilers of 1 million Btu/h or less; and "In-kind replacement of direct-vent appliances including gas-fired boilers, hot water heaters and furnaces, but serving only one or two-family homes that are four stories or less".
So an in-kind direct-vent water heater or boiler swap in a house is Category 2 work; a small addition of fixtures can fit Category 1 if it stays within five fixtures and $35,000 in 12 months; and a renovation past either line needs a design professional's drawings.
How the filing works
- The plumber files in DOB NOW: Build. DOB says all plumbing job filings and permit requests have been made there since July 2019, and "LAA filings submitted in DOB NOW will be permitted in real time."
- You approve it. DOB says owners "will be required to access the system in order to provide approval for the filing", which needs an NYC.ID account; DOB's instructions are at nyc.gov/dobnowtips.
- Emergencies come first, paperwork after. For a gas leak, or heating or hot-water equipment that fails in the heating season, licensed contractors may start before the permit and file within two business days (1- and 2-family owner page).
- Sign-off. Ask the plumber when the job will be signed off, and check the status on the DOB NOW Public Portal.
DOB's pages we read do not list an LAA or plumbing permit fee; ask the plumber to show the DOB filing fee on the quote. Check the plumber's license on DOB's License Search under Master Plumber.
What 11,396 NYC plumbing permits show
| Measure | NYC plumbing, one- and two-family homes |
|---|---|
| Permits, October 2023 to September 2026 | 11,396 |
| Plumbing firms | 709 |
| Firms with a permit in the last 12 months of the file | 479 |
| Usual filed value | $28,000 |
| Middle half of firms' usual value | $17,500 to $38,550 |
| Signed off (permits a year or more old) | 77.5% |
| Usual days from issue to sign-off | 350 |
| Firms matched to an active DOB license | 96.5% |
| Firms matched to a license that is not active | 25 |
| Busiest / quietest month | April (index 111) / February (86) |
The usual filed value, $28,000, sits under the $35,000 Category 1 line. Sign-off is slow: the usual permit took 350 days, and 71 of the 188 plumbers with 10 or more permits signed off fewer than 70%. The 10th-percentile firm got 55.7% signed off and the 90th 89.5%. Prices by job size are on the NYC plumbing cost page.
See every NYC plumber by share signed off →
Related
The DOB and DCWP license checks are in the NYC contractor license lookup; older filings on your house are in NYC building permit search; boilers and furnaces in NYC HVAC permit. Other cities' rules are in do I need a permit for plumbing repairs and do I need a permit for a water heater; hiring advice in hiring a plumber and labour rates in plumbing labor cost. Year-by-year counts are on the NYC permit statistics page.
What this does not tell you
Ordinary plumbing work goes on the plumber's monthly report, not on a permit, so repairs and fixture swaps are not in our file. Our counts are one- and two-family homes only. A license that matched as active in our copy of DOB's records can lapse; check it the week you sign.
How we know this
Rules, LAA categories and filing steps are quoted from NYC Department of Buildings owner and registrant pages read 23 October 2026. Counts are DOB plumbing permits and DOB NOW plumbing filings on one- and two-family homes, October 2023 to September 2026; "signed off" uses permits a year or more old, and days run from issue to sign-off. License status is matched from DOB license records.
Numbers come from NYC Department of Buildings permits and DOB NOW filings on one- and two-family homes (NYC Open Data), data through October 17, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- Do I need a permit to replace a toilet or a sink in NYC?
No permit, but a licensed plumber. DOB lists plumbing fixture replacement among work that does not need a permit, and its plumbing page says replacing an existing fixture is minor work. DOB also says plumbing work 'can only be performed by a Licensed Master Plumber'.
- Can a homeowner do their own plumbing in NYC?
No. DOB says the plumbing work it describes 'can only be performed by a Licensed Master Plumber', including ordinary repairs that need no permit, which the plumber reports to DOB monthly. There is no homeowner plumbing permit.
- What is an LAA plumbing permit in NYC?
A Limited Alteration Application, filed by a Licensed Master Plumber in DOB NOW: Build without drawings from an engineer or architect. Category 1 is capped at $35,000 of work per building in any 12 months and five added fixtures; Category 2 covers in-kind replacements, such as a direct-vent boiler, water heater or furnace in a one- or two-family home of four stories or less.
- How long does a plumbing permit take to sign off in NYC?
The usual NYC plumbing permit on a one- or two-family home took 350 days from issue to sign-off in our file, and 77.5% of permits a year or more old were signed off. DOB says LAA filings made in DOB NOW are permitted in real time, so the wait is at the end, not the start.
- How much does a plumbing job cost in NYC?
The usual NYC plumbing permit on a house carried a filed value of $28,000, and the middle half of plumbers usually filed between $17,500 and $38,550. Those are permitted jobs; repairs that need no permit are not in the file.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- Do I need an HVAC permit in NYC? Boilers, furnaces, AC and mini-splits: which are exempt and who files the rest
- Do I need a plumbing permit in Arlington, VA? The like-for-like rule, gas, and timing
- Austin building permit search: how to look up permits on an address
- Do I need a plumbing permit in Austin? What is exempt, who can pull it, and the fees
- Do I need a plumbing permit in San Diego? Water heaters, repipes, sewer repairs and the Simple Permit fees
- Do I need a plumbing permit in Scottsdale? The Minimum Plumbing Permit, gas lines and fees
For one city
- Project Requirements for Owner: Plumbing — NYC Department of Buildings (accessed 2026-10-23)
- 1- and 2-Family (Alterations): Allowable Work Without a Registered Design Professional — NYC DOB (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Project Requirements for Owner: 1- and 2-Family Buildings — NYC DOB (accessed 2026-10-23)
- Do I Need a Permit? — NYC Department of Buildings (accessed 2026-10-23)
- License Search — NYC DOB Building Information System (2026-10-22)