You’ll need to apply for a Certificate of Occupancy under several circumstances: for any occupancy, change of occupancy, use or change of use of any land or building (new or existing), or change of ownership of any business or building, or condo/coop conversion of a building. The Certificate of Occupancy (CO) ensures that your building or proposed use of the building/land complies with all regulations of Arlington County, including laws and ordinances.
Different projects have different requirements for the CO. (Learn more about starting a new business in Arlington.)
Submission Requirements
General:
- Application form
- Use of the previous tenant
- Building permit number (if applicable)
- Parking requirement
- Floor plan (change of use of space)
- Fee (according to use and/or square footage)
New multi-family residential and commercial buildings:
- Application form
- Building permit numbers
- Shell and Core Certificate of Occupancy* (elevator buildings)
- Master Certificate of Occupancy*
- Partial Certificates of Occupancy*
- Fee
*All located within the Certificate of Occupancy application
New single family dwelling:
- Application form
- Building permit number
- 4 wall check plats
- 2 final plats
- Fee
Restaurants:
- Application form
- Building permit number, if applicable
- Two copies of the seating plan with number of seats
- Parking requirement (parking plan if new restaurant or increase in number of seats)
- Fee
Outdoor cafés (on private property):
- Application form
- (Administrative Change Application if applicable)
- Two copies of the seating plan with number of seats
- Plat of property showing property lines
- Fee
(Outdoor cafés in the public right-of-way will require a use permit or site plan amendment.)
Uses requiring an assembly permit:
- Application form
- Contact the Fire Department to apply for the assembly permit (theaters, community centers etc.)
- For temporary tents
- Application form
- Plat of property showing property lines and placement of tent
- Building permit (tents over 900 square feet)
- Flame Retardant Certificate
- Fee
Inspections
A copy of any necessary permits, plats and building plans must be on the job site and must be available to the inspector during each inspection. It is the responsibility of the customer to complete any requested changes to comply with all building codes. Ladders, scaffolds and testing equipment required to complete an inspection must be provided. Please have your permit number available when scheduling an inspection.
• The site inspector will call the business owner to set up an appointment after they have acquired a business license.
Additional Information:
• Submit your application for CO no later than Thursday, 4:30 pm, at least two weeks before the occupancy date. The application should be submitted at 2100 Clarendon Blvd., suite 1000.
• Some uses (live entertainment, food delivery, child care, etc) require special exceptions by site plan or use permit. An ISD/Zoning official will inform the customer if this is necessary.