Certificate of Satisfactory Completion or Certification of Occupancy – When to Use

We receive questions about Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) regularly from agencies, so thought we would shed some light on this report and the Certificate of Satisfactory Completion (CSC) and when these would generally be used.

In Accela, the C of O is available thru Workflow on Structural records as this record type is where occupancy is granted for new or added square footage, changes in use/occupancy, and tenant improvements (TI’s).  Outside of being generated thru Workflow, the C of O report is also available to be run manually once Workflow is closed thru the Reports dropdown in the Record Summary on building records and thru the Launchpad on the Building Reports page. However, if you are attempting to generate a C of O on a record type that it is not indicated for/not generally required for, the report will run but will be largely blank.  To answer a recent agency question, C of O is not required on Manufactured Dwelling placements/sitings (MFD record type), occupancy is typically granted on these at the factory – however, alteration/remodel of an existing Manufactured Dwelling may require change of use/occupancy or additional square footage and therefore is handled thru a Structural record type in Accela where the C of O is available if needed [Category of Construction = Manufactured Dwelling, Type of Work = Alteration].  Consult your Building Official for all decisions related to granting occupancy.  

The CSC report is an available report that formalizes the final inspection and overall completion of a construction project, any discipline, where occupancy may not need to be granted such as for Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing, many Structural Alterations, etc.  This report is not available thru Workflow so must be manually run from the Reports dropdown in Record Summary on building records or thru the Launchpad on the Building Reports page.  This report is often requested now by banks/lenders at the time construction loans are funded or completed, Homeowners, Real Estate agents at the time of sale, etc.   

Note, these two reports may not run successfully on converted records due to missing yet required data elements, check all tabs in Record Navigation to check for and complete required fields.  If you have any questions on how to run one of these two reports, contact the helpdesk at 503-373-7396 or submit a helpdesk ticket to [email protected].