• A special permit called a Place of Assembly permit (PA) is required for premises where 75 or more members of the public gather indoors or 200 or more gather outdoors, for religious, recreational, educational, political or social purposes, or to consume food or drink.
• In order to have a legal Place of Assembly, certain Fire and Building Code requirements must be fulfilled.
• The Department of Buildings performs the initial inspection for the first issuance of a Place of Assembly permit.
• To obtain a Place of Assembly Permit, download the PA-1 form and instructions, and read the service notice for more information.
• To request a Place of Assembly job folder, you can now go to the Records Room on the 3rd Floor of the Department of Buildings Manhattan Borough Office.

Above is an image of the new initial Place of Assembly Permit, as of July 10, 2006. Read the service notice to learn more.

Place of Assembly Owner Affidavit Now Accepted in
All Boroughs!
To make it easier for you to do business with us and to further our commitment to streamline our processes, you may now submit the Place Assembly Form (OP-45) in the borough where the Place of Assembly (PA) space is located. View service notice for more information.

Permit Renewal

• Place of Assembly permits are renewed annually based on an inspection performed by the New York City Fire Department.
• The Fire Department forwards the results of the inspection(s), and if appropriate, a permit renewal is issued by the Department of Buildings.

Please note: At this time, the look of the PA renewal permit and the process to obtain a renewal PA permit is not changing. In addition, PA renewal permits are not available on BISWeb.

Questions and Complaints

• Use the Buildings Information System to find out if an initial application was filed for a Place of Assembly permit at a particular establishment.
• Contact the New York City Fire Department for information about permit renewals.
• General questions or complaints about Places of Assembly should be made by calling 311.