How to Clear OATH/ECB Violations and Judgments Before Selling a NYC Property

If you are selling a New York City property with OATH/ECB violations, clearing them usually means two separate jobs. One is the money: an unpaid penalty becomes a judgment against you, and the title company will expect it paid at or before closing. The other is the violation record: proof the problem was fixed, called a certificate of correction, accepted by the agency that wrote the summons. Paying does not do the second job, and fixing the problem does not always do the first.

OATH is the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, the City’s administrative court. It replaced the old Environmental Control Board (ECB), so many records still say “ECB.” These rules apply in the five boroughs only.

Two things to clear, and who cares about each

The money. A penalty OATH imposes, after a hearing or by default, becomes a judgment against the person named in the summons. It can be collected like any court judgment for eight years (City Charter, OATH copy). One title insurer tells its agents that ECB liens against the owner, found in any NYC county, “must be raised and disposed of.” In practice that means paid, or money held back, at closing.

The violation. An open DOB violation is not a lien. The title company reports it but does not insure it, and it stays with the building after the sale. The buyer and the buyer’s lender decide whether to accept it, and your contract usually says who fixes it (see open items found days before closing). For which items are liens, see NYC property violations at closing.

First, list everything open

Search the OATH Summons Finder by the property address and by every name you have owned it under, including any LLC. Then check:

BIS, the Department of Buildings’ (DOB’s) older Buildings Information System, where ECB violations appear
The Department of Finance (DOF) property account, because some DOB judgments against small-building owners are turned into tax liens, paid like taxes at closing (see ECB and HPD charges and the new owner)
CityPay or DOF e-Services, DOF’s online payment systems, for current judgment balances with interest

For each summons, note the agency, the status (hearing pending, decided, or decided by default) and the balance. Step-by-step lookups are in how to check a NYC property for violations.

Paying, curing or both: what each one clears

These options apply to DOB summonses.

What you do	What it clears, and what it leaves open
Cure by the cure date	No hearing and no penalty, for summonses DOB lists as curable. Curing counts as admitting the violation. You must pick the cure option when you file the certificate of correction, or the hearing still goes ahead.
Stipulation before the hearing	You admit the violation in exchange for more time to fix it and a reduced penalty. If you certify the fix on time, there is no hearing.
Pay before the hearing	Counts as admitting the violation. The violation stays “Open” in BIS until DOB approves a certificate of correction.
Certificate of correction only	Resolves the violation on DOB’s record. You may still have to attend the hearing or pay a penalty, unless you cured, stipulated or admitted.
Pay a judgment	Clears the debt. The violation stays open until a certificate of correction is approved or OATH dismisses the summons.
Win at the hearing	No certificate of correction needed, but an unfixed condition can bring new summonses.

Sources: DOB’s OATH summons page, certificate of correction FAQs and tips page.

Doing nothing costs the most. If you do not cure, stipulate, pay or attend, OATH imposes a default penalty, which can reach $25,000 depending on the violation. A Class 1 (immediately hazardous) illegal conversion summons also adds $1,000 a day, up to $45,000, until the fix is certified (DOB, OATH Summons FAQs).

Certificates of correction

DOB summonses

You file online in DOB NOW: Safety, DOB’s filing system, with an NYC.ID account. Paper and in-person filings are no longer accepted (Certificate of Correction FAQs). You can file any time after the summons is issued, before or after the hearing.

Depending on the violation, DOB’s June 2026 user guide asks for proof such as:

Permits, and a job sign-off when the work needed a permit
Dated photos that show the location
A certificate of occupancy (CO), for use and occupancy violations
Proof that a stop work order was lifted (see stop work orders on a NYC sale)
A copy of the deed when you file as the owner, plus formation papers for a company

DOB will not approve a certificate until all DOB civil penalties are paid or waived. For Work Without a Permit summonses, a separate DOB penalty is paid in person at the borough office that issued the summons. If DOB disapproves it, the reasons come by email, and you can resubmit or dispute. Once approved, the violation shows as “Resolved” in BIS. Old permit jobs that block a sign-off are covered in open permits on a NYC sale.

Other agencies

Other agencies whose summonses OATH hears set their own process:

Fire Department (FDNY): a notarized certificate of correction with proof, filed through the FDNY Business portal by the compliance date on the summons. If FDNY accepts it, a first offender is excused from the hearing and pays no penalty (FDNY instructions).
Environmental Protection (DEP) and Landmarks: contact the agency. DOF’s amnesty page lists the contacts.

Reopening a missed hearing (default)

If nobody attended the hearing, OATH decided the summons “by default” and imposed a higher penalty. The person named can ask for a new hearing (OATH rules on defaults):

Within 75 days: a first request is granted.
After that, up to one year from the default decision: the request must give a reasonable excuse for missing the hearing.
After one year: OATH considers it only in exceptional circumstances.

When the 75 days start. OATH’s rules start the clock on the date the default decision was mailed or handed to you. OATH’s online request page and FAQs start it on the missed hearing date. The decision always comes after the hearing, so the hearing date gives the earlier deadline. A request made within 75 days of the hearing date meets both.

Requests go online or by mail on OATH’s form. Missing the new hearing too normally ends the chance to reopen. If you already paid, a refund is considered only after the new hearing is decided.

A new hearing can lead to dismissal or a lower penalty. But OATH does not say how long it takes or what happens to the judgment meanwhile, so the case may still be open at closing.

Debt Demolisher: the 2026 amnesty

Debt Demolisher, officially the ECB Amnesty and Compliance Program, is a temporary DOF program. It runs from October 13, 2026 through January 10, 2027 (DOF program page; NYC 311).

Default judgments: you pay the base fine only. The default penalty and interest are waived.
Judgments after a hearing: you pay 75% of the fine, with no interest.

Who qualifies. Unpaid ECB judgments entered in court by July 15, 2026. Someone other than the person named may also pay.

Excluded: judgments turned into tax liens, judgments sent to the Sheriff or a City Marshal for collection or under a payment agreement, summonses from a citizen’s complaint (such as idling or noise), and judgments under criminal investigation.

The conditions:

Each judgment must be paid in full in one payment. No partial payments or payment plans.
If a judgment also requires a fix, the agency must approve the correction (for DOB, a certificate of correction) and DOF must be notified by January 10, 2027.
Paying a default judgment counts as admitting the violation. You give up the right to ask for a new hearing or challenge the amount.
Judgments paid in full before the program started are not refunded.

You pay through CityPay (“Pay an ECB Violation”) or at a DOF Business Center.

After January 10, 2027, DOF’s ongoing settlement program remains. It covers default judgments only, once the condition is corrected. You pay the base penalty with interest plus half the default penalty.

Proof the title company will accept

Each title company sets its own closing requirements, and your title closer can say what it wants. City sources offer these documents:

Paid judgment: the “Notification of ECB Payment” letter, which you view in DOF e-Services with your OATH ID. DOF describes it as proof the judgment debt was resolved.
Judgment paid at closing: a current balance with interest from CityPay. Interest runs until payment.
Tax lien: the DOF property account balance, paid like taxes.
DOB violation the buyer wants closed: DOB’s approval email and “Resolved” status in BIS.

If money is held back at closing instead, one insurer’s guidelines for agents release it only once a payment receipt or a later search shows the amount paid.

How long each step takes

DOB, OATH and DOF publish no processing times for certificates of correction, new hearings or payment letters. The only fixed dates are the cure date on a summons and the January 10, 2027 amnesty deadline. Items that need a permit sign-off or a hearing are the most likely to run past a closing date. For a full pre-listing review, see what stalls NYC closings.

Example (hypothetical)

You plan to sell your two-family house in Brooklyn. The Summons Finder shows a Work Without a Permit summons in your name, decided by default and entered as a judgment in early 2025.

The default is over a year old, so a new hearing needs exceptional circumstances. It was entered before the July 15, 2026 cutoff, so Debt Demolisher could cut it to the base fine. But the condition needs a fix, so DOB must first approve a certificate of correction, which needs a permit signed off and the separate DOB penalty paid. DOF must learn of the approval by January 10, 2027. Because the house has three or fewer units, the judgment may already be a tax lien, which the amnesty excludes.

Details for attorneys and title professionals

Two counting rules for 75 days. The rule text counts from mailing or hand delivery of the default decision. OATH’s public pages count from the missed hearing date. The 75-day period replaced a 60-day period in a 2022 rule change. The one-year period runs from the date of the default decision.
Who can reopen. The new-hearing rule speaks of the respondent, the person named. A buyer who was not named cannot rely on it to undo a seller’s default.
Second defaults. A second default after a granted new hearing is not eligible for another request. OATH’s chief judge may still grant one in exceptional circumstances to avoid injustice.
Denials. A denied new-hearing request is OATH’s final decision and can be challenged only in court.
Certificate of correction filing. The request names a submitter, a certifier (who knows how the fix was made) and a corrector (who did the work). DOB’s guide also lists temporary or interim COs, boiler, elevator and facade inspection reports, and vacate-order rescissions as proof. A certificate cannot be filed before the hearing on a summons issued for a false certificate of correction.
Older forms. Some OATH and DOB pages still describe paper AEU2 and AEU20 forms uploaded through the BIS portal. DOB’s June 2026 guide says these forms are no longer required and filing is through DOB NOW: Safety.
Debt Demolisher terms. The 311 page says DOF needs either a certificate of compliance from the issuing agency or an electronic compliance record by the last day. The payment-agreement exclusion covers agreements with the Sheriff, a Marshal, the Corporation Counsel or its contractor.
Settlement program limits. A payor other than the person named may use it. Judgments referred to the Sheriff, a Marshal or the City’s Law Department are excluded. DOF excludes judgments that DOB already reduced, and judgments not yet in compliance.

Official sources

Korvane Title is preparing to launch in New York. It is not licensed as a title insurance agent and does not accept title orders. Content on this site is general information, not legal advice.