New York City sets its own elevator test and filing dates. This article lists what elevator software for NYC contractors needs to track, and which tools state publicly that they track it.
Last checked Sep 30, 2026, against 1 RCNY §103-02, DOB’s Elevator Compliance page and each vendor’s own site.
This page summarizes the rules to explain what software needs to track. The official source is 1 RCNY §103-02; check it, or ask your agency director, before you rely on a date.
We make LiftAuth, one of the tools discussed below. We’ve described it in the same way as the others, including what it doesn’t do.
Every NYC elevator needs a Cat 1 test each year, and every test needs its report filed in DOB NOW on time. Any report not filed by the deadline carries a penalty for the owner; see the Cat 1 deadline guide.
Each requirement below sets a date your office has to track. The guide linked in each row explains the rule in full.
| Requirement | The rule | What software should track |
|---|---|---|
| Cat 1 test Guide | A no-load safety test every calendar year, Jan 1 to Dec 31, witnessed by an independent approved agency. | A due date per unit for the current year, and the witness booking. |
| Periodic inspection | A visual inspection every calendar year, at least 90 days from the Cat 1, by an approved agency not affiliated with the maintenance company. No witness. | A second date per unit, spaced from the Cat 1. |
| Cat 5 test Guide | A test at rated load and speed every 5 years from the month of the last Cat 5 (or the Certificate of Compliance for a new elevator), witnessed, with 5 calendar days’ notice to DOB. Water-hydraulic elevators also need a Cat 3 every 3 years. | A five-year clock per unit, counted in months, and a reminder to notify DOB. |
| Filing Guide | Cat 1, 3 and 5 reports within 21 days of the test; periodic reports within 14 days. DOB NOW refuses Cat 1 filings after Jan 21 of the following year, and periodic filings after Jan 14. | A countdown from each test date to its filing deadline. |
| Defects Guide | Correct within 90 days of the inspection or test; hazardous conditions and firefighter Phase I/II defects immediately. File the affirmation of correction (AOC) within 14 days of correcting. Not done by day 104 is a Failure to Correct violation. | Each defect with its inspection date, correction date and AOC date. |
| Penalties Guide | The owner pays, per elevator. In commercial, mixed-use and 3+ unit buildings: $3,000 for a Cat 1 or periodic report never filed, $5,000 for Cat 3 or Cat 5; late filing $150 a month (cap $1,800) or $250 a month (cap $3,000); Failure to Correct $3,000. Lower amounts apply to 1–2 family buildings. | What’s at risk, visible to the owner before it’s a violation. |
Sources: 1 RCNY §103-02; DOB Elevator Compliance; DOB service update, Dec 30, 2021; DOB service update, Nov 30, 2021. Some older DOB pages still say 60 days to file, 120 to correct and 60 for the AOC. Those are the pre-2022 figures; Local Law 126 of 2021 replaced them from January 1, 2022.
We checked the elevator and field service tools on public “best elevator software” lists, plus one inspection-agency tool we found searching for NYC Cat 1 and Cat 5 software. The table shows what each says on its own site.
| Tool | What it states publicly | Files in DOB NOW? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIELDBOSS | Schedules annual (Category 1) and five-year (Category 5) tests, with due dates generated from the last completed test; manages violations “from start to clearance”. No mention of NYC or DOB NOW in the safety-test post. | Not stated publicly | Safety-test post, elevator page |
| Forz | Cat 1 set to annual and Cat 5 to every five years on the same car, framed as ASME A17.1 / CSA B44 tests. Your jurisdiction’s inspection can be added as its own type. No mention of New York or DOB. | Not stated publicly | Elevator page |
| KomplyOS | Markets NYC DOB Cat 1 and Cat 5 workflows to elevator inspection companies. Says it “auto-prepares elevator inspection reports for DOB filing”. Offline mobile app. | Prepares reports for filing; doesn’t claim to submit them | Elevator inspection page |
| LiftAuth (ours) | The witnessing agency books a time from your Team’s calendar, and the Building Manager agrees to it. Defects are logged as Issues. | No | LiftAuth for NYC |
| LiftKeeper, ElevatorPlus, BuildOps, ServiceTitan, Method, Fieldy, Klipboard | Nothing on Cat 1, Cat 5, NYC or DOB NOW found on their own sites. | Not stated publicly | Their entries in our list |
None of the tools we checked says it submits reports to DOB NOW: Safety, so someone still files each report in DOB NOW itself. Software can help make sure that:
“Not stated publicly” means we could not find it on the vendor’s site. Ask about it in the demo.
LiftAuth covers part of the NYC work. The two lists below show which part.
Annual inspections. Every elevator’s next due date, soonest first, and a list of elevators missing a due date or a witnessing agency.
Witness booking. You add each witnessing agency as an Auditor. The Auditor gets one booking link that lists all your elevators awaiting a booking, and picks an hour from your Team’s calendar. Your office confirms, then the Building Manager agrees to the time or asks for another.
Renewal. When the report is done, the office enters the elevator’s new due date.
Defects. Logged as Issues against the elevator, with photos, video and severity. The Building Manager can see them.
No DOB NOW filing. Reports are filed in DOB NOW: Safety, outside LiftAuth.
No filing countdown. No automatic 21-day or 14-day filing timer.
No AOC tracker. Defects are tracked until repaired. LiftAuth does not count the 90-day and 14-day AOC deadlines.
No US track record yet. So far, LiftAuth is used only by contractors in Singapore.
If you most need a Cat 5 tracker or DOB-ready reports, FIELDBOSS and Forz state more on those points, and so does KomplyOS for inspection agencies. LiftAuth is for booking witnesses across many buildings and getting each Building Manager to agree to a time before Dec 31. See LiftAuth for NYC contractors.
The Cat 1 deadline guide covers the end of the year in detail. The other rules are in our NYC guides.
None of the tools we checked on Sep 30, 2026 says it submits reports to DOB NOW: Safety. KomplyOS, which is built for inspection agencies, says it prepares reports for DOB filing. FIELDBOSS and Forz describe Cat 1 and Cat 5 scheduling.
For each elevator, it needs the calendar-year Cat 1 test and its witness, and the periodic inspection at least 90 days from it. It also needs the five-year Cat 5, counted from the month of the last one. For filing, it needs the 21-day and 14-day windows. For defects, it needs the 90-day correction and 14-day AOC deadlines.
The owner, per elevator. In commercial, mixed-use and 3+ unit residential buildings, a Cat 1 or periodic report never filed is $3,000 and a Cat 3 or Cat 5 report is $5,000. See our NYC elevator fines guide.
Annual inspection due dates and witness booking, shown with New York examples.
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