NYC Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH)

What Is the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings?

The NYC Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) is New York City's independent administrative law court, established to provide a fair and efficient forum for resolving disputes between city agencies and individuals or businesses. OATH adjudicates violations issued by virtually every city agency, including DOB, FDNY, HPD, DOT, DEP, DSNY, and more.

OATH is organized into two main divisions. The Trials Division handles complex cases involving employee discipline, licensing disputes, and other multi-day proceedings before Administrative Law Judges. The Hearings Division — which absorbed the former Environmental Control Board (ECB) in 2016 — processes the vast majority of city-issued summonses, over 600,000 per year, at borough offices and online.

Because OATH inherited ECB's docket, an "ECB violation" and an "OATH summons" now describe the same case at different stages. When an inspector writes the summons it references ECB; when the hearing happens, it takes place at OATH under an OATH Hearing Officer. OATH decisions are binding and enforceable through property liens and judgment collection.

OATH's Jurisdiction & Authority

OATH is a tribunal — its authority is procedural rather than substantive, but its scope is broad:

Limitations of OATH

OATH is a tribunal, not an enforcement agency — its authority ends where the issuing agency's begins:

• OATH only adjudicates violations — it does not conduct inspections, issue violations, or order physical corrections to properties.
• OATH cannot dismiss the underlying agency violation (e.g., a DOB violation). It can only assess or dismiss the monetary penalty associated with the summons.
• OATH decisions can be appealed to the OATH Appeals Unit within 30 days of the decision; after that, appeals go to state court via an Article 78 proceeding.
• OATH cannot hear criminal cases — only administrative violations. Criminal building code violations are prosecuted in criminal court.
• OATH's authority is limited to the penalty schedule established by the issuing agency. Hearing Officers can reduce but not increase penalties beyond the scheduled range.
• OATH cannot waive DOB civil penalties directly — those must be paid or waived at the borough office after the summons is resolved.

How BVS Works with OATH

BVS appears at OATH constantly, both in the Hearings Division for routine ECB summonses and for more complex proceedings involving licensing and enforcement. We know the Hearing Officers, the online portal, and the practical difference between what a judge can and cannot do — so we bring the right defense, evidence, and cure documentation for each summons rather than treating every case the same way.

Understand OATH Better

Related guides that explain what happens before, during, and after an OATH hearing:

OATH is where nearly every NYC agency's summonses are heard. Summonses from DOB, FDNY, HPD, DOT, and LPC — as well as DEP, DSNY, and DCWP — are all adjudicated at OATH's Hearings Division under the schedules those agencies publish. The Environmental Control Board (ECB) was folded into OATH's Hearings Division in 2016, which is why the two names describe the same tribunal at different stages of the same case.