Westwood Borough

Bergen County

TextClient checklist

Certificate of Occupancy

Required
Certificate
Zoning Certificate of Compliance for Residential Sale and Rental (CCO), combined with the Smoke Alarm and Carbon Monoxide Detector application
Issued by
Borough of Westwood Office of Construction & Zoning (Building Department)
Requirements
  • Physical safety inspection plus a block and lot file review to confirm the home is used as designed under zoning (for example one-family vs. two-family status)
  • Exterior: level sidewalks and walkways with no trip hazards; no debris or overgrowth; pool barrier with proper height and self-closing, outward-opening gate with lock 54 inches high; garage door opener plugged directly into an outlet
  • Interior: all utilities on; no keyed bedroom locks; thumb-turn deadbolts inside; working GFCI outlets; sound fireplace firebox; furnace emergency switch at top of basement stairs; secure boiler/water heater flue; relief valve pipe within 6 inches of the floor; leak-free aboveground oil tanks; handrails on stairs with more than 4 risers and guards over 30 inches
  • Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to the Borough checklist (see fire certificate)
  • Sump pumps must discharge to a storm sewer or street gutter line, not the sanitary sewer, roadway or sidewalk
  • House numbers clearly visible from the street
  • All building permits must be closed; the CCO inspection will not be scheduled with any open permits
  • Rentals must attach a Lead Safe or Lead Free certificate
Fees
Zoning certificate of compliance / smoke and CO inspection, closing more than 2 weeks away$100.00
Closing less than 2 weeks away$150.00
Re-inspection$50.00
Timing
Fee depends on how far away the closing is when the form is submitted: over 2 weeks for the lower fee. The inspection is not scheduled until payment is received.
Phone
201-664-5900
ApplicationOfficial page

Smoke and CO alarm certificate

Required
Requirements
  • Smoke alarms per build date: before 1977 sealed 10-year battery alarms on all levels; 1977 to 1978 electric on sleeping levels; 1978 to 1983 electric on sleeping and basement levels; 1983 to 1984 electric on all levels; 1984 to 1991 electric and interconnected; March 1991 to now electric, interconnected, with battery backup on all levels and inside each bedroom
  • Battery alarms must be 10-year sealed; hardwired alarms cannot be replaced with battery alarms; no alarm older than 10 years; UL listed with a test button; not painted
  • Smoke alarm near every bedroom door; basement and non-sleeping levels near the stairway up; two-family common halls and stairs need an alarm at each landing
  • Carbon monoxide alarm on each sleeping level, in the hallway near every bedroom door, in homes with fuel-burning appliances or an attached garage
  • Central station monitored systems need certification from a licensed NJ fire protection contractor before the Borough inspection

Westwood Fire Prevention Bureau (Fire Inspector), through the Building Department's combined CCO application

Fees
Smoke detector compliance certificate (Borough Code 166, waived when done with the CO inspection)$25
Timing
Same as the CCO: lower fee when the closing is more than 2 weeks away. The Borough Code says the inspection is made within 10 business days of the application.
Phone
201-664-7100 ext. 308
ApplicationOfficial page
Last checked October 4, 2026
Sources
  1. https://www.westwoodnj.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2800/Zoning-Certificate-of-Compliance-for-Residential-Sale-and-Rental-CCO--pdf
  2. https://www.westwoodnj.gov/
  3. https://www.westwoodnj.gov/250/Zoning-Office
  4. https://ecode360.com/13846898

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