Occupancy Certificate (OC)

Also known as: OC

An Occupancy Certificate is the local authority's certification that a completed building conforms to the sanctioned plan and applicable regulations and is fit for occupation.

Occupying a building without an OC is technically unlawful and exposes owners to demolition or regularisation proceedings, and it obstructs resale, mortgage and Khata transfer. The OC is distinct from a Completion Certificate, which records that construction finished per plan; the OC is what actually permits occupation. Buyers of apartments should treat an absent OC as a live risk rather than a formality, since it usually signals an unresolved deviation from the sanctioned plan.

What it proves

That the authority certified the building as compliant and fit for occupation.

Issued by

BBMP, BDA or the relevant planning authority