Obtaining a Certificate
The City of Brea has a somewhat unique way of handling the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O). No building in the city is issued a C of O that gives a blanket approval to a whole host of businesses within a building code occupancy classification to move in. Instead, each business needs to obtain a separate C of O to occupy a portion of a building.
Individually owned dwellings are exempt from the C of O requirement. The C of O for an apartment is issued to the landlord and the C of O for a hotel is issued to the hotel operator. C of O's for commercial buildings are issued to each individual tenant.
An initial C of O shall be obtained by each business as a prerequisite for business license application. It needs to be renewed or revised when any of the following occurs:
- Alteration to the building
- Change of occupancy classification to the business operation
- Change of the business tenant
- Change of business ownership
- Change of building ownership
C of O applications should be submitted to the Building and Safety Division, along with supplemental questionnaires. Building and Safety will complete the C of O process, which leads to the issuance of a C of O by the building official. The C of O must be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises at all times. To check the status of a C of O application, please call 714-671-4406 or email building@cityofbrea.net.