DEPARTMENT OF LICENSES AND INSPECTIONS AND ITS DEPARTMENTAL BOARDS

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter art. V, ch. 10

in effect

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 5-1000 Powers and Duties in General.

§ 5-1000. Powers and Duties in General. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this charter, the Department of Licenses and Inspections shall exercise the powers and perform the duties relating to licensing and inspection formerly exercised and performed by all officers, departments, boards and commissions of the City and such other powers and duties as are imposed or conferred upon it by this charter or by ordinance. ANNOTATION Sources: No specific source. Purposes: The issuance of licenses and the performance of inspection functions by various agencies of the City government have resulted in inconvenience to the public, loss of revenue, lack of uniformity in procedures, and the absence of any effective over-all supervision and control. To remedy such conditions, one Department of Licenses and Inspections is created which is to issue all licenses required to be obtained from the City and ultimately to conduct all City inspection functions.

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 5-1001 Definitions.

§ 5-1001. Definitions. In this Chapter: (a) "License" shall mean any license or permit required by statute, ordinance or regulation to be obtained from any officer, department, board or commission as a prerequisite to engaging in any activity or having possession of or using any property but shall not include the right to admission to any facility in any park or under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks and Recreation. 217 (b) "Inspection" shall mean any inspection, test or examination to which any person is subject as an applicant for or a holder of a license or to which any property is subject under any statute, ordinance or regulation which it is the duty of the Mayor or of any other officer or of any department, board or commission to enforce. ANNOTATION Sources: No specific source. Purposes: "License" is defined in the broadest sense of a grant of permission required from the City by private persons engaging in activities or using property subject to regulations by statute or ordinance. It is not intended to include what is normally regarded as a ticket of admission to any facility. "Inspection" is defined in the broadest possible sense of the examination or testing of property or the conduct of activities subject to regulation by statute or ordinance or to licensing. Thus, it is intended to include the inspection of means used for the storage of gasoline, the construction and operation of slaughter houses, or the operation of restaurants. It is intended to cover any examination which the operator of a motion picture projector might have to take to show that he is qualified to operate such a machine safely. On the other hand, "inspection" is not intended to cover the testing of materials or supplies purchased by the City to determine if they conform with specifications, nor does it include civil service examinations. Notes 217 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on November 4, 2008, and certified on November 28, 2008. See Bill No. 080169 (approved August 4, 2008); Resolution No. 080181 (adopted June 19, 2008).

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 5-1002 Functions.

§ 5-1002. Functions. The Department of Licenses and Inspections shall have the power and its duty shall be to perform the following functions: (a) Building Safety and Sanitation, Signs and Zoning. It shall, except as otherwise specifically provided in this charter, administer and enforce all statutes, ordinances and regulations for the protection of persons and property from hazards, in the use, condition, erection, alteration, maintenance, repair, sanitation (including the maintenance and condition of plumbing and drainage facilities and the maintenance of sanitary conditions in housing accommodations), removal and demolition of buildings and structures or any parts thereof and the grounds appurtenant thereto, in the operation of equipment therein, and of outdoor signs. Subject to the powers and duties of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, the Department shall enforce compliance with zoning ordinances. (b) Issuance of Licenses. The Department shall: (1) Issue all forms for applications and receive all applications for any license; (2) Determine whether the applicant is properly entitled to the license which the applicant seeks; 218 (3) If the application is granted and the proper fee has been paid to the Department of Collections through its employees in the Department of Licenses and Inspections, issue the license to the applicant, either for itself or as agent for the officer, department, board or commission under whose jurisdiction the subject matter thereof falls; (4) If the application is refused, notify the applicant in writing of the refusal and the reasons therefor. The procedure shall be the same for original applications and for applications for transfer or renewal. The requirements and standards to be met by applicants for licenses shall be established by the Department in all cases in which the Department is responsible for the functions involved. In all other cases, the requirements and standards shall be certified to the Department by the officers, departments, boards or commissions for which the Department is acting. The Department, when in doubt concerning the interpretation to be placed on the certified requirements or standards, may consult the certifying officer, department, board or commission, but the Department shall make the decision whether the license should be granted. (c) Inspections. The Department shall make all inspections except as otherwise specifically provided in this charter. The standards to be met upon inspections shall be established by the Department in all cases in which it is responsible for the function involved. In all other cases, except where the inspection is provided in this charter to be made by any officer, department, board or commission other than the Department of Licenses and Inspections, the standards shall be certified to the Department of Licenses and Inspections by the respective officers, departments, boards or commissions for which the Department is acting. The Department shall train and maintain a competent force of inspectors, who, to the extent practicable, shall make single inspections within the scope of the functions of the Department to determine compliance with statutes, ordinances and regulations. (d) Enforcement. The Department shall determine as the result of its inspections whether any person or the owner of any property is violating the conditions of any license, or whether or not any property owner is violating any statute, ordinance or regulation which it is the duty of the Department to enforce. If the Department shall find a violation to exist, it shall forthwith make such order or take such other lawful action as may be necessary to correct the dangerous or unlawful condition, and if necessary it shall invoke the assistance of the Law Department or the Philadelphia Police or both. (e) Revocation, Suspension or Cancellation of Licenses. Whenever the Department finds that the holder of any license is violating the conditions thereof, and whenever the officer, department, board or commission as whose agent the Department granted the license directs the Department to do so, it shall revoke, suspend or cancel the license. Any revocation, suspension or cancellation shall be in writing and shall state in detail the reasons therefor. (f) Special Inspections on Request. The Department, on request of any officer, department, board or commission, shall make a special inspection of any property upon which unlawful conditions are believed to exist or of the manner in which the holder of any license is operating under it. ANNOTATION Sources: No specific source. Purposes: 1. Municipal regulations to assure building safety, the maintenance of sanitary housing conditions, the safe use of outdoor signs and compliance with zoning ordinances are all functionally inter-related and involve essentially similar enforcement activities of licensing and inspection. For this reason and because enforcement has not been adequate or satisfactory, responsibility in these areas is centralized in the Department of Licenses and Inspections. 2. The Department of Licenses and Inspections will issue City licenses. See Annotation to Section 5-1000. However, license fees will be collected by a representative of Department of Collections stationed for the convenience of the public in the Department of Licenses and Inspections. See Section 6-200(d). The Department will issue licenses as the agent of any other City agency concerned in order to preserve the substantive power granted by statute or ordinance to such other agency. Due process motivates the requirement that upon the refusal of a license, the applicant shall be advised that it has been refused and the reasons why it has been refused. 3. The department primarily charged with the administration of any law being enforced through a license is the department which is to establish the standards to be met by an applicant for such a license because that department has an appreciation and a comprehension of the reasons why a license is required to a degree not possible to be had by the Department of Licenses and Inspections. The latter Department is to apply those standards in issuing a license so that issuance will not be delayed by administrative routing and red tape. Thus, licenses involving problems of health will be issued according to standards determined by the Department of Public Health; licenses involving fire prevention and safety measures will be issued according to standards set by the Fire Department; etc. The Department of Licenses and Inspections is required when it is in doubt as to the application of standards, and should generally as a matter of good practice, consult with the various departments concerned, in discharging its licensing functions. In the case of building safety and sanitation, signs and zoning, standards will be set by the Department of Licenses and Inspections because it is charged with the substantive administrative functions in these categories. 4. While the centralization of all inspection functions in the Department of Licenses and Inspections is the ultimate goal sought, if feasible, testimony presented at public hearings on the proposed Charter indicated that as a practical matter this could not be accomplished at once. Accordingly, the Charter envisages the gradual transfer of all inspections, if feasible, to the Department. Pending such transfer, each department vested with enforcement powers, such as the Departments of Public Health and Fire, are to continue to perform inspection functions. These are to be transferred to the Department of Licenses and Inspections in the course of time upon the order of the Mayor with the approval of the Administrative Board. Section 8-412. 5. Standards to be met upon inspections are to be determined by the departments primarily responsible for the functions involved because they will be peculiarly competent to appraise and determine what shall constitute conformance with laws and regulations within the sphere of their functions. Thus, the Fire Department will determine what standards must be met by persons engaged in occupations involving the storage of combustible materials. The Department of Public Health will set the standards to be met upon inspection of barber shops because the problem involved is one of public health. 6. The good to be achieved by the ultimate centralization of all inspection functions would be limited if the present practice of multiple inspections of the same property and the activities conducted therein were continued. For this reason, the requirement is imposed of single inspections through appropriately trained inspectors to the extent practicable. 7. Since inspection is required primarily for law enforcement purposes, the Department of Licenses and Inspections is required to note violations of laws and regulations which it has the duty to enforce and to take appropriate action to correct any unlawful conditions. It may call upon the Law Department or the Philadelphia Police or both to aid in the enforcement process. 8. As part of its licensing functions, the Department is required to revoke, suspend or cancel licenses when conditions upon which such licenses were granted are being violated. Discovery of violations may be made by the Department itself in fulfillment of its other law enforcement functions, or may come about by discovery or act of other departments in the performance of their functions. For this reason, an order from any other department to cancel a license is to be given full effect. Due process requires notification of such action and the reasons therefor. 9. Since the Department of Licenses and Inspections will ultimately conduct most, if not all, inspections, specific provision is made that the Department shall fulfill the request of any department for a special inspection. Notes 218 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on May 17, 2022, and certified on June 6, 2022. See Bill No. 220001 (approved February 25, 2022); Resolution No. 220009 (adopted February 24, 2022).

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 5-1003 Copies and Reports.

§ 5-1003. Copies and Reports. The Department of Licenses and Inspections shall: (a) Transmit to the officer, department, board or commission primarily concerned with the subject of any particular category of licenses, a copy of every application for such a license or its transfer or renewal, of every such license issued, renewed or transferred, and of every notice of a refusal, suspension, revocation or cancellation of such a license; (b) Transmit to the officer, department, board or commission primarily concerned with the subject of any particular category of inspections, a report of every such inspection made by it and the results thereof, a copy of every notice or order issued and a report of any other action taken as a result of such an inspection; (c) Transmit to the City Solicitor a report of every violation of any statute, ordinance or regulation concerning any license, or discovered upon any inspection. ANNOTATION Sources: No specific source. Purposes: 1. Full information concerning all phases of the issuance and termination of any license as the result of any inspection is required to be forwarded to the department primarily concerned with the subject matter of any license or inspection so that such department can properly fulfill its function of promulgating regulations and law enforcement in its sphere. Such information will keep the department primarily concerned fully apprised of the end result of its primary function and will enable it to be in a position to make recommendation with respect to any necessary legislation and to conform its activities to current practices and needs. 2. Notices of violations are required to be submitted to the City Solicitor because of his responsibility for law enforcement.

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 5-1004 Right of Entry.

§ 5-1004. Right of Entry. Subject to the limitations of the Constitutions of the United States and of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, any officer or employee of the Department of Licenses and Inspections, in the performance of the officer's or employee's duties, may at any reasonable hour, without hindrance, enter, examine and inspect all vessels, vehicles, premises, grounds, structures, buildings, and underground passages of every sort, including their contents and occupancies, and may likewise examine, inspect and test any substance, article, equipment or other property. ANNOTATION Sources: New York City Charter, 1938, Section 492. Purposes: In order to fulfill its inspection functions, the Department of Licenses and Inspections must have a right of entry, qualified only by constitutional limitations. Notes 219 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on May 17, 2022, and certified on June 6, 2022. See Bill No. 220001 (approved February 25, 2022); Resolution No. 220009 (adopted February 24, 2022).

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 5-1005 Board of License and Inspection Review.

§ 5-1005. Board of License and Inspection Review. The Board of License and Inspection Review shall provide an appeal procedure whereby any person aggrieved by the issuance, transfer, renewal, refusal, suspension, revocation or cancellation of any City license or by any notice, order or other action as a result of any City inspection, affecting the person directly, shall upon request be furnished with a written statement of the reasons for the action taken and afforded a hearing thereon by the Board of License and Inspection Review. Upon such hearing the Board shall hear any evidence which the aggrieved party or the City may desire to offer, shall make findings and render a decision in writing. The Board may affirm, modify, reverse, vacate or revoke the action from which the appeal was taken to it. ANNOTATION Sources: No specific source. Purposes: The Board of License and Inspection Review is a new agency created for the purpose of affording citizens, adversely affected by the exercise of licensing and inspection powers vested in City agencies, an orderly procedure, in conformity with due process, for the review of action taken against them. Decisions of the Board are to be binding upon the administrative agency of the City involved, subject, of course, to such further right of appeal to the courts as may exist. Notes 220 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on May 17, 2022, and certified on June 6, 2022. See Bill No. 220001 (approved February 25, 2022); Resolution No. 220009 (adopted February 24, 2022).

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 5-1006 Reserved. [Renumbered to Section 4-607 by approval of the voters at the election held on November 3, 2015, and certified on November 23, 2015. See Bill No. 140721 (approved June 16, 2015); Resolution No. 140732-A (adopted June 11, 2015). See Charter subsection A-200(14) for effective date.]

Philadelphia Home Rule Charter § 5-1007 Board of Building Standards.

§ 5-1007. Board of Building Standards. The Board of Building Standards shall: (a) Advise the Commissioner of Licenses and Inspections, upon the Commissioner's request, on the interpretation of the Building Code and of any regulations relating to building safety and sanitation; 222 (b) Suggest regulations applying standards of good practice in the enforcement of statutes and ordinances dealing with building safety and sanitation; (c) Upon request of the Commissioner of Licenses and Inspections pass upon the worth of new and substitute materials proposed to be used in building construction and also upon new methods of construction; (d) Consider any suggested changes in standards and regulations, new and substitute materials, or new methods of construction, either with or without holding public hearings; but before the Board shall recommend any change or modification of such standards and regulations, it shall hold a public hearing at which all interested parties may present their views. After such public hearing the Board shall submit its findings and recommendations to the Commissioner of Licenses and Inspections for Commissioner's approval. Upon approval by the Commissioner they shall become a part of the standards and regulations. 223 ANNOTATION Sources: Ordinance of the City of Philadelphia, May 9, 1949. Purposes: The Board of Building Standards is the successor to the Board of Standards and Appeals. It is connected with the Department of Licenses and Inspections because it is primarily concerned with matters affecting building safety. Its functions are largely those of the former Board of Standards and Appeals. The Board of Appeals established by the Ordinance of the City of Philadelphia, May 9, 1949, has been abolished because of the creation of the Board of Building Standards. _______________ Notes 222 | Amended by approval of the voters at the election held on May 17, 2022, and certified on June 6, 2022. See Bill No. 220001 (approved February 25, 2022); Resolution No. 220009 (adopted February 24, 2022). 223 | The phrase "to the Commissioner of Licenses and Inspections for his approval" was changed by the Code editor to read "to the Commissioner of Licenses and Inspections for the Commissioner's approval" to be gender neutral consistent with the broad Charter change set forth in the May 17, 2022 referendum. See Bill No. 220001 (approved February 25, 2022); Resolution No. 220009 (adopted February 24, 2022).

Source: City of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Code and Home Rule Charter (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/philadelphia/latest/philadelphia_pa/0-0-0-265119Fetched: 10/27/2026