What Is a Special Inspection?
A special inspection is an independent, third-party inspection the building code requires for work that is critical to structural safety — performed by an approved inspector, not by the contractor doing the work.
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What gets special-inspected
The list covers the connections and materials a building's safety depends on: structural welding, high-strength bolting, concrete placement and reinforcement, driven piles and drilled piers, spray-applied fireproofing, and soils work like compaction. If a failure there could hurt people, it usually needs a special inspector watching.
Who arranges and pays
The owner typically hires the special inspection agency directly — not through the contractor — so the inspector answers to the owner, not to the crew being inspected. The inspector files reports with the building department, and the project cannot get its final sign-off until all required inspections are complete and accepted.
Not the same as the city's inspections
Building department inspectors check general code compliance at rough and final stages. Special inspectors are specialists who watch specific high-risk work while it happens. Both are required, and one does not substitute for the other.
The bottom line
Special inspections are the code's way of making sure the most critical work is done right the first time. Line up your inspection agency early — waiting until the welder is on site is too late.