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Case Tracking, Case Research & Case Records

Find information about how to research records related to development projects reviewed by Boards and Commissions or staff in the Planning Department.

Case Tracking

All development cases under review by the Planning Department are available in ABQ-PLAN.

OnBase Public Records Search

The City Clerk stores records related to development cases decided by Planning Department Boards and Commissions in the City's Digital Archive called OnBase, which is searchable via a public portal. 

Once you find a record, you can download, print, or add to Google Drive. 

Instructions to Search OnBase

Building Permits

Building permits are not publicly available, but you can search for Certificates of Occupancy related to a building permit.

  1. Under the Search Type drop-down menu, select Building Safety - Certificate of Occupancy.
  2. Search either by address or permit number.
  • Address
    • StreetNumber
    • StreetName
    • Quadrant (e.g., NE, SE, NW, SW)
  • COPermitNumber (Certificate of Occupancy Permit Number)

Plans/Studies

See the Planning Publications page for links to Plans and Studies in OnBase.

If you don't see the plan or study you are looking for, OnBase does have more.

  1. Under the drop-down menu for Search Type, select Land Development Case Records. 
  2. Under the drop-down menu for UDD DocTypes, select the type of plan or other studies.
  3. Enter the name of the plan in the "Project Number" field.

Other Case Types

For other case types, search by an address or project/case number. Project/case numbers work best but are sometimes captured in either field. If you put a project number in and there are no results, try putting the project number in the Case Number field, and vice versa. See below for how to look up a project number/case number.

  1. Under the drop-down menu for Search Type, select Land Development Case Records.
  2. Add the address OR a Project Number OR a Case Number. 

If you get too many records, you can add information to another field to narrow the search. If you get no records, you can try searching a different field, such as Decision-Maker, which may give many more records that you have to click through to find the one you want. 

Decision-makers

Under the Decision-Maker drop-down in OnBase, you can select any of the following. If you don't know the decision-maker, keep the field blank. If you don't know the case number or project number, you can keep those fields blank, and OnBase will give you all the records tagged under that Decision-Maker (which will be a lot of records!).

  • DFT = Development Facilitation Team (Development Review Services Division)
    • Site Plan
  • DHO = Development Hearing Officer (After 2023)
    • Subdivision (i.e. plats)
    • Variance
  • DRB = Development Review Board (Prior to 2023)
    • Subdivision (i.e. plats)
    • Site Plan
    • Variance
  • EPC = Environmental Planning Commission
    • Annexation
    • Site Plan
    • Zoning Map Amendment (i.e., zone change)
    • Variance
  • LC = Landmarks Commission
    • Certificates of Appropriateness (related to historic preservation)
  • LC Staff = Landmarks Commission Staff
    • Certificates of Appropriateness (related to historic preservation)
  • ZEO/Staff = Zoning Enforcement Officer
    • Minor Amendments
    • Declaratory Rulings
    • Site Plan
  • ZHE = Zoning Hearing Examiner
    • Conditional Use
    • Variance
    • Expansion of Nonconforming Use or Structure
Address

When searching OnBase using an address, less is more! Try the street number and street name without anything else.

  • Example: 1 Civic Plaza

If you want to search by a street, use the asterisk as a wild card.

  • Example: *Lomas

Looking Up Case Numbers or Project Numbers

Every application is assigned a case number. Not all cases will have a project number. You can look up case numbers and/or project numbers using the Advanced Map Viewer and turning on the "Case History" layer. Navigate to the subject property using the map tools or doing an address search.

Once you have located your property, use the “Identify” button to bring up specifics about the subject property.

  • Project numbers with beginning with PR are more recent cases. Clicking on the project number on the results tab will bring up more information about the application.
  • The majority of project numbers that start with prefixes of Z, ZA, DRB, S, SV or V are older cases that may only available on microfilm. The City Clerk is working on scanning these into OnBase as of Summer 2026. In the meantime, see Records Request below.
Project Numbers and Case Numbers

Over the years there have been various systems that Planning has used to store case files, creating a variety of numbering systems. In general, project numbers are used for the location of a subject site, while a case number is related to an application type.

  • As of January of 2025, the Planning Department uses a case tracking system called ABQ-PLAN that creates a case number that indicates the type of decision requested in an application. Project numbers can be assigned based on location for projects with multiple cases approved over time.
  • From 2018 to 2025, we stored cases electronically in an application database called POSSE/MESA, which created project numbers with prefixes of PR, then the year, then a number assigned to a location, and case numbers, which indicate the type of decision requested in an application.
  • From 2008 to 2018, we stored cases electronically in an application database called Kiva, which continued to use the seven-digit project numbers starting with 100XXXX, along with case numbers that indicated the type of decision requested in an application.
  • From 1999 to 2008, we stored cases electronically in an application database called Cognos, which created seven-digit project numbers starting with 100XXXX, which were assigned to a location, and a case number, which indicated the type of decision requested in an application. 
  • Prior to 1999, applications were assigned project numbers starting with letter prefixes.
    • AX Numbers – Old EPC files
    • Z Numbers – Old EPC files
    • ZA Numbers – Old ZHE files
    • DRB Numbers – Old DRB files
    • S, V, SV, SP, SPR, SC5 Numbers – Old DRB files

Records Request

If the record you want is not available in OnBase, please make a records request from the City Clerk: