New York home improvement contract template: what you are required to include, and how much deposit you can take

Published November 3, 2026 · Law checked November 3, 2026

• Free. The download links come by email.
• Deepsel is our product: free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for contractors (scheduling, quotes, invoicing, card payments). The section before the FAQ says where it fits and where it doesn't.
• Not legal advice. Have a New York attorney read the template before you use it.

New York State requires a signed, written contract for any home improvement job over $500, and New York City's rules require one for every home improvement job, whatever the price. There's no percentage cap on the deposit, but every payment you take before the work is substantially done has to sit in an escrow account at a New York bank (or be covered by a bond), and in the City you can't spend it or start work until the customer's three-day cancellation window closes. On roofing, gutter and siding jobs you can't require a deposit at all.

I wrote this for contractors who just got a New York City Department of Buildings general contractor registration or an electrical firm licence. Two layers of law sit on top of each other here: the state's home improvement contract law, and the City's home improvement rules, enforced by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) and changed in June 2026. State law keeps local rules in force.⁵ The free template at the end follows both. Get it three ways: make your own copy in Google Docs (opens in your Drive), download the Word version (.docx), or download the PDF. Pick a format, enter your email and I'll send the links.

Does New York's home improvement contractor law apply to you?

The state law

General Business Law 770 defines home improvement as "the repairing, remodeling, altering, converting, or modernizing of, or adding to, residential property," and its list runs from roofing, siding and windows to basements, flooring and solar. It names "air conditioning, heating equipment" as home improvement goods.¹ The law reaches a contractor whose home improvement contracts total more than $1,500 in any 12 months, and it covers each contract over $500. The "owner" can be a homeowner, a co-op shareholder or a residential tenant. The state itself doesn't license home improvement contractors; New York City, Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties and the City of Buffalo do.¹⁷

Three carve-outs matter for the trades I hear from. New homes are out (custom homes are back in). So are appliances "designed to be removable from the premises without material alteration," which includes room air conditioners. And so is work done under a warranty or "a maintenance agreement."¹ An HVAC tune-up sold on a maintenance plan sits outside this law; the replacement system you quote at that tune-up doesn't.

The City's rules

New York City's definition is wider. It covers "the construction, repair, replacement, remodeling, alteration, conversion, rehabilitation, renovation, modernization, improvement, or addition to any land or building" used as a home, and adds, "without regard to the extent of affixation," the "installation of central heating or air conditioning systems."¹⁰ A building here means one with no more than four homes. But a contract with a tenant counts "regardless of the number of residences or dwelling units" in the building, and co-op shareholders and condo unit owners are owners, so a renovation in a 200-unit co-op is covered.¹⁰

No one may "solicit, canvass, sell, perform or obtain a home improvement contract" without a DCWP licence.¹⁰ The only size exemption is a job under $200.¹¹

Your DOB registration doesn't cover this

This is the part that catches new general contractors. The Administrative Code says no "license or authority other than that which is issued or permitted pursuant to this subchapter" authorizes the home improvement business.¹⁰ DOB's own contractor page puts it plainly: for "Work in a 1-, 2-, 3-, or 4-family Home or Condo/Co-op: You must obtain a Home Improvement Contractor license" from DCWP. DOB asks for that licence number when you file an Alteration 1, 2 or 3 permit for those homes. The exception it lists is work in an apartment building when you're hired by the building owner or the board.¹⁶

By trade

One thing I'm not sure of. The City's code defines "contractor" to include anyone in the business "whether or not such person is licensed or subject to the licensing requirements" of the home improvement chapter.¹⁰ So a licensed electrician who's exempt from the licence may still owe the City's contract format. I'd use it anyway. It costs nothing.

NYC home improvement contract requirements: what the contract must include

The state law (GBL 771)² and the City rule (6 RCNY 2-221)¹³ list nearly the same items, and the City adds a few. Both say the contract must be in writing and "signed by all the parties," and that goes for every amendment too. The City adds that it be "legible, in plain English and any other language, that was principally used in the oral sales presentation," and that the customer gets "a fully completed legible copy" when they sign, before any work.¹³ Sell the job in Spanish and the customer gets the contract in Spanish and English.¹⁴

The quotes in the middle column come from GBL 771(1)(a) to (i)² and 6 RCNY 2-221(a)(1) to (10).¹³

The permit disclosure (new in June 2026)

Since June 10, 2026, the City adds a second document. "Prior to the date of, or on the same date as, the execution of a home improvement contract or an amendment," you give the customer a written notice about the permits the job needs, and "The owner must sign and date such notice." It says whether any permits are foreseeably required and, if so, which ones and who gets them, what it takes to get them "including estimated fees," and how the customer can check their status "through city databases such as the buildings information system." Leaving it out costs up to $500 per violation.¹¹ DCWP published a form for it,¹⁵ and Appendix C of the template follows it. The City's amended rule also makes you keep these disclosures with your contracts for six years.¹³

Change orders

You can't depart from the contract "in any material respect without the written consent of the owner."¹¹ DCWP's inspection checklist spells out what that consent looks like: "All change orders to the contract must be in writing and signed by the contractor and the consumer. The change order must include the cost of the additional work, the new contract price, and the date when payment is due."¹⁴ Appendix D is that form.

New York contractor deposit law: how much you can take, and how to hold it

One contractor on Reddit asked the question most new contractors ask: "are you allowed legally to charge that much deposit?"²³ In New York, for general home improvement work, there's no number. I read GBL 770 to 776, Lien Law 71-a, the City's home improvement code (20-385 to 20-402.1) and DCWP's rules (6 RCNY 2-220 to 2-226) end to end, and none of them caps the deposit as a percentage or a dollar amount. The New York rules are about where the money sits and what it pays for.

The amount: a reasonable relationship to the work

Each progress payment "shall bear a reasonable relationship to the amount of work to be performed, materials to be purchased, or expenses for which the contractor would be obligated at the time of payment."² So a deposit sized to the special-order cabinets you're about to buy is fine. A deposit sized to how nervous you are about the customer isn't.

Where it goes: escrow within five business days, or a bond

Lien Law 71-a is the rule that does the work. Payments you receive "prior to the substantial completion of work under the contract shall be deposited within five business days thereafter" into "an escrow account in a bank, trust company, savings bank, or state or federal savings and loan association, located in this state." The money "shall remain the property of such owner" until it's applied to the job under the payment schedule.⁷ A few details that matter day to day:

• Name the bank in the contract. If you don't, you have to tell the customer in writing which bank holds the money within ten business days of the deposit.
• One escrow account can hold every customer's money, as long as your books "clearly show the allocation to each owner."
• You can't withdraw more, at any time, than "the total amount shown in the schedule of payments."
• Instead of escrow, you can give the customer a bond or contract of indemnity from a surety licensed in New York, or an irrevocable letter of credit from a New York bank, within ten business days of each payment.
• Hourly or time-and-materials billing for work already done is outside the escrow rule.⁷

DCWP checks this before it licenses you: the application needs a recent statement for the escrow account plus a notarized statement identifying it, or a surety's commitment to bond you.¹³

In New York City: hands off for three days

The City treats "all funds received from a customer pursuant to a home improvement contract as trust funds to be applied solely to the payment of expenses directly related to the home improvement." And until the three-day cancellation period has run out, you may not "Disburse any money other than in escrow," "Make any physical changes in the property of the customer," or "Perform any work or service for the buyer."¹³ You can take the deposit at signing. It goes to escrow and stays there, and the crew waits.

Roofing, gutters, downspouts and siding: no deposit

GBL 771-b is short and blunt: "A roofing contractor shall not require an owner to provide a deposit for the work and materials." You can invoice the materials "upon delivery of the materials," as long as the material cost was "disclosed to the property owner in writing in advance of payment," and invoice the rest "upon successful completion of all contracted work."³ The definition covers anyone in "the business of roofing, gutter, downspout or siding services," so a general contractor who takes on a roof job is under it for that job.¹ The template's Appendix E rider sets the deposit line to $0.

Taking a deposit and not doing the work

Money you receive under a home improvement contract is trust money under Lien Law 70.⁸ Using it for something else while a subcontractor, supplier or worker on that job goes unpaid more than 31 days after their payment is due can be larceny under Lien Law 79-a, and failing to keep the required trust books is "presumptive evidence" that you diverted it.⁸ Skipping the escrow or bond is also a "substantial" violation with its own civil penalty (below).⁴

If a customer hasn't paid, the New York mechanics lien guide has the steps, every deadline and a demand letter.

How to set the payment schedule

Here's how I'd lay out a $28,000 bathroom with a special-order vanity and tile:

Each line is a dollar amount tied to a stage you can point at, which is exactly what GBL 771 asks for. Every payment before the final one goes into escrow, and you draw it down as each stage is done.

The three-day cancellation rule: New York State, NYC and the FTC

Four rules give the customer three business days to change their mind. They overlap almost completely, and the notice wording is the same in all of them, so one set of paperwork covers the lot.

In practice: in the City you hand over the notice on every home improvement job, and that satisfies the state law, the door-to-door law and the FTC rule at the same time. The FTC rule and the door-to-door law still matter on a sale too small for the home improvement rules, like a $150 add-on sold at the kitchen table. Both exclude repairs the customer asked you to come out and do on their personal property, but anything extra you sell on that visit is back in.¹⁸¹⁹

If the customer cancels, you refund every payment within 10 business days of getting their notice.¹³ Until you've given the statement and the two forms, the City lets the customer cancel "at any time, in any manner."¹³

Counting business days. The City counts every day except Sunday and nine named holidays; the FTC counts every day except Sunday and federal holidays.¹³¹⁹ Skip both sets and you're safe. Signed on a Friday: Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, so the window closes at midnight Tuesday, unless a holiday falls in between.

Emergencies. Every one of these rules has the same exception. The customer contacted you, the work is needed for a real emergency, and the customer gives you "a separate dated and signed personal statement in the owner's handwriting describing the situation requiring immediate remedy and expressly acknowledging and waiving the right to cancel."² A burst pipe at 2 a.m. qualifies. A pre-printed waiver doesn't, because it has to be in their handwriting.

Other notices and paperwork

• Lien timing. If you're not paid, you can file a mechanic's lien within four months after your last work on a single-family house, and within eight months on anything else.⁹
• Workers' comp proof before you start. If you're exempt, DCWP says you give the customer your Certificate of Attestation of Exemption instead.¹⁴
• Your DCWP licence number on "All advertising and sales literature."¹³
• The written estimate. You have to tell customers a written estimate "is available," and if you charge for it, disclose the fee first.¹¹
• Financing. In the City you can't arrange a loan or help the customer get one for the job.¹¹¹⁴ Statewide, any fee tied to financing has to be disclosed and agreed in writing.²
• Lead paint. In a home built before 1978, give the owner EPA's lead pamphlet no more than 60 days before you start and get a written acknowledgment.²¹
• Records. Keep contracts, permit disclosures and the rest for six years, or longer if your guarantee runs longer.¹³
• Roofing and siding contracts must name your insurer, the type of coverage and the policy limits, and you can't offer to cover the customer's insurance deductible. If an insurer denies part of a claim the job depends on, the customer gets three business days from the denial notice to cancel.³

What happens if your New York home improvement contract is wrong

State penalties. A technical violation of the home improvement article carries a civil penalty of up to $100. Failing to escrow or bond, or failing "to provide a written contract substantially in compliance," costs "the greater of two hundred fifty dollars for each violation or five percent of the aggregate contract price," capped at $2,500 per contract, and a bona fide error is a defense.⁴ A customer misled by false written statements can recover $500 plus attorney's fees on top of their damages, and the Attorney General or the City can sue to stop the practice and order restitution.⁵ Under the state's deceptive practices law, a court can triple a customer's damages, up to $1,000, for a willful violation.⁶

City penalties. DCWP's inspection checklist says "Each missing contract requirement is a separate violation for which a penalty will be assessed."¹⁴ DCWP can fine a licensee up to $1,000 and suspend or revoke the licence for breaking any rule in the chapter.¹¹ Operating without a licence, or knowingly breaking most of the chapter's rules, is a misdemeanor (up to six months or $1,000, each violation a separate offense) with a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, and for a willful violation DCWP can order you to pay the customer up to three times their actual damages.¹² Unlicensed work can also cost you the van: inspectors can seize a vehicle used in it.¹²

Getting paid. If you sue a customer over work the City requires DCWP to license, your complaint has to allege that you were "duly licensed at the time of services rendered," with the licence name and number. Leave it out and the customer can move to dismiss.²⁰ An unlicensed home improvement job in the City is a hard bill to collect.

The free New York home improvement contract template

"I got Chat GPT to write me up a contract template," one poster in r/Carpentry wrote.²⁴ A thread in r/Contractor had the reply I'd give: "just googling a contract and hoping for the best won't get one that's written specifically for the state he works in."²⁵ New York City is the extreme case, with a state law, a city code and a rule that changed in June. This sample home improvement contract for New York carries all of it:

• Page 1: date of the transaction, your name as on the DCWP licence, the licence number, any DOB registration or trade licence, the salesperson, the owner type (homeowner, co-op, condo or tenant) and the language the job was sold in.
• Sections 1 to 4: the work with a materials table (make, model, price), the price breakdown with the advertised-offer and estimate lines, the dates with contingencies and the "of the essence" box, and the escrow notice with a bank or bond checkbox above a payment schedule tied to stages.
• Sections 5 to 14: the three-day cancellation rules and the no-work window, permits, workers' comp and the insurance disclosure, licensed subcontractors, change orders, warranty, the lead pamphlet acknowledgment, the mechanic's lien notice in bold, and general terms (no waivers, the 311 complaint line, records).
• The signature page with the bold cancellation statement inside the customer's signature box.
• Appendices A and B, the two Notice of Cancellation copies in the City and FTC wording. Appendix C, the Permit Disclosure. Appendix D, a change order. Appendix E, the roofing, gutter and siding rider. Appendix F, notes for you; delete it before you send the contract.

Get it as a Google Docs copy, a Word file or a PDF. Fill every bracket, delete what doesn't apply, and have a New York attorney read it once with your escrow setup before the first job.

Where Deepsel fits

Deepsel is the field service software I build, and it handles the paperwork around a contract like this one, not the law in it. You send a quote with options, and a shop-wide terms text is copied onto every quote, so your New York notices can sit there. The customer approves the quote online and signs it on screen (New York gives an electronic signature "the same validity and effect" as a handwritten one unless a law says otherwise²²), and you can ask for an optional deposit, a percent or a fixed amount, that they pay by card when they approve. The deposit is credited on the final invoice. On Pro, this contract is built in. Attach it to the estimate, and the customer reads it on the quote page, notices, cancellation copies and Permit Disclosure included, and signs it when they approve; your saved signature goes on when you send, and you both get the signed copy to print or save as PDF. Template, not legal advice. Have it reviewed for your business. It's free up to 30 estimates and 30 invoices a month, with scheduling and dispatch, quotes, invoicing, card payments, and customer and equipment records; Pro is $29 a month with unlimited estimates and invoices (see pricing). Deepsel doesn't know New York law. The terms text alone won't add the notices, Deepsel won't hand over the two Notice of Cancellation copies and the Permit Disclosure for you, it won't stop you setting a deposit on a roofing job, and a card deposit lands in your payout account, so moving it into the escrow account within five business days is on you.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a maximum deposit a contractor can take in New York?

Not for general home improvement work. New York's home improvement contract law (General Business Law 770 to 776), Lien Law 71-a, New York City's home improvement code and DCWP's rules set no percentage or dollar cap. What they do set: every payment before substantial completion goes into an escrow account at a New York bank within five business days, or you post a bond, contract of indemnity or letter of credit; each payment must bear a reasonable relationship to the work, materials and expenses at the time it's due; and in New York City you can't spend it during the customer's three-day cancellation period. Roofing, gutter, downspout and siding contractors can't require a deposit at all.

Can I ask for 50% upfront on a New York home improvement job?

Only if half the price is what the job actually costs you at that point. A 50% deposit on a $24,000 kitchen where you're ordering $12,000 of custom cabinets the day the cancellation window closes is the kind the reasonable-relationship rule allows. The same 50% on a bathroom where nothing is special-ordered is hard to defend. Either way the money goes into the escrow account (or under a bond) until the work it pays for is done. There is no standard deposit set by law; tie the number to the materials you have to buy before you start.

What happens to the deposit if the customer cancels?

If they cancel within the three-business-day window, you refund every payment within 10 business days after you receive their notice, return any note they signed, and tell them whether you'll pick up any goods you delivered. In New York City you shouldn't have spent the money or started work yet anyway. If they cancel later, the escrowed money stays theirs except for work and materials already applied under the payment schedule, or a reasonable liquidated damages amount written into the contract, and only after seven days' written notice.

Do I need a NYC home improvement contractor license if I'm registered with DOB as a general contractor?

Yes, for home improvement work on 1 to 4 family homes, co-op and condo units, and a tenant's apartment. DOB general contractor registration is for things like new 1, 2 and 3 family homes. The Administrative Code says no licence other than DCWP's authorizes the home improvement business, and DOB asks for the DCWP licence number when you file an alteration permit for those homes. The exception DOB lists is work in an apartment building when the building owner or board hires you.

Does a small job need a written contract in New York City?

State law requires one above $500. New York City's rule says every agreement to perform a home improvement must be a written contract signed by both sides, with no dollar floor, and DCWP's inspectors treat each missing item as a separate violation. The City's licence requirement starts at $200, so a licensed contractor should put every residential job in writing. A short version of the template works for small jobs if it still carries the notices.

Does GBL 771 apply to electricians and HVAC contractors?

Yes, on residential jobs over $500. General Business Law 770 has no exemption for licensed trades, and it names air conditioning and heating equipment as home improvement goods. HVAC work done under a maintenance agreement or warranty is carved out, and so is installing a room air conditioner. In the City, licensed electricians and plumbers are exempt from the DCWP licence only while all of the work is inside their DOB licence.

Is there a Google Docs, Word or PDF version?

All three, free. The Google Docs link makes a copy in your own Drive, the .docx opens in Word, and the PDF prints as is. The two Notice of Cancellation copies, the Permit Disclosure, the change order and the roofing rider are separate pages, so you can detach them.

Sources

1. New York General Business Law 770, "Definitions": "home improvement" and its exclusions (appliances designed to be removable, warranty and maintenance-agreement work), "home improvement goods or services," "owner," "home improvement contractor" ($1,500 in 12 months), "home improvement contract" (over $500), "roofing contractor." nysenate.gov, read November 3, 2026.
2. New York General Business Law 771, "Contract provisions" (revision from October 29, 2021; insurance disclosure in (1)(i) effective April 23, 2022), and 771-a, financing disclosure. nysenate.gov, nysenate.gov, read November 3, 2026.
3. New York General Business Law 771-b, "Responsibilities of roofing contractors" (revision from May 29, 2020): written contract with insurer, coverage and limits; no deductible rebates; cancellation after an insurer's denial; no required deposit, materials invoiced on delivery; no claim adjusting; insurance minimums. nysenate.gov, read November 3, 2026.
4. New York General Business Law 773, "Violations": technical violations up to $100; failure to escrow or bond, or to give a substantially compliant written contract, the greater of $250 per violation or 5% of the contract price, up to $2,500 per contract; bona fide error defense. nysenate.gov, read November 3, 2026.
5. New York General Business Law 772 (penalty for fraud: $500 plus attorney's fees), 774 (Attorney General and municipal enforcement, restitution) and 775 (local laws stay in force; none may be inconsistent with 771). nysenate.gov, nysenate.gov, nysenate.gov, read November 3, 2026.
6. New York General Business Law 349(h), private action for deceptive practices: actual damages or $50, up to three times actual damages capped at $1,000 for willful violations, attorney's fees. nysenate.gov, read November 3, 2026.
7. New York Lien Law 71-a(4): home improvement payments before substantial completion deposited within five business days in an escrow account at a New York institution, or a bond, contract of indemnity or letter of credit within ten business days; naming the depositary; withdrawals limited to the payment schedule; hourly billing excluded. nysenate.gov, read November 3, 2026.
8. New York Lien Law 70 (contractor's funds under a home improvement contract are trust assets) and 79-a (misappropriation of trust funds is larceny; 31-day rule; missing books are presumptive evidence). nysenate.gov, nysenate.gov, read November 3, 2026.
9. New York Lien Law 10, "Filing of notice of lien": eight months after completion, four months where the property is a single family dwelling. nysenate.gov, read November 3, 2026.
10. New York City Administrative Code 20-386, "Definitions" (home improvement, building, owner, contractor, home improvement contract; as amended by L.L. 2020/031), and 20-387, "License required." codelibrary.amlegal.com, codelibrary.amlegal.com, read November 3, 2026.
11. New York City Administrative Code 20-392 (fines up to $1,000, suspension, revocation), 20-393 (prohibited acts, including deviating without written consent, arranging financing, waivers, failing to comply with Lien Law 71-a), 20-394.1 (right to cancel), 20-395 (written estimate), 20-395.1 (permit disclosure, L.L. 2025/181, effective June 10, 2026), 20-396 (false representations) and 20-397 (exceptions: licensed trades within scope, jobs under $200). codelibrary.amlegal.com, read November 3, 2026.
12. New York City Administrative Code 20-401, "Violations and penalties" (misdemeanor, civil penalty up to $1,000 per violation, up to three times damages for willful violations; as amended by L.L. 2025/181), and 20-401.1 (vehicle seizure for unlicensed activity). codelibrary.amlegal.com, read November 3, 2026.
13. Rules of the City of New York, title 6, 2-220 (proof of the escrow account at licensing), 2-221 (content and cancellation of contract, Notice of Cancellation form, business days; amended effective June 19, 2026), 2-222 (licence number in advertising), 2-223 (permits, six-year records, trust funds, nothing done during the cancellation period; amended effective June 19, 2026). codelibrary.amlegal.com, read November 3, 2026.
14. NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, "Inspection Checklist: Home Improvement Contractors," updated 06/2026: separate violation per missing item, change orders, language, workers' comp exemption certificate, financing, no work during the cancellation period. nyc.gov, read November 3, 2026.
15. NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, "Permit Disclosure" form, nyc.gov; "Home Improvement Contract and Notice of Cancellation" model, nyc.gov; NYC Rules, "Home Improvement Contractor Disclosures," adopted rule effective June 19, 2026, rules.cityofnewyork.us. Read November 3, 2026.
16. NYC Department of Buildings, "Contractors" (which registration each kind of work needs), nyc.gov, and "Home Improvement Contractor Permit Requirements" (HIC licence number on Alteration 1, 2 and 3 permits; when it isn't required), nyc.gov. Read November 3, 2026.
17. New York Attorney General, "Contractors and home maintenance": home improvement contractors must be licensed in New York City, Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties and the City of Buffalo; written contract over $500. ag.ny.gov, read November 3, 2026.
18. New York Personal Property Law 425 to 428, Door-to-Door Sales Protection Act: definitions and exclusions, the three-business-day right, the statement and Notice of Cancellation form, oral notice. nysenate.gov, nysenate.gov, nysenate.gov, read November 3, 2026.
19. 16 CFR Part 429, FTC Rule Concerning Cooling-Off Period for Sales Made at Homes or at Certain Other Locations: 429.0 definitions ($25 and $130 thresholds, emergency and repair exclusions, business day) and 429.1 (statement, Notice of Cancellation form, oral notice, 10-business-day refund). ecfr.gov, current as of October 30, 2026, read November 3, 2026.
20. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 3015(e), "License to do business": a plaintiff required to be licensed by the New York City consumer affairs department must plead the licence; failure allows a motion to dismiss. nysenate.gov, read November 3, 2026.
21. 40 CFR 745.84(a), EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, information distribution: pamphlet to the owner no more than 60 days before renovation, with written acknowledgment or a certificate of mailing. ecfr.gov, current as of October 30, 2026, read November 3, 2026.
22. New York State Technology Law 304(2): "an electronic signature may be used by a person in lieu of a signature affixed by hand," with "the same validity and effect," unless a law provides otherwise. nysenate.gov, read November 3, 2026.
23. r/GeneralContractor thread: "are you allowed legally to charge that much deposit?" reddit.com.
24. r/Carpentry thread: "I got Chat GPT to write me up a contract template." reddit.com.
25. r/Contractor thread: "just googling a contract and hoping for the best won't get one that's written specifically for the state he works in." reddit.com.