NYC general contractor license vs. home improvement license: what your DOB registration lets you do, and where a handyman must stop

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

• Free to read, nothing to download. The "can I take this job?" table below is the tool.
• 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. Every rule here links to the code section, rule or case it comes from. Ask DOB, DCWP or a New York attorney before you bet a job on my reading.

New York City doesn't issue a general contractor license. The Department of Buildings (DOB) gives you a general contractor registration, and in the code it exists so you can pull permits for new one-, two- and three-family homes.^1,2 It doesn't cover home improvement. A residential job of $200 or more in a one- to four-family house, a co-op or condo apartment, or a tenant's apartment needs a separate Home Improvement Contractor license from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP).^3,4 And plumbing and electrical work goes to a DOB-licensed master plumber or master electrician at any size, light fixtures included.^5,6

I wrote this for the newest names on DOB's registration list. Most of you will spend more of your first year in existing homes than on new ones, and that's exactly where the registration runs out. Below: what the registration covers, who needs the DCWP license on top of it, where a handyman with neither has to stop, which work goes to a licensed trade, what crossing each line costs, and a table for the jobs you'll be asked to quote. The paperwork side (what has to be in the contract you sign) is its own article: New York home improvement contract template.

What your DOB general contractor registration covers

The Administrative Code makes it unlawful "to conduct business as a general contractor" without the registration.¹ Then it defines a general contractor narrowly: a business "that applies for a permit pursuant to this code to construct a new residential structure containing no more than three dwelling units." The same definition leaves out anyone who holds a DCWP home improvement license or a DOB trade license "and enters into a contract to perform work exclusively within the scope of such license."²

DOB uses the registration for more than new houses. Its contractor page sorts permit work by type, and warns that "some work may require multiple registrations":⁷

Read down the right-hand column. The registration gets you the permit for a new house of up to three units, and it qualifies you to hold alteration permits in apartment buildings, stores and offices. It doesn't reach the kitchen in a two-family house in Queens, a bathroom in a Brooklyn co-op, demolition or foundations. If your first year looks like most remodelers' first years, the home improvement row is the one that matters.

What it took, and what keeps it

• $300 to register, $240 to renew every three years, $50 extra if you renew late.⁸
• Operating capital over $25,000 (DOB asks for three months of bank statements ending at $25,000 or more), a general liability policy of at least $1 million, workers' compensation and disability insurance, and a background check.^1,8 Let a policy lapse and you've lost something the registration rests on.
• No exam. DOB's requirements list doesn't have one, which is part of why people mistake the card for more than it is.

A real general contractor license may be coming

A bill introduced on March 10, 2026, Int. 771, would replace the registration with limited and unlimited general contractor licenses, and would define general contractor work as any work "requiring a permit pursuant to this code to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, demolish, or remove any building or structure," apart from work done entirely within another license. It's in the Committee on Housing and Buildings.⁹ Nothing changes unless it passes, but if you see the number move, read it.

The NYC home improvement contractor license: what it covers that your registration doesn't

This is the license your registration keeps getting confused with. The code says no one may "solicit, canvass, sell, perform or obtain a home improvement contract as a contractor from an owner without a license therefor." It then closes the door on substitutes: no "license or authority other than that which is issued or permitted pursuant to this subchapter" authorizes the home improvement business.³ Your DOB card is other authority.

Which jobs count as home improvement

• "The construction, repair, replacement, remodeling, alteration, conversion, rehabilitation, renovation, modernization, improvement, or addition to any land or building" used as a home, including driveways, pools, patios, landscaping, fences, porches, garages and basements. "Without regard to the extent of affixation," it also includes installing central heating or air conditioning.³
• A "building" here has no more than four homes in it. But owners include co-op shareholders, condo unit owners and tenants, and a contract with a tenant counts "regardless of the number of residences or dwelling units" in the building.³ A gut renovation of an apartment in a 300-unit co-op is home improvement. The leading Court of Appeals case on unlicensed contractors, further down, was a Manhattan co-op apartment.
• DOB checks. For alteration permits on one- to four-family homes and "co-op units, condo units, or rented apartment units," the contractor has to give the DCWP license number on the permit application.⁴

Which jobs don't need it

From DOB's list and the code's exceptions:^3,4,10

• Building a new home, or work under a new building's guarantee of completion.
• Work in a multiple dwelling when the building owner or the board hires you.
• Work only in the commercial part of a building.
• Homes owned or controlled by the government.
• Painting or decorating "when not incidental or related to home improvement work."
• Licensed plumbers, electricians and other licensed trades "acting exclusively within the scope" of their license.
• Employees working "for wages or salary" for a contractor.
• Jobs under $200 (next section).

Two places where the City's own sources disagree

• Small apartment buildings. DOB's contractor page and the code's four-unit "building" put three- and four-family homes inside the license.^3,7 DOB's permit page exempts work in "a Multiple Dwelling" when the owner hires you.⁴ If the building has four units or fewer, I'd hold the license whoever hires you.
• Subcontractors. DOB's permit page lists "Subcontractor" as not needing the license.⁴ DCWP's inspection checklist says "All subcontractors you use must have a DCWP Home Improvement Contractor license," and the code's "contractor" covers subcontractors by name.^11,3 DCWP is the agency that enforces the license. Follow DCWP.

Getting the DCWP license

DCWP's checklist, as of this fall:¹²

• Apply online. One owner, partner or officer (or a 10% shareholder) passes the Home Improvement Exam: 30 questions, 21 correct to pass. The application fee covers two attempts; two more cost $50.
• Fingerprints for every owner, partner, officer and shareholder over 10%.
• Join DCWP's Trust Fund for $200, or post a $20,000 surety bond.
• A workers' compensation certificate naming DCWP (or the state's certificate of exemption).
• EPA lead certification, or a signed affirmation that your work doesn't need it.¹⁰
• A sales tax ID, proof of your business and home addresses, and a signed Contractual Compliance Agreement (the promise that your contracts meet City rules, which the contract article covers).
• The fee is $200 for two years.³ Every license expires on February 28 of an odd year, so DCWP prorates. Apply between now and February 28, 2027 and you choose: $50 for a license ending February 28, 2027, or $250 for one that runs to February 2029.¹²

Your salespeople don't need their own license any more. That requirement ended on August 9, 2020.¹³

NYC handyman license: there isn't one, and the line is $200

No New York City license says "handyman." If you run a home improvement business and offer the work, you're a "contractor" in the code's words, "whether or not such person is licensed."³ The one size exemption covers "any home improvement, where the aggregate contract price for all labor materials and other items is less than two hundred dollars."¹⁰

How the City counts the $200

• Labor, materials and "other items" together. A $120 labor charge on $95 of parts is a $215 job.
• Less than $200. A $199 job is exempt. A $200 job isn't.
• Per job, with no splitting. The exemption "does not apply where the work is only part of a larger or major operation, whether undertaken by the same or a different contractor," or where the work is divided into contracts under $200 "for the purpose of evasion of this provision or otherwise."¹⁰ Read that twice. "Or otherwise" means the City doesn't have to prove you meant to dodge it, and "a different contractor" means your $150 piece of somebody else's remodel doesn't qualify.
• Change orders count. A $180 job that grows to $260 is a $260 job.
• No yearly allowance and no part-time exemption. I read the whole subchapter and found neither.

If small jobs are your business, the handyman price list covers minimum charges. Without a DCWP license, the whole ticket has to stay under $200, minimum charge included.

What a handyman without the license can still take

• Stand-alone jobs under $200: shelves, a TV mount with no new wiring, a sticking door, a caulk job.
• Painting and wallpaper that isn't part of a home improvement job.
• Repairs for the owner or board of an apartment building, outside the units of tenants who hire you themselves.⁴
• Work in stores and offices (the commercial part of a building).
• Any home improvement work at all, as an employee on a licensed contractor's payroll.¹⁰

At no price: plumbing, gas, electrical, or anything that needs a DOB permit, which goes to a registered or licensed permit holder (the table above).

Plumbing, gas, electrical and HVAC: what you sub out in NYC

Neither credential reaches the licensed trades. The DCWP license "may not be construed to authorize the licensee to perform any particular type of work or engage in any kind of business which is reserved to qualified licensees."³ Your DOB registration doesn't either.

Plumbing and gas: a licensed master plumber

It's unlawful for any person "to perform plumbing work unless such person is a licensed master plumber or working under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master plumber."⁵ Plumbing work means "the installation, maintenance, repair, modification, extension or alteration of plumbing," and it includes gas piping.² There's no dollar floor.

Then there's the faucet. The code calls replacing a fixture or faucet "from any exposed stop valve to the inlet side of a trap" an ordinary repair, so it needs no permit.¹⁴ No permit isn't the same as no plumber. The license rule covers any "repair" of plumbing, and I found no carve-out for fixtures. DOB's permit page says this about the plumbing jobs on the code's no-permit list: "No permit needed, but work requires a Licensed Master Plumber."¹⁵ My reading is that a faucet swap is plumbing work. Ask DOB before you put it on your price list.

Master plumbers get their own shortcut: "ordinary plumbing work" they can do without a permit as long as they report it monthly. It includes moving up to two fixtures within the same room by up to 10 feet, and replacing a gas water heater, furnace or boiler of 350,000 BTU or less in a building of five families or fewer when the shutoff valve stays put.¹⁴ That's why a plumber can swap a water heater the same day. It's their exemption, not yours.

Electrical: a licensed master electrician, even for a light fixture

The rule moved on December 21, 2025, when Local Law 128 of 2024 shifted the Electrical Code's administrative sections into Title 28.⁶ Many pages still cite the old section, 27-3017. The new one, 28-429.1, makes it unlawful "to perform electrical work unless such person is a licensed master electrician or working under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master electrician." The carve-outs are low-voltage work (under 50 volts, for things like data, alarm and doorbell wiring) by qualified persons, and special electricians.

"Replacement of fixtures in existing outlets" and "replacement of defective circuit breakers or switches" are both on the code's list of "minor electrical work," and electrical permits "shall include permits for minor electrical work."⁶ So a light fixture is an electrician's job, filed by the electrician. Watch your marketing too: the same section bars using "licensed electrician," "electrical contractor" "or any words of similar meaning" unless you hold the license. "Master plumber" is protected the same way.⁵

Sprinklers, oil burners and HVAC

Sprinkler piping has its own license (master fire suppression piping contractor), and so do oil burners (oil-burning equipment installer).¹⁶ New York City has no separate HVAC installer license in that list. That doesn't free up HVAC work. Installing central heating or air conditioning in a one- to four-family home is home improvement, so it needs the DCWP license.³ The gas and water connections are plumbing work, and the wiring is electrical work. A packaged air-conditioning unit of up to 5 tons in a one- or two-family house needs no DOB permit.¹⁵

How to hand off the trade work

The master plumber or electrician "shall personally sign and seal" the permit filings.^5,6 Look each one up on DOB's license search before they start. And think about whose name is on the trade work. In a 2024 Brooklyn case, an electrical contractor whose company wasn't licensed (its vice president was a master electrician, and pulled the permits through another company he owned) won $300,851 at trial and lost all of it on appeal. The court quoted the Court of Appeals: the licensing requirement "may not be satisfied by employing or subletting" the work to a licensed person.¹⁷

That case was about a trade contractor. I didn't find a New York City appellate case about a general contractor who writes plumbing into its own home improvement contract and subs it to a licensed plumber. Until someone does, I'd keep the trade work visibly in the licensed sub's name: their permit, their seal, and either a direct contract between them and the owner or a line in yours naming them and their license number.

Lead paint and asbestos: the certifications your license doesn't include

EPA's lead rule, for homes built before 1978

Disturb paint for pay in a home built before 1978 and your firm needs EPA certification, and the job must be "directed by renovators certified" by EPA. EPA's exception is minor work: 6 square feet or less of painted surface per room inside, 20 outside. Window replacement never counts as minor, and jobs "in the same room within the same 30 days must be considered the same job."¹⁸ The federal civil penalty is up to $49,772 per violation.¹⁹ DCWP asks for your EPA certificate, or a signed statement that you don't need one, before it issues the license.¹² People do get caught. One owner on Reddit: "I recently got caught scraping and painting a small area on pre 1978 house" (r/Contractor).

Local Law 1: stricter in NYC rentals

New York City's lead law covers buildings of three or more apartments built before 1960 (or up to 1978 where the owner knows there's lead paint), tenant-occupied units in one- and two-family homes built before 1960, and co-op or condo units the owner doesn't live in.²⁰ In those homes:

• The trigger drops from EPA's 6 square feet to 2. HPD's guidance: under Local Law 1, renovation work "includes any work that would disturb 2 square feet or more of paint in a room."²⁰
• Where a child under six lives or spends 10 or more hours a week, work that disturbs more than 100 square feet of paint in a room, or removes two or more painted windows, needs a contractor EPA-certified in abatement as well as renovation. The owner notifies the Health Department at least 10 days before work starts, and an independent inspector does the dust-wipe test afterward.^20,21
• Banned methods: dry sanding, dry scraping, open-flame burning, heat guns above 1,100°F, and machine sanding or blasting without HEPA exhaust.²¹
• From November 5, 2026, clearance dust tests have to meet lower limits (4 micrograms per square foot on floors), so the cleanup has to be better than it was last month.²¹

Asbestos, in buildings from before 1987

DOB won't issue a permit for work in a building from before April 1987 until asbestos is dealt with. A City-certified asbestos investigator either files an assessment (form ACP-5) saying the work isn't an asbestos project, or the job goes through abatement filing (ACP-7) first. Work that disturbs no existing material gets an exemption certificate. If abatement is needed, DOB's instruction is to "hire a licensed abatement contractor" plus an independent air-monitoring firm.²² Your crew isn't either of those.

Can I take this job? A table for NYC general contractors

The verdicts assume a one- or two-family house, or a co-op or condo apartment for its owner, built before 1960, with your own crew doing the work and the price at $200 or more. "Registration only" means you hold the DOB general contractor registration and no DCWP license.

Sources for the table: the home improvement definition and exemptions,^3,10 DOB's permit and contractor pages,^4,7,15 ordinary repairs and ordinary plumbing work,¹⁴ the trade licenses,^5,6 lead,^18,20 asbestos.²²

What happens if you cross the line

Home improvement work without the DCWP license

• It's a misdemeanor: up to six months in jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both, and "each such violation shall be deemed a separate offense." DCWP can add a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, and where a violation is willful it can order you to pay the owner up to three times their damages.²³
• The City can seize a vehicle used for unlicensed work when it serves the violation, and can take it for good after two findings in five years.²³
• You can't make the customer pay. In B&F Building Corp. v. Liebig, a contractor renovated a Manhattan co-op apartment, was paid over $237,000, and sued for the rest. The contract was unenforceable, and the trial court ruled out payment for the value of the work too (quantum meruit). Getting licensed after the work didn't help. The Court of Appeals held that the rule letting a contractor plead a later license "is only applicable where the contractor was licensed at the time that the work was done."²⁴ A contractor suing a consumer has to plead that it "was duly licensed at the time of services rendered."²⁵
• Your mechanic's lien goes too. In December 2025 an appeals court threw out an unlicensed HVAC installer's lawsuit over a Nassau County home: it couldn't recover for breach of contract and "forfeited the right to foreclose the mechanic's lien." Having a licensed subcontractor do the installation didn't save it.²⁶
• The one piece of good news: an owner who got the work generally can't claw back what they already paid just because you were unlicensed. The homeowner in Rusin had paid $61,449 for kitchen cabinets and lost that claim.²⁷ It only protects money already in your account.

Trade work without the trade license

• Plumbing: DOB's minimum civil penalty is $2,500 for a first violation and $5,000 for a second.²⁸
• Electrical: a minimum civil penalty of $4,800, fines up to $25,000, and up to a year in jail. (The penalty section still cites the old Electrical Code number.)²⁸
• No pay, as the $300,851 Brooklyn case above shows.¹⁷

Permit work without a permit

DOB's civil penalties run up to $500 for a lesser violation, $1,000 to $10,000 for a major one, and $2,500 to $25,000 for an immediately hazardous one, plus daily or monthly penalties until it's fixed.²⁸ DCWP can also fine or suspend a licensee for "wilful or deliberate disregard and violation of the building, sanitary, fire and health laws."¹⁰

Lending your registration or license

Someone will ask. One Reddit thread title says it straight: "Ever pimp out your license to someone else to pull a permit?" (r/GeneralContractor). The DCWP license is "not assignable or transferable," and only a registered contractor may use the title "registered general contractor."^10,1 When you pull a permit, you're the contractor of record for work you aren't running. The Brooklyn electrical case is what that arrangement looks like when it goes to court.

Insurance

DOB required $1 million of general liability, workers' compensation and disability coverage to register you, and DCWP requires workers' compensation for the license.^8,12 I found no City rule on what unlicensed work does to your coverage. That's in your policy, so ask your agent in writing: "Does my policy cover home improvement or trade work I'm not licensed for?" Keep the reply.

Where your license number has to appear

• Every home improvement contract: "the contractor's name, office address, telephone number and license number."²⁹ The contract article has the rest of the required items.
• "All advertising and sales literature must contain the license number of the contractor."²⁹ That means your website, your Google profile, flyers and quotes. I found no rule written for truck lettering, but lettering that sells your work reads as advertising to me. Put the number on.
• Posted "in a conspicuous place" at your place of business, along with DCWP's license and complaint sign.^10,11
• On the DOB permit application for alterations in one- to four-family homes and apartments.⁴
• Your business name: only the name on the license.¹⁰
• Titles: "registered general contractor" only if you're registered, "licensed electrician" and "master plumber" only if you are one.^1,5,6

Licenses outside the five boroughs

I found no New York State license for general or home improvement contractors. Licensing is local, and the Attorney General's list of places that license home improvement contractors is short: "New York City, Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, Putnam, and Rockland counties, and the City of Buffalo."³⁰ Each license is separate. Take a job in Nassau on your City license and you're unlicensed there, which is exactly what sank the HVAC installer in the December 2025 case.²⁶ The state's home improvement contract law applies everywhere in New York, and it's covered in the contract article.

Before the next job

1. Look yourself up on DOB's license search and DCWP's license check. That's what your customers and inspectors see.
2. If you'll work in one- to four-family homes, co-op or condo apartments, or tenants' apartments, apply for the DCWP license before you sign that work. Budget for the exam, fingerprints, the $200 Trust Fund or a bond, and workers' compensation.
3. Line up a master plumber and a master electrician now, and look each one up. Don't wait for the first bathroom.
4. If you'll disturb paint in homes built before 1978, get the firm EPA-certified and take the renovator course. For Local Law 1 rentals with young children, find out who near you is certified in abatement.
5. Put your DCWP license number on contracts, quotes, ads, your website and your truck.
6. Count the whole job, materials included, before you decide it's under $200.
7. Read the contract rules before your next signature.

Where Deepsel fits

Deepsel is the field service software I build, and it doesn't know New York City licensing. It won't stop you quoting a $240 job without a DCWP license or flag a light fixture as electrician's work. What it does help with: the shop-wide terms text you set once is copied onto every quote the customer sees, and the invoice footer is copied onto every invoice, so your DCWP license number and DOB registration number go on every document without retyping. Quotes can carry options, the customer approves and signs on screen, and an optional card deposit is credited on the final invoice. It doesn't hold that deposit in escrow. New York requires payments taken before a home improvement job is substantially complete to go into an escrow account at a New York bank within five business days, or to be covered by a bond (the contract article explains).³¹ Free covers 30 estimates and 30 invoices a month for your whole team, with scheduling and dispatch, quotes, invoicing, card payments, and customer and equipment records; Pro is $29 a month with unlimited estimates and invoices (pricing).

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a license to be a contractor in New York?

Not from the state: I found no New York State license for general or home improvement contractors. Licensing is local. In New York City, contractors who build new one-, two- and three-family homes register with the Department of Buildings (DOB), anyone doing home improvement work of $200 or more on a home needs a Home Improvement Contractor license from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), and plumbing and electrical work needs a DOB-licensed master plumber or master electrician. Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties and the City of Buffalo each license home improvement contractors too.

Is a DOB general contractor registration the same as a home improvement license?

No. The DOB registration lets you hold permits for new one- to three-family homes and some larger alteration and enlargement work. It does not authorize home improvement work. For residential work in a one- to four-family home, a co-op or condo apartment, or a tenant's apartment, you need the separate DCWP Home Improvement Contractor license, and DOB asks for that license number on the alteration permit. Most new general contractors who remodel need both.

How much can a handyman charge without a license in NYC?

Less than $200 for the whole job, counting labor, materials and everything else. The exemption doesn't apply if the job is part of a larger one, whether you or a different contractor does the rest, or if one job is split into several contracts under $200. There's no yearly allowance and no part-time exemption. Plumbing and electrical work isn't covered by the $200 exemption at all: it needs a licensed master plumber or master electrician at any price.

What is the difference between a contractor and a handyman in NYC?

In New York City law there's no handyman category. Anyone who runs a home improvement business and offers to do the work is a 'contractor', licensed or not. A handyman is a contractor who keeps every job under $200, sticks to painting that isn't part of a bigger job, works for building owners in apartment buildings, or works on a licensed contractor's payroll. Once a residential job reaches $200, the DCWP license is required.

How much does the NYC home improvement license cost, and is there a test?

The license fee is $200 for two years, prorated because every license expires on February 28 of an odd year: file between September 2026 and February 2027 and you pay $50 for a license ending February 28, 2027, or $250 for one ending in February 2029. On top of that you either join DCWP's Trust Fund for $200 or post a $20,000 surety bond, carry workers' compensation, and pay for fingerprinting. One owner or officer must pass the Home Improvement Exam: 30 questions, 21 correct to pass. The DOB general contractor registration has no exam.

Can a handyman do plumbing or electrical work in NYC?

No. The Administrative Code makes it unlawful for anyone to perform plumbing work or electrical work unless they are a licensed master plumber or master electrician, or work under one's direct and continuing supervision. There's no dollar threshold. A light fixture swap is 'minor electrical work' that still needs an electrician and a permit. A faucet replacement needs no permit, but the license rule covers any repair of plumbing and I found no exception for fixtures.

Do I need a separate license to work in Nassau, Suffolk or Westchester?

Yes. Each of those counties, plus Putnam, Rockland and the City of Buffalo, runs its own home improvement license, and a New York City license doesn't carry over. In a December 2025 case, an HVAC contractor without a Nassau County license lost both its breach-of-contract claim and its mechanic's lien, even though a licensed subcontractor did the installation.

Sources

1. NYC Administrative Code Article 418, general contractor registration: § 28-418.1 ("It shall be unlawful for a person to conduct business as a general contractor unless such person holds a general contractor registration"), § 28-418.1.1 (three-year term), § 28-418.2 (title "registered general contractor"), § 28-418.3 item 8 (proof of insurance) and § 28-418.3.1 (operating capital over $25,000). codelibrary.amlegal.com, read November 3, 2026.
2. NYC Administrative Code § 28-401.3, definitions of "general contractor" (applies for a permit "to construct a new residential structure containing no more than three dwelling units," excluding licensees working exclusively within their license) and "plumbing work" (installation, maintenance, repair, modification, extension or alteration of plumbing, including gas piping). codelibrary.amlegal.com, read November 3, 2026.
3. NYC Administrative Code §§ 20-385 to 20-388, home improvement business: § 20-386 definitions of home improvement (central heating and air conditioning included; painting "when not incidental or related to home improvement work" excluded), building (no more than four units), owner (co-op shareholders, condo unit owners, tenants), contractor (licensed or not, prime or subcontractor) and home improvement contract (tenant contracts regardless of building size); § 20-387 license required, and no other license or authority authorizes the business; § 20-388 biennial fee of $200 (as amended by L.L. 2025/183). codelibrary.amlegal.com, read November 3, 2026.
4. NYC Department of Buildings, "Home Improvement Contractor Permit Requirements" - HIC license number required for alteration permits on "1, 2, 3, or 4 family homes; Co-op units, condo units, or rented apartment units"; not required for, among others, subcontractors, new buildings, "the commercial portion of a building" and "work in a Multiple Dwelling and hired by the building owner or Board of Directors." nyc.gov, read November 3, 2026.
5. NYC Administrative Code § 28-408.1 (unlawful "to perform plumbing work unless such person is a licensed master plumber or working under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master plumber"; title "master plumber" protected) and § 28-408.2 (the master plumber "shall personally sign and seal all applications"). codelibrary.amlegal.com, read November 3, 2026.
6. NYC Administrative Code § 28-429.1 (master electrician license required; low-voltage and special electrician exceptions; "licensed electrician," "electrical contractor" and similar words protected) and § 28-429.2 (seal), L.L. 2024/128, effective December 21, 2025, codelibrary.amlegal.com; § 28-101.5 definition of "minor electrical work" (including replacement of defective circuit breakers or switches of 30 amperes or less and "replacement of fixtures in existing outlets") and low-voltage electrical work (under 50 volts), codelibrary.amlegal.com; § 28-105.2 item 13 (electrical permits "shall include permits for minor electrical work"), codelibrary.amlegal.com; NYC Rules, "Repeal of Rules Relating to the Electrical Code" (Local Law 128 of 2024 moved the Electrical Code from Title 27 to Title 28, effective December 21, 2025), rules.cityofnewyork.us. All read November 3, 2026.
7. NYC Department of Buildings, "Contractors" - registrations required by type of work (new buildings, enlargements, removals, work in one- to four-family homes and condos or co-ops, other alterations, demolition, excavation and foundations); "Some work may require multiple registrations." nyc.gov, read November 3, 2026.
8. NYC Department of Buildings, "General Contractor Registration" ($300 registration, $240 renewal, $50 late renewal, three-year term), nyc.gov; "Obtain a General Contractor Registration" and the registration guidelines, Rev. 02/26 (bank statements "each showing an ending balance of $25,000," "general liability insurance certificate (you must have a $1 million minimum policy), Workers' Compensation certificate and disability insurance certificate," background investigation), nyc.gov, nyc.gov (PDF). All read November 3, 2026.
9. New York City Council, Int. 0771-2026, "Licensing of general contractors" - introduced March 10, 2026, referred to the Committee on Housing and Buildings; status "Committee." legistar.council.nyc.gov, read November 3, 2026.
10. NYC Administrative Code §§ 20-389 to 20-397: § 20-389 (license "not assignable or transferable"; posted "in a conspicuous place"), § 20-390(6) (EPA certification or a signed affirmation), § 20-392 (fine up to $1,000, suspension or revocation, including for violating the building code subchapters), § 20-393(6) and (8) (wilful disregard of building, sanitary, fire and health laws; business name), § 20-397 (exceptions: employees "for wages or salary"; licensed trades "acting exclusively within the scope" of their license; jobs where "the aggregate contract price for all labor materials and other items is less than two hundred dollars," not where the work "is only part of a larger or major operation, whether undertaken by the same or a different contractor," or is divided "for the purpose of evasion of this provision or otherwise"). codelibrary.amlegal.com and codelibrary.amlegal.com, read November 3, 2026.
11. NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, "Inspection Checklist: Home Improvement Contractors," updated 06/2026 - "All subcontractors you use must have a DCWP Home Improvement Contractor license"; the combined license and complaint sign must be posted; advertising must include the license number. nyc.gov (PDF), read November 3, 2026.
12. NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, "Home Improvement Contractor License Application Checklist" (checklist PDF dated 9/11/2026) - exam of 30 questions with 21 to pass, $50 retake package, fingerprints, Trust Fund ($200) or $20,000 surety bond, workers' compensation certificate naming DCWP, EPA certification or affirmation, Contractual Compliance Agreement, prorated fees ($50 or $250 when filing between September 1 of an even year and February 28 of an odd year). nyc.gov, read November 3, 2026.
13. NYC311, "Home Improvement Salesperson License" - "As of August 9, 2020, you no longer need a Home Improvement Salesperson license. Local Law 31 of 2020 repealed this licensing requirement." portal.311.nyc.gov, read November 3, 2026.
14. NYC Administrative Code § 28-105.4.2 ("A permit shall not be required for minor alterations and ordinary repairs"), § 28-105.4.2.1 (ordinary repairs include replacing "any plumbing fixture, piping or faucets from any exposed stop valve to the inlet side of a trap"; work that is never minor, including removing load-bearing walls and work on water, drainage or gas systems) and § 28-105.4.4 (ordinary plumbing work by a licensed plumber without a permit, with monthly reports: moving up to two fixtures within a room up to 10 feet; replacing a gas water heater, furnace or boiler of 350,000 BTU or less in buildings of five families or fewer when the shutoff valve isn't moved). codelibrary.amlegal.com, codelibrary.amlegal.com, read November 3, 2026.
15. NYC Department of Buildings, "Do I Need a Permit?" (kitchen cabinets need no permit "but contractors must have a ... (HIC) license"; ordinary plumbing work: "No permit needed, but work requires a Licensed Master Plumber"), nyc.gov; 1 RCNY § 101-14 (other agencies such as the Landmarks Preservation Commission still apply; no permit for fences of 6 feet or less, small sheds, and packaged air-conditioning units up to 5 tons at one- and two-family homes; partial removal of non-bearing, non-fire-rated partitions up to the lesser of 50% of the wall or 45 square feet in residences; roof replacement above the deck), codelibrary.amlegal.com. Both read November 3, 2026.
16. NYC Administrative Code Title 28, Chapter 4, article list: Article 408 master plumber, 410 master fire suppression piping contractor, 412 oil-burning equipment installer, 418 general contractor registration, 420 safety registration number, 423 qualification for gas work, 429 master electrician, 430 special electrician. codelibrary.amlegal.com, read November 3, 2026.
17. Electrical Contr. Solutions Corp. v Trump Vil. Section 4, Inc., 226 AD3d 746 (2d Dept, April 10, 2024) - unlicensed electrical contractor may not recover in contract or quantum meruit; $300,851.32 judgment reversed; the requirement "may not be satisfied by employing or subletting" the work to a licensed person (quoting Charlebois v Weller Assoc., 72 NY2d 587). courtlistener.com, read November 3, 2026.
18. EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, 40 CFR 745.81 (firm certification; renovations "directed by renovators certified") and 745.83 (minor repair and maintenance: 6 square feet per room inside, 20 outside, never window replacement; same room within 30 days is the same job). ecfr.gov, current as of October 30, 2026, read November 3, 2026.
19. 40 CFR 19.4, Table 1 - 15 U.S.C. 2615(a)(1) (TSCA): $49,772 for penalties assessed on or after January 8, 2025. ecfr.gov, read November 3, 2026.
20. NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, "Lead-Based Paint" (Local Law 1 of 2004 applies to multiple dwellings built before 1960, 1960 to 1978 where lead paint is known, tenant-occupied units in one- and two-family homes built before 1960, and co-op and condo units not occupied by the owner) and "Safe Work Practices" (under Local Law 1, renovation work "includes any work that would disturb 2 square feet or more of paint in a room"; more than 100 square feet in a room or two or more painted windows where a child under 6 lives requires a contractor certified in renovation and abatement; independent dust sampling). nyc.gov, nyc.gov, read November 3, 2026.
21. NYC Health Department, "Lead Poisoning: Information for Residential Building Owners" (notify the Department at least 10 days before disturbing more than 100 square feet in a room or replacing two or more painted windows; lower dust clearance standards from November 5, 2026, floors 4 micrograms per square foot), nyc.gov; NYC Health Code § 173.14 (24 RCNY), subdivisions (c)(1)(A) notice, (c)(2)(B) firm and worker requirements, and (d)(2) prohibited methods including "dry sanding or dry scraping" and heat guns above 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit, codelibrary.amlegal.com. Both read November 3, 2026.
22. NYC Department of Buildings, "Project Requirements: Asbestos" (pre-1987 buildings need an asbestos assessment before a permit: exemption certification, ACP-5 from a DEP-certified asbestos investigator, or ACP-7 for an asbestos project) and "Asbestos & Abatement Permit" ("hire a licensed abatement contractor ... and an independent air-monitoring firm"). nyc.gov, nyc.gov, read November 3, 2026.
23. NYC Administrative Code § 20-401 (misdemeanor, up to six months and $1,000, each violation a separate offense; civil penalty up to $1,000 per violation; up to three times the owner's damages for willful violations; amended by L.L. 2025/181) and § 20-401.1 (vehicle seizure for unlicensed activity; forfeiture after two findings in five years). codelibrary.amlegal.com, read November 3, 2026.
24. B & F Bldg. Corp. v Liebig, 76 NY2d 689 (1990) - unlicensed contractor on a Manhattan co-op renovation, paid over $237,000; contract unenforceable, no recovery in quantum meruit; the after-acquired license provision of CPLR 3015(e) "is only applicable where the contractor was licensed at the time that the work was done." law.cornell.edu, read November 3, 2026.
25. New York CPLR 3015(e) - a plaintiff in a business that must be licensed by the City's consumer affairs department must allege "that plaintiff was duly licensed at the time of services rendered." nysenate.gov, read November 3, 2026.
26. Nationwide HVAC Supply Corp. v Mosby, 2025 NY Slip Op 06712 (2d Dept, December 2025) - HVAC installer unlicensed in Nassau County may not recover for breach of contract and "has forfeited the right to foreclose the mechanic's lien"; a licensed subcontractor doing the installation does not change that. courtlistener.com, read November 3, 2026.
27. Rusin v Design-Apart USA, Ltd., 173 AD3d 1231 (2d Dept 2019) - "Where a homeowner receives the benefit of the services of an unlicensed contractor, he or she is not entitled to recoup payments made for such services solely on the basis that the defendant was unlicensed." law.justia.com, read November 3, 2026.
28. NYC Administrative Code § 28-202.1, civil penalties - lesser violations up to $500; major $1,000 to $10,000; immediately hazardous $2,500 to $25,000 plus daily penalties; exception 4 (minimum $2,500, then $5,000, for violating § 28-408.1); item 12 (unlicensed electrical work: minimum $4,800, fines up to $25,000, imprisonment up to one year). codelibrary.amlegal.com, read November 3, 2026.
29. 6 RCNY § 2-221(a)(1) (contract must state "the contractor's name, office address, telephone number and license number") and § 2-222(a) ("All advertising and sales literature must contain the license number of the contractor"). codelibrary.amlegal.com, read November 3, 2026.
30. New York State 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." ag.ny.gov, read November 3, 2026.
31. New York Lien Law § 71-a(4)(a) (home improvement payments received "prior to the substantial completion of work" go into an escrow account at a bank in New York within five business days) and (b) (bond, contract of indemnity or letter of credit instead), nysenate.gov; General Business Law § 771-b(5) ("A roofing contractor shall not require an owner to provide a deposit for the work and materials"), nysenate.gov. Both read November 3, 2026.