How do I look up a contractor license in New York?

The main local licensing offices are listed under Where licensing happens locally.

New York contractor license lookup

In New York, our survey found no state-level license for general contractors, electrical contractors, plumbing contractors, HVAC contractors and roofing contractors, so check with the city or county. Home Improvement Contractor rows lists 13,385 active contractor licenses as of August 20, 2026.

Look up a license

Trade	Credential	Board	Official lookup
General contractor	No state license: cities and counties	None at state level (local: NYC Department of Buildings, NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, county consumer affairs offices)	New York does not license general contractors at the state level. Cities and counties set their own rules.
Electrical	No state license: cities and counties	None at state level (local: NYC Department of Buildings, Suffolk and Westchester county consumer offices, other municipalities)	Our survey of official New York sources found no state-level electrical contractor license. Check with the city or county where the work is done.
Plumbing	No state license: cities and counties	None at state level (local: city examining boards of plumbers, NYC Department of Buildings, Suffolk and Westchester county consumer offices)	Our survey of official New York sources found no state-level plumbing contractor license. Check with the city or county where the work is done.
HVAC	No state license: cities and counties	None at state level	Our survey of official New York sources found no state-level HVAC contractor license. Check with the city or county where the work is done.
Roofing	No state license: cities and counties	None at state level (local home improvement contractor licenses)	New York does not license roofing contractors at the state level. Cities and counties set their own rules.

Where licensing happens locally

Jurisdiction	Agency	Credentials	Lookup
New York City	NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection source	Home Improvement Contractor License	Search New York City licenses
New York City	NYC Department of Buildings source	General Contractor Registration, Master Electrician, Special Electrician, Master Plumber, Master Fire Suppression Piping Contractor, Oil Burner Equipment Installer	Search New York City licenses
Suffolk County	Suffolk County Department of Consumer Affairs source	Home Improvement, Master Electrician, Restricted Electrical, Master Plumbers, Restricted Plumbers	Search Suffolk County licenses
Nassau County	Nassau County Department of Consumer Affairs source	Home Improvement	Search Nassau County licenses

Verify a contractor

For homeowners hiring in New York.

Ask the city or county building department where the work is done how they license general contractors.
New York has no statewide contractor license lookup; check whether your city or county licenses home improvement contractors or trades and hire only a licensed contractor where it does. source In New York City, the DCWP Search Business tool shows whether a business holds a DCWP license, including a Home Improvement Contractor License. source NYC DCWP publishes a Wall of Shame of unlicensed home improvement contractors. source NYC Department of Buildings has a license and registration status search for skilled trades licensees (electricians, plumbers, oil burner installers) and general contractors. source Nassau County Consumer Affairs has an online search of licensed home improvement contractors. source Suffolk County Consumer Affairs verifies licenses by phone and has an online search of contractors with valid licenses. source Westchester County Consumer Protection has an online search of licensed home improvement contractors. source Westchester County requires plumbers and electricians to hold a county trade license. source NYC Department of Buildings license search lists General Contractor, Electrical Contractor, Master Plumber and Oil Burner Installer license types. source
File a home improvement complaint with your local consumer protection agency or the NYS Division of Consumer Protection. source The NYS Consumer Assistance Helpline is 1-800-697-1220, weekdays 8:30am to 4:30pm. source

Homeowner protections in New York

State home improvement contract rules apply when the contract price for labor, services and materials is more than $500. source
State law requires every covered home improvement contract to be in writing and signed by all parties. source
The homeowner may cancel a home improvement contract until midnight of the third business day after signing. source
A home improvement contractor must deposit payments received before completion in an escrow account under the Lien Law, or post a bond, contract of indemnity or letter of credit instead. source
The state advises against large upfront deposits and recommends paying in stages as work is completed. source
NYC home improvement contractors must enroll in the DCWP Trust Fund or post a $20,000 surety bond. source

Get licensed

For a general contractor working in New York.

Our survey found no state-level general contractor license in New York. Ask the city or county where you will work.

Requirements by trade

General contractor: New York does not license general contractors at the state level. Cities and counties set their own rules. source

Electrical: Our survey of official New York sources found no state-level electrical contractor license. Check with the city or county where the work is done.

Plumbing: Our survey of official New York sources found no state-level plumbing contractor license. Check with the city or county where the work is done.

HVAC: Our survey of official New York sources found no state-level HVAC contractor license. Check with the city or county where the work is done.

Roofing: New York does not license roofing contractors at the state level. Cities and counties set their own rules. source

Licenses on record

13,385 active records in Issued Licenses, NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Home Improvement Contractor rows, as of August 20, 2026. 13,385 expire within the next year.

Active by trade
Trade	Active
General contractor (business)	9,720
General contractor (business)	13,385
Electrical (individual)	957
Plumbing (individual)	1,135

Active by license type
License type	Active
Home Improvement Contractor (business)	13,385
General Contractor (business)	9,720
Master Plumber (individual)	1,135
Electrical Firm (business)	1,074
Electrical Contractor (individual)	957

Top cities
City	Active
Queens	3,526
Brooklyn	2,785
Staten Island	1,273
Manhattan	1,067
Bronx	938

A snapshot of the Issued Licenses, NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Home Improvement Contractor rows as of August 20, 2026. The board's live lookup may differ.
This is New York City data only. New York State does not license general, home improvement, electrical or plumbing contractors and keeps no statewide license list. Some counties and other cities run their own licenses, and their lists are not included here.
Two city lists are shown and never added together: 13,385 active home improvement contractor licenses from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and 12,886 active Department of Buildings registrations and licenses.
General contractors appear twice on purpose: 9,720 active Department of Buildings general contractor registrations and 13,385 active home improvement contractor licenses. A business can hold both, so the two cannot be added.
Electrical counts 957 people with an active city electrician license; master and special electricians are not split in the data. The 1,074 active electrical firm registrations are businesses and are listed apart from the trade count. Plumbing counts 1,135 people with an active master plumber license.
Heating and cooling and roofing are not shown because the city data has no contractor license for them. Oil burner installer licenses are left out because they are not heating and cooling contractor licenses.
Expiring within a year comes from the home improvement contractor list only: 13,385 of 13,385 active licenses. The Department of Buildings list has no expiration date.
Boroughs come from the business address on file, not where the work is done. 595 active home improvement licenses have an address outside New York State and are not in the borough table, nor are addresses elsewhere in the state.
Snapshots: Department of Buildings list as of October 6, 2026 (updated daily), home improvement contractor list as of August 20, 2026 (listed as weekly). Discipline actions are not shown; neither list carries them.

How these counts are defined

Scope: New York City only. New York State has no statewide contractor license and no statewide license list; cities and counties license contractors themselves.
Rows Total: Records in any status across the two city lists that are counted here. The lists overlap and are added only to give one record count; this is not a count of contractors.
Active: A record counts as active when its status reads active in the city list it comes from. Every other status is left out.
Active Total: Active home improvement contractor licenses issued by the city Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Department of Buildings registrations and licenses are counted separately and never added to this number.
Active by license type: Active records by the name the city uses. Home improvement contractor comes from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection; the rest come from the Department of Buildings. Electrical contractor is the electrician license held by a person; electrical firm is the business those electricians work through.
Active by trade: General appears twice: Department of Buildings general contractor registrations and home improvement contractor licenses, both held by businesses, shown side by side and not added. Electrical counts people with an active city electrician license; the data does not split master and special electricians. Plumbing counts people with an active master plumber license. Heating and cooling and roofing have no city license in this data.
Cities: Borough of the business address on file for active home improvement contractor licenses. Addresses outside the five boroughs or with no borough are left out.
Expiring within the next year: Active home improvement contractor licenses whose expiration date falls after August 20, 2026 and on or before August 20, 2027. The Department of Buildings list has no expiration date and is not included.
Active Out Of State: Active home improvement contractor licenses with a business address outside New York State.
Discipline: Not shown: neither city list carries discipline information.

Counts only, no personal data. Small groups are left out. Rows marked business, individual or mixed count different holders and are never added together.

Source: Issued Licenses (w7w3-xahh), NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Home Improvement Contractor rows, as of August 20, 2026. Data license: No license stated on the dataset; NYC Open Data Law (Administrative Code section 23-502, subdivision d): no license requirement or restrictions on use. Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP).
Source: DOB License Info (t8hj-ruu2), NYC Department of Buildings, as of October 6, 2026. Data license: No license stated on the dataset; NYC Open Data Law (Administrative Code section 23-502, subdivision d): no license requirement or restrictions on use. Department of Buildings (DOB).

Questions

Does New York require a contractor license?: It depends on where the work is done. New York does not license general contractors at the state level. Cities and counties set their own rules.
How do I look up a contractor license in New York?: The main local licensing offices are listed under Where licensing happens locally.
How do I look up an electrician license in New York?: Our survey of official New York sources found no state-level electrical contractor license. Check with the city or county where the work is done.
How do I look up a plumbing license in New York?: Our survey of official New York sources found no state-level plumbing contractor license.
Does New York have an HVAC license?: Our survey of official New York sources found no state-level HVAC contractor license.
Do roofers need a license in New York?: New York does not license roofing contractors at the state level.
How many contractors are registered or licensed in New York?: The Issued Licenses, NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Home Improvement Contractor rows lists 13,385 active records as of August 20, 2026.

Sources

This is not a government site. The licensing board's own record governs; always confirm on the official lookup. Information as of October 6, 2026.