"Do I need to register with the DOB?" The honest answer is that it depends on what you build, where, and for whom. New York City layers several credentials on top of each other: a DOB registration for the company holding the permit, safety endorsements for certain kinds of work, a separate DCWP license for home improvement work, and trade licenses that nothing else can replace. This guide walks through each one so you can work out which apply to your work. Confirm your own situation against the current DOB and DCWP rules before you file.
DOB general contractor registration
Article 418 of Title 28 of the Administrative Code requires general contractors to register with the Department of Buildings. Every contractor who builds new one-, two- or three-family houses must be registered, and a registered general contractor can be the permit holder on many other kinds of work. DOB will not issue the permit until the registration and the insurance behind it are active on its records. Registration runs for three years, and registrants have to put their registration number and business information on their trucks, business cards and advertising.
Contractors without a general contractor registration can still take on most alterations with an Insurance Tracking Number: they pre-file with DOB and provide proof of workers' compensation and disability insurance. That route does not cover new houses or the larger jobs described below.
Safety registration and endorsements
For bigger and riskier work, DOB's requirements turn on the job type. Its contractors page sets them out this way:
- A new building other than a one- to three-family house, an enlargement that adds more than 25 percent of the floor area, or one that adds three or more stories: General Contractor registration, or a Safety Registration Number with a construction endorsement.
- Removing more than half of the floor area, or one or more stories: General Contractor registration, or a Safety Registration Number with a demolition endorsement.
- Full or partial demolition: a Safety Registration Number with a demolition endorsement.
- Excavation and foundation work: a Safety Registration Number with a construction endorsement.
- Placing 2,000 cubic yards of concrete or more: a Safety Registration Number with a concrete endorsement.
Some of DOB's project requirement pages tie the endorsements to buildings four stories or taller instead. The job-type list above, from DOB's contractors page, is the more specific of the two, and an endorsement is not something to arrange the week the permit is needed. Jobs that need a site safety plan, a construction superintendent, or a Site Safety Manager or Coordinator also require the workers on site to hold current Site Safety Training (SST) cards under Local Law 196 of 2017.
Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) license
The HIC license is issued by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), not by DOB, and it is a separate credential from any DOB registration. DCWP requires it for construction, repair, remodeling and other home improvement work on residential property. DOB, for its part, asks for it on alterations in one-, two-, three- and four-family homes and in condo and co-op units. Home improvement is defined broadly: work on cellars, basements, driveways, fences, garages, landscaping, patios, porches, sidewalks, pools and terraces is covered, along with interior renovation.
This is a credential residential contractors can easily miss. DCWP can issue violations for unlicensed home improvement work, and homeowners who hire an unlicensed contractor lose access to DCWP's Trust Fund. Many contractors who work on houses need both a DOB registration and the HIC license.
Trade licenses that stand on their own
Plumbing and gas work must be performed and filed by a DOB-licensed Master Plumber. Fire suppression piping work requires a Master Fire Suppression Piping Contractor, and electrical work a licensed Master or Special Electrician. Riggers, sign hangers, hoisting machine operators, oil burning equipment installers and welders hold DOB licenses of their own. None of this work can be performed under a general contractor registration or an HIC license. The licensed tradesperson files their own work type on the job and holds their own permit for it.
Coordinating these filings is a common place for a residential job to stall. The general contractor has the job, the plumber has not filed, and the inspection cannot be scheduled.
Insurance that has to be on file
DOB checks general liability, workers' compensation and disability coverage against its own records before a permit is issued. Certificates have to name the contractor exactly as registered, be current, and be uploaded in the right DOB NOW category. A permit issued in DOB NOW: Build expires no later than the earliest insurance or license date on file, so a lapsed policy cuts short the permits you already hold as well as blocking new ones.
What happens if you work without the right credentials
- The permit is not issued, and the approved job cannot legally start.
- If work starts anyway, DOB can issue a stop work order and a summons for work without a permit, and it does not lift the order until a permit is issued and the civil penalties are paid.
- DCWP can issue its own violations for unlicensed home improvement work.
- Violations issued to a contractor stay on its record with DOB.
A quick way to check your situation
Ask three questions. What kind of building is it: a one- to four-family house, a condo or co-op unit, or something larger? What work is on the drawings: general construction, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, demolition, excavation or concrete? Who is signing the contract with the owner? The answers map to the credentials above. If any of them are missing, fix that before the job is filed rather than after the permit request is rejected.
We help contractors work out which registrations, licenses, endorsements and insurance their work requires, and prepare the applications and renewals with them. See contractor registration and DOB licensing, or send us your next project for a free review.