For contractors
Contractor Registration
We prepare your company's DOB registration for the work it does and keep the registration, and the insurance behind it, current.
When you need it
DOB issues a work permit to a contractor it has on record, and the registration that contractor needs depends on the job. A new one-, two- or three-family house needs a registered General Contractor. Other new buildings and enlargements that add more than a quarter of the floor area, or three or more stories, take General Contractor registration or a Safety Registration Number with a construction endorsement. Demolition takes a Safety Registration Number with a demolition endorsement, and removing more than half the floor area, or one or more stories, takes either that or General Contractor registration. Excavation and foundation work take one with a construction endorsement, and pours of 2,000 cubic yards of concrete or more take one with a concrete endorsement. For most other alterations, an Insurance Tracking Number is the minimum.
Work on homes adds a license from another agency. The Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) license comes from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), and DOB does not issue it. DOB asks for it on alterations in 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-family homes and in condo and co-op units, and DCWP requires it for construction, repair and remodeling work on residential property. Many contractors who work on houses need both.
Whichever DOB registration applies, the Department keeps your general liability, workers' compensation and disability insurance on its records and checks it when a permit is requested. Registrations and policies expire on their own dates, and a permit issued in DOB NOW: Build expires no later than the earliest insurance or license date on file. A lapse cuts short the permits you already hold and stops new ones until you renew.
What we do
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Confirm what you need
We look at the work you take on and the buildings you work in, and tell you whether you need General Contractor registration, a Safety Registration Number with endorsements, an Insurance Tracking Number, a DCWP Home Improvement Contractor license, or more than one.
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Prepare the application
We gather the business documents and insurance certificates DOB asks for and check that each certificate names the company exactly as registered before the application goes in.
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Keep it current
We track the expiration dates of the registration and of every policy on file, and prepare the renewals and updated certificates ahead of them.
Questions
Who needs DOB General Contractor registration?
Every contractor who builds new one-, two- or three-family houses. For other new buildings, large enlargements and the removal of more than half the floor area or a story, it is one of two options, the other being a Safety Registration Number with a construction or demolition endorsement. Send us the scope and we will tell you which applies.
How do I renew General Contractor registration?
Registration runs for three years. The renewal goes to DOB through the BIS Options section of DOB NOW, with a notarized LIC6 application and current insurance certificates, before the expiration date on your card. A registration left expired for more than a year has to be applied for again.
Is the HIC license the same as DOB registration?
No. The Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) license is issued by DCWP, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, separately from anything DOB issues. DOB asks for it on alterations in one- to four-family homes and condo and co-op units, on top of the DOB registration.
What if my registration or insurance has lapsed?
Permits under it expire, and DOB issues no new ones until the registration is renewed or current insurance is on file. We find what lapsed and prepare the renewal or the new certificates.
Is registration the same as a DOB license?
No. Registration lets a company hold permits. A license qualifies a person, such as a Master Plumber or a Site Safety Manager, to do or supervise a type of work. Many businesses need both.
Tell us about your project.
Send the address and what you plan to do. We tell you which permits and filings the work needs and what we would prepare. The review is free.