Local license record
Hudson Mechanical Corp.
Certificate of insurance
Filed with the Department
State rule
New York · three coverages
Working in New York. What the state and the city ask of every trade.
No state contractor license: the city or county licenses the trade, and New York City asks for the insurance before the license. The state requires three coverages of almost every employer. Here are the facts every New York contractor shares, with sources, and the page for your trade.
Local licensing, with New York City as the worked example- Workers’ comp, disability, and Paid Family Leave, sourced
- Licensed and headquartered in New York
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What does New York require of a contractor, whatever the trade?
Two things, and the first one surprises people. There is no state contractor license in New York; the city or county where the work is licenses the trade, and New York City’s Department of Buildings is the worked example, asking for general liability, workers’ comp, and disability certificates before it issues a license. The second is statewide: the Workers’ Compensation Law requires three coverages of virtually every employer, workers’ compensation, disability benefits, and Paid Family Leave, and the last two are the ones that lapse quietly. The trade pages say which local license each trade carries.
How workers’ comp works for any business→Markets we place through.
The New York facts.
What every contractor in New York shares, each with its source below.
Workers’ comp in New York.
Required of virtually every employer, alongside disability benefits and Paid Family Leave. We keep all three on one calendar.
Alabama
Generally required once an Alabama employer has 5 or more employees.
We confirm what applies when you start.
Alaska
Generally required in Alaska with 1 or more employees.
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Arizona
Generally required in Arizona with 1 or more employees.
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Arkansas
Generally required in Arkansas with 3 or more employees.
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California
Generally required in California with 1 or more employees.
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Colorado
Generally required in Colorado with 1 or more employees.
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Connecticut
Generally required in Connecticut with 1 or more employees.
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Delaware
Generally required in Delaware with 1 or more employees.
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Florida
Generally required in Florida with 4 or more non-construction employees, or 1 or more construction employees.
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Georgia
Generally required in Georgia with 3 or more employees.
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Hawaii
Generally required in Hawaii with 1 or more employees.
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Idaho
Generally required in Idaho with 1 or more employees.
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Illinois
Generally required in Illinois with 1 or more employees.
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Indiana
Generally required in Indiana with 1 or more employees.
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Iowa
Generally required in Iowa with 1 or more employees.
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Kansas
Generally required in Kansas when annual gross payroll exceeds $20,000.
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Kentucky
Generally required in Kentucky with 1 or more employees.
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Louisiana
Generally required in Louisiana with 1 or more employees.
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Maine
Generally required in Maine with 1 or more employees.
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Maryland
Generally required in Maryland with 1 or more employees.
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Massachusetts
Generally required in Massachusetts with 1 or more employees.
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Michigan
Michigan generally requires coverage for employers with 3 or more employees, or 1 employee working at least 35 hours a week for 13 weeks or longer.
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Minnesota
Generally required in Minnesota with 1 or more employees.
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Mississippi
Generally required in Mississippi with 5 or more regular employees.
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Missouri
Generally required in Missouri with 5 or more employees, or 1 or more employees for a construction business.
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Montana
Generally required in Montana with 1 or more employees.
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Nebraska
Generally required in Nebraska with 1 or more employees.
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Nevada
Generally required in Nevada with 1 or more employees.
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New Hampshire
Generally required in New Hampshire with 1 or more employees.
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New Jersey
Generally required in New Jersey with 1 or more employees.
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New Mexico
Generally required in New Mexico with 3 or more employees; construction employers generally need coverage with 1 or more.
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New York
Virtually all New York employers must provide coverage when they have 1 or more employees.
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North Carolina
Generally required in North Carolina with 3 or more employees.
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North Dakota
Generally required in North Dakota before employing 1 or more employees.
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Ohio
Generally required in Ohio with 1 or more employees.
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Oklahoma
Generally required in Oklahoma with 1 or more employees.
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Oregon
Generally required in Oregon with 1 or more employees.
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Pennsylvania
Generally required in Pennsylvania with 1 or more employees.
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Rhode Island
Generally required in Rhode Island with 4 or more employees.
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South Carolina
Generally required in South Carolina with 4 or more regular employees.
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South Dakota
South Dakota does not generally require private employers to carry workers’ compensation coverage.
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Tennessee
Generally required in Tennessee with 5 or more employees; construction and coal-mining employers generally need coverage with 1 or more.
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Texas
Most Texas private employers can choose whether to carry workers’ compensation coverage.
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Utah
Generally required in Utah with 1 or more employees.
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Vermont
Generally required in Vermont with 1 or more employees.
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Virginia
Generally required in Virginia when an employer regularly has more than 2 employees.
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Washington
Generally required in Washington with 1 or more employees.
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West Virginia
Generally required in West Virginia with 1 or more employees.
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Wisconsin
Wisconsin generally requires coverage at 3 or more employees, or after paying $500 or more in combined gross wages in a calendar quarter.
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Wyoming
Generally required in Wyoming for employees working in covered industries.
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District of Columbia
Generally required in Washington, DC with 1 or more employees.
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What changes the answer in New York.
Four things a New York contractor brings that a contractor elsewhere does not.
New York City has its own requirements and its own forms; other jurisdictions have theirs. Your trade’s page names the license for the work.
General liability at the Department’s minimum, workers’ comp, and disability, each on its own form. Endorsements first, certificates second.
Disability benefits and Paid Family Leave are small policies that nobody asks about until an audit or a claim. They renew on their own calendar unless someone watches it.
Workers’ comp from the first day; disability and Paid Family Leave within the window the Board sets after hire. The count decides nothing here; the first employee does.
Riza’s read
How we handle it.
We are licensed and headquartered in New York. Before a quote we confirm which city or county licenses your work, read the certificate requirements that office publishes, and check that workers’ comp, disability benefits, and Paid Family Leave are all in force and renewing on one calendar. The facts on this page are read from the Department of Buildings and the Workers’ Compensation Board on the dates shown in the sources.
We do not interpret the Workers’ Compensation Law for your situation beyond what the Board plainly says, and we do not issue a certificate that says something the policy does not, whatever the licensing deadline. We place the coverage, we issue the certificates from the policy as written, and we answer the phone.
New York guides.
The facts every trade shares, one page each.
New York, by trade.
What your trade adds on top of the shared facts: the local license, the work, and the coverage.
Trade
Plumbing in New York→The master plumber license, the city’s certificate rules, and the three coverages, in a plumber’s words.Trade
HVAC in New York→The local licenses that touch HVAC work, the certificates, and the three coverages, for HVAC shops.Trade
Electrical in New York→The master electrician license, the certificates, and the three coverages, for electrical contractors.Sources.
- 01Obtain a Master Plumber license (exam, experience, business documentation, insurance)NYC Department of Buildings · read 2026-09-10↗
- 02Licensing insurance guidelinesNYC Department of Buildings · read 2026-09-10↗
- 03Workers’ compensation coverage requirements (WCL §2 and §3)New York State Workers’ Compensation Board · read 2026-09-10↗
- 04Is disability and Paid Family Leave coverage required? (WCL §202)New York State Workers’ Compensation Board · read 2026-09-10↗
Plain answers before the next job.
What New York contractors ask, whatever the trade.
Is there a New York State contractor license?
No. New York licenses the trades locally. New York City’s Department of Buildings licenses master plumbers, master electricians, and other trades it regulates, and other cities and counties run their own boards with their own rules. The license that matters is the one issued where the work is, which is why a shop that works across the region can hold more than one. What changes the answer is the address of the job, so your trade’s New York page names the license for each kind of work, and we confirm it against the issuing office’s record before the quote.
Does New York City require insurance for the license?
Yes, for the trades the Department of Buildings licenses. Its published guidelines ask a licensed business to keep general liability at the Department’s minimum per occurrence, workers’ compensation, and disability benefits on file, each shown on its own certificate with the Department as the certificate holder. The certificates have to say what the policies say, so the endorsements come first and the certificate second. What changes the answer is the license type and the Department’s current guideline, which we read on the day we issue the certificates rather than from memory.
What are disability benefits and Paid Family Leave, and does every employer carry them?
Disability benefits pay part of an employee’s wages for an injury or illness that happens off the job; workers’ comp covers the on-the-job ones. Paid Family Leave rides on the disability policy and pays for time away to bond with a child or care for a family member. Under the Workers’ Compensation Law both are required of virtually every New York employer, and both are small policies that lapse quietly because nobody asks about them until an audit or a claim. What changes the answer is almost nothing; the guide on this page covers the few exceptions and the new-hire window.
Do I need workers’ comp with one helper?
In New York, yes, in nearly every case. The Workers’ Compensation Law requires coverage of virtually every employer from the first employee, and the Board treats a helper who works your schedule, uses your tools, and is paid by you as an employee whatever the invoice says. Disability benefits and Paid Family Leave follow within the window the Board sets after hire. The owner-only exceptions are narrow and depend on entity type. What changes the answer is how the helper actually works, so we review that with you before the quote rather than after a Board notice.
Can Riza place coverage in New York?
Yes. Riza is licensed and headquartered in New York, and this is the state we know best. We place general liability, workers’ compensation, disability benefits with Paid Family Leave, auto, and the rest of the program through the markets on this page, and we issue the certificates the city asks for from the policies as written. What changes the answer is nothing about your trade, since the three state coverages and the certificate rules work the same way for every trade the city and the state regulate.
Which page is for my trade?
This page carries the facts every New York contractor shares: local licensing, the certificates the city wants, and the three state coverages. Your trade’s New York page carries what your trade adds: the specific license the city issues for the work, the operations the underwriter asks about, and the coverage in your trade’s words. Plumbing is live, and the other trades follow on the same template as they publish. What changes the answer is the trade, so pick it below and the rest of the site follows.
Working in New York? Start here.
City licenses, state coverages, one broker, for every trade.
Prefer to talk? Call +1 802-GOT-RIZA · Sun to Sat, 8am to 8pm ET