Six states into this series the question has always been some version of were you licensed, and when. New York changes the question twice over.
First, there is no New York State contractor license. The state does not issue one. Licensing sits with counties, cities and towns, so the answer to "am I licensed" depends on which side of a municipal boundary the house is on.
Second, and this is the part that catches people, being licensed is not just a defense you raise. It is an element you have to plead in your complaint. Leave it out and the case can be dismissed before anyone looks at the merits.
The pleading rule, in full
CPLR 3015(e):
"Where the plaintiff's cause of action against a consumer arises from the plaintiff's conduct of a business which is required by state or local law to be licensed by the department of consumer affairs of the city of New York, the Suffolk county department of consumer affairs, the county of Rockland, the county of Putnam, the county of Westchester, or the Nassau county department of consumer affairs, the complaint shall allege, as part of the cause of the action, that plaintiff was duly licensed at the time of services rendered and shall contain the name and number, if any, of such license and the governmental agency which issued such license."
And the consequence, in the same subdivision:
"The failure of the plaintiff to comply with this subdivision will permit the defendant to move for dismissal pursuant to paragraph seven of subdivision (a) of rule thirty-two hundred eleven of this chapter."
CPLR 3211(a)(7) is the plain "the pleading fails to state a cause of action" ground. So an unpleaded license is treated as a missing element of the claim itself.
⚠️ Do not read that list of six as the whole map. Those are the jurisdictions the pleading rule names. The licensing requirement that actually catches you may be a town one, and the courts have applied the bar on that basis.
What you forfeit, in the Appellate Division's own words
From Nationwide HVAC Supply Corp. v Mosby, decided 3 December 2025:
"Licensing statutes are to be strictly construed and an unlicensed contractor forfeits the right to recover damages based either on breach of contract or quantum meruit"
The court cites Quick Start Constr. Corp. v Staiger, 77 AD3d 900, 900 [2010], and B & F Bldg. Corp. v Liebig, 76 NY2d 689, 691 [1990], which is the Court of Appeals authority behind the rule.
⭐ Quantum meruit going too is the part that surprises people. In most of the country, an unlicensed contractor who loses the contract claim still argues the fallback: pay me the reasonable value of what I actually built. New York closes both doors at once.
And the lien goes with them, from the same decision:
"Moreover, a home improvement contractor must plead possession of a valid license in order to commence an action to foreclose a mechanic's lien"
"But I used a licensed subcontractor" does not save you
This is the single most useful thing on this page, because it is the argument almost everyone reaches for. In Nationwide HVAC the plaintiff had the HVAC installed by a properly licensed sub, and argued that should be enough. The court:
"The plaintiff's contention that recovery should not be denied because the installation of the HVAC system was performed by a duly licensed subcontractor is without merit, as such a relationship is insufficient to permit an unlicensed contractor to recover for work performed"
Citing Mikoma Elec., LLC v Otek Bldrs., LLC, 233 AD3d 856, 858-859 [2024] and Electrical Contr. Solutions Corp. v Trump Vil. Section 4, Inc., 226 AD3d 746, 748 [2024]. Your subcontractor's license is your subcontractor's. It does not travel up to you.
Subcontractors get caught too, and "new construction" may not be the escape you think
Kristeel, Inc. v Seaview Dev. Corp., 165 AD3d 1243 [2018], is worth knowing for two reasons.
The plaintiff was a steel subcontractor, not a general contractor dealing with a homeowner, and it still lost the contract claim and had its mechanic's lien vacated for want of a home improvement license in the Town of East Hampton.
And it argued that its work was new home construction rather than home improvement, so no home improvement license was needed. The court rejected that, because that town's code defines the term to include it:
"The Town Code defines 'home improvement' as including, inter alia, '[n]ew home construction'"
⚠️ That is a reading of one town's code, not a statewide rule. The lesson is not "new build is always home improvement in New York". It is that the definition that decides your case is the local one, and you have to actually open it.
Where the license comes from
There is no single answer, and that is the point. Four local requirements named in the decisions used on this page:
| Jurisdiction | Provision | As quoted by the court |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | Admin Code § 20-387 | a contractor without a license under it "at the time the contract was entered into and the work was performed" cannot enforce the contract |
| Nassau County | Admin Code § 21-11.2 | "anyone operating a home improvement business must be licensed" |
| Suffolk County | Code of Suffolk County § 563-17(A) | "[i]t is unlawful for any person to engage in any business as a home improvement contractor without obtaining a license . . . from the office" |
| Town of East Hampton | Town Code §§ 156-2, 156-3, 156-4 | license required; "home improvement" defined to include new home construction |
⚠️ Suffolk County shows the trap most clearly. In Thomas Lavin Constr., LLC v Epstein [2024] the licensing question ran to both Suffolk County and Southampton. A county license is not automatically the only one in play.
When the license has to exist
Two sourced formulations, and they are not identical:
- CPLR 3015(e) requires the complaint to allege you were duly licensed "at the time of services rendered".
- San Sung Korean Methodist Church of N.Y. v Professional USA Constr. Corp., 14 AD3d 501, 502, as quoted in Kovalenko v Bhatti Gen. Contr. & Dev., LLC [2025], addresses a contractor without a license "at the time the contract was entered into and the work was performed", where "the contract [is] unenforceable".
So the safe reading is that both the contract date and the performance period matter. ⛔ You will see it written that you must also be licensed when you file suit. That third limb is not stated in either source above and is not asserted here. If your license lapsed after the job finished but before you sued, that is a question for a New York construction attorney, not a page.
The other direction: what the customer gets
The licensing bar is not symmetrical, and Kovalenko v Bhatti Gen. Contr. & Dev., LLC [2025] shows the flip side. There the homeowner was the plaintiff, having paid $260,000 for a project the contractor did not adequately complete.
Because the contractor was alleged to be unlicensed, and that "may render the contract unenforceable", the court held the existence of the contract did not stop the homeowner pleading unjust enrichment as an alternative route to a refund.
⚠️ Note precisely what that is and is not. It is permission to plead an alternative theory. It is not a statutory clawback like California's § 7031(b), and it is not a finding that the customer wins. But it means an unlicensed contractor's status can be used against them offensively, not just as a shield.
The statewide layer that applies wherever you are
No state license does not mean no state rules. General Business Law Article 36-A, Home Improvement Contracts, applies to home improvement contracts across New York. § 771 opens:
"Every home improvement contract subject to the provisions of this article, and all amendments thereto, shall be evidenced by a writing and shall be signed by all the parties to the contract."
The writing has to carry, among other things, the contractor's name, address, telephone number and license number if applicable; the approximate dates and whether timing is of the essence; a description of the work and materials with make and model detail; a notice about mechanic's liens; a notice about the contractor's duty to hold payments received before completion in trust, or post a bond or letter of credit instead; any progress payment schedule; and a notice of the owner's right to cancel within three business days.
⭐ So even a contractor in a part of New York with no local licensing at all still has a statutory contract to write.
Seven states, seven different questions
| State | What the law actually tests |
|---|---|
| New York | Whether you pleaded a valid local license. It is an element of the claim, not a defense |
| Virginia | Your actual knowledge, plus good faith substantial performance (§ 54.1-1115(C)) |
| Arizona | Two dates: contract formation and when the cause of action arose (ARS 32-1153) |
| Florida | The contract date only (§ 489.128(1)(c)) |
| Washington | The contract date only (RCW 18.27.080) |
| North Carolina | Throughout, but severable (Brady v. Fulghum) |
| California | Every day of performance (§ 7031(a)) |
And on the fallback claim, New York is the strictest of the seven: contract and quantum meruit both go.
Where this came from
| Source | What it gave us | Transport, retrieved 2026-08-03 |
|---|---|---|
| CPLR 3015(e), 3211(a)(7) | The pleading rule, the six named jurisdictions, the dismissal ground | nysenate.gov, direct |
| GBL Article 36-A, § 771 | Statewide written contract requirements, 3 business day cancellation | nysenate.gov, direct |
| Nationwide HVAC Supply Corp. v Mosby, 2025 NY Slip Op 06712, 244 AD3d 737 (2d Dept, 3 Dec 2025) | Contract and quantum meruit both forfeited; lien pleading rule; the licensed sub argument; Nassau Admin Code § 21-11.2 | nycourts.gov/reporter, official NY Official Reports |
| Kristeel, Inc. v Seaview Dev. Corp., 2018 NY Slip Op 07296, 165 AD3d 1243 (2d Dept, 31 Oct 2018) | Subcontractors caught; East Hampton Town Code; new home construction inside the definition | nycourts.gov/reporter, official |
| Thomas Lavin Constr., LLC v Epstein, 2024 NY Slip Op 02218 (2d Dept, 24 Apr 2024) | Code of Suffolk County § 563-17(A); county plus town | nycourts.gov/reporter, official |
| Kovalenko v Bhatti Gen. Contr. & Dev., LLC, 2025 NY Slip Op 05071 (2d Dept, 24 Sep 2025) | NYC Admin Code § 20-387 timing formulation; the customer's unjust enrichment route | nycourts.gov/reporter, official |
| B & F Bldg. Corp. v Liebig, 76 NY2d 689, 691 (Court of Appeals, 29 Nov 1990) | The controlling authority | Cited as quoted by the Appellate Division. The opinion text itself was not readable, so nothing here characterizes its reasoning |
⚠️ What is not here. The full text of NYC Administrative Code § 20-387, because the code host would not serve it; only the courts' quoted fragment is used. And no third "licensed at the time of suit" limb, because neither sourced formulation says it.
⚠️ This page is New York only, and it is general guidance rather than legal advice. Because the licensing requirement is local, the single most useful thing you can do is open the code for the specific county, city or town the work is in before you sign anything.
Common questions
Does New York have a state contractor license?
No. New York State does not issue a general contractor license. Licensing is done by counties, cities and towns, so the requirement depends on where the job is. What is statewide is the home improvement contract rules in General Business Law Article 36-A.
Can an unlicensed contractor sue for payment in New York?
No, and the fallback goes too. An unlicensed contractor "forfeits the right to recover damages based either on breach of contract or quantum meruit" (Nationwide HVAC Supply Corp. v Mosby, 2025). The complaint must also plead the license under CPLR 3015(e) or it can be dismissed.
Does using a licensed subcontractor fix being unlicensed in New York?
No. The Appellate Division held in 2025 that such a relationship "is insufficient to permit an unlicensed contractor to recover for work performed". Your subcontractor's license does not travel up to you. It is the contracting party's own license that counts.
Can an unlicensed contractor file a mechanic's lien in New York?
A home improvement contractor "must plead possession of a valid license in order to commence an action to foreclose a mechanic's lien". In both Kristeel (2018) and Nationwide HVAC (2025) the lien was lost along with the contract claim.
Do subcontractors need a home improvement license in New York?
They can. In Kristeel a steel subcontractor lost its claim and its lien for want of a Town of East Hampton license. Whether you are caught depends on the local code's definitions, not on whether you deal with the homeowner directly.
What can a New York homeowner do if their contractor was unlicensed?
Because an unlicensed contractor's contract may be unenforceable, a homeowner can plead unjust enrichment as an alternative route to a refund (Kovalenko, 2025). That is permission to plead a theory, not a guaranteed recovery, and it is not a statutory clawback.
Related: California section 7031: when a customer can take back every dollar · Florida unlicensed contracting: what it costs you · North Carolina unlicensed contracting · Arizona unlicensed contracting: the two dates · Washington: registration is a prerequisite to suing · Virginia: the good faith escape hatch · What happens if you work without a contractor's license · Do I need a contractor license · Working in New York
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Templates you might need
Sources
- N.Y. CPLR 3015(e) - Particularity as to licensing · Where a licensing authority requires it, the complaint MUST plead that the plaintiff was licensed at the time the services were rendered. It is an element to plead, not a defense to raise, and failing it costs the contract claim and quantum meruit together
- N.Y. General Business Law Article 36-A - Home improvement contracts · What is statewide in New York is the home improvement CONTRACT regime, not a contractor license: licensing itself is county, city and town level
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