How to check a waterproofing company's license in Suffolk or Nassau

In Suffolk County

• Waterproofing is named in Suffolk County's home improvement law, and the law makes a county license mandatory for the businesses it regulates, unless exempt.
• Basements and waterproofing both appear on Suffolk Consumer Affairs' list of home improvement work.
• Work in the electrical and plumbing fields is excluded from Suffolk's home improvement definition.
• A waterproofing contractor working without a license in Suffolk is subject to arrest and prosecution, Consumer Affairs warns.

1. 1Step 1Search a waterproofing company in Suffolk's License and Complaint Violation Look Up with Home Improvement License selected as the license type.
2. 2Step 2Phone verification of a waterproofing contractor's Suffolk license goes through Consumer Affairs at (631) 853-4600.

In Nassau County

• Nassau's Administrative Code names waterproofing as home improvement work, and no one may run a home improvement business in the county without a license.
• Waterproofing is on Nassau County Consumer Affairs' list of who must be licensed.

1. 1Step 1Type the waterproofing company's name or license number into one field of Nassau's Valid Business License Search and click Search.

Towns with a license of their own

• Town of Southampton: Southampton requires its own Home Improvement Contractor's License for home improvement work, and its licensing covers every village except the Village of Westhampton Dunes. A builder of a new home needs no town license for now, but the builder's subcontractors must be licensed.
• Town of Southampton: A Southampton home improvement license is valid for one year. A new application costs $250.00 by cash or check or $257.50 by credit, and an on-time renewal costs $175.00, or $180.25 by credit.
• Town of Shelter Island: Shelter Island requires home improvements to be performed by a licensed contractor holding a Shelter Island license.
• Town of Shelter Island: Shelter Island's notice to contractors says every contractor or subcontractor working on the island, landscapers included, needs a town license.
• Town of Shelter Island: Shelter Island takes home improvement license applications online, and a new license needs a $250 check to the town, a liability certificate naming the town as certificate holder and, if applicable, a workers' compensation certificate.

Beyond the license

• Ask for a certificate of insurance sent to you by the insurer, naming you as the certificate holder.
• Ask who files the permit and books the inspections, and get it in the contract.
• Get the price, the scope, the start and finish dates and the payment schedule in a written contract.