How to check a gutter installer's license in Suffolk or Nassau

What New York State and federal rules say

• A business doing gutter or downspout services for a fee is a roofing contractor under section 770 of New York's General Business Law.

In Suffolk County

• Suffolk licenses gutter work through its home improvement law, which covers any repair or improvement to residential property, unless the contractor falls under an exemption.
• Suffolk's published list of home improvement work leaves gutters off, yet Consumer Affairs calls home improvement a very broad term not limited to that list.

1. 1Step 1Suffolk's License and Complaint Violation Look Up lists Home Improvement License among its license types, which is where a gutter installer's county license is searched.
2. 2Step 2For a phone check of a gutter installer, Suffolk lists the Consumer Affairs number (631) 853-4600.

In Nassau County

• Nassau's home improvement definition takes in repair, replacement and additions to a home, so installing or replacing gutters as a business needs a county license.
• Gutter cleaning is named in the home services definition of Nassau's Administrative Code, a definition that does not include work done by licensed home improvement contractors.

1. 1Step 1Consumer Affairs links its home improvement contractor and other license lookup from its main page, and a Nassau gutter company's county license can be checked there.

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.