How to check a mold license in Suffolk or Nassau

What New York State and federal rules say

• In New York, no one may work, advertise or present themselves as a mold assessor, remediation contractor or abatement worker without a valid state mold license for that type of work. Limited exceptions include home or business owners working on their own property.
• State law bars a licensee from performing both the mold assessment and the mold remediation on the same property. No one may own an interest in both the assessing and the remediating licensee on one property.
• The state does not require owners to clean up mold on their own property. If an owner hires someone to assess and remediate more than 10 square feet of mold, the work must go to a licensed mold professional.
• The Department of Labor issues a Mold Assessor License, a Mold Remediation Contractor License for the company, and Mold Abatement Worker licenses for the workers on a project.
• A Mold Assessor license from the Department of Labor is valid for two years, and the steps to get one include a department-approved Mold Assessor course.

In Suffolk County

1. 1Step 1Search the state's mold contractor license dataset, which lists the licenses issued to businesses for mold assessment and remediation in New York.
2. 2Step 2For an individual assessor, worker or supervisor, the state's individual mold license dataset lists licenses issued for mold assessment, abatement and supervision.
3. 3Step 3The Department of Labor's mold program page lists its License and Certificate Unit at (518) 457-2735.

In Nassau County

• Nassau's Administrative Code counts mold among the causes of an environmental hazard, and it defines an environmental contractor as one who inspects a suspected hazard or remediates one in a building.
• Nassau's code provides an environmental hazard remediation provider license for environmental contractors and a separate technician license.
• Mold remediation services are also named in Nassau's definition of home improvement work.
• Nassau's fee for a new environmental hazard remediation provider license, the county license that covers mold hazards, is $1300.00.

1. 1Step 1Check a mold company working in Nassau against the state's list of mold contractor licenses issued to businesses for assessment and remediation.
2. 2Step 2Look up an individual's mold license, for assessment, abatement or supervision, in the state's individual license dataset.
3. 3Step 3Nassau Consumer Affairs' lookup for home improvement contractors and other licenses is where a mold remediation company's county license can be searched.
4. 4Step 4The phone number for the Department of Labor's License and Certificate Unit, as its mold program page prints it, is (518) 457-2735.

Towns with a license of their own

• 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.

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.