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

What New York State and federal rules say

• If water damage has led to mold, anyone hired to assess and remediate more than 10 square feet of it must be a licensed mold professional, the state Department of Labor says.

In Suffolk County

• Suffolk's home improvement law reaches any repair, remodeling, alteration or improvement to residential property, and running a business it regulates without a county license is unlawful unless exempt.
• Suffolk Consumer Affairs says its list of home improvement work includes but is not limited to the trades it names, such as waterproofing and weatherproofing.

1. 1Step 1Look up a water damage repair company's Home Improvement License in Suffolk's License and Complaint Violation Look Up, by business name or license number.
2. 2Step 2A water damage contractor's Suffolk license can also be verified by phone with Consumer Affairs at (631) 853-4600.

In Nassau County

• Nassau's Administrative Code requires a county license for environmental hazard assessment or remediation. It defines that hazard as an indoor air quality violation under federal law caused by fire, flood, storm, chemical spills, dust, sewage, mold or other biological contaminants, not asbestos or lead.
• Repair, maintenance, replacement and remodeling work are part of Nassau's definition of home improvement, which takes a county license to do as a business.
• Nassau Consumer Affairs lists Environmental Hazard Remediation Providers and Technicians as a county license of its own, under section 21-31 of the code.
• A new Nassau environmental hazard remediation provider license costs $1300.00, according to the county's fee list.

1. 1Step 1Search a Nassau water damage repair company in the county's lookup for home improvement contractors and other licenses.
2. 2Step 2Nassau's search asks for criteria in one field, such as the company name or license number, before you click Search. The county says its database is updated every day.

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.