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

What New York State and federal rules say

• On plumbing licenses, including those held by water heater installers, New York's Business Express site directs people to the local plumbing board for each area's requirements.

In Suffolk County

• For the plumbing on a water heater replacement, the Suffolk licenses are Master Plumber and Restricted Plumber, both issued by Consumer Affairs.
• Suffolk's application for a restricted license offers LP Gas and Natural Gas categories within Restricted Plumbing.
• A home improvement license does not cover the plumbing on a Suffolk water heater replacement, because the county's home improvement law excludes the plumbing field.

1. 1Step 1A water heater installer's Suffolk plumbing license, master or restricted, can be searched by license number or business name in the county's License and Complaint Violation Look Up.
2. 2Step 2License verification for water heater installers in Suffolk runs through Consumer Affairs at (631) 853-4600.

In Nassau County

• Nassau's cities, towns and villages, not the county, license the plumbers who install water heaters there, according to county Consumer Affairs.

Towns with a license of their own

• Town of Hempstead: The Town's Building Department links to the Town's online permit portal for electrician and plumber licensing information.
• Town of Oyster Bay: The Town requires every plumber who works in the Town to hold a Town of Oyster Bay license. Its Plumbers Examining Board is a chairman and four members, all master plumbers appointed by the Town Board.
• City of Glen Cove: The City's permit checklist requires the plumbing application to be filed with the general construction application and completed only by a City of Glen Cove licensed plumber.
• City of Glen Cove: The City licenses plumbers: its fee schedule lists $75.00 for a plumber's license renewal, $50.00 for the plumber's test and $250.00 for a reciprocal plumber's license.
• City of Long Beach: The City requires all plumbing work to be done by a City of Long Beach licensed plumber, and homeowners may not do their own plumbing.
• City of Long Beach: The City requires new plumber's license applicants to appear in person before its plumbing board for a preliminary exam and to submit copies of a master plumber's license and a Certificate of Competency from a Nassau County Tri-Town Agreement member.
• City of Long Beach: A City plumber's license costs $400.00, and a new applicant whose business is outside Nassau County adds $70.00. A company applicant's licensed plumber must own 51% of the company, and the license expires May 31 of its second year.
• Town of Huntington: Any gas work in the Town must be done by a plumber licensed by the Town of Huntington.
• 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.