New York water-heater replacement: the DCWP Home Improvement Contractor licence still applies with no dollar floor ('repair' work on residential land or building), the GBL Article 36-A contract machinery engages above $500, the piping component rides the DOB trade layer (Master Plumber, LIC41/LIC42), and if the heater is oil-fired the conditional branch is the DOB Oil Burning Equipment Installer licence — Class A covers any oil-burning equipment, Class B domestic grades 1–4, $100 new / $75 renewal on a 3-year term. Every claim sourced and dated.
NYC DCWP Home Improvement Contractor licence — scope with NO dollar threshold (verified absence) — DCWP application checklist verbatim: 'A person or business must have a Home Improvement Contractor license to do construction, repair, remodeling, or other home improvement work to any residential land or building in New York City' — including basements, driveways, fences, garages, landscaping, patios, porches, sidewalks, swimming pools, terraces and other improvements on land next to a home or apartment building. No dollar threshold appears anywhere in the DCWP text: the licence reaches the smallest job (verified absence over the checklist, the NYC Business portal, and the DOB pages read). S-NYC-HIC-CHECK
GBL Article 36-A: written contract over $500, contents prescribed, 3-business-day cancellation — New York Attorney General verbatim: the law 'applies to most types of improvements costing more than $500 purchased by homeowners, co-ops owners and tenants.' The contract must be written, legible, plain English, delivered before work starts, and must contain the contractor's name, address and telephone number; approximate start and completion dates with their contingencies; a specific description of the work and materials (brands, model numbers) with the price; and the consumer notice verbatim: 'The customer has an unconditional right to cancel the contract until midnight of the third business day after the contract was signed. Cancellation must be done in writing.' The DOS alert repeats the right: 'You have three days to cancel after signing a contract for home improvements. All cancellations must be in writing.' S-NY-AG-FS
DOB issues 'more than 30 types of licenses, registrations or certifications' — the named trade list — DOB Know Your Construction Professional page verbatim: 'The Department of Buildings issues more than 30 types of licenses, registrations or certifications' — the named list includes Elevator Inspection Agency Director and Inspector, High Pressure Boiler Operating Engineer, Hoisting Machine Operator, Master Electrician, Master Fire Suppression Piping Contractor, Master Plumber, Oil Burning Equipment Installer, Rigger, Sign Hanger, Site Safety Professional and Welder, plus Registrants (General Contractors) and Filing Representatives classes 1 and 2. Design professionals are different: 'Contact local industry organizations to find a State-licensed design professional' — engineers and architects are the state-licensed voices, contractors are not. S-NYC-DOB-KYC
Oil Burning Equipment Installer (LIC41): Class A any equipment, Class B domestic grades 1–4, 3-year term — DOB oil burner page: Class A covers any oil-burning equipment, Class B covers domestic grades 1 through 4; the licence costs $100 new, $75 renewal, $50 late renewal, on a 3-year term, with a seal fee of $100 new / $75 renewal. S-NYC-DOB-OIL
In New York City several rows read may_require at once: the DCWP licence and the DOB registration are stacked requirements, not alternatives (DOB verbatim: "in addition to").
03 Deterministic rules applied
NY-DCWP-HIC
NY-GBL-36A-CONTRACT
NY-DOB-TRADE-LICENSES
NY-DOB-OIL-BURNER
04 What it costs
Fee
Amount
Source
HIC new licence — filed March 1 to August 31 of an ODD year (covers ≤24 months)
New York State charges no fee for this work (verified absence). County licence fees, permit fees and the IdentoGO fingerprint fee are LOCAL_AUTHORITY_REQUIRED and are not published here.
05 What this page cannot tell you
Per-county figures — Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, Putnam and Rockland license home improvement contractors (Attorney General verbatim), but every county fee, term and entry rule is withheld by name: the official county sources returned 403 this pass.
Which work skips the DOB permit — the checklist says "most home improvements need a DOB permit"; which do not is DOB's call, and the tracking-number carve-out exists precisely for the limited-work case.
Unresearched trade channels — the DOB issues more than 30 licence types; this chapter researched the plumbing, electrical and oil-burning channels by name. An unlisted trade may still apply to this project.