GC Laws — New York contractor-law checklist preview (free)
Sources reviewed 2026-09-30. Public summaries remain free on gclaws.com.

[ ] Licensing
      - DCWP requires a Home Improvement Contractor license for covered construction, repair, remodeling and other home-improvement work on NYC residential land/buildings.
      - Applicants provide workers’ compensation coverage evidence or a Workers’ Compensation Board exemption attestation, as applicable.
      - Applicants enroll in the Home Improvement Business Trust Fund or provide a properly signed $20,000 surety/third-party bond. The checklist also requires a qualifying business principal to pass the home-improvement exam.

[ ] Mechanic's liens
      - Private qualifying labor/materials furnished with owner consent/request or through the authorized contracting chain can support a real-property lien upon filing.
      - Private notices are generally filed within eight months of last work/materials; qualifying single-family dwellings use four months. The statutory developer-owned subdivision exception applies. Retention claims may be filed within 90 days after retention became due.
      - Serve the owner between five days before and 30 days after filing by statutory methods; file service proof within 35 days after filing or the lien terminates.
      - Also serve the contracting party by certified mail within the same five-before/30-after window, and the contractor where the lienor lacks a direct contractor contract; service proof is due within 35 days.
      - Private liens normally last one year after filing unless timely foreclosure and lis pendens, or a valid extension. Single-family extensions require a court order; section 17 has separate rules for liens discharged by security.
      - Public-improvement liens attach to applicable contract funds due/to become due, not public real estate.
      - File a public notice with the responsible department head and designated financial officer before, or within 30 days after, completion and acceptance.
      - For public notices, serve contracting/upstream parties by certified mail within five days before or simultaneously with filing, and file proof with the notice; missing proof makes it a nullity.
      - Public liens generally last one year; preserve them through timely foreclosure plus notice of pendency filed with the designated financial officer, or a statutory extension.

[ ] Retainage
      - Private Article 35-E coverage starts at $150,000 aggregate project cost and excludes public work; 1–3-family dwellings; tracts of ≤100 one/two-family dwellings; residential projects ≤4,500 square feet; and qualifying publicly assisted residential projects under 75 units for households averaging 125% of HUD area median income.
      - Covered private retention is at most 5%, and downstream retention cannot exceed the owner’s actual percentage. Owner release is due within 30 days after final work approval; failures to release required/proportionate retention trigger 1% monthly interest.
      - The 2023 cap applies to contracts entered on/after November 17, 2023.
      - Contracts entered on/after December 19, 2025 cannot require covered retention above 5%.
      - Covered state/public-owner retention is normally at most 5%, or 10% without required full performance/payment bonds. Specified subdivision-4 bond-waiver contracts may permit 20%. Highway Law §38 and federal-preemption exceptions remain.
      - Local public owners similarly use 5%, or 10% without required full bonds. At substantial completion, requested balance is paid less twice remaining-work value and qualifying unresolved claims/liens/judgments; federal-preemption rules apply.

[ ] Prompt payment
      - Private Article 35-E coverage starts at $150,000 aggregate project cost and excludes public work; 1–3-family dwellings; tracts of ≤100 one/two-family dwellings; residential projects ≤4,500 square feet; and qualifying publicly assisted residential projects under 75 units for households averaging 125% of HUD area median income.
      - The private statutory invoice-review rule is 12 business days with required documentation; the contract generally controls except where the article prohibits variation. Written disapproval must identify the statutory grounds.
      - Private owner payment is due within 30 days after approval; qualifying lender-contingent payment is due seven days after good funds, subject to section 756-d. Compliant downstream work is paid within seven days after good funds with required documents/waivers, subject to permitted withholding.
      - Contract provisions changing the statutory payment rules specified in section 757(4) are void.
      - Private late-payment interest is 1% per month or fraction, or the higher contractual rate.
      - State-agency payment is generally due 30 calendar days excluding legal holidays after invoice receipt; qualifying small businesses using electronic invoices/requesting expedited treatment use 15 days, and highway final payments use 75. Statutory defects, inspection/audit, appropriation and compliance conditions can extend the date.
      - Outside NYC, covered local public owners pay approvable requisitions within 30 days excluding legal holidays, or 45 where elected-official approval is required. Qualifying delayed state funding moves payment to ten days after its receipt; federal preemption applies.
      - Covered state/public-owner contractors pass corresponding payments within seven calendar days, subject to statutory retention and unresolved claims/liens/judgments; lower tiers follow the same rule.

[ ] Prevailing wage
      - New York’s Bureau of Public Work and Prevailing Wage Enforcement enforces prevailing wages and supplements owed on public work and covered projects. Use the applicable construction wage schedule for the work.
      - The Department of Labor posts corrections or updates to its annual wage determination on the first business day of each month and states that contractors are responsible for the updated rates retroactive to July 1.
      - Since December 30, 2024, contractors and subcontractors submitting bids or performing construction on public work or private projects covered by Article 8 must register with the New York State Department of Labor.

[ ] Davis-Bacon (federal)
      - Under 40 U.S.C. section 3142, covered contracts require payment to laborers and mechanics employed directly on the site of the work at least weekly, at rates no lower than the applicable prevailing wage determination. The required compensation includes the basic hourly rate and required fringe benefits, which may be provided through qualifying benefits or cash as the statute permits.
      - Qualifying apprentices may receive a lower registered-program rate only when the applicable registration and program conditions are met. The Department of Labor’s apprenticeship rules govern those exceptions.
      - The Department of Labor determines the prevailing rates for the work classifications and locality. Contractors and subcontractors must use the wage determination applicable to their covered contract.
      - Federal assistance alone does not establish coverage: many, but not all, construction-assistance statutes include Davis-Bacon requirements. Identify the funding program and its governing Related Act.
      - SAM.gov publishes Davis-Bacon wage determinations. Search by the wage-determination number or the Davis-Bacon public-buildings-or-works category, and match the decision to the contract, locality, and work classification.

This preview lists the topics and rules covered in the full state pack. The paid pack adds the complete source URLs, citations, review dates, and the three editable tools.
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