Starting a service business in New York

Form your business in New York

A New York LLC starts with Articles of Organization filed at the Department of State, online, by mail, by fax or in person. The filing fee is $200 as listed by the Department of State in October 2026, with optional expedited handling ($25 for 24 hours, $75 same day, $150 within 2 hours). Then comes the step that catches owners: under Section 206 of the Limited Liability Company Law, most LLCs must publish a notice of formation in two newspapers designated by the county clerk, once a week for six consecutive weeks, then file a Certificate of Publication with the affidavits attached and a $50 fee. If that is not done within 120 days, the LLC's authority to do business is suspended. Newspaper costs vary widely by county, so ask the county clerk which papers are designated before you pick an office address.

Ongoing state filings

New York LLCs file a Biennial Statement every two years, during the calendar month in which the Articles of Organization were filed. The fee is $9 as listed by the Department of State in October 2026. Keep the address on file current, since that is where the state sends notices.

Using a business name (DBA)

For an LLC operating under a second name, the filing is a Certificate of Assumed Name with the Department of State; the form lists a $25 fee for LLCs. Sole proprietors and general partnerships file a business certificate with the county clerk in the county where they do business, under General Business Law Section 130; fees are set by each county (the New York County Clerk's office in Manhattan, for example, publishes its own fee). Ask your county clerk for the current amount.

Not sure whether you need an LLC at all? Read LLC vs sole proprietor for contractors, then get your free EIN from the IRS.

Licensing for service trades

In New York, the contractor and trade licenses most owners ask about are issued by cities and counties such as New York City and Westchester County, so the first call is to the building department and the consumer affairs office where you work. In New York City, anyone doing construction, repair, remodeling or other home improvement work on residential property needs a Home Improvement Contractor license from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP); the license fee depends on when you apply within the two-year cycle, and you must either join the Home Improvement Business Trust Fund or post a $20,000 surety bond. Outside the city, counties and towns set their own rules; Westchester County requires a county license for home improvement contractors and a county trade license for plumbers and electricians. Ask your county and town what applies before you take a job. At the state level, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) requires pesticide applicator certification to apply any pesticide commercially, and every business location that offers or advertises commercial pesticide application must hold a DEC pesticide business registration, which costs $900 for three years and requires at least $1,000,000 of general liability insurance per occurrence.

• NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection: Home Improvement Contractor license for residential work in New York City
• NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Pesticides: Pesticide applicator certification and pesticide business registration

Workers' compensation

The Workers' Compensation Board says virtually all employers in New York State must provide workers' compensation coverage for their employees. Employers with employees in New York may also be required to provide disability benefits and New York Paid Family Leave coverage, which is a separate requirement many owners miss. You can buy coverage from one of more than 200 private carriers authorized by the Department of Financial Services, from the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF), which must insure any employer that applies regardless of business type, safety record or size, or through self-insurance. If you have no employees and a customer or permit office asks for proof of coverage, the Board's exemption form is the CE-200. It is a misdemeanor to deduct the cost of workers' comp from an employee's pay.

More on coverage: business insurance for contractors.

Sales tax on services

The Department of Taxation and Finance says services are generally exempt unless specifically taxable, and repair and maintenance of real property is specifically taxable: anyone doing it must register, including lawn mowing, painting an existing house, snow removal, plumbing and electrical repairs, and pool maintenance. The Department of Taxation and Finance's guidance for landscapers lists mowing lawns, snow removal, trimming hedges and trees, and reseeding bare spots as taxable, and its sales tax guide treats building cleaning as a taxable maintenance service. Work that ends in a capital improvement, such as installing a new lawn, retaining walls, or planting shrubs and trees, is not taxable when you get Form ST-124, Certificate of Capital Improvement, from the customer. On taxable maintenance jobs you charge tax on both materials and labor. If you make taxable sales you must register for a Certificate of Authority through New York Business Express at least 20 days before you begin business.

Recording business calls in New York

New York is a one-party consent state. Penal Law 250.00 defines wiretapping as recording a phone call by someone other than a sender or receiver without the consent of either, and mechanical overhearing as recording a conversation without the consent of at least one party by someone not present. If you are on the call, you may record it. For callers in all-party states, play a short notice at the start of the call; our guide to recording business calls has sample wording.

See our guide to recording business calls before you turn on call recording or an AI receptionist.

How the seasons shape the work

New York's seasons run from lake-effect snow belts around Buffalo, Syracuse and the Tug Hill Plateau to the coastal storms of Long Island and the city. Upstate, snow plowing and roof snow removal can carry a business through winter, and the outdoor season for painting, washing and lawn work is short. Downstate, density means short drive times and lots of apartment and condo work, while nor'easters and coastal flooding bring storm cleanup. Since snow removal and mowing are taxable maintenance services here, include tax when you quote seasonal contracts.

Home improvement contracts statewide

General Business Law Section 771 requires home improvement contracts to be in writing and signed by all parties, with the contractor's name, address, phone and license number, approximate start and completion dates, a description of the work and materials, the price, a mechanic's lien notice, and a notice of the owner's three-business-day right to cancel. Since April 2022 the contract must also disclose property and casualty insurance coverage.

Lawn pesticide contracts

Before any commercial lawn pesticide application, the DEC requires a written contract with the property owner listing the approximate dates and number of applications, the total cost, the products and active ingredients to be applied, label warnings, and your business registration and applicator certification numbers.

Then set up the back end that gets you hired

The paperwork makes you legal. Customers still have to find you, reach you and pay you. Before your first job, set up a business phone number, email on your own domain, a Google Business Profile, a simple website, and a way to send quotes and take card payments. The launch checklist lays out the order.

New York questions