To check a mold company in New York State, search its business name in the Department of Labor’s Mold Contractor Licenses list on data.ny.gov. Each row shows the license type (Mold Assessment Contractor, SH125, or Mold Remediation Contractor, SH126), the status and the expiration date. The people who work on site are in the separate Mold Individual Licenses list. A license is required for mold assessment, remediation or abatement of an area larger than 10 square feet, and the company that assesses your mold may not also do the remediation on the same property, under Article 32 of the New York Labor Law.
By our count of the two lists downloaded October 24, 2026, 1,767 contractor licenses are active, held by about 1,555 businesses. About 212 of those businesses hold both an assessment and a remediation license. Of 304 contractor licenses that expired in the past 12 months, only 16 belong to a business that now shows a current license of the same type, so an Expired row in this list usually means the license lapsed.
| Item | What we found |
|---|---|
| Where to check | DOL Mold Contractor Licenses and Mold Individual Licenses on data.ny.gov (both updated October 24, 2026) |
| Active contractor licenses | 1,767: assessment 809, remediation 958 |
| Businesses holding both types | About 212 of 1,555 (13.6%) |
| Active individual licenses | Assessor 1,794, supervisor 1,914, abatement worker 2,058 |
| License term | 2 years |
| Contractor licenses expiring within 60 days | 79 (4.5%) |
| Expired in the past 12 months | 304 contractor licenses; 16 matched to a current license |
| Business address (active) | New York City 35.7%, Long Island 16.6%, Hudson Valley and Westchester 11.6%, rest of state 26.0%, out of state 10.1% (New Jersey 114) |
How to look up a New York mold license
- Ask the company for its exact legal name and license number. Every active license in the list carries a number in the newer format, such as 26-6Z686-SHMO, issued February 2024 or later. Five-digit numbers like 01714 appear only on expired records.
- Search the business name in the Mold Contractor Licenses list. Search a distinctive part of the name, since the list keeps the registered name and a separate DBA field.
- Match the license type to the job: Mold Assessment Contractor (SH125) for the inspection, the remediation plan and the clearance check; Mold Remediation Contractor (SH126) for the cleanup.
- Check that the status is Active and the expiration date falls after the end of your project.
- Search the people who will do the work in the Mold Individual Licenses list: a Mold Assessor (SH128) for the assessment, a Mold Supervisor (SH127) and Mold Abatement Workers (SH127) for the remediation crew.
- If a license is missing or the details don’t match, call the DOL License and Certificate Unit at (518) 457-2735 or file the Mold Complaint Form on the DOL Mold Program page.
What the assessment and remediation licenses each cover
The two contractor licenses split one mold job into stages. The assessment contractor inspects the property, writes the remediation plan that defines the scope, and later does the post-remediation assessment that decides whether the work passed. The remediation contractor removes and cleans the mold following that plan, using its own work plan. The DOL’s minimum work standards also require a posted notice of the project and the contractor’s licenses at the site and disinfectant products identified consistent with U.S. EPA standards.
The licensing rule applies to projects larger than 10 square feet. Routine cleaning, and construction or repair done for a reason other than mold remediation, fall outside the definition of a project in Labor Law §930. Home and business owners working on their own property are an exception the DOL names. A home inspector whose report includes an assessment of mold conditions needs a Mold Assessor license, according to the DOL Mold Program page.
Why the mold assessor and the remediation company must be different firms
Labor Law §936 bars a licensee from performing both the mold assessment and the mold remediation on the same property, and bars any person from owning an interest in both the assessing company and the remediating company on the same project. The DOL’s refresher course supplement lists this as a prohibited work practice.
Holding both licenses is allowed. In the October 2026 list, about 212 businesses (13.6%) hold an active assessment license and an active remediation license, so a company’s license page can show both. What matters is which role it plays on your property. If the firm that tested your mold sends a quote for the cleanup, hire a different remediation contractor, and ask both companies whether they share an owner.
What the New York mold license list shows in 2026
- Renewal cycle. Nearly all licenses run two years from issue. 1,076 active contractor licenses (60.9%) were issued or renewed in the past 12 months. The DOL accepts renewal applications up to 90 days before expiration.
- Lapsed licenses. 304 contractor licenses expired in the past 12 months (148 assessment, 156 remediation). Matching on business name and phone, only 16 of those companies hold a current license of the same type. 79 active contractor licenses expire by December 23, 2026.
- Crew turnover. Among individual licenses in the four-year list, 44.9% of abatement worker licenses are expired, compared with 37.6% of supervisor licenses and 26.4% of assessor licenses. Check the crew’s licenses near the start date, since worker licenses change most often.
- Where the companies are. 630 active contractor licenses (35.7%) have a New York City ZIP code and 294 (16.6%) a Long Island ZIP code. 178 (10.1%) list an out-of-state address, 114 of them in New Jersey.
Checklist before you hire for a mold job in New York
- Assessment contractor license (SH125) active through the end of the project, and a licensed Mold Assessor named for your property.
- Remediation contractor license (SH126) held by a different company with no shared owner.
- Written remediation plan from the assessor before the cleanup starts, and the remediation contractor’s work plan based on it.
- Mold Supervisor and Abatement Worker licenses for the crew on site.
- Project notice and contractor licenses posted at the work area.
- Post-remediation assessment by the assessor, with the result in writing before you close out the job.
- For a New York City rental, the building’s HPD mold violations and their certification deadlines.
For a mold violation on a New York City apartment, see our NYC HPD violations lookup. Our contractor license lookup guide covers general contractors and other states, and our Connecticut home improvement contractor lookup covers the registration next door.
Asbestos work uses a separate DOL certificate with nine endorsement types, covered in our New York asbestos certificate lookup.
Counts are our calculations from the New York State Department of Labor’s Mold Contractor Licenses and Mold Individual Licenses data on data.ny.gov, downloaded October 24, 2026. DOL Mold Program pages checked October 25, 2026.