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New YorkTrades: Pay, Licensing, Apprenticeships and Lien Law

New York has no statewide license for these five trades. Cities and counties license general contractors, electrical contractors, plumbing contractors, HVAC contractors and roofers.

What do the trades pay in New York?

Median hourly pay, May 20251. Pick a trade for training, pay and the license.

Electrician

Wiring, panels and fixtures

$37.86/hrNew York median

Plumber

Water, drain and gas lines

$37.26/hrNew York median

HVAC tech

Heating, cooling and ductwork

$35.78/hrNew York median

Roofer

New roofs and repairs

$31.74/hrNew York median

General contractor

Runs the job and the crews

$46.01/hrNew York median, construction supervisors

Is there work in New York?

Construction jobs in New York, September 2026: 384,700, down 0.3% from a year earlier.

BLS Current Employment Statistics, Sep 2026

New homes permitted in New York, September 2026: 4,260, up 21.9% from a year earlier.

Census Building Permits Survey, Sep 2026

People working in these five trades in New York: 121,940.

BLS OEWS, May 2025
Licensing

Who licenses contractors in New York?

New York has no statewide license for these five trades. Cities and counties license general contractors, electrical contractors, plumbing contractors, HVAC contractors and roofers.2

  • ElectricalLicensed by cities or countiesCity or county
  • PlumbingLicensed by cities or countiesCity or county
  • HVACLicensed by cities or countiesCity or county
  • RoofingLicensed by cities or countiesCity or county
  • General contractorLicensed by cities or countiesCity or county

New York contractor license requirements

License examRenewalBond and insurance

License lookup

Check a New York contractor

Search the license on the board's own site.

How to check a New York license

Getting paid · New York

Miss a date, lose the lien

8 monthsafter completion or your last work (4 months on a single-family dwelling): file the notice of lien.3
  • Sue to foreclose: 1 year after the notice of lien is filed4

Work out your dates Every New York lien rule

Training

Training near you

Apprentices are hired first and paid while they learn on the job and in class. Trade school comes first and charges tuition.

Apprenticeships in New York

Trade schools in New York

Near you

Where to train and find work near you

Union locals take apprenticeship applications and send members out to union contractors. Open-shop chapters run apprenticeship classes for the people their member contractors hire.

IBEW union locals

10 more IBEW locals

Electrical training centers (JATCs)

9 more centers

IEC chapters (open shop)

No IEC chapter lists an office in New York. Chapters cover several states; the finder shows each one's area. IEC chapter finder

Electrician apprenticeships in New York

UA union locals

6 more UA locals

Training

UA apprenticeships run through a joint committee of the local and union contractors. Call the local for the next application date.

PHCC chapters

Plumber apprenticeships in New York

SMART union locals

3 more SMART locals

Sheet metal training centers

3 more centers

PHCC chapters (heating, cooling, plumbing)

ACCA member contractors near you

Pipefitters and HVAC service techs also apprentice through the UA: UA locals in New York.

HVAC Technician apprenticeships in New York

Carpenters union locals

  • Carpenters Local 20Staten Island
  • Carpenters Local 45Floral Park
  • Carpenters Local 157New York
  • Carpenters Local 212New York
  • Carpenters Local 276Rochester
  • Carpenters Local 277Binghamton
9 more Carpenters locals
  • Carpenters Local 279Rock Tavern
  • Carpenters Local 290Hauppauge
  • Carpenters Local 291Albany
  • Carpenters Local 740Woodhaven
  • Carpenters Local 926Brooklyn
  • Carpenters Local 1163Syracuse
  • Carpenters Local 1556New York
  • Carpenters Local 2287Staten Island
  • Carpenters Local 2790Woodhaven

Training

Union carpentry apprenticeships run through the regional council's training centers. Carpenters regional council finder

Home builder associations

9 more chapters
General Contractor apprenticeships in New York

Roofers union locals

  • Roofers Local 8Long Island City
  • Roofers Local 22Rochester
  • Roofers Local 74West Seneca
  • Roofers Local 154Hauppauge
  • Roofers Local 195Liverpool
  • Roofers Local 203Binghamton
1 more Roofers locals
  • Roofers Local 241Albany

Training

Roofers locals run their apprenticeship through a joint committee with union contractors.

Contractor associations

The national trade group for roofing contractors is the National Roofing Contractors Association.

Roofer apprenticeships in New York

Trade schools: where to apply

All 31 trade schools in New York

Sources

  1. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, New York, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)
  2. NYC Dept of Consumer and Worker Protection - Home Improvement Contractor license (nyc.gov)
  3. New York lien law: N.Y. Lien Law 10(1) (filing); 11 (service) (nysenate.gov)
  4. New York lien law: N.Y. Lien Law 17 (nysenate.gov)
  5. U.S. Department of Labor, apprenticeship.gov registered apprenticeship partners (apprenticeship.gov)
  6. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (field of study and institution data) (collegescorecard.ed.gov)
  7. BLS Current Employment Statistics, Sep 2026 (bls.gov)
  8. Census Building Permits Survey, Sep 2026 (census.gov)
  9. NYC Dept of Buildings (master plumber/electrician/oil burner) (nyc.gov)