1. DCWP Home Improvement Contractor lookup
New York City requires any contractor who performs home improvement work costing over $200 in labor and materials to hold an active Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) licence issued by the NYC Department of Consumer & Worker Protection (DCWP). AC repair, installation, and maintenance for residential customers falls under HIC.
We follow this process for every contractor:
- Get the exact business name from the contractor's website.
- Open the DCWP contractor lookup.
- Search by business name or licence number.
- Confirm: licence status is Active; expiration date is at least 90 days in the future; the business name matches; the address matches at least one of NAP, website footer, or Google Business Profile.
- Screenshot the result. We store the DCWP # and lookup date on the contractor's profile.
A contractor whose licence is Inactive, Suspended, or Revoked is removed from every ranking within 24 hours and their profile is moved to the verified-out list.
2. EPA Section 608 refrigerant certification
Federal law (Clean Air Act §608) requires any technician who services equipment containing refrigerant to hold a current EPA Section 608 certification. This is not a company-level credential — it belongs to the individual technician — so we verify at the company level by looking for one of:
- A copy of the technician's Section 608 card provided by the company on request.
- A statement of Section 608 compliance in the company's Certificate of Insurance or safety manual.
- A manufacturer tier that has Section 608 as a prerequisite (Mitsubishi Diamond Contractor, Trane Comfort Specialist, Daikin Comfort Pro, Carrier Factory Authorized Dealer, Lennox Premier).
Companies who do not meet at least one of these tests are excluded from rankings that involve refrigerant handling.
3. NATE certification (optional, +1 evaluation point)
North American Technician Excellence (NATE) is the largest non-manufacturer HVAC certification body in the US. NATE certification is not required in New York City, but a contractor with NATE-certified technicians tends to demonstrate stronger training discipline. When we can confirm NATE certification via the company's public credentials page or a NATE roster, we note it on the profile.
4. Certificate of Insurance (COI) on request
Most NYC co-ops, condos, and commercial landlords require a Certificate of Insurance before allowing a contractor into the building. A refusal to produce a COI is a strong disqualifier for buildings that require one. We verify at the process level: we ask each contractor how long it takes to issue a COI naming the building as additional insured, what limits they carry (typically $1M general liability, $2M aggregate, workers' compensation as required by law), and whether they hold umbrella coverage for commercial work.
5. Cross-source rating floor
License verification confirms a contractor is allowed to work; it does not confirm the work is good. For that, we look at reader-side evidence. A contractor is only ranked if their averaged rating is 4.4 or higher across at least two of the three main platforms — Google Business Profile, Yelp, and BBB — with at least 25 reviews on each platform we count. We publish each platform's rating and review count separately on the profile.
6. What we do not use as a licence signal
- Trustpilot for US home services — signal density is low and susceptible to solicited reviews.
- Any badge that is only visible on the contractor's own site without a verifiable public registry.
- Any credential the contractor pays a fee to display without third-party verification.
Corrections
If you spot an outdated licence or verification on any profile, email corrections@acrepair.ac. Every correction is logged on the corrections page.