Key takeaways
- DOB NOW: Licensing launched on February 23, 2026 and now handles electrician, master plumber and master fire suppression piping contractor licenses, filing representative registrations, and special inspection agency registrations.
- All applications, renewals, card re-issuance requests and information changes go through it. In the Department's words, "In-person requests and emails to the Licensing Unit will no longer be accepted after launch."
- Anything started before the launch finishes where it started — a license application in the old system, or an agency registration submitted on the electronic form — and only later transactions move.
- Access needs an NYC.ID account, and profile changes are made under Manage Profile inside the module.
In this article
Most of the Department's move into DOB NOW has been about jobs and permits. This one is about the people and firms that are allowed to work on them, which is why it deserves a note of its own.
What moved
The Department announced it in a notice dated January 26, 2026, with the launch on February 23: DOB NOW: Licensing to Launch.
From that date, the module handles:
- Electrician licenses
- Master plumber licenses
- Master fire suppression piping contractor licenses
- Filing representative registrations
- Special inspection agency registrations
And it handles the whole life of each: applications, renewals, card re-issuance, and changes of information.
The part that closed
Two routes that firms had used for years stopped at the same moment. Walk-in requests at the Licensing Unit, and emails to it, are no longer accepted.
A card reissue or a change of address is now a login: DOB NOW, the Licensing module, Manage Profile. Access is through an NYC.ID account, which is the same identity used elsewhere in DOB NOW.
That sounds minor until a license holder with an expired card discovers there is no counter to go to.
What happens to things started before February 23
The Department kept the transition clean, and the rule is the same in both directions: finish where you started.
A license application or renewal begun in the previous system must be completed there. Later transactions on that same license go through DOB NOW: Licensing.
For agencies, the same applies: special inspection agency registrations submitted through the electronic SIA1 form, and renewals submitted through the electronic renewal form, must be completed through those processes. Once the registration is in the system, every later transaction on it runs through the new module.
Why an owner or a contractor should care
This is an administrative notice, and it is easy to file under "not my problem." Two reasons it is.
Your agency's registration has a renewal date. An agency whose registration lapses cannot certify your TR1. The move to a new system is exactly the kind of moment when a renewal gets missed, because the reminder habits that worked for years stopped working in February.
Your licensed trades have cards. The same applies to the electrician and the plumber on your job. A card that cannot be reissued at a counter is a card that takes longer to replace.
Neither is a crisis. Both are worth one question to the people you depend on: when does your registration renew, and have you used the new system yet?
Registration is tightening on the inspector side as well: facade and parking inspectors move from approval to registration. For what an agency registration means in the first place, what a Class 1 agency is.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still email the Licensing Unit about a card?
No. The Department states that in-person requests and emails to the Licensing Unit are no longer accepted after the launch. Changes are made under Manage Profile in DOB NOW: Licensing.
We submitted an SIA1 before the launch. Where do we finish it?
Through the electronic SIA1 process where it was submitted. Later transactions on the registration go through DOB NOW: Licensing.
What account do I need?
An NYC.ID account, used to log in to DOB NOW. The Department points to its own pages for creating one and for free training.
Does this change what a special inspection agency has to qualify for?
No. The notice is about where registration is processed, not about the requirements themselves.
Where can I read the notice?
It is on the Department's service updates page, and the link is in the first section of this article.
Conclusion
Nothing about the work changed; the counter did. For a contractor the useful action is small and specific: ask the agency and the licensed trades on your current jobs when their registrations renew, and whether they have logged into the new module yet. The time to discover an expired registration is not the week the TR1 has to be certified.
Written by the engineers and laboratory technicians of Metric Consulting and Inspection, a Class 1 special inspection agency with a DOB-licensed concrete testing laboratory in Hicksville, New York, serving NYC construction since 2003.