What the law actually says
New York's Labor Law, in Article 32, sets up two separate licensed trades. A mold assessor surveys the property, writes the plan and checks the finished work. A mold remediator carries the plan out. Section 936 says no licensee may perform both on the same property, and that no one may own a stake in both the assessing firm and the cleanup firm on that property.
That second half matters. A firm cannot dodge the rule by setting up a cousin company with a different name and sending it the cleanup. The test is ownership, not letterhead.
Where the ten square foot line falls
Licensing is triggered by a mold project. Section 930 defines that as any assessment, abatement or remediation covering more than ten square feet of area. Everyday cleaning and repairs that are not meant to remediate mold fall outside it. The EPA's household guidance uses a similar yardstick: a patch smaller than about three feet square is usually something a homeowner can clean.
Above the line, the split applies unless an exemption fits. The exemptions in section 933 are narrow. Residential owners may do the work on their own property. An owner or managing agent, or their full-time employee, may work on their own commercial property or on a residential building of more than four units, so long as they do not do mold work for the public. A non-residential owner or employee may work on an apartment building of four units or fewer, and government bodies and their staff are exempt on property they own, manage or are remediating. In the Bronx the owner and managing agent exemption meets a city rule for buildings of ten or more apartments, which our city line guide covers.
Why the state separates diagnosis from repair
The consumer protection is easy to follow. A company that earns money from cleanup has a reason to find more of it. A company paid only to assess has no reason to inflate the scope, because it cannot do the work afterwards. The rule takes that temptation out of the room and gives you a second pair of eyes at the end.
What the assessor's plan has to contain
Section 945 makes the assessor responsible for the plan: a mold assessment licensee prepares it for each remediation project and gives it to the client before the work begins. The plan sets out:
- the rooms or areas where the work will be done, and the methods for each type of remediation;
- estimated quantities of material to be cleaned or removed;
- the protective equipment the remediators supply for their workers, and the clearance procedures and criteria;
- how occupants are to be notified, when the building is occupied;
- an estimate of cost and time, and, when possible, the underlying sources of moisture, with a recommendation on the type of contractor who would fix them.
The moisture item is the one tenants and owners tend to care about most. Where the assessor can identify the source, a plan that names the leak gives the repair something to aim at.
The sign-off at the end
Under section 947, a mold assessment licensee must carry out a post remediation assessment of the remediated project and issue a written passed clearance report when the remediation has been successful. For a landlord facing a violation, a tenant waiting on a repair or a buyer reading disclosure paperwork, that report is the document that matters.
What it does to pricing
The state labor department's position is that nobody should quote a remediation cost before an independent assessment exists, since an early quote undoes the protection of having an independent assessor and a separate remediation contractor. A number offered earlier is a guess. A firm that offers one price for both halves is either guessing or breaking the rule, and either way you should hear about it before you sign.
Checking a license before you sign
Advertising as a mold assessor or remediator without a state license is unlawful under section 931. The state labor department tells consumers to check a contractor through its Licensed Mold Contractors Search Tool, and checking takes a few minutes. On 6 October 2026 the register showed 29 active assessor licenses and 36 active remediator licenses at addresses in Bronx ZIP codes, out of 798 and 942 across the whole state. Ask each firm for its license number, look both up, and confirm the two companies are unrelated.
A license address is not a service boundary, so a firm based in another borough may be fine. What you are checking is the license, the trade it covers and the absence of any ownership link to the other firm.
Your next step
If you already hold a plan, you need the second firm. If you do not, you need the first one. Either way, send us the address and what you can see, and we will introduce the company that fits the rung you are on. Read about the independent mold survey or the cleanup done to a plan, and remember your first booked job carries $100 off.
Share the address and what you have noticed, and we introduce the company that fits your stage.