Business Background Check

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You can get information about businesses located in New York City and licensed by the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). The Better Business Bureau provides business histories for other businesses that are not licensed by DCA.

The City does not endorse particular businesses and does not provide recommendations where to do business.

You can get information about New York City businesses licensed by the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), including license number, status, expiration date, and the number and type of complaints filed with DCA.  

Information is also available about car rental agencies, furniture stores, home heating oil companies, tax preparers, and travel agencies, which are not licensed by DCA.

Online

Get information about businesses licensed by the Department of Consumer Affairs.

By Phone

Call 311 for assistance.

The Better Business Bureau gives business histories for businesses that are not licensed by DCA. You can file complaints online or by mail.

Online

Visit the Better Business Bureau's website.

File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

By Mail

Better Business Bureau
30 East 33rd Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10016

Additional assistance is available:

By Phone

  • Agency: Better Business Bureau
  • Phone Number: (212) 533-6200
  • Business Hours: Monday - Wednesday: 9 AM - 3 PM; Thursday - Friday: 9 AM - 2 PM

The following types of businesses are licensed by DCA:

  • Amusement Arcades
  • Amusement Devices (permanent, portable, temporary)
  • Auction Houses
  • Auctioneers 
  • Billiard Rooms 
  • Bingo Game Operators and Commercial Lessors
  • Booting Companies 
  • Car Washes
  • Dealers in Products for the Disabled 
  • Debt Collection Agencies 
  • Electronic and Home Appliance Service Dealers 
  • Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealers
  • Electronics Stores 
  • Employment Agencies 
  • Games of Chance 
  • Gaming Cafes
  • Garages and Parking Lots 
  • General Vendors and Distributors 
  • Home Improvement Contractors and Salespeople 
  • Horse Drawn Cab Owners and Drivers 
  • Laundries (industrial, industrial delivery, retail) 
  • Locksmiths and Apprentices 
  • Newsstands (all types) 
  • Pawnbrokers 
  • Pedicab Businesses and Drivers
  • Process Serving Agencies and Process Server Individuals
  • Rental Halls
  • Scale Dealers and Repairers 
  • Scrap Metal Processors 
  • Secondhand Dealers of Automobiles 
  • Secondhand Dealers 
  • Sidewalk Cafes 
  • Sightseeing Buses and Guides 
  • Special Sales 
  • Stoop Line Stands 
  • Storage Warehouses 
  • Temporary Street Fair Vendors
  • Ticket Seller Businesses and Individuals
  • Tobacco Retail Dealers
  • Tow Truck Companies and Tow Truck Drivers

The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs can help you with complaints about businesses in New York City. For complaints about businesses elsewhere, contact the local Consumer Affairs office or the State Attorney General's office. The federal government offers an online resource guide.

Online

Get the Consumer Action Handbook.

By Phone

Nassau County

  • Agency: Nassau County Consumer Affairs
  • Phone Number: (516) 571-2449
  • Business Hours: Monday - Friday: 9 AM - 5 PM

Suffolk County

  • Agency: Suffolk County Consumer Affairs
  • Phone Number: (631) 231-2400
  • Business Hours: Monday - Friday: 9 AM - 5 PM

Westchester County

  • Agency: Westchester County Department of Consumer Protection
  • Phone Number: (914) 995-2155
  • Business Hours: Monday - Friday: 9 AM - 5 PM

New Jersey

  • Agency: New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs
  • Phone Number: (973) 504-6200
  • Business Hours: Monday - Friday: 9 AM - 5 PM

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