In Suffolk, an electrician’s license comes from the county, and you can look it up online in a minute. In Nassau there is no county electrician license at all. The license comes from the town, city or village, and some villages want their own registration on top of the town’s. Either way, ask for the number and who issued it, then confirm it with that office.
Suffolk: one county license and a public search
Suffolk County Consumer Affairs licenses Master Electricians and Restricted Electricians under Chapter 563, Article XI of the Suffolk County Code, and requires both to finish continuing education before they renew. One license covers the county. A 2014 state law, signed as Chapter 257 that August, let Suffolk set up countywide master electrician licensing that supersedes town and village licensing. When it passed, Senator Lee Zeldin’s office said electricians would be able to work in any Suffolk municipality without separate town or village licenses.
To check a Suffolk electrician:
- Open the county’s Search Licensed Contractors page.
- Search by license number, the person’s name, the business name, or a 10 digit phone number. You can also pick Master Electrical License or Restricted Electrical License from the license type list.
- Match the name on the license to the person or company on your quote.
- If the search page throws an error, reload it, or call Consumer Affairs at (631) 853-4600.
The county notes that searching by license type shows license data only, not complaints or violations. Consumer Affairs is in the William J. Lindsay County Complex, 725 Veterans Memorial Highway in Smithtown, and at the Riverhead County Center, 300 Center Drive South.
The permit itself still comes from your town or village building department.
Nassau: the town, city or village holds the license
Nassau County Consumer Affairs says the towns, cities and villages in Nassau license plumbers and electricians, and that problems in those trades go to the local city, town or village. The Town of Hempstead, for instance, has its own chapter of town code for master electricians, Chapter 84.
Villages add their own layer:
- Rockville Centre. Its master electrician license application asks for a current license and certificate of competency from one of the three towns, Hempstead, North Hempstead or Oyster Bay, or a letter of good standing from a town with reciprocity. It also requires $1,000,000 in liability coverage with the village named as additional insured, proof of workers’ compensation, and a $420 fee. The form on the village site is for the term that ran to April 30, 2022.
- East Rockaway. The village electrical permit form asks for the master electrician’s East Rockaway registration number plus the Town of Hempstead competency and license numbers.
- Long Beach. The City of Long Beach posts its list of licensed electricians for 2026 to 2027, with each company, the licensee, the license number and the expiration date.
Haines Electric in Lido Beach says permits in Nassau are pulled by a licensed master electrician registered in the specific town or village where the work is.
To check a Nassau electrician:
- Ask for the license number and which town, city or village issued it.
- Call that building department and confirm the license is current.
- If you live in an incorporated village, ask the village too, since it may keep its own registration.
Nassau County Consumer Affairs does license home improvement contractors, at (516) 571-2600, and requires them to be fingerprinted. That license covers home improvement work, and its number does not stand in for an electrician’s license.
The companies in this directory
Three companies listed on this site appear on the City of Long Beach’s 2026 to 2027 list, and their rows show those numbers: E.H. Haines Electrical Corp. (EL-3124), Murdy Electric Co. Inc., listed there as Mr Sparky (EL-3087), and BQ Electric Inc. (3545). Every other row still says the license has not been checked. That changes as we match each company to a county, town or village record, and companies can send their numbers through the listing form.
Licensed, certified and insured
“Certified electrician” is not one of the license types on Suffolk’s search, which lists Master Electrical, Restricted Electrical and Electrical Inspector. Ask for the license number and the office that issued it.
Insurance is a separate question. Rockville Centre, for one, will not license an electrician without $1,000,000 in liability coverage. Ask the company for a certificate of insurance before work starts.
Signs the license story does not add up
- A card or truck that says “licensed” with no number.
- A “Nassau County electrical license.” Nassau County does not issue one.
- A home improvement license number offered in place of an electrician’s license.
- A Suffolk license number that does not come up on the county search, or comes up under a different name.
- An electrician who wants you to pull the permit in your own name.