Consumer Protection & Licensing Laws

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Consumer Protection Law

The City's Consumer Protection Law prohibits unfair trade practices when dealing in consumer goods or services - such as false advertising, phony sales, and special offers with hidden conditions. The law also lays out proper behavior in the collection of consumer debts.

• Consumer Protection Law (General; Advertising; Sales and Discounts) 
• Contracts
• Delivery of Furniture and Major Appliances
• Disclosures (Receipts, Refunds, and Credit; Layaway Plans; Used Items)
• Distressed Property Consultants
• Goods Temporarily in Short Supply
• Pricing (including Gender Pricing)

Licensing Law by Industry

Sections of the New York City Licensing Law (and Rules, if enacted) are available as a downloadable handout.

• License Enforcement (general Licensing Law and Rules)
• Amusement Arcade
• Amusement Device - Permanent
• Amusement Device - Portable
• Amusement Device - Temporary
• Auction House (Premises)
• Auctioneer
• Billiards Room
• Bingo Game Operator
• Booting Company
• Cigarette Retail Dealer
• Dealer in Products for the Disabled
• Debt Collection Agency
• Electronic & Home Appliance Service Dealer
• Electronics Store
• Employment Agency
• Games of Chance
• Gaming Café
• Garage
• Garage and Parking Lot Combo
• General Vendor
• General Vendor Distributor
• Home Improvement Contractor
• Home Improvement Salesperson
• Horse Drawn Cab Driver
• Horse Drawn Cab Owner
• Laundry NEW! Read update to the City's Laundry Licensing Law including a tiered licensing scheme to capture three distinct activities: retail laundry, industrial laundry and industrial laundry delivery.
• Locksmith
• Locksmith Apprentice
• Newsstand
• Parking Lot
• Pawnbroker
• Pedicab Business
• Pedicab Driver
• Process Server Individual
• Process Serving Agency
• Scale Dealer/Repairer
• Scrap Metal Processor
• Secondhand Dealer Auto
• Secondhand Dealer General
• Sidewalk Cafe
• Sightseeing Bus
• Sightseeing Guide
• Special Sale (e.g., Going Out of Business)
• Stoop Line Stand
• Storage Warehouse
• Temporary Street Fair Vendor Permit
• Tow Truck Company
• Tow Truck Driver
• Tow Truck Exemption