Type a business name and MEPSub pulls what New York City and New York State have on record: the permits they pull, the violations and penalties issued to them, public-work debarments and wage findings, and when the company was formed. A score from 0 to 100 sums it up, and every point it loses is shown with its source.
Six sources, read in one place, before you bid and again before you sign.
Jobs they hold permits on as GC or trade contractor: how many, how many are still open, the filed cost, and how much of their work comes from a single owner.
DOB filings where the business is the owner of record — what they are building, where, and who their engineers are.
Violations issued to them in the last five years: open cases, Class 1 hazards, work without a permit or stop-work orders, the penalties and the balance still unpaid.
The public-work contractor registry: debarment, unpaid wage assessments, final determinations under labor, tax or safety law, and whether workers’ compensation is declared.
The corporation on file: entity type, the date it was formed and its address for service. A company formed last spring has no track record yet.
One-click searches in NY eCourts, ACRIS property records, PACER, OSHA inspections, NJ business records and DOB licences — sources MEPSub links to but does not read.
Every business starts at 100. Points come off only for facts in the records above, and violations are weighed against how much work the business does — five open violations on 190 permitted jobs count far less than five on three.
−6 | 2 open ECB violations |
−4 | $10,000 ECB penalties unpaid |
−4 | 1 work-without-permit / stop-work violation in 5 years |
−8 | 72% of their permitted jobs are for one owner |
−6 | Formed in New York 18 months ago (NYS Dept. of State) |
Illustrative example — not a real company.
A pre-sign checklist the estimator ticks for each GC or owner, saved with your own notes on retainage and payment terms, so the next bid starts from what you already know.
Businesses only. Every fact is public record as filed, shown with where it came from; MEPSub does not verify it and never labels anyone a bad payer. Near-matches on a name are listed for you to check, never scored.
Finding the jobs in the first place? DOB Leads turns NYC filings, violations and permits into a ranked call list — with this check one click from every job.
No. GC & owner risk is for businesses only — general contractors, building owners and developers. Never look up a private person with it.
No. It shows public records as filed with New York City and New York State, each with its source, and does not verify them. The score counts red flags in those records; reading the facts and deciding is yours.
NYC Open Data (DOB NOW permits and filings, ECB violations heard at OATH) and New York State open data (the Dept. of Labor public-work contractor registry and the Dept. of State corporation records). The NYC permit history is synced daily; the violations and state records are read live when you look a business up.
On its own page, and one click away from the DOB lead lists, the GC leaderboard and each building page — so you can check the GC on a job before you price it.
GC & owner risk is an add-on to your MEPSub workspace, next to DOB Leads. Contact us and we will switch it on for your company.
GC & owner risk is an add-on for New York contractors on MEPSub. Tell us about your company and we will switch it on.