How to Fill Out the NYS BP-1 Form: Eligibility, Notarizing, and Filing

The New York State BP-1 form is a one-page notarized affidavit that lets a qualifying homeowner get a building permit without carrying workers’ compensation or disability benefits insurance for the project. General Municipal Law Section 125 bars cities, towns, and villages from issuing a building permit unless the applicant either shows proof of insurance or files an affidavit confirming no covered employees are involved.¹ The BP-1 is that affidavit for homeowners. You download it from the Workers’ Compensation Board’s homeowner forms page, complete it, sign it in front of a notary, and hand it in with the rest of your permit application.²

Who Can Use the BP-1

The form is limited to owners of a one-, two-, three-, or four-family residence who currently occupy the property. You also have to be listed as the general contractor on the permit, meaning you’re running the project yourself rather than hiring a GC to run it for you.³

Two more conditions have to be true:

A homeowner’s insurance policy is in effect on the property where the permit will be pulled.³
If you’re paying anyone to help, the total hours worked by all paid people on the job stay under 40 per week combined. That’s an aggregate cap across everyone you hire, not 40 hours per person.³

Properties with more than four units, properties you don’t live in, and rentals or investment properties are treated as businesses by the Workers’ Compensation Board. Those owners cannot use the BP-1 and instead need either proof of insurance or a separate Certificate of Attestation of Exemption (CE-200).³

When You Don’t Need the BP-1 at All

If you’re hiring a licensed general contractor and they carry their own workers’ compensation policy, that policy is what satisfies Section 57 of the Workers’ Compensation Law, and no BP-1 is needed.⁴ The BP-1 exists for the homeowner who is acting as their own GC.

What to Have Ready Before You Start

Pull these together first:

Your full legal name exactly as it appears on the deed. A mismatch between the deed name and the BP-1 can stall permit review.
The property address where the work will happen.
The type of building permit you’re applying for, such as an addition, a roof replacement, or an interior renovation.
Your homeowner’s insurance information. You aren’t attaching the policy to the BP-1, but you’re certifying it exists and your building department may ask to see it.

Most of the page is affidavit language and a signature block, so once you have the details in hand the writing takes only a few minutes.

Filling In and Signing the Form

At the top of the form, enter your legal name, the property address, and the permit type. The body is a sworn declaration that you are the owner-occupant of the residence, that you are acting as your own general contractor, that a homeowner’s insurance policy is in force on the property, and that any paid workers on the job will total fewer than 40 aggregate hours per week. The same document also serves as your exemption from disability benefits insurance, so one form covers both requirements.

Do not sign the form at home. Your signature has to be witnessed by a Notary Public, so leave the signature line blank until you’re in front of one.

Getting It Notarized

A Notary Public verifies your identity, watches you sign, and applies their seal. Bring a current government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license or passport.⁵ The standard New York fee for an in-person notarization is $2 per act.⁶ Remote electronic notarization costs $25 per act. Banks, UPS locations, law offices, and many town clerk offices offer notary service.

Because you’re signing under oath, every statement on the BP-1 has to be truthful. Perjury in the second degree is a Class E felony in New York.⁷ Claiming owner-occupancy on a rental, or understating the hours your hired help is working, puts you at criminal risk on top of losing the permit.

Where to Submit It

The notarized BP-1 goes to your local municipal building department as part of your permit package, alongside your construction plans, zoning materials, and anything else your municipality requires. Building department staff review the affidavit together with your project details and property records to confirm the exemption applies. Processing time depends on your building department’s workload, but a correctly completed BP-1 keeps the file from bouncing back for missing insurance documentation.

If You Don’t Qualify: the CE-200

If the property has more than four units, isn’t owner-occupied, or the paid labor on the job will exceed 40 aggregate hours a week, the BP-1 isn’t available. The alternative is a Certificate of Attestation of Exemption (CE-200), issued directly by the Workers’ Compensation Board through an online application on New York Business Express.⁸ If neither exemption fits your situation, you’ll need to buy a workers’ compensation policy before the building department will issue the permit.

What the BP-1 Does Not Cover

The exemption is narrow. It removes the workers’ comp and disability insurance requirement for the permit. It does nothing else.

If you pay a single household worker $3,000 or more in cash wages during 2026, you’re required to withhold Social Security tax at 6.2 percent and Medicare tax at 1.45 percent from their wages.⁹ If you pay $500 or more in cash wages in any calendar quarter, you owe New York unemployment insurance contributions and have to report the wages.¹⁰ Whether the person is your employee or an independent contractor turns on behavioral control, financial control, and the nature of the relationship, with no single test that settles it.¹¹ Directing the work, supplying the tools, and setting the schedule pushes the classification toward employee regardless of what you call the arrangement.

Liability is the other gap. The BP-1 lets you skip workers’ compensation, but it doesn’t protect you if a worker is hurt on your job site. An injured worker without workers’ comp coverage can sue you directly for medical bills and lost wages, and many standard homeowner’s policies exclude injuries to workers, especially where the homeowner directed the work or supplied the tools. On a small project where you’re doing most of the work yourself, that exposure is usually manageable. On a larger renovation with several paid helpers, it’s worth reading your homeowner’s policy for any worker-injury coverage and pricing a short-term workers’ compensation policy before deciding the BP-1 is the right route.

1
New York State Senate. New York General Municipal Code 125 – Issuance of Building Permits
2
Workers’ Compensation Board. Workers’ Compensation Forms for Homeowners
3
Workers’ Compensation Board. Workers’ Compensation Requirements Under Workers’ Compensation Law
4
New York State Senate. New York Workers’ Compensation Code 57 – Restriction on Issue of Permits and the Entering Into Contracts Unless Compensation Is Secured
5
Empire Justice Center. Notaries, Take Note – Its the Law Now
6
Department of State. Notary Public – Frequently Asked Questions
7
New York State Senate. New York Penal Code 210.10 – Perjury in the Second Degree
8
Workers’ Compensation Board. Request Certificate of Attestation of Exemption (CE-200)
9
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 756, Employment Taxes for Household Employees
10
Department of Taxation and Finance. Hiring Household Help
11
Internal Revenue Service. Independent Contractor (Self-Employed) or Employee?