To become a model in New York City, apply through agencies' online forms or the open calls a few of them still hold, and before you sign, find the agency on the New York State Department of Labor's model management registry. Under the state's Fashion Workers Act an agency cannot charge you to sign, take more than 20% commission or tie you up for more than three years, and when a client books you directly, the city's Freelance Isn't Free Act sets your payment deadline.
How New York agencies take new faces
The groundwork is the same as anywhere: honest measurements, plain digitals and a short list of boards that suit your look, all covered in our guide to becoming a model. The New York difference is how much intake rules vary from one agency to the next. Some still hold weekly open calls, others meet people by appointment after an online submission, and some refuse walk-ins outright. Read each agency's own page on the day you plan to go, because these policies change.
| Agency page (checked October 1, 2026) | Intake policy it publishes | Other conditions on the page |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh Models | Open calls on Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 2 pm, with no appointment needed | Presents the visit as a chance to meet the team and learn about representation |
| Muse Model Management | Open calls every Thursday from 3 pm to 4 pm, or email submissions | Prefers women from 5 ft 9 in and men from 5 ft 11 in, and asks for height measured barefoot |
| d1 NYC | Open calls by appointment only, with applications sent by email or its form | Accepts JPEG attachments only, not file-sharing links, and wants unretouched images |
| Marilyn Agency New York | Submission form only; no open call and no walk-ins | Asks applicants not to chase submissions, and links its Fashion Workers Act certificate from the site menu |
| Stetts Model Management | No open calls; online form only | Adults only, locals only, and a flexible weekday schedule is required |
That last condition is worth taking seriously. An agency that asks for a flexible weekday schedule is telling you how its bookings arrive, so be honest about your availability in the submission rather than discovering a conflict with your day job after signing.
NYC agency verification checklist
The Department of Labor's registration page says model management companies that do business in New York, represent models there or are based there must register, and it links the public registry. Work through these steps before you sign anything:
- Find the registration number. The Department's page on responsibilities of fashion management companies says registered companies must show it in ads seeking models, social media profiles included, and in every contract, and must post a digital copy of the certificate on their website.
- Look the number up. The Model Management Registry dataset lists each certificate number with the business name, any trading name, address, whether it registered as a company or a group, issue and expiration dates, and status.
- Match every detail. The name on your contract, the address you are invited to and the number in the agency's posts should all agree with one registry entry that is active and unexpired.
- If the agency is missing, ask why in writing. The Act excludes businesses licensed as employment agencies under the General Business Law, and the state's employment agency page says those inside New York City are licensed by the city's consumer agency, which you can search through its license check. The Act also lets some out-of-state agencies with no New York office apply for an exemption. “We are too small to register” is not one of the reasons.
- Read the money and time terms against the Department's list of prohibited actions: no fee or deposit to sign, commission of 20% or less, nothing deducted that the contract or a separate itemized approval does not cover, a deal memo stating your total pay and payment term before each job, a term of three years at most, no renewal without your written consent, and any power of attorney offered as optional.
- Test the offer for fee red flags. The Department's Fashion Workers Act FAQs say an ad asking you to pay a fee or deposit to hold your spot could be fraudulent, and our guide to modeling agency fees explains which costs can ever be legitimate.
- Keep the complaint route handy. The FAQs direct models to email FashionWorkers@labor.ny.gov, and the Department also runs an online Fashion Workers Act complaint form; you can also go to court.
One date conflict in the official sources: the Department of Labor's Fashion Workers Act page says registration started on December 21, 2025, while the Senate's published text of the registration section carries a note dating it June 19, 2026. Both dates have passed, so for any agency you meet now, treat registration as required and check the registry, which the Department runs.
Fashion Workers Act protections, briefly
The state's Fashion Workers Act page describes a law in two parts: duties and prohibitions that took effect on June 19, 2025, and registration after that. Beyond the money and time limits in the checklist, it gives you a fiduciary agent, a written anti-harassment policy, the right to bring a representative or chaperone to jobs, overtime pay from clients for work beyond eight hours in a 24-hour period, and separate written consent before anyone creates or uses a digital replica of you. It covers models paid as employees and as independent contractors, and its definition of modeling services includes castings and fittings, not just shoots. Our full Fashion Workers Act rights checklist sets out each protection, where it sits in the law and what to ask your agency.
Direct bookings and the Freelance Isn't Free Act
When a brand, photographer or studio hires you directly as an independent contractor, the agency rules above do not apply, but the city's freelance law does. The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection's freelance worker rights page sets out the core terms:
- Any job worth $800 or more, counting all work for the same hiring party over 120 days, needs a written contract stating the work, the pay and the date you get paid, according to the same DCWP page.
- You must be paid by the date in the contract, or within 30 days of finishing the work if the contract names no date, as the timely payment rule puts it.
- Penalizing, threatening or blacklisting you for using these rights is illegal.
- Complaints go to the department online, by email to freelancer@dcwp.nyc.gov or through 311; the complaint process gives the hiring party 20 days to respond, and a court will presume a violation if it never did.
- Late or missing payment can entitle you to double the unpaid amount plus attorney's fees.
A statewide version also applies, which matters outside the five boroughs: the Department of Labor's Freelance Isn't Free Act page says Article 44-A of the General Business Law took effect on August 28, 2024, and that complaints go to the state Attorney General. Put the payment date on every invoice using our invoice template, and if a client still goes quiet, the escalation steps in recovering unpaid fees apply to modeling invoices too. Before a direct shoot, read what you are signing with our model release review checklist.
A casting-week plan for New York
If you are coming in from elsewhere for a week of open calls and meetings, a plan keeps you from spending the trip on trains. Swap the days to match the agencies you have shortlisted.
| Day | Plan | Check before you leave |
|---|---|---|
| Two weeks before | Submit online to agencies that only meet by appointment, so any invitation can fall inside your trip | Each agency's registry entry and its current submission page |
| Monday | Fresh digitals in daylight and a route map grouping agencies by neighborhood | Open-call hours on the morning of the visit, since agencies change them |
| Tuesday and Wednesday | Appointments that came from submissions, plus any go-sees an agency books for you | That every address is the agency's registered office or a known studio, never a private apartment |
| Thursday to Saturday | Walk-in open calls in their published windows, arriving early with water and a phone charger | That the call is still on and whether it asks you to bring printed photos |
| Sunday | Log every meeting, name and next step, then send one short thank-you where an agent asked you to | That no one asked you for money, identity documents or a contract signature on the spot |
What to wear, bring and say in the room is in our go-see checklist. Clients booking you are bound by the Act too: the Department's duties of clients say they must allow your agent, manager or chaperone to come with you, provide a 30-minute meal break on days longer than eight hours, and pay at least one and a half times your hourly rate beyond that point. For conduct problems on set, see our guide to harassment and on-set rights.
Coming from another state or another country
The registry, the Act and the freelance law protect you whether you live in Brooklyn or arrive for a season, and the Department's FAQs note that some Act requirements can be enforced even for engagements outside the state. If you are deciding between coasts, our Los Angeles license-check guide covers California's different system. If you are not a US citizen or resident, you need the right work authorization before you take a paid booking; our guide to US work visas for models compares the routes and what a visitor visa does not allow.
Limitations of this guide
This is general information, not legal advice. It reflects state and city pages and five agency pages as read on October 1, 2026, and agency intake policies in particular change often. Appearing on the registry shows an agency registered, not that it is good at its job or right for you, and the table above is not a recommendation. The freelance law summary covers its main terms only, and whether you are an employee or a contractor depends on the facts of your work. For a contract dispute, contact the Department of Labor, the city's consumer and worker protection agency, or an employment lawyer.