Pennsylvania Contractor License Requirements
Registration is not a licence, but here it is still mandatory. Every figure below was read off the PA OAG or the statute, and the sentence it came from is listed at the bottom of this page. Where a figure could not be verified this page says so rather than showing a number.
What the state requires
- Licence
- Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) Registration
- Issued by
- Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer ProtectionHome Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Act 132 of 2008, 73 P.S. § 517.1 et seq.
- Exam
- No exam
- Exam fee
- No verified figureThe HIC registration fee could not be verified: every attempt to read attorneygeneral.gov and hic.attorneygeneral.gov returned 403 Forbidden (Microsoft-Azure-Application-Gateway), and www.legis.state.pa.us, which carries the Act 132 text, also returned 403. Numeric fee fields are therefore null.
- Application fee
- No verified figure
- Initial licence fee
- No verified figure
- Licence bond
- Not requiredHICPA imposes no surety bond on registrants.
- General liability
- Required; no verified minimumRegistered home improvement contractors 'must maintain minimum insurance coverage' under HICPA, but the Commonwealth pages that could be read do not state the dollar minimums and the Attorney General's site would not load, so no figure is recorded.
- Workers compensation
- Not required
- Experience
- None requiredNo experience requirement — registration is not a competency credential.
- Continuing education
- No continuing education requiredNo continuing education requirement.
- Renewal
- No verified period
- NASCLA exam
- Not acceptedPennsylvania does not appear on NASCLA's list of participating state agencies; there is no qualifying examination in the Commonwealth for it to replace.
What people get wrong
Confirmed as registration only, on two Commonwealth sources: Labor & Industry says Pennsylvania 'currently has no licensure or certification requirements for most construction contractors', and the PA Business One-Stop Hub says flatly 'There is no license specifically for commercial contracting.' Home improvement contractors working on residential property register with the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection under HICPA — no exam, no experience, no bond. Other state credentials in construction are narrow: manufactured housing installers (Act 158 of 2004), crane operators (State Board of Crane Operators at the Department of State), and asbestos/lead removal certification at L&I. What could NOT be verified: the registration fee, the registration term, the $5,000-per-year work threshold that triggers registration, and the insurance minimums — attorneygeneral.gov, hic.attorneygeneral.gov and www.legis.state.pa.us all refused every request with 403, and the spec forbids substituting a third-party source.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a contractor licence in Pennsylvania?
- Not from the state. Pennsylvania registers contractors rather than licensing them: Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) Registration through the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Protection. Confirmed as registration only, on two Commonwealth sources: Labor & Industry says Pennsylvania 'currently has no licensure or certification requirements for most construction contractors', and the PA Business One-Stop Hub says flatly 'There is no license specifically for commercial contracting.' Home improvement contractors working on residential property register with the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection under HICPA — no exam, no experience, no bond. Other state credentials in construction are narrow: manufactured housing installers (Act 158 of 2004), crane operators (State Board of Crane Operators at the Department of State), and asbestos/lead removal certification at L&I. What could NOT be verified: the registration fee, the registration term, the $5,000-per-year work threshold that triggers registration, and the insurance minimums — attorneygeneral.gov, hic.attorneygeneral.gov and www.legis.state.pa.us all refused every request with 403, and the spec forbids substituting a third-party source.
- Does Pennsylvania accept the NASCLA exam?
- No. Pennsylvania does not appear on NASCLA's list of participating state agencies; there is no qualifying examination in the Commonwealth for it to replace.
Sources
“The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania currently has no licensure or certification requirements for most construction contractors (or their employees).”
https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dli/programs-services/labor-management-relations/bureau-of-occupational-and-industrial-safety/uniform-construction-code-home/contractor-licensing“On July 1, 2009, the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (Senate Bill 100) took effect. This law requires most home improvement contractors to register with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office. Additionally, these contractors must maintain minimum insurance coverage and utilize contracts that comply with a number of consumer protection requirements specified in this law.”
https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dli/programs-services/labor-management-relations/bureau-of-occupational-and-industrial-safety/uniform-construction-code-home/contractor-licensing“There is no license specifically for commercial contracting. Instead, construction contractors who perform work on residential properties are required to register as a Home-Improvement Contractor through the PA Attorney General's Office.”
https://hub.business.pa.gov/Home/HelpCenterDetail/ConstructionContractorsLandscapers“Besides the items mentioned above, there are no other requirements for a construction contractor, landscaper, or similar business.”
https://hub.business.pa.gov/Home/HelpCenterDetail/ConstructionContractorsLandscapers