Pennsylvania · Remodeling licensing · official-source guide
Pennsylvania issues no state remodeling license. The Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Protection, registers home improvement contractors under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act once their residential work tops $5,000 a year. Registration is $100 for two years and requires proof of at least $50,000 personal injury and $50,000 property damage liability coverage. No exam applies.
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Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-10-05. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Pennsylvania runs no state licensing board for remodelers. There is no state remodeling license, no classification system and no qualifying exam. What exists instead is a mandatory statewide registration program created by the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Act 132 of 2008, codified at 73 P.S. 517.1 et seq. The program is administered by the Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Office of Attorney General. The Bureau issues a certificate of registration that carries a registration number in the form PA123456. Section 517.3(a) is blunt about the trigger: no person shall hold himself out as a contractor, nor perform any home improvement, without first registering with the Bureau. One registration covers all 67 counties, so a remodeler in Erie and a remodeler in Bucks County file the same application with the same office. The Bureau sits at 349 Walnut Street, 15th Floor, Strawberry Square, Harrisburg, PA 17120. Contractors reach a helpline at 717-772-2425. Consumers reach a separate toll free number, 1-888-520-6680. Online filing runs at hic.attorneygeneral.gov. The Office of Attorney General states that its online registration system became operational on April 24, 2026 after an outage, that the rebuilt system adds automated criminal docket checks on registrants, and that contractors who did not file a paper application during the outage had a grace period ending June 8, 2026 to complete registration. Section 517.11 lets the Bureau adopt regulations to carry out the act. The Office is explicit that registration under HICPA is not an endorsement, recommendation or approval of a contractor's competency or skill.
Sourcesattorneygeneral.gov 1cdn.attorneygeneral.gov 2attorneygeneral.gov 3hicsearch.attorneygeneral.gov 4hic.attorneygeneral.gov 5
HICPA runs on two separate money thresholds, and remodelers confuse them constantly. The first sits in the definition of home improvement at 73 P.S. 517.2: the work only qualifies as a home improvement when the total cash price of all work agreed upon between the contractor and the owner is more than $500. The second sits in the definition of contractor: a person whose total cash value of all home improvements was less than $5,000 during the previous taxable year is not a contractor. So the $500 figure governs which jobs carry the contract rules, and the $5,000 figure governs who has to register at all. The listed activities are broad. They include repair, replacement, remodeling, demolition, removal, renovation, installation, alteration, conversion, modernization, improvement, rehabilitation and sandblasting. They also include construction, replacement, installation or improvement of driveways, swimming pools, pool houses, porches, garages, roofs, siding, insulation, solar energy systems, security systems, flooring, patios, fences, gazebos, sheds, cabanas, painting, doors and windows, and waterproofing. Without regard to affixation, installing central heating, air conditioning, storm windows or awnings counts too. The act applies only to private residences, which the Office of Attorney General describes as single family dwellings, multifamily dwellings of not more than two units, and single units inside any multifamily dwelling, including condominium and cooperative units. Commercial property work falls outside. New home construction falls outside. So does the sale of goods by a seller who performs no installation, services for commercial or business use performed away from a private residence, easily removable appliances, and uncompensated work by the owner on the owner's own residence or residential rental property.
Anyone who owns or operates a home improvement business, or who offers, performs or agrees to perform home improvements in Pennsylvania, registers with the Office of Attorney General. The Bureau applies that to self-employed contractors and sole proprietorships, to corporations, general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies and joint ventures, and to out of state entities. Subcontractors and independent contractors register even when they never sign anything with a homeowner and are paid only by the general contractor. Two exemptions exist. The first covers small contractors doing less than $5,000 of home improvements in a calendar year. The second covers a home improvement retailer with a net worth of more than $50,000,000, though the subcontractors and independent contractors who perform that retailer's installations still register. There is no grandfather clause, so a shop that has remodeled kitchens in Lancaster since the 1980s registers like a startup. Charities, nonprofits and anyone acting on their behalf register if they offer or perform home improvements. Apartment, condominium and community association maintenance staff working on their own property within the scope of employment do not register, but the same employee doing $5,000 or more of outside residential work in a calendar year does. Engineers, architects, land surveyors, electrical contractors, master plumbers, locksmiths, burglar alarm businesses and fire alarm businesses register if they perform repairs, replacements, remodeling, installations, alterations or improvements on private residences. Landscapers whose work is limited to services under the Plant Pest Act stay out, but retaining walls, fountains, drainage systems, patios, non-decorative fences, concrete walkways and lighting systems pull them in. Section 517.13 exempts only the Commonwealth, its political subdivisions and the federal government.
Sourcesattorneygeneral.gov 1cdn.attorneygeneral.gov 2attorneygeneral.gov 3
Section 517.4 sets the contents, and the look-back period is ten years. An individual applicant gives name, date of birth, home address and home telephone number, driver's license number or a copy of a state identification card, business name, address and telephone number, federal employer identification number if applicable, Social Security number, and all prior business names and addresses of home improvement businesses the individual operated. A general partnership gives that set for each partner. A corporation, limited liability company or limited partnership gives it for each officer, manager and general partner, plus the name of each director and each individual holding more than a 5% equity interest. An out of state corporation, limited liability company or limited partnership also names its Pennsylvania resident agent or registered office provider and any registration or license number issued by its home state. Joint ventures list every party. Every applicant supplies a complete description of the nature of the contracting business. The background disclosures matter most. The applicant states whether anyone applying has been convicted of a criminal offense related to a home improvement transaction, fraud, theft, a crime of deception or a crime involving fraudulent business practices; whether a bankruptcy petition was ever filed; whether a final civil judgment related to a home improvement transaction was entered in the last ten years; whether any certificate or similar license was revoked or suspended anywhere by court order; and whether the applicant was suspended or debarred in the last ten years from any federal, state, local or not-for-profit home improvement funding program. Applications flagged as pended terminate if the contractor does not correct them within 30 days. A fictitious business name must be registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State before it is used.
Sourcescdn.attorneygeneral.gov 1attorneygeneral.gov 2attorneygeneral.gov 3
Section 517.5 of the act sets the application fee at $50 for a certificate or its renewal, and makes renewals biennial. That statutory figure has been overtaken. The Office of Attorney General states that because of a change in the Commonwealth Fiscal Code at 72 P.S. 1603-U, the registration fee has been increased to $100 every two years, and that the increase applies to all new and renewal applications. The mail-in application instructions carry the same number: a check or money order for $100 payable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The fee is non-refundable. Registrations stay valid for two years and must be renewed biennially, and a renewal applicant keeps the previously issued PA number rather than receiving a new one. Updating information on an active registration costs nothing, and HICPA requires the update within 30 days of any change. The Bureau lists address and telephone changes, organizational structure changes such as incorporating a sole proprietorship, changes in the names the business operates under, changes in principals and shareholders, and insurance changes including new policies and renewed policies with new expiration dates. Money collected does not sit with the Attorney General freely. Section 517.5(b) establishes the Home Improvement Account, a restricted revenue interest bearing account in the General Fund, and directs that all fees and penalties collected under the act be deposited there, appropriable to the Attorney General for administering and enforcing the act and for protecting consumers through consumer education. HICPA imposes no continuing education requirement and no renewal examination. The Bureau encourages online filing because paper applications take several weeks to process once complete, and incomplete applications delay registration further.
Sourcesattorneygeneral.gov 1cdn.attorneygeneral.gov 2attorneygeneral.gov 3attorneygeneral.gov 4
Section 517.4(a)(1)(ix) requires proof of liability insurance covering personal injury in an amount not less than $50,000, and insurance covering property damage caused by the work of a home improvement contractor in an amount not less than $50,000. The Bureau's application instructions require a valid Certificate of Insurance submitted with the application. Self-insurance is allowed. The statute lets an applicant attest to being self-insured, and the Bureau provides a Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act Self-Insurance Certificate of Coverage and Attestation form for that purpose. The Bureau decides whether the self-insurance is sufficient and how it must be maintained. The insurance obligation does not end at the application. Section 517.7(a)(11) makes the contract itself defective unless the contractor agrees in it to maintain personal injury coverage of not less than $50,000 and property damage coverage of not less than $50,000, and identifies the current amount of coverage carried at the time of signing. A new policy or a renewal with a new expiration date is a reportable change due within 30 days. The Bureau is careful to note that this coverage has nothing to do with contractor performance or the quality of work, so a remodeler cannot market it as a workmanship guarantee. HICPA requires no surety bond from a home improvement contractor. The only bond-style instrument in the act belongs to home improvement retailers that want relief from the deposit cap: an irrevocable letter of credit payable to the Bureau in the amount of $100,000 per store location, not to exceed $2,000,000 for a retailer with multiple stores. Two draws within two years bar that retailer from using a letter of credit for five years.
Sourcescdn.attorneygeneral.gov 1attorneygeneral.gov 2attorneygeneral.gov 3
A remodeler moving to Pennsylvania from a licensing state should understand what is not here. HICPA sets no examination. It sets no experience hour requirement, no apprenticeship, no education requirement, no qualifying individual and no financial statement or net worth test. There are no classification tiers that cap contract value or scope. Registration turns on the application being complete and accurate, the insurance proof being in order, the fee being paid, and the background disclosures not producing a denial. The Office of Attorney General denies an application when an individual is not permitted to apply or renew, and directs denied applicants to its HelpLine. The public verification site does display a Type of Work field with selectable categories, among them Remodeling and Renovation, Home Improvement, Home Improvement General, Carpentry, Decks patios porches, Drywall and Plaster, Countertops, Flooring Installation, Siding, Windows and Glazing, and Roofing. The Office notes that this field is new and that limited data exists for most existing contractors, so specific results may not be available. Those categories are search metadata, not license scopes, and selecting Remodeling and Renovation does not restrict or expand what a registrant may legally perform. Registration also confers no authority over the trades a municipality still tests and licenses. Section 517.12 preserves local licensing standards that were in effect for electricians, plumbers and other trades where licensing depends on testing or on certificates earned through specific trade training. The practical reading: HICPA is a disclosure and accountability regime, not a competency credential, and the Office of Attorney General says so directly on the verification site when it states that registration is not an endorsement, recommendation or approval of competency or skill.
Sourceshicsearch.attorneygeneral.gov 1cdn.attorneygeneral.gov 2attorneygeneral.gov 3attorneygeneral.gov 4
Section 517.7(a) makes a non-compliant contract unenforceable against the owner. The contract must be in writing, legible, and must contain the home improvement contractor registration number of the performing contractor. It must be signed by the owner, the owner's agent or other contracted party, and by the contractor or a salesperson on the contractor's behalf. It must contain the entire agreement, with attached copies of all required notices. It must carry the date of the transaction. It must give the contractor's name, address and telephone number, and a post office box number alone does not count as an address. It must state the approximate starting date and completion date. It must describe the work to be performed and the materials to be used, and include a set of specifications that cannot be changed without a written change order signed by both owner and contractor. It must state the total sales price, or include a compliant time and materials provision. It must list the amount of any down payment plus any amount advanced for special order materials, with the two listed separately. It must name the addresses and telephone numbers of all subcontractors known on the signing date, again with no bare post office boxes. It must carry the insurance commitment and current coverage amounts. It must include the Bureau's toll free number from section 517.3(b). It must include notice of the right of rescission. A completed copy goes to the owner without charge at execution. Section 517.7(e) makes the contract voidable by the owner if it contains a hold harmless clause, a waiver of health, life, safety or building code requirements, a confession of judgment, a jury trial waiver, a wage assignment, a bar on the owner's claims or defenses, an attorney fee award to the contractor, or a waiver of rights under the act.
Section 517.7(b) gives the individual who signs a home improvement contract the right to rescind without penalty, regardless of where the contract was signed, within three business days of the date of signing. The only carve-out is work performed under the emergency provisions of section 7 of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, 73 P.S. 201-7, and the Office of Attorney General stresses that the exception is limited to emergencies meeting the criteria in that section and that the contractor must obtain the emergency waiver the law requires in each case. Notice of the right is one of the mandatory contract terms under section 517.7(a)(13). The Office warns that it is the business's responsibility to provide the written notice of cancellation exactly as written in the law, and that if the consumer was never notified of the right, the entire contract may be voidable even after the three days have passed. Section 201-7 contains a sample notice of cancellation that contractors may copy. For a remodeler the scheduling consequence is concrete: ordering special order cabinetry or starting demolition inside the window is a commercial risk the owner can walk away from. Two related prohibitions sit in section 517.9. Paragraph (9) bars demanding or receiving any payment for a home improvement before the contract is signed. Paragraph (2) creates a refund duty: the contractor must refund the amount paid within ten days of accepting a certified mail written refund request, or of refusing that certified mail at the last known address, when no substantial portion of the contracted work has been performed and more than 45 days have passed since the starting date specified in the written contract.
Section 517.9(10) caps deposits. On a home improvement contract with a total price of more than $5,000, the contractor may not receive a deposit in excess of one third of the contract price, or one third of the contract price plus the cost of special order materials that will be ordered as designated in the written contract. The Office of Attorney General summarizes it the same way and adds that the act does not address how the balance is paid, leaving contractor and owner to negotiate incremental payments as work progresses with a final payment on completion. The exception applies only to home improvement retailers that post the irrevocable letter of credit described in the act and confirm that their contractors are registered and insured. Time and materials pricing became available through the amendment signed into law on October 22, 2014. Section 517.7(a)(8) sets the mechanics. The contractor provides a written initial cost estimate before any performance begins. The contract then states the dollar value of that initial estimate, states that the cost of the services under the time and materials provision may not exceed 10% above that value, states the total potential cost in actual dollars including that 10%, and states that the cost will not rise above the estimate plus 10% without a written change order signed by both parties. Change orders carry weight elsewhere too. Section 517.9(6) makes it a prohibited act to deviate from or disregard plans or specifications in any material respect without a dated change order signed by both parties that contains the accompanying price change for each deviation. Section 517.9(5) prohibits abandoning or failing to perform without justification, and nonpayment by the owner counts as justification.
Sourcescdn.attorneygeneral.gov 1attorneygeneral.gov 2attorneygeneral.gov 3
Section 517.6 is the rule that catches marketing teams. A contractor must include its registration number in all advertisements distributed within Pennsylvania and on all contracts, estimates and proposals with owners in Pennsylvania. The statutory definition of advertisement is wide: a statement promoting home improvement services in a newspaper, periodical, pamphlet, circular, billboard, sign, letterhead, business card or other printed materials, or in announcements to the public on radio, television or the Internet. Two things are carved out. Sponsorship or recognition of sponsorship of civic, charitable or nonprofit events, teams or purposes is not an advertisement. Neither are writings or graphics on promotional clothing, pens, pencils, notepads or similar items. So a website, an online ad, a direct mail piece, a yard sign, a van wrap and a business card each carry the number, while a sponsored Little League banner and a branded pen do not. On vehicles the Office of Attorney General draws the line at advertising: if the vehicle carries an ad promoting the business, that ad must include the registration number, and if it carries no advertising, no number is required. On format, the Office says to use the letters PA plus the assigned number, that leading zeros may be dropped, so PA000372 may appear as PA372, and that the law does not dictate placement but the number must be clearly and conspicuously displayed where consumers can read it. The Office also suggests contract language naming the Bureau and its toll free number and stating that registration does not imply endorsement. Section 517.8(a)(8) makes publishing a false or deceptive advertisement about home improvement a criminal offense, and section 517.9(8) prohibits advertising or offering work the contractor does not intend to accept, perform or charge the advertised price for.
The Office of Attorney General states that any home improvement contractor who is not registered is prohibited from offering or performing home improvements, that failure to register violates the law, and that unregistered contractors face legal action including civil penalties of $1,000 or more. Section 517.9(1) names the failure to register as a prohibited act. Section 517.10 then makes a violation of any provision of HICPA a violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, which puts the Attorney General's civil enforcement machinery behind it and expressly preserves the owner's own rights under that law. Section 517.8 adds a criminal layer called home improvement fraud, reached by acts such as making a false or misleading statement to induce an agreement or to justify a price increase, taking advance payment and failing to perform or refund, concealing the contractor's real name or business address while soliciting, damaging property to generate work, or posing as a government or utility employee. Grading runs by amount: a felony of the third degree when the amount involved exceeds $2,000, and a misdemeanor of the first degree when it is $2,000 or less or cannot be satisfactorily ascertained. Amounts from one scheme or course of conduct may be aggregated across victims. Where the victim is 60 years of age or older the grade rises one step. A second or subsequent offense is a felony of the second degree regardless of amount. The sentencing court may revoke or suspend the certificate, and reinstatement requires a petition after five years. District attorneys may investigate and prosecute, and the Attorney General has authority over violations spanning more than one county or crossing a state line. Separately, a defective contract is unenforceable against the owner, though section 517.7(g) preserves a complying contractor's claim for the reasonable value of requested work.
Section 517.12 preempts the local layer that trips up remodelers in other states. Registration under HICPA precludes any requirement of payment of a fee, or of registration or licensing of any home improvement contractor, by any political subdivision. The Office of Attorney General puts a date on it: political subdivisions in Pennsylvania cannot separately license or register home improvement contractors after July 1, 2009. That means a borough or township cannot sell a remodeler a local contractor license on top of the PA number. Five things survive the preemption. Political subdivisions may still require building permits and local enforcement of their building code, and may charge a reasonable fee for that. The act does not affect a municipality's responsibilities or authority under the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act. It does not affect the requirements of section 302(e) of the Workers' Compensation Act regarding workers compensation. It does not affect licensing standards in effect on the act's effective date for electricians, plumbers and other trades where licensing is conditioned on testing or on certificates obtained through specific trade training, which is why city electrical and plumbing licenses remain real obligations. And it does not affect local liability insurance regulations or standards a municipality adopted before January 1, 2006 that were in effect on the section's effective date. In Pittsburgh the Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections handles permitting, licensing and code enforcement, runs the OneStopPGH permit center, and states that permit cost is calculated on the total construction value of the project. A remodeler working across Allegheny County municipalities therefore manages permits and inspections locally while carrying one state registration number everywhere.
Sourcescdn.attorneygeneral.gov 1attorneygeneral.gov 2pittsburghpa.gov 3
Philadelphia is the city where the preemption line gets tested, and the Department of Licenses and Inspections spells out the answer. L and I states that a business does not need a Philadelphia Contractor License if it only does home improvement work on one or two family dwellings, excluding electrical, plumbing and fire suppression work, but that it must register with the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, and that it can then apply for permits using its PA Home Improvement Contractor Registration. There is no additional fee to apply for permits that way. The city still layers its own conditions on submitting as a PA home improvement contractor. The contractor needs a Business Income and Receipts Tax identification number, a Commercial Activity License, proof of the PA Home Improvement Registration, and current standing on all City of Philadelphia taxes. The city also demands a Certificate of Insurance well above the state floor: general liability of $500,000 per occurrence, automobile liability insurance of $300,000, and workers compensation of $100,000 per accident, $100,000 per employee and a $500,000 policy limit. Excavation is its own carve-out, with home improvement contractors required to hold an Excavation Contractor License for excavation work under permits submitted on or after January 1, 2023. Step outside one and two family dwellings and the Philadelphia Contractor License applies: construction, demolition or repair work that does not require a specialized company license. That license costs $126, with a $20 non-refundable application fee applied toward it and the balance due on approval, and renews at $126, with 1.5% of the license fee added for each month a renewal runs more than 60 days late. It also requires named supervisors, each employed by only one company, who show completion of an approved OSHA 30 course taken within five years of the application date.
Sourcesphila.gov 1phila.gov 2
Section 517.3(b) requires the Bureau to maintain a toll free telephone number a caller can use to learn whether a contractor is registered, plus the same information on its website. The number is 1-888-520-6680, and it is one of the mandatory contract terms. The website is the Home Improvement Contractor Search at hicsearch.attorneygeneral.gov, which searches by registration number, business name, primary applicant, address, city, state, ZIP, county, phone and type of work. Section 517.3(c) limits what appears there: the Bureau may not disclose a contractor's Social Security number, driver's license number or other information the law protects, and a home address and home telephone number appear only where they double as the business address and business telephone number. The search site carries its own disclaimer that registration under HICPA is not an endorsement, recommendation or approval by the Office of Attorney General. Philadelphia runs a separate find a licensed contractor service through Licenses and Inspections. What Pennsylvania does not have is a homeowner recovery or guaranty fund for defective remodeling. The money HICPA collects flows into the Home Improvement Account, and the act appropriates it to the Attorney General for administering and enforcing the law and for consumer education, not for paying consumer claims. The only pooled money that can reach a homeowner is the home improvement retailer's irrevocable letter of credit, and only after the homeowner files a complaint with the Bureau, the Bureau investigates and determines the retailer is in default, and the Bureau draws on the letter as part of mediation or a Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law action. Everyone else pursues the contractor directly or under that law.
Sourcescdn.attorneygeneral.gov 1hicsearch.attorneygeneral.gov 2attorneygeneral.gov 3phila.gov 4
The Office of Attorney General states plainly that the law applies to out of state contractors: any contractor who offers or performs home improvements in Pennsylvania must comply. HICPA contains no reciprocity provision and no waiver for a license held elsewhere. A contractor licensed in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, West Virginia or Delaware files the same Pennsylvania application as a first time registrant. The act adds duties instead of removing them. Section 517.4(a)(1)(iv) requires an out of state corporation, limited liability company or limited partnership to name its Pennsylvania resident agent or registered office provider and any registration or license number issued by its home state or a political subdivision of that state. Section 517.4(b) requires any Pennsylvania registrant who is also registered or licensed as a home improvement contractor in another state or political subdivision to report that on the initial and biennial applications, and to report any disciplinary action taken there on the next biennial application or within 90 days of final disposition, whichever comes first. The Bureau notes multiple registrations on the contractor's record and notifies the other jurisdiction of discipline imposed in Pennsylvania. Other filings sit outside HICPA. The Bureau's instructions state that Pennsylvania law requires any business name other than a first and last name to be registered with the Department of State through the Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations before it is used. Workers compensation obligations are administered by the Bureau of Workers' Compensation at the Department of Labor and Industry under the Workers' Compensation Act, and section 517.12 expressly leaves municipal authority over section 302(e) of that act untouched. Registration information must be updated within 30 days of any change.
Sourcesattorneygeneral.gov 1cdn.attorneygeneral.gov 2attorneygeneral.gov 3pa.gov 4
These are common details other guides publish about Pennsylvania, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
No. Pennsylvania has no state remodeling license and no licensing board for the trade. The Office of Attorney General runs a registration program under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act instead. You register, get a PA number, and comply with the contract and advertising rules. There is no exam and no classification system.
Two numbers matter. A job counts as a home improvement when the total agreed price tops $500. A business must register once its home improvement work reaches $5,000 in a year, since the act excludes anyone whose total home improvement value was under $5,000 in the previous taxable year. Subcontractors register too.
The Office of Attorney General states the fee is now $100 every two years, for new and renewal applications, following a change to the Commonwealth Fiscal Code at 72 P.S. 1603-U. The act itself still prints $50. Registrations last two years and renew biennially. Updating an active registration is free.
No. HICPA sets no examination, no experience hours, no education requirement and no financial test. The Bureau reviews a complete application, your insurance proof, the fee and your background disclosures. The rebuilt online system also runs automated criminal docket checks. Applications can be approved, pended for correction, or denied.
At least $50,000 covering personal injury and at least $50,000 covering property damage caused by your work. A valid Certificate of Insurance goes with the application, and attested self-insurance is allowed on a Bureau form. Your contract must also commit to those amounts and state your current coverage at signing.
In all advertisements distributed in Pennsylvania and on all contracts, estimates and proposals with Pennsylvania owners. That covers websites, internet and broadcast announcements, billboards, signs, letterhead, business cards and printed materials. Sponsorship recognition and branded pens or notepads are excluded. Use the letters PA plus your number, clearly and conspicuously placed.
Only if the truck advertises the business. The Office of Attorney General says the law requires the number in any advertisement, so a vehicle carrying an ad promoting your business must show it. A vehicle with no business advertising on it needs no number. Lettered vans and wrapped trailers count as advertising.
Three business days from the date of signing, without penalty, no matter where the contract was signed. The only exception is qualifying emergency work under section 201-7 of the Unfair Trade Practices law, with the required waiver obtained. Omit the cancellation notice and the whole contract may be voidable later.
One third of the contract price, or one third plus the cost of special order materials designated in the written contract. The two amounts are listed separately in the contract. You cannot demand or receive any payment before the contract is signed. The act leaves the payment schedule for the balance to negotiation.
No. Registration under the act precludes any political subdivision from requiring a fee, registration or licensing of a home improvement contractor, and the Office of Attorney General dates that bar to July 1, 2009. Municipalities keep building permits, code enforcement, workers compensation requirements, and pre-existing electrician and plumber licensing.
Licenses and Inspections says no Philadelphia Contractor License is needed for home improvement work on one or two family dwellings, excluding electrical, plumbing and fire suppression. You submit as a PA Home Improvement Contractor instead, with a BIRT number, Commercial Activity License, tax compliance and a city insurance certificate above the state floor.
No homeowner recovery or guaranty fund exists. Fees and penalties go into the Home Improvement Account, which the act appropriates to the Attorney General for enforcement and consumer education. Only a large retailer's irrevocable letter of credit can be drawn on, after a Bureau investigation and a default finding. Homeowners otherwise pursue the contractor.
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