How to check a contractor license in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania doesn't license general contractors, but anyone doing $5,000 or more of home improvement work a year must register with the Attorney General. Search the contractor's PA number or business name in the Home Improvement Contractor Search, which lists only active registrations. Registration isn't an endorsement of skill, and Philadelphia licenses its own plumbers and electricians.

How do I look up a contractor's license status in Pennsylvania?

Search the contractor's PA registration number in the Attorney General's Home Improvement Contractor Search. Pennsylvania doesn't issue a state contractor license, so the home improvement registration is the record to check.

Find the PA number. The contractor has to print it on ads, contracts, estimates and proposals, so check the estimate first.
Open the Attorney General's Home Improvement Contractor Search on a computer or a device with a larger screen, because the site says small screens aren't supported. We last checked this lookup on 2026-10-19.
Search by registration number for an exact match. You can also search by business name, primary applicant, county or type of work.
Confirm the contractor shows up. The search only displays active registrations, so if the name or number isn't there, ask the contractor why.
If the search won't work for you, call the Attorney General's home improvement helpline at 1-888-520-6680.

Don't lean on the type of work field. The Attorney General says it's new and has limited data for most existing contractors, so a search by name or number is the safer bet.

Does Pennsylvania require a general contractor license?

No. Instead, the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act requires home improvement contractors to register with the Attorney General. Contractors who do less than $5,000 of home improvement work in a calendar year are exempt, and so are home improvement retailers with a net worth over $50 million.

A handyman who does less than $5,000 of work a year doesn't have to register, so a missing registration isn't always a problem. For anyone bidding on a full remodel or a new roof, though, a missing registration is worth a direct question.

What does a PA home improvement registration number mean?

It means the contractor has registered with the Attorney General under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act. The number reads PA followed by digits, such as PA123456, and the Attorney General says registration is not an endorsement of the contractor's competency or skill.

To register, a contractor must show proof of at least $50,000 of personal injury liability coverage and $50,000 of property damage coverage. That proof is given at registration, so it doesn't tell you the policy is still in force on your job. The number also has to appear on every ad, contract, estimate and proposal, and a contract without one deserves a second look.

Who licenses electricians and plumbers in Pennsylvania?

Trade licenses are handled locally, not by the Attorney General. The home improvement registration isn't a trade license, and Philadelphia, for example, issues its own master plumber, journeyman plumber and electrical contractor licenses.

Philadelphia also issues a contractor license of its own, so a job inside the city may need more than the state registration. Outside Philadelphia, ask the local building or code office what it requires for electrical and plumbing work.

What does a Pennsylvania registration not tell you?

It doesn't tell you whether the contractor does good work. The search results come from what the contractor wrote on the registration form, and they don't show whether insurance is current today. The Attorney General suggests checking references and getting more than one bid, and you should ask for a current certificate of insurance too.

A job near a state line can involve a contractor based next door, so check that state's records too. The lookups for New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia and Ohio are on their own pages.

Every state handles this differently, and the guide on how to check a contractor license, state by state covers each one. This article is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm details with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office or your local building office.

Sources

Agents can keep these contractors in Proferral

Proferral is a free app real estate agents use to keep a go-to list of the providers they trust and to remember every referral they send. Its license checks cover Oregon and Washington only, so for Pennsylvania you still run the lookup above by hand. Here's how Proferral's license checks work.

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