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Pennsylvania: under $5,000 a year before you need a contractor registration
In Pennsylvania you need no state contractor registration while your work comes to under $5,000 a year, all jobs together. Plumbing and electrical: local license (city or county); HVAC: no statewide license found. Read from Pennsylvania's own pages, checked November 6, 2026.
The limit in Pennsylvania
The limit: Under $5,000 a year, all jobs together (home improvement). You can earn under $5,000 a year without registering: a 12-month total of all your jobs together, not a per-job limit. In short: no registration if your home-improvement work totaled under $5,000 in the previous tax year (an annual total, not per job); it is a registration, not a license.
What counts: "A person for whom the total cash value of all of that person's home improvements is less than $5,000 during the previous taxable year." The state's words do not say whether materials count toward the limit.
Conditions: annual total of all home improvements in the previous taxable year, not per job; applies to home improvement (residential) work.
Pennsylvania has no state contractor license; HICPA requires registration (not a competency license) with the Attorney General. Cities and townships may require their own licenses.
Licenses in Pennsylvania
General contractors: State registration, home improvement only. No state license for most construction contractors. Home improvement contractors with $5,000+ of work a year must register with the Attorney General (annual threshold, not a job value). Some municipalities license contractors locally.
Plumbing: Local license (city or county). No state license; some of PA's municipalities license plumbers/plumbing contractors (Dept. of Labor & Industry).
Electrical: Local license (city or county). No state license; some municipalities license electricians/electrical contractors (Dept. of Labor & Industry).
HVAC: no statewide license found. HVAC is not named on the state's page, which says only that the state does not license most construction contractors.
Your license number in Pennsylvania
Your license number: Registered home improvement contractors must show the number on advertising, contracts, estimates and proposals. None of these rules names invoices.
In the rule's words: “A contractor shall include its registration number in all advertisements distributed within this Commonwealth and on all contracts, estimates and proposals with owners in this Commonwealth.” (73 P.S. § 517.6 (HICPA § 6); also § 517.7(a)(1) — a home improvement contract is not valid or enforceable unless it contains the registration number)
Pennsylvania's board, and when this was checked
The board: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Protection (Home Improvement Contractor Registration). As of November 6, 2026. Dates on the state's pages: AG registration page: new system effective 2026-04-24; grace period to 2026-06-08.
This is a summary of each state's own pages as of November 6, 2026, not legal advice. Rules change, and cities and counties add licenses of their own. Check with your state's board, linked on this page, before you rely on it.
Compare Pennsylvania with every state's limit.
Next door to Pennsylvania
- Delaware: no small-job exemption
- Maryland: no small-job exemption
- New Jersey: no small-job exemption
- New York: no state license
- Ohio: no state license
- West Virginia: under $5,000 per job
Official sources for Pennsylvania
5 of Pennsylvania's own pages, each quoted with its link:
- Act of Oct. 17, 2008, P.L. 1645, No. 132 - Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (73 P.S. § 517.2): “The term does not include any of the following: (1) A person for whom the total cash value of all of that person's home improvements is less than $5,000 during the previous taxable year.”
- Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Section 6 and 7 (73 P.S. § 517.6; § 517.7(a)(1)): “Section 6. Proof of registration. A contractor shall include its registration number in all advertisements distributed within this Commonwealth and on all contracts, estimates and proposals with owners in this Commonwealth.”
- Contractor Frequently Asked Questions - PA Office of Attorney General: “must include their registration number in their advertisements, contracts, estimates and proposals”
- Home Improvement Contractor Registration - PA Office of Attorney General (73 P.S. § 517.1, et seq.): “All contractors who perform at least $5,000 worth of home improvements per year register with the Attorney General's Office.”
- Contractor Licensing - PA Department of Labor & Industry: “The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania currently has no licensure or certification requirements for most construction contractors (or their employees). ... Typically, these requirements pertain to home improvement contractors, electrical contractors (or electricians), and plumbing contractors (or plumbers).”
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