How to check a contractor's license in Pennsylvania

Which registration or license does the contractor need in Pennsylvania?

Sources: the HIC Act; PLI's Licensing Rules and Regulations and Trade Licenses page; Allegheny County Health Department; all read 20 October 2026. L&I says local licenses, "typically" for home improvement contractors, electricians and plumbers, are set by some of the state's 2,562 municipalities and it "maintains no records" of which, so outside Pittsburgh call the borough or township. PLI's own General Contractor page says the city license "is required for all work performed under a Commercial Building Permit".

The exact registration line is in the Act's definition of "contractor": it leaves out a person whose home improvements came to "less than $5,000 during the previous taxable year" (73 P.S. § 517.2). Home improvement retailers with a net worth of $50 million or more need not register, but "subcontractors and independent contractors performing home improvements for these retailers must be registered" (AG instructions). Building a new home is not a "home improvement" under the Act (§ 517.2).

Electrician license lookup in Pittsburgh

Pennsylvania has no state electrician license. In Pittsburgh the electrician needs a City of Pittsburgh Electrical Trade License, held by a person and issued by PLI, and the firm needs HIC registration with the Attorney General for home improvement work. Two checks:

1. The city trade license. PLI's rules say "Trade licensees must carry a copy of their PLI-issued trade license at all times" while working under permits (Licensing Rules). Ask to see it, note the name and number, and confirm it with PLI on 412-255-2175. We found no public trade-license search on PLI's pages.
2. The HIC registration. Search the firm's PA number at hicsearch.attorneygeneral.gov. It proves registration and insurance, not electrical skill.

What our file shows: 329 firms filed 4,618 electrical permits in Pittsburgh from October 2023 to September 2026; 19.1% match an active Electrical Trade License by name, and 85.9% of the permits were finished, the usual one in 43 days. The match rate is low because the license is in a person's name and permits are often filed under the company's, so a company with no match is not shown to be unlicensed. See every Pittsburgh electrician by permit record.

What an HIC registration proves, and what it does not

Registration is not a test of skill. To register, the contractor gives the Attorney General its details, pays the fee ("$100 every two years" since a Fiscal Code change, per the AG; the Act's own text and older guides still say $50) and shows insurance of at least $50,000 for personal injury and $50,000 for property damage (§ 517.4). There is no exam.

So a valid PA number tells you three things: the firm is on file with the state, it says it carried that insurance, and it can be traced if something goes wrong. It does not tell you whether the firm's work passed inspection.

The number must appear "in all advertisements" and on every contract, estimate and proposal (§ 517.6). A quote with no PA number on it is the first thing to ask about.

How to look a Pennsylvania contractor up, step by step

1. Find the PA number on the quote, the truck, or the website. If it is missing, ask for it.
2. Open the AG's Verify a Contractor's HICPA Registration search, linked from the AG's registration page, and search for the PA number or the business name. We could not load the search itself on 20 October 2026, so we do not describe its fields; if it fails for you, use the HelpLine in step 4.
3. Check that the name and address match the quote, and that the registration has not expired.
4. If nothing comes back, call the AG HelpLine on 1-888-520-6680. The AG moved registration to a new online system on 24 April 2026 and says paper applications sent since 8 August 2025 are still being processed, so a firm that filed on paper may not show yet. Ask the contractor for the date it filed.
5. In Pittsburgh, ask to see the city general contractor license, or the HIC registration it uses in place of one, and for electrical or HVAC work the individual's trade license. PLI's rules say "Trade licensees must carry a copy of their PLI-issued trade license at all times" while working under permits. PLI's line is 412-255-2175 (Licensing Rules, amended 12 March 2026).
6. For plumbing, search the plumber on the county's Search for Master Plumbers. Only a registered master plumber with a current license, or the owner-occupant of an existing single-family home, may apply for a plumbing permit there.

We could not find a public license search on PLI's own pages; they describe applying through OneStopPGH, not looking someone up.

What the contract has to say under Pennsylvania law

The Act puts most of the homeowner's protection in the contract, not the registration. A home improvement contract is not "valid or enforceable against an owner" unless it has these (§ 517.7(a)):

Three money rules sit next to it. You may cancel "without penalty" within three business days of signing (§ 517.7(b)), and the AG said on 1 May 2026 that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed you can cancel "by phone, in writing, or in person, as long as the contractor has actual notice". Cancel in a way you can prove. The contractor cannot take any payment before the contract is signed (§ 517.9(9)). On a contract over $5,000 the deposit is capped at one-third of the price plus the cost of special-order materials named in the contract (§ 517.9(10)).

Penalties in Pennsylvania

A violation of the Act "shall be deemed a violation" of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (§ 517.10). Home improvement fraud is a third-degree felony when the amount involved exceeds $2,000 and a first-degree misdemeanor at $2,000 or less; it is graded one step higher when the victim is 60 or older, and a second offence is a second-degree felony whatever the amount (§ 517.8(c)). In Pittsburgh, PLI can suspend a city license for up to 365 days, or revoke it for up to 365 days or longer (Rule V(2)).

What the file shows in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh publishes its permits, and we read them. We matched the contractor named on each permit against the city's own license lists (general contractor and trade licenses), not against the Attorney General's registry:

The electrical and HVAC "no match" figures are mostly how the license works, not a finding: PLI issues trade licenses "to individuals, not to companies", so a permit filed as a company has no trade license under that name. The remodel figures have a different gap. A firm can work on its HIC registration instead of a city license, and the AG publishes no bulk file we could match against, so the 123 remodel firms whose matched city license is no longer current are not shown to be unlicensed. Check their PA number.

What separates remodelers here is the finish record: 62.3% of remodel permits are finished, and among the 28 firms with 10 or more permits, 15 finished fewer than 70%. One more limit: in mid-2024 the city moved residential building work to a permit type that does not name the contractor, so our remodel records are mostly October 2023 to June 2024. Electrical and HVAC run the full three years. Plumbing permits come from the county, not the city, so they are not in our Pittsburgh file.

The five-minute version: look the PA number up on the AG search, ask a Pittsburgh firm for its city license or the HIC it uses in its place, then open its page with us and compare its finished share with the 62.3% city-wide figure.

Red flags on a Pennsylvania contractor

• No PA number on the estimate, the ad or the contract.
• A PA number that returns a different business name, or none at all with no pending application the firm can date.
• A deposit above one-third on a job over $5,000, or any payment asked for before you sign.
• A contract with no start and finish dates, no insurance amounts or no notice of your three-day right to cancel.
• An electrician or HVAC firm in Pittsburgh that cannot name the person whose city trade license covers the job.
• A plumber who is not on the county's master plumber search.

See every Pittsburgh remodeler by their permit record →