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Quick answer
Pennsylvania's credential is a home improvement contractor registration, filed with a bureau of the Office of Attorney General through its online registration system. A person whose home improvements totaled less than $5,000 in cash value during the previous taxable year is outside the act's definition of contractor. As of May 16, 2026, the registration fee is $100 per two years.
Home improvement contractor registration (no exam)
The Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act says no person shall hold himself out as a contractor, nor perform any home improvement, without first registering with the bureau. The Office of Attorney General runs Pennsylvania's online Home Improvement Contractor Registration System, used to register, renew or update a contractor registration.
Home improvement contractor registration (no exam). The Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act says no person shall hold himself out as a contractor, nor perform any home improvement, without first registering with the bureau. The Office of Attorney General runs Pennsylvania's online Home Improvement Contractor Registration System, used to register, renew or update a contractor registration.
Threshold. The term contractor does not include 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.
No person shall hold himself out as a contractor, nor shall a person perform any home improvement without first registering with the bureau, as provided for in this act.
Welcome to Pennsylvania’s online Home Improvement Contractor Registration System. Use this site to register, renew, or update your contractor registration with the PA Office of Attorney General.
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.
Any person who owns and operates a home improvement business or who undertakes, offers to undertake or agrees to perform any home improvement; the act's definition of home improvement does not include the construction of a new home
“Contractor.” Any person who owns and operates a home improvement business or who undertakes, offers to undertake or agrees to perform any home improvement.
Liability insurance. 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 act says proof of insurance may include information attested to by an applicant that the applicant is self-insured. Source: 73 P.S. § 517.4(a)(1)(ix); PA Office of Attorney General, HIC Registration
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.
For the purpose of this subparagraph, proof of insurance may include information attested to by an applicant that the applicant is self-insured and the bureau shall develop forms for this purpose and make them available to applicants.
The act says no person shall fail to register as required by the act, and a violation of any of its provisions is deemed a violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. The Office of Attorney General's registration page says non-compliance may result in penalties and unenforceable contracts.
No person shall: (1) Fail to register as required by this act.
How Pennsylvania handles home improvement contractors
Pennsylvania's credential for this work is the home improvement contractor registration. Under the state's home improvement act, a person may not hold himself out as a contractor or perform any home improvement until registered with the bureau [1]. That bureau sits in the Office of Attorney General, which runs an online system where contractors register, renew or update a registration [2].
The act's definition of contractor turns on running a home improvement business or taking on, offering or agreeing to do home improvement work [1]. New home construction falls outside the act's meaning of home improvement [1].
The prior-year cash value carve-out
The definition of contractor also carves out a person whose home improvements, taken together, had a total cash value under $5,000 during the previous taxable year [1].
Liability insurance and self-insurance
Among the items an application includes, the act calls for proof of liability insurance. An applicant shows coverage for personal injury of not less than $50,000 and coverage for property damage caused by the contractor's work of not less than $50,000 [1]. The Attorney General's registration page repeats the personal injury minimum of $50,000 [2].
The same provision lets that proof include an applicant's own attestation of self-insurance, on forms the bureau is to develop and make available [1].
Cost and the two-year cycle
The Attorney General's registration page states the charge. As of May 16, 2026, the registration fee is $100 per two years [2].
The statute places renewals on a biennial basis [1], which lines up with the two-year fee period on the agency's page. The same online system that takes new registrations also handles renewals and updates [2].
Consequences of skipping registration
The act lists prohibited acts, and failing to register as the act requires is one of them [1]. A breach of any provision of the act is treated as a breach of the state's unfair trade practices law of December 17, 1968 (P.L. 1224, No. 387) [1].
The Attorney General's registration page adds that non-compliance with the act may bring penalties and leave contracts unenforceable [2].
