How to choose a handyman in Pennsylvania
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
Where do you start?
With the job list, not the person. Write down every repair you want done, then sort it into two piles: work a handyman may do, and work that needs a licensed trade or a permit. The second pile decides whether a handyman is the right hire at all, and the first pile is what you will ask each candidate to quote.
Pennsylvania has no handyman license, so the checks below are what stand in for one.
Which jobs belong in the licensed-trade pile?
Anything that adds or moves wiring, water, drain or gas piping, or touches a heating system. The state's building code regulation treats adding to or relocating piping, wiring or mechanical systems as more than an ordinary repair, and it treats cutting a load-bearing wall or beam the same way. Those jobs usually need a permit, and in many places they need a licensed trade too.
Where they do depends on the address. The Department of Labor and Industry says some municipalities license electrical and plumbing contractors, keeps no list of them, and says the only way to find out is to ask the municipality where the work will be done. Philadelphia requires city trade licenses for plumbers and electricians and says a licensed contractor must do permitted work in those trades. Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County licenses its electrical, plumbing, heating and alarm contractors separately from state registration.
Is the handyman registered with the state?
Ask, then check. A business that did $5,000 or more of home improvement work in the previous year must register with the Attorney General, and the number, "PA" followed by digits, must appear on its ads, estimates and contracts. You can look it up in the Home Improvement Contractor Search or call 1-888-520-6680.
A handyman under the $5,000 line is not breaking the law by being unregistered. But the Attorney General's questions and answers are clear that a few jobs a year is the only exemption, so someone who works at it full time, or who takes jobs as a subcontractor for a larger company, should have a number. If they say they do not need one, ask why.
Remember what the number does not mean. The Attorney General says registration is not an endorsement of a contractor's competency, honesty or quality of work.
Do they carry insurance?
Ask for a current certificate, not a promise. Registered contractors had to show the state at least $50,000 of personal injury liability and $50,000 of property damage coverage when they applied. Lower Merion's licensing office tells residents to always ask for a current certificate of insurance from anyone working on their home, because certificates expire at different times of year. The Attorney General also suggests calling your own insurer before you sign a contract, to make sure the work is covered.
Is your house older than 1978?
If so, ask about lead certification before anyone sands, scrapes, cuts or drills painted surfaces. The EPA's rule covers carpenters and other special trade contractors as well as painters, and firms cannot advertise or perform covered work in pre-1978 homes without firm certification. The rule exempts small jobs: up to six square feet of disturbed paint per room inside, or 20 square feet outside, as long as the job is not window replacement and uses no prohibited practice. A handyman who says lead rules never apply to small jobs is mistaken about windows, which the EPA covers at any size.
How many quotes should you get?
More than one. The Attorney General's advice is to check references, get more than one bid and look for complaints with the Better Business Bureau. Ask each handyman to quote the same written list so the numbers compare, and to say whether the price covers materials, travel and cleanup. If the work will be billed by the hour, Pennsylvania law requires a written initial estimate first, and the final bill may not run more than 10% over it without a change order you sign.
What should the written agreement say?
For a home improvement over $500, the law requires a written contract signed by both of you, with the work described, approximate start and finish dates, the total price and notice of your right to cancel within three business days. Even for a smaller job, putting the same points in writing makes a dispute easier to settle.
What should make you walk away?
The warning signs the Attorney General lists after storms apply to handyman work too: an unsolicited pitch at the door, a request for a large sum before any contract, and no written estimate. Others follow from the law above:
- No registration number on a business that clearly works full time.
- An offer to do new wiring or plumbing "without the hassle of a permit".
- Pressure to sign the same day, which costs you nothing to refuse.
- A refusal to put an hourly job's estimate in writing.
How do you check references?
Ask for two or three recent customers with jobs like yours, and ask them whether the work was finished on the date promised, whether the price changed and how any problem was handled. The handyman cost guide explains the charges to compare, the Pennsylvania rules guide explains registration and permits in more detail, and local businesses are on the handyman services page.
Sources
- Contractor Licensing, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry
- Renovation, Repair and Painting Program: Contractors, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Find a licensed contractor and contractor information, City of Philadelphia
- Get an Electrical Permit, City of Philadelphia
- Get a Plumbing Permit, City of Philadelphia
- Licensed Contractor List, Lower Merion Township
- AG Sunday Warns Consumers of Potential Scams Following Storms and Flooding, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- Home Improvement Contractor Verification, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- 34 Pa. Code § 403.62. Permit requirements and exemptions., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)
- Home Improvement Contractor Search, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- Frequently Asked Questions: Home Improvement Contractor Registration, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General