Plumbers in Bucks County, PA: local licenses, septic permits and complaints
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
What should Bucks County homeowners know before hiring a plumber?
That the rules are local. The county's municipal directory lists 54 townships and boroughs, and each one decides whether plumbers need its own license and who handles permits. The county health department, not the towns, permits septic systems. And Bucks has a county consumer protection office that will mediate a dispute with a contractor.
Who licenses plumbers in Bucks County?
Your township or borough, if anyone does. The state has no plumbing license, and the Department of Labor and Industry says local plumbing licenses are known only to the municipality where the work takes place.
Bristol Borough shows what a local scheme can look like. Its code, dating from 1966, says every master and journeyman plumber must obtain a license from the Borough Plumbing Board before doing any plumbing work, and that both must pass the examinations of the Regional Examination Board of the Lower Bucks County Regional Corporation Council. Other Bucks towns have their own rules or none. The state's home improvement law allowed licensing standards of this kind, tied to testing, to survive after 2009, while barring new local registration schemes for general contractors.
On top of any local license, a plumber working on your home will usually need the state's home improvement registration: the Attorney General's office says master plumbers doing repairs or installations on private homes must register. The Attorney General's contractor search can be filtered by county and by "Plumbing" as the type of work.
What if your Bucks County home has a septic system?
Then two offices matter. The Bucks County Health Department permits new and repaired septic systems and holding tanks, helps owners investigate and repair a malfunctioning system, responds to written complaints, and licenses the trucks that pump and haul sewage in the county. Its sewage program is on 215-345-3318. The same page points owners to low-cost state financing, through PENNVEST and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, for repairing or replacing an on-lot system or connecting to public sewer for the first time.
The plumbing inside the house feeds that system, so what goes down the drains matters. The EPA's advice for septic homes is to have the system inspected at least every three years, to expect pumping every three to five years, and to avoid chemical drain openers, using boiling water or a drain snake instead. Keep sump pump and roof drain discharge away from the drainfield.
What do Census figures say about Bucks County homes?
That they are newer than the region's average and owned by long-time residents. Only 9.9 percent of the county's 257,260 homes were first built in 1939 or earlier, the lowest share of the five counties in this directory, against 39.9 percent in Philadelphia. The owner-occupancy rate, 77.8 percent, is the highest of the five, and in 14.1 percent of occupied homes the householder moved in during 1989 or earlier, also the highest.
Newer is a relative term. The EPA says lead pipes are more likely in homes built before 1986, and that brass faucets and lead solder are the most common problem in homes without a lead service line. Your water utility should know what your service line is made of: under the federal rules described by the state Department of Environmental Protection, a utility that has lead, galvanized-requiring-replacement or unknown lines must notify the people they serve every year. If the utility has no record, the EPA says a licensed plumber may be able to help identify it.
Who issues plumbing permits in Bucks County?
The township or borough again, through its code office or the inspection agency it uses. Pennsylvania's construction code requires a permit before installing or replacing a regulated plumbing system, treats new or relocated water, drain and vent piping as more than an ordinary repair, and leaves the details to local enforcement. With 54 municipalities, a permit answer in Bensalem may not hold in Doylestown, so ask the office for your address and expect the plumber to file.
Where can you complain about a plumber in Bucks County?
Bucks County Consumer Protection/Weights and Measures, at 1260 Almshouse Road in Doylestown, says it mediates complaints against businesses whether or not they are based in the county. Among the problems it lists are false statements that repairs are needed and incomplete or unsatisfactory home repairs. Call 215-348-6060 or file its complaint form online. How to choose a plumber lists the checks that prevent most disputes, and plumbers who serve the county are on the Bucks County plumbers page.
Sources
- Municipalities, Bucks County
- Chapter 17: Plumbing, Borough of Bristol (Bucks County), via eCode360
- Contractor Licensing, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry
- Frequently Asked Questions: Home Improvement Contractor Registration, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- 34 Pa. Code § 403.62. Permit requirements and exemptions., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)
- Sewage Program, Bucks County
- How to Care for Your Septic System, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- Lead and Copper Rule, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
- Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Consumer Protection/ Weights & Measures, Bucks County
- Home Improvement Contractor Search, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General