Hiring a Plumber in Pennsylvania

How licensing works in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania doesn’t issue a statewide plumbing license. That surprises many people who have moved from states that do. Instead, three layers can apply to a plumber working on your house:

1. State registration for home improvement contractors. Under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (Act 132 of 2008), contractors who do residential home improvement work above a yearly dollar threshold must register with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Registration is not a skills license: there is no trade exam. It identifies the business and gives consumers certain protections.
2. Local plumbing licenses. Some cities and counties license plumbers themselves. Philadelphia licenses master plumbers through its Department of Licenses and Inspections, and the Allegheny County Health Department licenses apprentice, journeyman and master plumbers in its area. In Harrisburg, installing or replacing plumbing pipe requires a master plumber licensed by the City.
3. Local permits and inspections. Most municipalities administer the state building code (the Uniform Construction Code) themselves or through a third-party agency, and plumbing work such as water heater replacement or repiping often needs a permit.

So the right question isn’t only “Are you licensed?” It is: “Are you registered with the Attorney General, do you hold any license my municipality requires, and will you pull the permit?”

What registration gives you

Home improvement contractor registration matters because the same law sets rules for the contracts those contractors use. Among them:

• A written contract signed by both parties for covered home improvement work, including the contractor’s registration number.
• A right to cancel a covered contract within three business days of signing, without penalty. Emergency work requested by the homeowner can be treated differently.
• Limits on deposits for larger jobs.

You can check whether a contractor is registered through the Attorney General’s website or its consumer protection hotline. The law is detailed and has exceptions, so for a large job, read the Attorney General’s consumer brochure or ask a lawyer if anything in a contract is unclear.

Before you call

A few minutes of preparation makes the call faster and the quote more accurate:

• Describe the symptom precisely. “Every drain in the basement backs up when the washer runs” is more useful than “the plumbing is clogged.”
• Know your shutoff. If water is leaking, close the main shutoff first; see how to shut off your water.
• Note the age of the house and anything you know about the pipes: galvanized, cast iron, clay lateral, recent repairs.
• Have photos ready, especially of the water heater label or the area around a leak.

Questions to ask on the phone

• How do you charge? A flat diagnostic fee, a trip charge, hourly rates, or a flat price per job? Is it different at night or on weekends?
• What does the visit include? For a clog, does the price include a camera look if the line is cleared?
• Are you registered with the Attorney General? Ask for the registration number.
• Do you hold any license my municipality requires? This matters most in cities with their own plumbing licenses.
• Will you pull the permit if one is needed?
• When can you come, and will you call ahead?

When the plumber arrives

• Ask for the diagnosis before the repair. A good plumber explains what failed and why, and shows you if possible.
• Get options in writing for anything beyond a small repair: repair versus replacement, materials and price.
• For sewer work, ask for the camera video and the measured distance to each defect before agreeing to dig. Our sewer camera inspection page explains why.
• Confirm the price before work starts, and that the total won’t change without your approval.

What a good quote includes

• The scope of work in plain language.
• Materials and their brand or type where relevant (for example, PEX or copper for a repipe).
• Who pulls permits and arranges inspections.
• What happens to walls, floors or landscaping that have to be opened.
• The payment schedule, deposit and how changes are approved.
• Any warranty on parts and labour, and who provides it.

Comparing two quotes

For bigger jobs, such as a sewer line, a repipe or a water heater replacement, two quotes are common. They are only comparable if they describe the same work. Put them side by side and check:

• The method. A quote for lining a sewer lateral and a quote for digging and replacing it are different jobs with different lifespans and disruption. See trenchless sewer repair for the trade-offs.
• The extent. Does one quote replace the whole run and the other only a section? Does a water heater quote include the expansion tank, venting and haul-away?
• Materials and sizes. Pipe type, diameter, and for water heaters the capacity and fuel.
• Permits and restoration. One quote may include the permit fee and patching, the other not.
• Evidence. For sewer work, both quotes should be based on current camera footage, ideally the same footage.

If the prices are far apart, ask each plumber to explain the difference. A careful answer is often more revealing than the number itself. For water heaters, our water heater repair page explains when repair is a reasonable alternative to replacement.

Red flags

• Pressure to decide on the spot for non-emergency work, especially with a discount that disappears if you wait.
• No written contract for a large job.
• Reluctance to show the evidence, such as camera footage for a sewer repair.
• A large cash deposit before any work or materials.
• Avoiding permits for work that clearly needs them, such as a new water heater or a sewer replacement. Unpermitted work can cause problems when you sell.

Emergencies

In an emergency the priorities change: stop the water, make it safe, and get a qualified plumber. You can still ask about the call-out charge and how the work is priced before the plumber heads out, and you can ask for a temporary repair now and quotes for the permanent fix later. See emergency plumbing for the first ten minutes.

About our referral service

Keystone Sewer Connect is a referral service. When you call, we connect you with an independent local plumbing business that serves your address. We don’t perform plumbing work, and providers set their own prices and schedules and hold their own registrations and licenses. The questions above apply to any plumber you hire, including one you reach through us. Our how calls work page explains the process.

Hiring a plumber questions