Indiana to Pennsylvania: residential contractor license reciprocity

Why this level is Hybrid. Section 517.12 of the Act preempts most local licensing of home improvement contractors: "Registration under this act shall preclude any requirement of payment of a fee or registration or licensing of any home improvement contractor by any political subdivision. Political subdivisions shall be permitted to require building permits and local enforcement of the building code for that political subdivision, for which a reasonable fee may be charged." The preemption is not total. It leaves untouched a municipality's authority under the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, workers' compensation requirements, licensing standards in effect on July 1, 2009 for electricians, plumbers and other trades that test or certify, and liability-insurance standards adopted before January 1, 2006. More importantly, the state registration only covers home improvement - so building a new house, or working on a residential building of three or more units, falls outside it and back into whatever the city requires.

Philadelphia. The Department of Licenses and Inspections draws the line in so many words: "You don't need this license if your business only does work on existing one-or-two-family dwellings and does not do work that requires a special trade license. Instead, the company must submit as a Home Improvement Contractor after registering with the State." A remodeler therefore registers with the Attorney General, then registers that PA number with L&I through eCLIPSE to pull permits; there is no additional city fee for it, but the company still needs a Business Income and Receipts Tax ID, a Commercial Activity License, current City taxes, and a Certificate of Insurance showing general liability of $500,000 per occurrence, automobile liability of $300,000 and workers' compensation of $100,000 per accident, $100,000 per employee and a $500,000 policy limit. Excavation under permits submitted on or after January 1, 2023 also needs an Excavation Contractor License. Build a new house, work on a larger residential building, or take on complete demolition, electrical, plumbing or fire suppression, and the state registration is no longer enough: that is the Philadelphia Contractor License at $126 a year, described at the general level.

Pittsburgh. The Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections requires a General Contractor License for the construction of new one- or two-family dwellings and for renovations and additions to rental or investment residential properties, as well as for commercial work and demolition. The application takes a valid photo ID, a general liability certificate of at least $1,000,000 each occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate, a workers' compensation certificate, a Tax Compliance Letter from the City's Department of Finance, and an EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) certification in lead-safe construction practices, which is good for five years. The license is $90 to obtain and $90 to renew each year under the 2026 fee schedule, expires 365 days from the date of issuance, and carries a 60-day grace period with a $50 late fee from day 31. There is no exam and no experience requirement. Applications run through OneStopPGH; PLI is at 412 Boulevard of the Allies, 412-255-2175.

Scranton. Code Enforcement issues a city Home Improvement Contractor License for residential work. The application takes the standard identification, indemnification, disclosure and affidavit items, a copy of the contractor's Pennsylvania Home Improvement Contractor registration certificate, and a reference letter from an employer or client. It costs $150 initially and $125 to renew, with a $50 late fee; renewals are due before your first permit of the calendar year or by March 31, whichever comes first. Work on a residential building of three or more units needs Scranton's General Contractor License instead.

Allegheny County. The county issues road and bridge, food facility, lead and asbestos, plumbing and pool permits, but no contractor license of any kind, so a residential contractor outside Pittsburgh city limits deals with the local municipality's code office.

Everywhere else. Most Pennsylvania municipalities license nothing and simply enforce the Uniform Construction Code through permits and inspections, which they may charge a reasonable fee for. Ask the local code office before you contract, and expect the state registration to be the only credential you are asked for.

Arriving from another state. There is no state examination to sit, nothing that a license from your last state can be exchanged for, and no shorter route for an experienced contractor. Register with the Office of Attorney General, carry the insurance, put your PA number on every advertisement, contract, estimate and proposal, and use written contracts that meet the Act's terms. Then add the city credential wherever you plan to build new homes or work beyond simple home improvement.

How it works in Indiana. There is no state contractor board, no state application and no state exam, so each city or county writes its own contractor ordinance under the state building code. A residential builder must hold whatever credential the jurisdiction issues in every place where they pull permits, and a license from one Indiana jurisdiction does not carry into the next. The credentials fall into two very different kinds. In Fort Wayne and Allen County, Evansville and Hammond a person sits a written examination and is approved by a licensing board; in Indianapolis and South Bend the license is a business filing backed by a surety bond and insurance with no test at all; and in Monroe County, which covers Bloomington, signing up as a general contractor is optional. Nothing an arriving contractor holds from another state waives any of it, and none of the jurisdictions below publishes a route that converts an out-of-state residential builder license into a local one.

Indianapolis and Marion County. The Department of Business and Neighborhood Services issues a single General Contractor license that covers houses as well as commercial work; the same application form carries checkboxes for Electrical, General, HVAC, Plumbing and Wrecking. The packet is proof of business registration (Indiana Secretary of State, or a county DBA filing for a sole proprietor or partnership), a certificate of insurance naming the Consolidated City of Indianapolis and Marion County as certificate holder and additional insured with general liability of at least $500,000 for each occurrence of death or bodily injury and $100,000 for each occurrence of property damage, or $500,000 per occurrence combined, worker's compensation coverage or a Worker's Compensation Board exemption waiver, and a typed $10,000 license or permit surety bond naming "Consolidated City of Indianapolis and/or an Unknown Third Party" as obligee. Licenses expire on December 31 of even-numbered years and renew every two years; the new-license fee is prorated across the term ($247.00, $185.00 and $124.00 at the three stages published in the current packet) and renewal is $247.00. Up to five authorized agents may be listed free, with $63.00 for each additional agent, and every new license listing must attend an orientation class within 60 days of issuance. There is no examination, experience or qualifying-individual requirement on the General type. Contractor Licensing, 200 E. Washington St., Suite 107, (317) 327-1291, [email protected].

Fort Wayne and Allen County. The Allen County Building Department runs the most structured program in the state, under Allen County Code 6-1-3-3 and its Rules & Regulations. The residential tiers are the Residential Contractors License, "limited to building construction, remodeling, repair, or improvement of one or two-family residences not exceeding two stories in height," and the Home Improvement Contractors License, which covers "improving, remodeling, and repair of existing one- and two-family structures" plus unattached garages and accessory buildings but not additions. Each is a personal license that then qualifies one business registration, and the contractor must also register a full-time Superintendent as the responsible supervisor named on each building permit. The rules state that "examinations shall be required in order for applicants to obtain a license," prepared or administered by the Building Commissioner or an approved testing facility; the exam fee is set by the Commissioner and is not printed in the rules. Annual fees are $60.00 for the Residential Contractors license, $60.00 for Home Improvement Contractors and $25.00 for each Superintendent registration, and every license expires on December 31. A license that lapses for twelve months or more can be revived by paying the outstanding fees, but if the applicable code edition changed during the lapse the holder "must apply for a new license and retest." Allen County does have a reciprocity clause: licensing reciprocity is granted subject to the guidelines for the individual trade and still requires the applicant to meet the county's minimum qualifications, and the Building Commissioner may use discretion for an applicant who presents evidence of the necessary credentials. The guidelines themselves are not published in the rules, so ask the Building Department what it will accept before assuming an out-of-state credential counts.

Evansville. The Building Commission licenses a Residential General Contractor, defined as a person in the business of "wrecking, constructing, installing, repairing, remodeling, or servicing any structural or nonstructural portions of any one- or two-family dwellings and residential or agricultural building, including residential roof coverings and site work." The route is a real qualification: submit the application with three letters of recommendation proving at least four years of experience in the field, wait for board approval to test, then schedule and pay for the exam through Ivy Tech at (812) 429-9852. The exam is open book with tabbed and highlighted references, and 70 percent passes for the contractor categories. A provisional license issues on payment plus proof of insurance and bond, and the Licensing and Disciplinary Board gives final approval on the fourth Thursday of the month. A Residential General Contractor carries general liability insurance of at least $500,000, a $25,000 surety bond on the Commission's own form and worker's compensation coverage or an affidavit of exemption, all within six months of passing the exam. Fees on the published schedule are $210.00 new, $150.00 renewal and $285.00 for a two-year renewal. A homeowner may permit work on their own residence without a license, but footing, foundation, framing and roofing subcontracted outside the immediate family must go to a licensed contractor.

South Bend and St. Joseph County. "All contractors, including subcontractors, must be registered or licensed with the Building Department in order to perform work in St. Joseph County and City of South Bend," except an owner-occupant working on their own single-family dwelling. There is one Building Contractor Registration covering houses and commercial work alike. It is a paperwork registration: the Pre-Licensing Registration Form, a $5,000 surety bond and the $125 registration fee, processed at the counter the same day. No exam, experience or reference requirement applies to it - the only categories the city reviews are Electrical and HVAC, which need a full application packet, a $50 application review fee and ten business days. Building Department, 215 S. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Suite 100, [email protected], 574.235.9554.

Hammond and Lake County. Hammond tests residential builders. The Inspections Department issues a Residential General contractor license, and the exams "are given on the first Monday of the month at 10:00 a.m. at the Hammond Sportsplex" - open book, calculators allowed, one hour, 70 percent to pass, on the 2018 IRC with Indiana amendments or the 2020 Indiana Residential Code. The non-refundable examination fee is $100, with a $50 re-examination fee after a missed sitting, and the application must arrive a week before the test date together with a $20 limited criminal history report from the Hammond Police Department. Attendance at the Building Contractors Board, 6:00 p.m. on the first Monday of every month, is mandatory for approval. After approval the licensee files a certificate of insurance naming the City of Hammond with liability of 100,000/300,000 bodily injury and 50,000 property damage, worker's compensation or a waiver, and a $5,000 license and permit bond written in the name of the "Board of Lake County Commissioners, all Cities, Towns and Municipalities of Lake County, Indiana" and recorded at the Lake County Recorder's Office in Crown Point. The license fee is $200.00 initially and $100.00 on renewal, due between January 1 and January 31; licenses expire December 31 and are void if not renewed by June 30. An out-of-state corporation must also file a Certificate of Foreign Registration with the Indiana Secretary of State. The application asks in which localities you are already licensed, but holding a license elsewhere does not excuse the test.

Bloomington and Monroe County. Building permits for Bloomington come from the Monroe County Building Department at 501 N. Morton Street, and the county's licensing program is aimed at the trades rather than at builders. Monroe County licenses Plumbing Journeymen and Plumbing Contractors and Master and Residential Electricians, but its general contractor record is a sign-up, not a license: "this application is voluntary and includes a sign up of General Contractors in the Monroe County area ... there are no fees or attachments required to sign up." Licensees who do hold a county credential must carry public liability and property damage insurance naming Monroe County as an additional assured, at $500,000 combined single limit or $500,000 per occurrence for injury or death and $100,000 for property damage, plus worker's compensation unless they have no employees. Building Department, (812) 349-2580; counter hours for licenses and payments are 9-11 am and 1-3 pm.

Everywhere else. Indiana's other cities and counties set their own rules, and many smaller jurisdictions require only a building permit and proof of insurance. Ask the building or inspections department in each place before contracting there, and remember the statewide consumer rule that applies no matter where you are licensed: a home improvement contract over $150 must be in writing and must state the price, payment schedule, a detailed description of the work and materials, estimated start and completion dates and the contractor's name, address and signature.