home improvement contractor

[David Smith]

From the state website, it only needs registration and business insurance for anyone to be a contractor?

No exam or skill tests?

Very easy to obtain the license, huh?   Could be good to a handyman or property manager?  

[Steve Babiak]

The state of Pennsylvania does not license contractors - contractors just have to have their registration. The analogy I use is a comparison with with automobiles - the automobile just gets a registration whereas a driver gets a license that required passing a test first.

So a registered contractor in Pennsylvania did not have to pass any testing issued by the state. Having insurance and paying the registration fee is about all the state requires.

Some municipalities in Pennsylvania (such as the City of Philadelphia) require certain trades to be licensed by the municipality, where the municipality requires a test be passed first to get the license. So if you find contractors who have these municipal license credentials, you can have a little more confidence in the competence of such a contractor.