Pennsylvania: who needs a license to work on your chimney or fireplace?
Checked Sep 2026·Laws as cited·All 2 records checked Sep 2026
Public recordPA LAW
For consumer remedies, home-sale rules and carbon monoxide law, see Pennsylvania chimney & fireplace laws — know your rights. That page was verified Sep 2026.
Stove & insert installation: is a credential required in Pennsylvania?
#stove-installREGISTRATION- Credential
- No installer credential — HICPA Home Improvement Contractor registration is the only statewide layer (no exam; AG: registration 'is not an endorsement, recommendation or approval... of the contractor's competency or skill'); UCC building permit through the municipality (over 90% administer locally; certified third-party agencies in opt-out municipalities); manufacturer-listing rule enters as code via the 2021 IRC (UCC 2021 I-Codes effective 1/1/2026; RAC review of the 2024 I-Codes under way, no adoption)
- Issuing body
- PA Office of Attorney General (HICPA); municipal UCC code officials (L&I where opted out)
- Statute
- HICPA, 73 P.S. § 517.1 et seq. (§§ 517.2, 517.3); PA UCC Act 45 of 1999 + 34 Pa. Code Ch. 403 (2021 I-Codes eff. 1/1/2026)
- Dollar threshold
- $5,000/yr in home improvements (below it no registration); home improvement = job > $500
- Exam
- n
- Local overlay
- y — Philadelphia and other cities run their own UCC permitting; no city stove-installer license found
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-09-25
- Sources
Gas fireplace service: is a credential required in Pennsylvania?
#gas-fireplace-serviceREGISTRATION- Credential
- HICPA Home Improvement Contractor registration (Act 132 of 2008; no exam, no bond; $50,000/$50,000 liability insurance per AG FAQ) — no statewide trade license for NG gas work; the Propane and Liquefied Petroleum Gas Act (Act 61 of 2002) registration covers LPG bulk plants, distributors, industrial users and cylinder-exchange sites, not individual appliance installers (L&I page is silent on any installer credential)
- Issuing body
- PA Office of Attorney General (HICPA); PA Dept. of Labor & Industry BOIS (LP-gas facility registration)
- Statute
- HICPA, 73 P.S. § 517.1 et seq. (registration duty § 517.3(a); 'contractor' excludes persons with < $5,000/yr in home improvements and 'home improvement' = job > $500, § 517.2); Propane and Liquefied Petroleum Gas Act, Act 61 of 2002 (P.L. 421)
- Dollar threshold
- $5,000/yr in home improvements (below it no registration); home improvement = job > $500
- Exam
- n
- Local overlay
- y — Philadelphia L&I trade licensing: the city Master Plumber page defines plumbing without gas piping and excludes gas heaters, so which Philadelphia credential covers fuel-gas piping is UNVERIFIED (July row said Master Plumber); Pittsburgh/Allegheny County ACHD plumbing license (not re-verified)
- Confidence
- high (state layer); medium (Philadelphia gas overlay) · checked 2026-09-25
- Sources
What insurance does Pennsylvania require of contractors?
#insurance- Regime
- registration (AG HIC; HICPA 73 P.S. 517.1 et seq.)
- Liability minimum
- $50,000 bodily injury + $50,000 property damage (HICPA; AG HIC application instructions; subsection cite 517.4 reported, not primary-verified)
- Bond
- none at state level
- Guaranty fund
- none
- Workers' comp threshold
- 1 employee (any part-time) triggers coverage; sole proprietors/partners exempt for themselves; no CE-200-style exemption certificate
- How to verify
- insurance ATTESTED only (self-reported insurer+policy on AG application Sec. G, signed certification, no COI filed, no carrier reporting); registration lookup hic.attorneygeneral.gov; WC public lookup: PA L&I WC Insurance Search (PCRB data)
- Confidence
- high (amounts); medium (statute subsection) · checked 2026-07-09
- Sources
Download the full licensing matrix (CSV) · All states
Before anyone goes on your roof
What should you ask a chimney company in Pennsylvania?
- Is your company a member of the National Chimney Sweep Guild (NCSG)?
- Does the technician coming to my home hold an individual NCSG certification, and which one?
- Does the technician hold a National Fireplace Institute (NFI) certification — and for which fuel: wood, gas, or pellet?
- What other certifications does the technician hold (for example, CSIA), and can I check them on the issuer's own roster?
- What state or local license or registration covers this work here, and what is the number?
- Will you send a certificate of insurance, dated and naming your company, before work starts?
- Which NFPA 211 inspection level — Level 1, 2, or 3 — are you performing, and why that level?
- Will you show me what you found — photos or video of the flue — in writing?
We take no fee from any certification body, guild, or contractor, and are not paid to mention anyone named.