Pennsylvania requires a contractor who does at least $5,000 of home improvement work a year to register with the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, and the state law that sets the rule names roofs in its definition of home improvement. Before you sign anything, look the roofer up by name or registration number in the Attorney General’s contractor search, or call the office’s toll-free line at 1-888-520-6680.

What the registration number is

A registered contractor receives a Pennsylvania Home Improvement Contractor number, which the Attorney General’s office calls the PA number. The law requires the number on every advertisement, contract, estimate and proposal the contractor gives to a Pennsylvania homeowner. If an estimate or an ad leaves it off, ask why.

Registration renews every two years. The Attorney General’s office says the fee is $100 for each new registration and each renewal.

What registration checks

The application asks for the owners’ identities, the home improvement businesses they have run in the past ten years, any criminal convictions related to home improvement, fraud or theft, any bankruptcy filing, civil judgments related to home improvement from the last ten years, and proof of insurance. The statute does not call for a trade exam. Registration puts the contractor’s identity and proof of insurance on file with the state, and it does not test roofing skill.

The Attorney General’s office says the online registration system that returned to service on April 24, 2026 includes a component for automated checks of criminal court dockets.

Insurance

To register, a contractor must show liability insurance of at least $50,000 for personal injury and at least $50,000 for property damage caused by the work. The contract itself has to promise to keep that coverage and state the amount in force when it is signed.

Ask for a certificate of insurance that names the insurer, the policy number and the expiration date, and check that the dates cover the weeks the roofer will be on your house. If the company has employees, ask for its workers’ compensation certificate too.

The borough’s own registration

Conshohocken Borough keeps a separate registration for contractors doing residential work. Its form lists a $90 fee and says the fee is waived for contractors registered with the Attorney General. That matches state law, which bars a municipality from charging a registered home improvement contractor a registration or licensing fee while still letting it require building permits.

The borough form asks for more insurance than the state minimum: $100,000 to $300,000 for bodily injury, at least $100,000 for property damage, public liability and products liability, and at least $50,000 for completed operations, with the borough named as certificate holder. It also says a contractor may not have employees do the work unless it has given the borough proof of workers’ compensation insurance. The borough’s building permit application asks for the contractor’s borough license number, with a box to check if the contractor is applying for one that day.

West Conshohocken, Plymouth and Whitemarsh run their own permit offices. See roofing permits in Conshohocken and nearby townships for what each one posts.

Questions to ask before you sign

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department’s guide for homeowners after a storm lists these checks, and they apply to any roofing job:

  • Get more than one estimate, and check each firm’s references.
  • Confirm the registration and the insurance yourself, using the steps above.
  • Get the total cost, the work to be done, the schedule and any guarantee in writing.
  • Never sign a form with blank sections.
  • Do not pay in full, or sign that the work is complete, until it is done.

The department also warns about trucks with no company name on them and out-of-state license plates after a storm.

If something goes wrong

Under the state law, a home improvement contract that leaves out the registration number is not valid or enforceable against the homeowner. Failing to register is a violation of the act, and every violation of the act also counts as a violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. Complaints go to the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. For a dispute over money, talk to a lawyer about your contract.

The next guide covers what the contract itself has to say.