Pennsylvania: $5,000 a year is the threshold.
Any contractor doing $5,000 or more of home improvement work in a year must register with the Attorney General's office and renew every two years. Giuliani Builders is PA 187206.
Before you sign anything, look up one number.
Is this builder a registered home improvement contractor?
In Pennsylvania, any contractor doing more than $5,000 of home improvement work a year has to register with the Attorney General. New Jersey requires registration with the Division of Consumer Affairs. Registration means proof of insurance on file and a written contract for every job over $500.
Verify registration
- PA 187206Opens the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Home Improvement Contractor Search. Type 187206 in the Registration No. field, which already shows the PA prefix, then run the search.
- NJ 13VH13210100Opens the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs business licence search. Type 13VH13210100 in the License Number field, then run the search.
Neither state offers a link that opens a single record, so each search takes one typed number.
The New Jersey record reads: Giuliani Builders Inc, owner Dan DeSantis, Oreland PA, Home Improvement Contractors, status Active, expires 3/31/2027. Checked 6 September 2026.
Registration is paperwork that protects you.
Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act requires registered contractors to carry at least $50,000 in liability insurance for personal injury and $50,000 for property damage, and to put every job over $500 in a signed, written contract with a description of the work, approximate start and completion dates, and the total price.
New Jersey's Contractors' Registration Act sets the bar higher on insurance: $500,000 per occurrence in commercial general liability, with the registration number printed on every contract, ad, and truck. The Attorney General is clear that registration is not an endorsement of skill. It is the floor. Our reviews and our projects are the rest of the argument.
Four questions to ask any builder before the deposit.
Ask for the Pennsylvania HIC number and look it up in the Attorney General's search. Ours is PA 187206.
For work at the shore, ask for the New Jersey HIC number. Ours is NJ 13VH13210100.
Ask for the certificate of insurance. Pennsylvania requires at least $50,000 in liability coverage; New Jersey requires $500,000.
Ask for the written contract before paying any deposit. Both states require one for any job over $500.
The two states we build in spell it out.
Insurance has to be on file, not promised.
Pennsylvania requires at least $50,000 in liability coverage for personal injury and $50,000 for property damage. New Jersey requires $500,000 per occurrence, with notice to the state before a policy can be cancelled.
Contracts over $500 go in writing.
Both states require a written, signed contract for home improvement work over $500. In Pennsylvania it has to include the work description, approximate start and completion dates, the total price, and your right to cancel within three business days.
Five things to check before the first delivery.
- 1
Look up the registration number, then check that the business name on it matches the name on your contract.
- 2
Read the contract for a description of the work, an approximate start date and completion date, and the total price. Pennsylvania requires all three.
- 3
Find the cancellation notice. In Pennsylvania you can rescind a home improvement contract within three business days of signing.
- 4
Ask who pulls the permits. Our answer is that we do, as part of step two of our process.
- 5
Keep the registration number, the insurance certificate, and the signed contract together before work starts.