Questions to ask before hiring an electrician

Why hiring an electrician works differently in Pennsylvania

Most states license electricians statewide. Pennsylvania doesn’t. Licensing is left to municipalities, so the rules change at the city or township line:

• Allentown licenses electricians through its Electricians’ Examining Board, including master, journeyman, and residential licenses based on ICC exams, renewed every year.
• Reading licenses electricians through its own Electricians’ Examining Board.
• Harrisburg licenses electricians through its Bureau of Codes, and the application asks for proof of liability insurance.
• Many boroughs and townships don’t license electricians at all and rely on permits and inspections under the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code.

That means “Are you licensed?” isn’t a complete question. Ask: “Does my municipality require a license for this work, and what’s your license number?” Your municipal permit office can tell you what applies at your address.

The questions to ask

Registration and insurance

1. What’s your PAHIC number? Contractors who do $5,000 or more of home improvement work a year must register with the Pennsylvania Attorney General and put the Pennsylvania Home Improvement Contractor (PAHIC) number on contracts, estimates, and advertising. You can look registrations up at hic.attorneygeneral.gov.
2. Does my municipality require a license for this work, and what’s your license number?
3. Can I see your certificate of liability insurance? HICPA requires registered contractors to carry minimum insurance. Ask for the certificate, not just a yes.

Permits and inspections

4. Does this job need a permit, and who pulls it? Panel replacements, service upgrades, new circuits, and rewiring generally need one under the UCC. The contractor normally pulls it.
5. Who schedules the inspection, and will you be there?
6. Does the utility need to be involved? Service upgrades need Met-Ed, PPL, or your local utility to disconnect and reconnect the meter.

Scope and price

7. What exactly is included? Get it in writing: the work, materials, permit, patching, and cleanup.
8. How do you charge? Flat rate, hourly, or a service fee plus time. Angi’s 2026 data puts the typical service call at $100 to $200.
9. If you find something unexpected, will you stop and give me a price first?
10. What’s your warranty on workmanship?

For specific jobs

• Panel upgrade: Did you do a load calculation? Is the meter base included? See electrical panel upgrades.
• Rewiring: How much is knob-and-tube or aluminum? Who patches the plaster? See house rewiring.
• Repeated trips: Is it the load, the wiring, or the breaker? See why breakers keep tripping.

What Pennsylvania law says about the contract

Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (HICPA) sets rules for home improvement contracts:

• Contracts over $500 must be in writing to be enforceable against the homeowner.
• You can cancel within three business days of signing, without penalty.
• The contractor’s PAHIC registration number must appear on the contract.

The Attorney General’s home improvement contractor site has more on registration and consumer rights.

Red flags

• No written contract, or pressure to sign the same day
• “We don’t need a permit for that” on a panel, service, or new-circuit job
• A price far below other quotes for the same scope
• No PAHIC number, or reluctance to show insurance
• A diagnosis or firm price over the phone, before anyone has seen the problem

How our referral fits in

Pennsylvania Electricians is a referral service: when you call, you’re connected with a participating independent electrician, if one serves your area. We don’t license, certify, or vouch for participating electricians, so these questions apply to anyone you’re connected with through us, too. That’s the point of asking them.