Pennsylvania: registration, not a license, for chimney work.

Pennsylvania is the registration-only baseline: in PA anyone can legally sweep — there is no chimney license, no contractor exam, and below $5,000 a year not even a registration — and the AG itself says registration says nothing about skill. Contrast (labeled, Michigan law, not PA): in Michigan, chimney repair ≥ $600 requires a state license and an unlicensed contractor can't sue for payment (MCL 339.2412). Pennsylvania's leverage is in the contract instead of the credential: no registration number means the contract can't be enforced against you, you get three business days to walk away, deposits are capped at one-third, and violations route into the UTPCPL's discretionary treble. But PA courts still let a non-compliant contractor recover the reasonable value of the work — so the homeowner's hammer is real, not absolute. And at sale, the state's own disclosure form never asks about the chimney; only the Realtors' form does.

STATE LAW: Pennsylvania has no chimney-specific license and no state contractor license. It runs a mandatory registration under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (HICPA), Act 132 of 2008, 73 P.S. § 517.1 et seq., administered by the Office of Attorney General. "No person shall hold himself out as a contractor, nor shall a person perform any home improvement without first registering with the bureau" (§ 517.3(a)).

• Threshold: the definition of "contractor" excludes a person whose home improvements totaled less than $5,000 during the previous taxable year (§ 517.2); the AG phrases it as "less than $5,000 worth of home improvements in a calendar year." A "home improvement" is residential work where the total cash price is more than $500 (§ 517.2).
• Scope: § 517.2 covers "repair, replacement, remodeling, demolition, removal, renovation, installation, alteration, conversion, modernization, improvement, rehabilitation or sandblasting" and lists roofs, siding, insulation, etc. Chimneys and fireplaces are not named. Chimney repair, rebuild, and reline plainly fit "repair/replacement/installation"; whether a cleaning-only sweep is a "home improvement" is our interpretive reading, not statute text — flag it that way.
• What registration requires: application + proof of liability insurance ≥ $50,000 personal injury and ≥ $50,000 property damage (§ 517.4(a)(1)(ix); AG FAQ). No exam, no competency test, no bond appears in the statute or AG materials. Fee per the AG today: $100 every two years, non-refundable (the AG-hosted consolidated statute text, amended through 10/22/2014, still reads $50 at § 517.5(a) —).
• Lookup: hicsearch.attorneygeneral.gov (AG "Verify a Contractor's HICPA Registration"); helpline 1-888-520-6680. New online filing system at hic.attorneygeneral.gov (AG: operational as of April 24, 2026).
• Penalties: AG: unregistered contractors face legal action including civil penalties of $1,000 or more. Home improvement fraud (§ 517.8) is a felony of the third degree if the amount exceeds $2,000, misdemeanor of the first degree if $2,000 or less (§ 517.8(c)(1)); second offense is a felony of the second degree regardless of amount (§ 517.8(c)(5)); enhanced for victims 60+ (§ 517.8(c)(4)).

LOCAL — Philadelphia: L&I requires a Contractor License ($126/yr; $500k general liability, $300k auto, workers' comp; supervisor OSHA 30 within five years) for businesses doing construction/demolition/repair — but businesses working only on existing one- or two-family dwellings may instead proceed as a state-registered Home Improvement Contractor (phila.gov). Pittsburgh: PLI General Contractor License ($1M/$2M liability, EPA RRP certification) is required for commercial work, new 1–2 family dwellings, renovations/additions to 1–2 family dwellings that are rental or investment property, and demolition (pittsburghpa.gov). Owner-occupied 1–2 family renovation is not among the listed triggers. Neither city license tests chimney skill.

The AG says it outright: "Registration under HICPA is not an endorsement, recommendation or approval by the Office of Attorney General of the contractor's competency or skill." Registration attests to identity, disclosures, and $50k/$50k insurance — nothing about flues, clearances, or NFPA 211. Anyone under the $5,000/year line needs no registration at all. Individual certifications (NCSG CCP/CCR; CSIA CCS, C-DET) are the only competence signal (NATIONAL/industry, not PA law).

STATE LAW: Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law, 68 Pa.C.S. §§ 7301–7315 (Chapter 73). Applies to transfers of property with 1 to 4 residential dwelling units; exceptions in § 7302 (e.g., fiduciary transfers in estate administration; qualifying unoccupied new construction). The seller "shall disclose to the buyer any material defects with the property known to the seller" on a property disclosure statement (§ 7303), delivered before the agreement of transfer is signed (§ 7305). "Material defect" = a problem with "a significant adverse impact on the value of the property or that involves an unreasonable risk to people on the property" (§ 7102). No duty to investigate (§ 7308). Buyer remedy: actual damages for willful or negligent violation; two-year limitation from final settlement (§ 7311). The form — hypothesis REFUTED. The statutory form content list (§ 7304) and the State Real Estate Commission's form at 49 Pa. Code § 35.335a have 17 sections; section (10) is "Heating and air conditioning" (type of heating: electric/fuel oil/natural gas/other; underground fuel tanks) — no fireplace, chimney, flue, or wood-stove line (checked on two mirrors of the code text; official pacodeandbulletin.gov blocked automated fetch). A chimney defect is still disclosable as a known material defect (§ 7303) and via "Are you aware of any problems with any item in this section?" under Heating. REF: the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors® standard SPD form — used in most brokered sales but not law — does ask in Section 13(D) "Fireplaces and Chimneys": number of fireplaces, working?, type, professionally installed?, number of chimneys, "When were they last cleaned?", working? It also has a CO/smoke detector line (16(B)). No inspection is mandated at transfer. NFPA 211's Level 2 inspection at sale is a NATIONAL STANDARD, not PA law. The form itself states it "is not a substitute for any inspections or warranties that the buyer may wish to obtain."

• Contract requirements: "No home improvement contract shall be valid or enforceable against an owner unless it" meets § 517.7(a) — including being written, signed, and showing the contractor's registration number (§ 517.7(a)(1)), full description of work, total price, and the $50k/$50k insurance undertaking (§ 517.7(a)(11)).
• Right to cancel: the owner may "rescind the contract without penalty regardless of where the contract was signed, within three business days of the date of signing" (§ 517.7(b)). Separately, UTPCPL § 201-7 gives a three full business day cancellation for door-to-door/home sales of $25 or more.
• Deposit cap: for contracts over $5,000, no deposit above one-third of the price (plus special-order materials) (§ 517.9(10)(i)).
• Treble: any HICPA violation "shall be deemed a violation of" the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (§ 517.10). UTPCPL private action: actual damages or $100, whichever is greater; the court "may, in its discretion, award up to three times the actual damages," plus costs and reasonable attorney fees (73 P.S. § 201-9.2). Treble is discretionary in PA (contrast, labeled: NJ's CFA treble is mandatory).
• Can an unregistered contractor sue you? The contract is not enforceable against the owner (§ 517.7(a)). But the PA Supreme Court held in Shafer Electric & Construction v. Mantia (July 21, 2014) that § 517.7(g) "does not contemplate the preclusion of common law equitable remedies such as quantum meruit" — so a non-compliant contractor can still sue for the reasonable value of work performed. The Supreme Court opinion addressed § 517.7(a) non-compliance generally, not registration specifically; the underlying Superior Court decision is reported (REF) as allowing quantum meruit for an unregistered contractor.
• Complaints: attorneygeneral.gov/submit-a-complaint/; unregistered contractors reportable at HIC@attorneygeneral.gov.

No PA AG consumer alert or enforcement action specific to chimney sweeps found (attorneygeneral.gov site search for "chimney," Sep 15, 2026). One public AG lawsuit touches chimney work incidentally: April 8, 2025 — AG Sunday sued Michael Davis and 1st Choice Roofing, Inc. (Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas), alleging incomplete work, ignored refund requests, and HICPA contract defects (missing Notice of Cancellation, duration, insurance terms); one consumer "paid a $500 deposit for chimney work that was never started." These are allegations in a filed complaint, not findings. Pattern content (not accusations): door-step "we noticed your chimney" pitches → use the 3-business-day rescission, the one-third deposit cap, and the registry lookup.

STATE LAW: Pennsylvania Construction Code Act (Act 45 of 1999) → Uniform Construction Code, 34 Pa. Code Chapters 401–405, administered by the Department of Labor & Industry. 2021 I-Code series (with RAC amendments) adopted: IRRC approval Oct 16, 2025; final-omitted rulemaking published in the Pa. Bulletin Nov 8, 2025; effective January 1, 2026 (L&I RAC page). This supersedes the 2018 I-Codes (effective Feb 14, 2022) — prior note was stale. Transition (REF, Gawthrop): projects contracted before Jan 1, 2026 may use the prior code if permit application is filed within six months. Philadelphia's bulletin B-2501 allowed 2018 or 2021 for applications received before July 1, 2026. Enforcement is local, not a free-for-all patchwork of codes: the code is uniform statewide, but "over 90% of Pennsylvania's 2,562 municipalities have elected to administer and enforce the UCC locally"; in opt-out municipalities, "certified third party agencies hired by property owners (or their contractors) enforce the residential requirements" (L&I). Permits: 34 Pa. Code § 403.62 requires permits for construction, alteration, repair, etc. of residential buildings, but "an ordinary repair does not require a permit"; mechanical additions/relocations are not ordinary repairs. Chimneys are not named in the exempt list. Working reading (interpretive, confirm locally): relines, rebuilds, and solid-fuel appliance installs are generally permit work; sweeping and like-for-like cap replacement are generally not. NFPA 211 is a NATIONAL STANDARD; its incorporation via the adopted I-Codes was not separately confirmed in this pass.

No statewide burn-day or indoor wood-stove emission regime found. 25 Pa. Code § 123.14 (Outdoor wood-fired boilers), effective Oct 2, 2010: new Phase 2 outdoor boilers must sit ≥ 50 ft from the nearest property line with a stack ≥ 10 ft above ground; does not cover indoor fireplaces or stoves. Local ordinances may go further.

STATE LAW: Carbon Monoxide Alarm Standards Act, Act of Dec. 18, 2013, P.L. 1229, No. 121 (35 P.S. § 7221 et seq.; section mapping from FindLaw, REF). Covers "residential buildings" (detached 1–2 family and multiple single-family dwellings not over three stories) with a fossil fuel-burning heater or appliance, fireplace, or attached garage — "fossil fuel" expressly includes wood.

• At sale: the seller must disclose information regarding the installation of CO detectors on the property disclosure statement (§ 4(a)) — a disclosure duty, not an install mandate.
• Multifamily: operational, centrally located approved CO alarm required in apartments with fossil-fuel appliances/fireplaces/attached garages (§ 4(b)).
• Rentals: owner provides/installs/replaces alarms; tenant maintains, tests, replaces batteries, reports defects (§ 5; 35 P.S. § 7225).
• Enforcement: willful failure to install or maintain a required alarm is a summary offense, fine up to $50 (§ 6). Municipalities may adopt stricter rules (§ 7).
• Owner-occupied existing homes: no statewide retrofit mandate found. New construction/alterations follow the UCC (IRC CO provisions) — local code enforcement. Enforcement reality: a $50 summary offense; the real checkpoint is the disclosure form and the buyer's inspector.