Haverford licenses the people who cut your grass as well as the people who frame your addition, so the credential question reaches further here than a construction-only licence would.
The department reviews and issues construction permits, regulates rental properties, enforces property maintenance and inspects work for compliance with the statewide code and the township code, from the administration building on Darby Road in Havertown. Zoning administration and staff support for the planning commission, historical commission and zoning hearing board sit with a separate Planning and Zoning Department that coordinates with the code officials.
Scope: Haverford Township in Delaware County, seated at Havertown. Neighbouring Upper Darby and Radnor townships permit separately under their own ordinances.
One payment, one cheque, correct amount. The township asks that all permit fees be submitted at once with a cheque written for the correct amount, and that the estimated cost of work be given separately for each permit application. Splitting payments or rounding the figure sends the application back.
What requires a building permit in Haverford Township?
Permit required
- New commercial, multi-family and residential construction, additions and change of occupancy
- Structural alterations, load-bearing changes, foundations, decks and retaining walls
- Electrical work — services, panels, circuits, solar and EV charging — under the UCC and the referenced National Electrical Code
- Plumbing and gas work under the UCC, pulled by a locally licensed trade where the municipality requires one
- Mechanical and HVAC change-outs, and work affecting the energy code envelope
- Re-roofing above the exempt scope, pools, signs, and demolition
Often exempt
- Minor repairs and maintenance replacing materials in kind
- Small accessory structures below the code threshold, where zoning allows
- Painting, flooring, cabinetry and other finish work
- Like-for-like fixture or appliance swaps with no alteration to wiring or piping
Local amendments, fee schedules and the choice of third-party agency differ from one municipality to the next, so an exempt list from a neighbouring township is not reliable. An exemption from a building permit is never an exemption from zoning, the energy code, or an electrical or plumbing permit. Confirm scope with the Building and Codes Department before work starts.
Local rules worth knowing
Haverford’s contractor licence is broad: the township ordinance (Chapter 67) reaches general contractors, subcontractors, specialty and home improvement contractors, and extends beyond construction to landscaping, lawn care, tree surgery, exterminating and pest control.
Short on time to read all of this?
Get a free quote →Pennsylvania enforces one statewide Uniform Construction Code under Act 45 of 1999, based since January 1, 2026 on the 2021 ICC codes and administered by most municipalities themselves or through certified third-party agencies; counties issue no building permits. Building codes in Pennsylvania
Who handles permitting in Haverford Township?
Construction permits, contractor licensing, rental housing licensing and property maintenance enforcement sit with the Building and Codes Department at the township administration building on Darby Road.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Authority | Haverford Township Building and Codes Department |
| Address | Township Administration Building, 1014 Darby Road, Havertown, PA 19083 |
| Telephone | 610-446-1000 |
| Counter hours | Weekdays, eight in the morning to four in the afternoon |
| Online filing | Permit and license centre; residential applications only at present |
| Zoning | Separate Planning and Zoning Department, coordinating with the code officials |
| Insurance | Certificate holder must be Haverford Township, with workers’ compensation or a self-employed affidavit |
| Contractor credential | Township contractor licence, township plumbing or electrical licence where applicable, plus state home improvement registration |
Licensing here is both broad and specific. Every contractor performing work in the township must hold a township licence, plumbing and electrical contractors hold a current township contractor’s licence for their trade, and the certificate of insurance carried by every contractor on the job site must name Haverford Township as the certificate holder, with workers’ compensation coverage or a self-employed affidavit. The township’s online permit and license centre currently accepts residential applications only, with other types being added over time, so commercial filings still route through the department directly.
Permit types
Residential permits
Residential work across Haverford’s established neighbourhoods requires a plot plan drawn to accurate scale showing property markers and the proposed improvements, together with building coverage expressed as the percentage of the lot occupied by all buildings and the impervious surface ratio. Those two figures are frequently the reason a plot plan comes back, because they are calculated rather than drawn.
How Pennsylvania contractor credentials work
In Pennsylvania the state registers home improvement contractors; the municipality licenses the trades. HICPA registration with the Attorney General is required for contractors doing at least $5,000 a year of home improvement work (new homes are not covered), but electrical, plumbing and HVAC licensing is a local matter and several cities and counties — Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Allentown, Erie, Reading and Scranton among them — add their own contractor licences. Confirm what the Building and Codes Department requires for the parcel, along with insurance coverage.
Not sure this scope needs a permit?
Get a free quote →Commercial permits
Commercial work is reviewed against the 2021 editions with accessibility on the 2018 standards. A certificate of use and occupancy is required for a non-residential structure or unit, and separately on resale of residential and non-residential property, covering house numbers, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, sump pumps and floor drains, backwater valves, sidewalks and kerb replacement. That resale inspection is a transaction-side process running on its own timetable.
Licenses, trade classifications and design professionals
Practically, three credential layers appear on Pennsylvania projects: HICPA registration with the Attorney General on residential home improvement; separately licensed electrical, plumbing and HVAC trades, licensed by the municipality rather than the state; and, on commercial and larger residential work, drawings sealed by a Pennsylvania-licensed architect or professional engineer. Confirm what the Building and Codes Department requires for the specific building before filing.
Pennsylvania has no state contractor licence; contractors doing at least $5,000 a year of home improvement work register with the Office of Attorney General under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act. Contractor licensing in Pennsylvania
Haverford Township permit costs and fees
Haverford charges permit fees by type under the township schedule and collects the state Uniform Construction Code surcharge. The township asks for all fees on a single cheque for the correct amount, and rental inspection fees are charged per unit for each inspection and re-inspection, with a charge for failing to appear at a scheduled inspection.
Pennsylvania fees are substantially local: the municipality or its certified third-party agency sets the building-permit and plan-review charge, and the state adds only a modest Uniform Construction Code surcharge collected with the permit. Where a municipality uses a third-party agency, that agency’s fee schedule applies. A figure from a neighbouring municipality is not reliable — ask the Building and Codes Department for the schedule in force on your filing date.
Need a real number for a specific Haverford Township project? Send us the scope, address and valuation and we will identify the authority having jurisdiction, the code edition in force and the fee categories that will apply.
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →Fees are set by the municipality or its third-party agency, plus the flat $4.50 state Uniform Construction Code fee on each permit. Permit fees in Pennsylvania
Trade permits and who may pull them
Permit required
- Service installations, panel upgrades, new circuits, solar PV and EV chargers
- New plumbing, repipes, water heater change-outs, fixtures, backflow and gas piping
- HVAC installation and change-out, ductwork, venting and commercial kitchen exhaust
- Sprinkler, standpipe and fire alarm work on commercial and multi-family structures
Typically exempt
- Replacing a fixture, switch, receptacle or light with no alteration to wiring or piping
- Clearing a stoppage without replacing or rearranging concealed piping
- Filter, thermostat and routine component service
- Like-for-like appliance repair that does not alter the connection
Trade work follows the Uniform Construction Code; electrical, plumbing and HVAC licences are issued locally where they exist, not by the state. Trade permits in Pennsylvania
How to apply for a Haverford Township building permit
The township ordinance covers general, sub, specialty and home improvement contractors and extends to landscaping, lawn care, tree surgery, exterminating and pest control. Assume it applies and confirm rather than the reverse.
Every contractor on the job site needs a certificate of insurance with workers’ compensation, and Haverford Township must be named as the certificate holder. A self-employed affidavit stands in where there are no employees.
Draw to accurate scale with property markers and improvements shown, and include building coverage as a percentage of the lot and the impervious surface ratio. Those two calculations are the usual omission.
The estimated cost of work is stated separately for each permit application rather than once for the whole project.
All permit fees are submitted at once with a cheque written for the correct amount.
A certificate of use and occupancy is required for non-residential structures and on resale, covering detectors, sump pumps and floor drains, backwater valves, sidewalks, kerbs and house numbers.
Rather not deal with the building department?
Get a free quote →Review, corrections and what actually causes delay
In Pennsylvania, the first cause of delay is uncertainty over who enforces the code — filing with the municipality when it uses a certified third-party agency, or not realising that in a municipality that has opted out of local enforcement, homeowners must hire a certified third-party agency themselves. After that come a missing HICPA registration or local trade licence, energy-code and plan documentation, and, along the state’s rivers, floodplain requirements that were not addressed up front. Build the plan-review time into the schedule and confirm the checklist with the Building and Codes Department before filing.
A Pennsylvania permit lapses if work does not start within 180 days or stops for 180 days, and lasts no more than 5 years; residential applications must be decided within 15 business days. Permit validity in Pennsylvania
Inspections in Haverford Township
Where a permit is required, standard checkpoints include footing and foundation, framing, rough-in electrical, plumbing and mechanical, insulation and energy-code compliance, fire systems on commercial work, and final, with a use-and-occupancy certificate before the building is used. Haverford also inspects rental units on each change of occupancy against the township’s health and safety requirements, charged per unit for each inspection and re-inspection.
Pennsylvania inspections follow the code edition in force when the permit was applied for, and are carried out by a certified code official — the municipality’s own inspector or its certified third-party agency, the city department in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, the Department of Labor and Industry for commercial work in opted-out municipalities, or a third-party agency the owner hires. Keep the approved plans and the energy-code documentation on site for the inspector to check against, and confirm the notice the Building and Codes Department needs and its inspection windows.
Do not cover work before the required inspection has been approved. Keep the issued permit, the approved plans, product listings, energy-code documentation and your correction responses available on site.
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Haverford Township permit search and official resources
Permit records in Pennsylvania sit with the authority that issued them — the municipality or its certified third-party agency, or the city department in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Where the Building and Codes Department is the authority for Haverford Township, it holds the building permit, the inspection history and the use-and-occupancy certificate. If you are buying, refinancing or renovating, confirm that past work was permitted rather than assuming it was — open permits and missing certificates are a common closing problem.
Confirm the authority having jurisdiction first. Pennsylvania enforces one statewide Uniform Construction Code, but each municipality administers it with its own amendments, fee schedule and enforcement route — local staff, a third-party agency, or opt-out — so the requirements that apply vary by parcel. Confirm current requirements, fees and review turnaround for your filing date.
These are the primary sources behind this guide. Codes, fee schedules and procedures change — confirm the position for your filing date.
- Building and Codes Department — Haverford Township
- Planning and Zoning Department — Haverford Township
- Chapter 67 — licensing of contractors
- Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code — Labor and Industry
- Home improvement contractor registration — Attorney General
Frequently asked questions
Who needs a Haverford Township licence?
A broad group. The ordinance covers persons or firms engaging in construction, repairs, remodelling, rehabilitation or demolition as general contractors, subcontractors, specialty contractors or home improvement contractors, and it also reaches landscaping, lawn care, tree surgery, exterminating and pest control.
Whose name goes on the insurance certificate?
Haverford Township must be the certificate holder. Every contractor on the job site needs a certificate of insurance including workers’ compensation, or a self-employed affidavit where there are no employees.
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Can I file everything online?
Not yet. The township’s online permit and license centre currently accepts residential applications only, with further types being added over time. Commercial filings still route through the department directly.
What does the plot plan have to show?
It must be drawn to accurate scale with property markers shown and improvements to the property indicated, and it must give building coverage as the percentage of the lot occupied by all buildings together with the impervious surface ratio. Those calculated figures are commonly missed.
What is checked at a use and occupancy inspection?
On resale and on non-residential units the township looks at house numbers, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, sump pumps and floor drains, backwater valves, and sidewalks and kerb replacement. It is a transaction-side process separate from any construction final.
How does rental licensing work here?
A rental housing licence is required, and an inspection is required each time the occupancy of a rental unit changes, charged per unit for each inspection and re-inspection with a charge for failing to appear. No more than three unrelated people may reside in a rental house, and student housing is permitted only where the zoning hearing board authorises it as a special exception.
Simplify Haverford Township permitting with Alliance Permitting
Haverford is a credential and documentation jurisdiction: the licence net is wide, and the plot plan carries calculated figures that are easy to omit.
Trusted by leading builders, developers, and national contractors — 21+ years of filing in the jurisdictions we write about.
Contractors and builders choose Alliance for Haverford Township because the work is done by people who have stood at the counter:
- We check the licence question against Haverford’s unusually broad ordinance rather than a construction-only assumption.
- We have insurance certificates issued with the township as certificate holder before the filing.
- We prepare plot plans carrying the building coverage and impervious surface calculations.
- We state estimated cost per application and submit fees in a single correct payment.
- We run resale use and occupancy on its own timetable, separately from construction.
Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in Pennsylvania. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.
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Let Alliance prepare, file, and track your Haverford Township permits while your crew stays on the job.
More Pennsylvania permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Haverford Township permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.