How to Verify a PA DEP-Certified Radon Contractor

"Certified" gets used loosely in home-services marketing. In Pennsylvania radon work, it isn't loose at all — it's a specific, state-administered credential with real legal weight behind it, and it's checkable in a few minutes before you ever sign a contract.

The law behind the requirement

Pennsylvania's Radon Certification Act (Act of July 9, 1987, P.L. 238, No. 43) requires radon testing, mitigation, and lab analysis work in the state to be performed under active PA DEP certification — either by a certified individual, or by an employee of a certified firm whom DEP has separately approved in writing to perform that firm's certified activities. These are three separate certification categories — testing, mitigation, and lab analysis — so certification in one doesn't carry over to another. The detailed requirements sit in 25 Pa. Code §§ 240.102 and 240.112 and the surrounding sections of the PA Code.

What it actually takes to get certified

Under 25 Pa. Code § 240.112, an individual applying for radon certification has to:

1. Complete a DEP-approved radon mitigation training course.
2. Pass a DEP-approved written exam within two years of applying.
3. Show one year of hands-on radon mitigation installation experience, or three years of experience in a related field — architecture, engineering, general contracting, or the trades.
4. Submit a complete application and fee to DEP.

Firms have their own layer on top of individual certification: a certified firm has to employ at least one certified individual responsible for the work, maintain a documented Health & Safety Program, and run a Continuing Education Program. Anyone hired into that firm after January 24, 2019 needs initial training plus biennial continuing education to stay current — certification isn't a one-time credential that never gets checked again.

There are narrow exemptions: homeowners doing mitigation work on their own home don't need certification, new-construction radon-resistant features installed before occupancy don't require a certified installer, and DEP or federal employees acting in that official capacity are exempt. None of those exemptions apply to a contractor you'd hire to test or mitigate an existing home.

The three ways someone can be authorized to do this work

Before you get to verification, it helps to know PA DEP recognizes more than one path to authorization — a technician doesn't have to personally hold individual certification to be legitimate:

• A certified individual — someone who personally completed the training, passed the exam, and holds active DEP certification in their own name.
• A certified firm — a business DEP has certified, which must employ at least one certified individual in responsible charge of its radon work (25 Pa. Code § 240.102).
• A DEP-approved employee of a certified firm — someone working under a certified firm who doesn't hold individual certification themselves, but whom DEP has given written approval to perform that firm's certified activities.

All three are legitimate. What's not legitimate is someone with none of the above doing regulated radon work in your home.

How to actually verify someone's authorization

Don't take a business card, a truck decal, or a website badge as proof — verify directly with PA DEP before you hire anyone. PA DEP maintains its own Radon Certification program, including a Radon Services Directory of currently certified individuals and firms, accessible through DEP's radon division program page. Before signing a contract:

• Get the contractor's full legal name (if an individual) or the firm's name, and ask which category applies — testing, mitigation, or both.
• Cross-check that name directly against DEP's Radon Services Directory rather than relying on what the contractor's own materials claim.
• Confirm the certification is currently active, not expired or lapsed — certification requires ongoing continuing education, so a credential from several years ago isn't automatically still valid today.
• If a firm is doing the work and the technician on your job isn't individually certified, ask the firm to confirm that technician has DEP's written approval to perform the firm's certified activities — that's the legitimate third path above, but it's still worth confirming rather than assuming it.

This takes a few minutes and it's the single most reliable way to know you're not paying an unauthorized operator to do regulated work in your home.

Red flags worth watching for

Verifying DEP status directly is the single most reliable check, but a few common warning signs are worth knowing regardless:

• Refusing to give a certification number. A legitimately certified contractor has no reason to hesitate handing over the exact name or number you'd need to check them against DEP's directory — hesitation or vague deflection is itself a signal.
• No written contract. PA DEP's own consumer guidance expects a written contract covering scope, price, and timeline before work starts. A contractor pushing to start without one is skipping a basic consumer protection, not just paperwork.
• High-pressure, same-day pricing. Radon mitigation is rarely an emergency in the way a burst pipe is — there's no legitimate reason a quote needs to be accepted today or the price goes up. That pressure tactic is far more common among unlicensed operators than certified firms with an ongoing local reputation to protect.
• No verifiable local presence. A firm with a real address, a business history, and reviews tied to actual completed jobs is easier to hold accountable than one operating out of an unmarked vehicle with only a cell phone number.

None of these substitute for the DEP directory check — they're supplementary judgment calls, not a certification check in themselves.

A word on how we use "certified" on this site

Every time this site says "PA DEP-certified," it's referring to that specific state credential described above — not a marketing claim of our own. We connect York County homeowners with PA DEP-certified radon professionals; we don't perform testing or mitigation ourselves, and we don't hold this certification. Verifying a specific contractor's current status is always worth doing directly with DEP before you hire, regardless of how they were introduced to you.

Get a Free Radon Estimate and we'll connect you with a PA DEP-certified professional for your part of York County.