Contractors who submit permit applications to the Department of Licenses and Inspections will have to submit “tax clearance” forms and show they have insurance. Contractors also must show they have insurance coverage for general liability, workers compensation and automobile liability.
Tax clearance means the contractor has shown he or she has paid all his business taxes and has the required license to do business, said L&I spokeswoman Rebecca Swanson.
“It’s making sure the contractor is above board,” she said. If he’s not paying his taxes, she asked, what else isn’t he doing correctly?
The necessary tax and “certificate of insurance” forms can be found online at www.phila.gov/revenue
These new requirements as well as the following changes in the Philadelphia Code become effective Jan. 1.
Also, contractors are now required to display their license numbers on advertisements, stationery, proposals, contracts, job sites, their main places of business and on business vehicles displaying the names of contracting businesses.
License numbers on vehicles must be at least 2 inches high and clearly visible. Contractors can not sell or transfer licenses.
Primary contractors on permitted job sites must post the following on job sites other than residential buildings of two units or less:
— Address of construction site
— Prime contractor’s business name, business address and contractor license number
— A list of all subcontractors
— Documentation that the contractor has all required licenses
— Property owner’s name
— Copies of all permits for the job
— A copy of the contractor’s insurance certificate.
The city has advised licensed contractors of these changes in two mailings sent out in December, Swanson said.
L&I’s new six-member Construction Site Task Force checks on permits, licenses and insurance, she said. If, for example, the task force discovers a contractor’s insurance has expired while he is still working on a job, it will shut down the job until the contractor can prove he has acquired insurance.
“We catch as many as we can,” she said.
She urged residents to call 311 to report unlicensed contractors or unpermitted work. ••
