A Philadelphia lead-safe certificate is good for four years. Lead-free certificates don’t expire. (City lead certification FAQ)
You need a valid certificate to renew your rental license and to sign or renew a lease. So check the date before either one comes up, not after.
Quick answer: take the date of your certification and add four years. To see what the City actually has on file, use the portal for your own properties, or the City’s open data for any address.
Option 1: the City’s portal (your own properties)
The City’s lead certification portal is where landlords file certificates. You can also use it to see what’s already on file for your property.
- Open the portal. Go to leadcertification.phila.gov/login.
- Sign in. The portal now signs you in through the City’s login.phila.gov. The City says your existing username and password still work. If you came over from eCLIPSE, use the Coming from eCLIPSE? link on the sign-in page.
- Find your property. Search for the address. Use the property’s OPA account number as it appears on your rental license in eCLIPSE, so you’re looking at the right record.
- Check each certification. The property’s disclosure page lists the lead certifications on file. Check the status of each one. None should show as failed or expired.
- Count them. Each unit needs its own certificate. The number of certifications listed should match the number of units on your rental license.
If a certification shows failed dust wipe results but your certificate says you passed, compare the numbers entered in the portal against the lab report. If they match, call the firm that tested the property. The City’s Lead and Healthy Homes Program can help at (215) 685-2788. (City lead certification FAQ)
Option 2: the City’s open data (any property)
The City publishes the current certification status of every property in Philadelphia as open data: the Lead Paint Certifications dataset on OpenDataPhilly. It’s built from what landlords file with the Lead and Healthy Homes Program.
This is the way to check a property that isn’t in your portal account: a rental you’re about to buy, a building you’re taking over as manager, or the place you rent. It also works for checking a whole portfolio at once.
- Open the dataset on OpenDataPhilly and download the CSV. It covers every property in the city, so it’s a large file. Open it in a spreadsheet program such as Excel.
- Search the address column. The City writes addresses in capitals with short forms, like “S” for South and “ST” for Street. If the full address doesn’t match, search the house number and street name only.
- Read the row using the table below.
| Column | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| lhhp_certification_status | Certified, Expired, Pending, Not Certified, Exempt or Unknown |
| lhhp_status_type | Lead-Safe or Lead-Free (or why the property is exempt) |
| lhhp_cert_date | When the property was certified |
| lhhp_cert_expiration_date | When the certification expires: four years after the certification date for lead-safe |
| lhhp_certified_units | How many units are certified |
| lhhp_status_details | The City’s explanation of the status, in plain English |
| li_rl_status | Whether the property’s rental license is active |
The City updates this data often, but it says it can’t vouch for any single record. If the open data and your portal account disagree, go by the portal and call the Lead and Healthy Homes Program.
What “expired but still licensed” means
Your rental license and your lead certificate run on separate clocks. The license was issued while the certificate was valid, and the certificate can run out before the license does. In the City’s data, 9,822 Philadelphia rentals with an active license show a lead-safe certificate that has expired (as of October 24, 2026).
The license staying active doesn’t mean you’re covered. Here’s what an expired certificate means:
- No license renewal. The City won’t renew a rental license without a valid lead-safe or lead-free certificate. eCLIPSE blocks the license application until every unit’s certification is filed and none are expired.
- No new or renewed lease. You need a valid certificate to sign a lease or renew one, automatic renewals included. See Do I need a lead-safe certificate?
- Enforcement. The Health Department can issue code violations, Notices of Violation and fines. Owners may also be barred from evicting a tenant while the matter is open.
- Tenants can report it. The City tells renters to report an expired certification to 311 or the Lead and Healthy Homes Program.
The fix is the same as the first time: a new dust wipe test, a passing result, and the new certificate uploaded to the portal (step by step).
How many certificates are coming due
Certificates last four years, so they come due in waves. Among Philadelphia rentals with an active license, these lead-safe certificates expire in the next few years:
| Year | Lead-safe certificates expiring |
|---|---|
| 2027 | 10,373 |
| 2028 | 9,848 |
| 2029 | 25,358 |
| 2030 | 23,167 |
Source: City of Philadelphia, Lead Paint Certifications open data, October 24, 2026. Counts properties with an active rental license. “Expired” means the City shows the lead-safe certificate as expired while the rental license is still active.
See the numbers for your ZIP code on the Philadelphia page.
When to book your next test
The new certificate gets its own four years, counted from its own date. In the City’s data, every lead-safe expiration date is exactly four years after the certification date. Testing a little early costs you a few weeks at the end, but testing late can hold up a lease or a license.
Leave time for each step:
- Booking the visit. Getting on the calendar, and giving your tenant notice: the City says tenants should get at least 5 days’ notice before an inspection.
- Shipping and lab time. With standard USPS shipping and standard lab time, results take about 6–10 business days after the visit. Rush lab speeds with UPS shipping can bring that down to the next business day. See what to expect.
- Filing with the City. You upload the certificate and lab report to the portal, and the City reviews it.
- A possible fail. If one spot fails, it has to be cleaned or repaired and re-tested. See failed a lead dust test?
Rule of thumb: book about two months before whichever comes first: the certificate’s expiry date, your rental license renewal, or the next new or renewed lease. Already expired? Book now, and pick a rush lab speed if a lease or license date is close.
Our clients don’t have to track this: we text you before your certificate expires.