Short answer: most landlords get a lead-safe certificate: a dust wipe test, good for four years. A lead-free certificate takes a full lead paint inspection by a Pennsylvania-certified lead inspector or risk assessor, and it never expires, but only if no lead-based paint is found anywhere. (City lead certification FAQ)
Side by side
| Lead-safe certificate | Lead-free certificate | |
|---|---|---|
| What it proves | Paint is intact and there’s no hazardous lead dust right now | There’s no lead-based paint in the property |
| Who can issue it | An EPA-certified lead dust sampling technician or a PA-certified risk assessor | Only a PA-certified lead inspector or risk assessor |
| The test | Visual check for damaged paint, plus dust wipes sent to a lab | Full lead paint inspection, usually with an XRF analyzer that reads painted surfaces room by room |
| How long it lasts | 4 years | Doesn’t expire |
| Can lead paint be present? | Yes, if it’s intact and the dust passes | No |
| Who we send you to | That’s us: instant quote | Our partner Viva EHS |
What a lead-safe certificate is
In the City’s words, lead-safe certification means a certified professional has found the property free of deteriorated paint (flaking, chipping, peeling, chalking or otherwise not intact), and that interior dust samples were collected, tested and found not to contain hazardous levels of lead dust. (City lead certification FAQ)
Who can issue it: an EPA-certified lead dust sampling technician or a Pennsylvania-certified risk assessor. A store-bought test kit doesn’t count. We’re EPA Certified Firm NAT-F243427-1, and our samples go to Accurate Analytical Testing LLC.
What the test involves: one visit. A visual check for damaged paint, then dust wipes from one windowsill and one floor in each bedroom, plus one common room, and a blank control sample. The lab checks them against the 2026 limits. See what to expect on test day.
How long it lasts: four years, for certificates completed since February 1, 2020. Then the property is tested again. (City FAQ, PDF, question 18)
The key point: a lead-safe certificate doesn’t say there’s no lead paint. Old lead paint can sit under newer layers. What matters is that the paint is intact and the dust is below the limits.
What a lead-free certificate is
Lead-free certification means a licensed professional has certified that the property doesn’t have any lead-based paint, based on EPA/HUD standards. The City says these certificates are valid indefinitely. (City lead certification FAQ)
Under federal rules, paint counts as lead-based at 1.0 milligram of lead per square centimeter or 0.5% lead by weight. (40 CFR 745.103) One painted surface at or above that line, anywhere in what’s being certified, rules out lead-free.
Who can issue it: only a Pennsylvania-certified lead inspector or risk assessor. The state’s Department of Labor & Industry certifies them and publishes the lists. (PA L&I lead occupations) A dust sampling technician, us included, can’t issue a lead-free certificate.
What the test involves: a full lead paint inspection. The inspector reads the painted surfaces in each room with an XRF analyzer, which measures lead in the paint without scraping it off. For a condo, the City says the unit plus the building’s common areas and hallways must test lead-free. (City lead certification FAQ)
How long it lasts: it doesn’t expire.
What drives the cost of each
We don’t list prices on this page, because they depend on the property. These are the things that move them:
- Lead-safe: the number of bedrooms (each one gets a floor and a windowsill sample), the number of units, how fast you need lab results, and whether any spot needs a re-test. See what a lead-safe certificate costs, or get your exact price from the instant quote.
- Lead-free: it’s a bigger job up front. The inspector reads every painted surface rather than wiping a few spots, so the size of the property, the number of rooms and painted surfaces, and any common areas that must be included all add time. Ask the inspector for a quote.
- Over time: lead-safe repeats every four years, per unit. Lead-free is done once, if it passes.
When lead-free makes sense
- You’re holding the property for the long term. A lead-safe certificate means a new test every four years. A lead-free certificate ends that, as long as no lead-based paint turns up.
- You have many units. Every unit needs its own certificate, and lead-safe ones come due again every four years. If the building is likely to come back clean, one inspection can replace a cycle of re-tests.
- The lead paint has been removed. After a full abatement or a gut renovation that took out the old painted surfaces, a lead-free inspection can prove it. A renovation alone doesn’t exempt you: the City still requires a certificate unless the building was built after February 1978. (City lead certification FAQ)
- Child care. A Philadelphia family child care license needs a lead-safe or lead-free certificate, and for a family daycare the City says all common rooms the children can reach must be tested. A provider who plans to stay in the same building for years may prefer to settle it once. See lead-safe requirements for daycares.
When lead-safe is the usual choice
- The building is old and has never been abated. The City notes that most Philadelphia properties were built before 1978, and old lead paint can still be there under newer layers. If the XRF finds any, you don’t get a lead-free certificate and still need lead-safe testing.
- A lease or license date is close. A dust wipe test is one visit, and rush lab speeds are available. See when to book.
- You may sell or refinance within a few years. Four years of coverage may be all you need.
- The paint is in good shape. Lead-safe only asks that paint be intact and dust be below the limits, which a well-kept unit can meet. Use the prep checklist.
If the lead-free inspection finds lead paint
Then there’s no lead-free certificate. Here’s what follows:
- You can still get a lead-safe certificate. Intact lead paint doesn’t stop a lead-safe certificate. If the paint is intact and the dust wipes pass, you’re compliant for four years.
- Damaged paint has to be fixed first. If a property fails visual, dust wipe or XRF testing, the City says the area must be corrected by a certified renovator, then re-inspected and the failed areas wiped again. (City lead certification FAQ) Find RRP-certified renovators on the EPA’s contractor page. See failed a lead dust test?
- You now have to disclose it. Under the federal disclosure rule, before a lease on pre-1978 housing a landlord must disclose any known lead-based paint and hand over all available records and reports, including those for common areas and other units in a multi-unit building. The inspection report becomes one of those records. (EPA real estate disclosure rule)
- Removing it for good is abatement. Lead abatement in Pennsylvania takes a state-certified lead abatement contractor. (PA L&I lead occupations) The City’s Lead and Healthy Homes Program says grants may be available: call (215) 685-2788.
Next steps
- For a lead-safe certificate: get an instant quote. You’ll see the price and the date range for your results in about a minute.
- For an XRF inspection or a lead-free certificate: ask Viva EHS, the Philadelphia environmental firm we refer this work to.
- Still not sure? Read XRF, lead-free and risk assessments, or call us and we’ll point you the right way.