How to Get a Virginia Contractor License

Section 54.1-1100 of the Code of Virginia sets the three classes by value. Class C covers single contracts over $1,000 but under $30,000, with total work in any 12-month period under $250,000. Class B covers single contracts from $30,000 up to but not including $150,000, or yearly volume from $250,000 up to but not including $1 million. Class A begins at $150,000 for one contract or $1 million over 12 months and has no ceiling.

DPOR's step-by-step guide warns that working above your class is a violation that can lead to discipline, and that each class has its own financial and experience tests. A firm that cannot yet meet Class A requirements may still qualify for B or C and file a change-of-class application later.

What the firm may build is shown by three-letter codes printed on the license. The regulations at 18VAC50-22-20 define the broad classifications: Commercial Building (CBC), Residential Building (RBC), Electrical (ELE), Plumbing (PLB), HVAC (HVA), Highway/Heavy (H/H) and Fire Sprinkler (SPR). Narrower specialties, from Home Improvement (HIC) and Roofing (ROC) to Concrete (CEM) and Masonry (BRK), are defined in 18VAC50-22-30.

The application sorts designations by what the firm's qualifier must show:

Responsible management means the sole proprietor, partners, officers or LLC members and managers who answer for the license. Directors of a corporation cannot be listed in that role.

A qualified individual (QI) is named for each specialty on the license. The QI must be at least 18, either a full-time employee working 30 or more hours a week or a member of responsible management, and must have one year of experience in that specialty for Class C, three years for Class B or five years for Class A.

The designated employee (DE) exists only for Class A and Class B. The DE meets the same employment test and must pass the business portions of the PSI contractor exam: the Virginia and General portions for Class B, plus the Advanced portion for Class A. A Class C firm has no DE and takes no business exam.

Every new contractor license, whatever the class, requires an eight-hour pre-license course approved by the Board. For Class A and B the DE or a responsible manager may take it; for Class C a responsible manager must. DPOR describes it as a basic business course on the statutes and regulations every contractor must follow, not tied to any trade, and it publishes the list of approved providers, who set their own prices and schedules.

The application states that the course cannot stand in for the business exams, and the exams do not excuse the course. Attach the completion certificate and list the provider and date on the form.

A Class A firm must document at least $45,000 in net worth or equity and a Class B firm at least $15,000, using the Board's financial statement form with supporting documents, a CPA-reviewed statement or a CPA audit. Either class may post a $50,000 surety bond on the Board's form instead. Class C has no net-worth test.

The form also asks about unpaid debts, judgments, tax obligations, bond defaults and bankruptcies over the past three years for Class C, four for Class B and five for Class A, plus felony convictions, non-marijuana misdemeanors within three years and past discipline in any jurisdiction. A yes answer calls for a reporting form and can send the file to an informal fact-finding conference, which slows things down.

The August 2026 packet lists initial fees of $274.50 for Class C, $419.50 for Class B and $439.50 for Class A. Those totals combine the regulatory license fee in 18VAC50-22-100 ($235, $380 or $400), the $25 Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund assessment and a technology fee DPOR began adding on July 1, 2026. A firm applying only for CBC or CIC skips the Recovery Fund charge and pays $249.50, $394.50 or $414.50. None of these fees are refunded if the firm turns out to be ineligible.

Register the business with the State Corporation Commission first, including any assumed name, and have the SCC number or FEIN ready. Every person listed must sign. DPOR says most complete applications are processed in about 30 days, first in, first out.

A state license does not cover local requirements. The application makes each firm confirm it will meet the licensing rules of every city, county and town where it works, so check with the local Commissioner of the Revenue and building official.

Under 18VAC50-22-110 a license expires two years from the last day of the month it was issued. Renewal fees in 18VAC50-22-140 are $220 for Class C, $260 for Class B and $270 for Class A, each plus a $30 Recovery Fund assessment. A 30-day grace period follows expiration, but the license is not valid during it, and DPOR goes by the date payment arrives rather than the postmark. After 30 days the firm must reinstate.

Renewal requires the firm to keep meeting its class requirements, such as a current QI, DE and financial standing. The contractor regulations do not set continuing-education hours for the firm license; master tradesman licenses held by QIs are governed by DPOR's separate tradesman regulations. The Board can also order remedial education in a disciplinary case.

The two exam hurdles, the DE's business portions and the QI's technical exam, are open-book PSI tests with published outlines. ContractorPrepHQ offers practice for them: original questions written from the PSI outlines and reference lists, a diagnostic, topic drills with explanations and timed practice exams with a readiness score. Virginia business prep costs $99, and trade prep costs $149 with the business prep included; both are one-time purchases with lifetime access and a 30-day money-back guarantee. That practice is separate from the Board-approved eight-hour course, which you still take from a provider on DPOR's list.