Board for Contractors, Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) administers general contractor licensing in Virginia. Every figure below is verified against the board’s own official pages and dated. Who must personally hold a credential — the contractor, the business, or the individual worker — is set out under Requirements.
What it’s called
Class A contractor license; Class B contractor license; Class C contractor license; Virginia contractor license. Virginia issues no credential titled “general contractor” - the general-building classifications defined in 18VAC50-22-20 are “Residential building contractors” (RBC), “Commercial building contractors” (CBC) and “Highway/heavy contractors” (H/H), with related specialties including Home Improvement Contracting (HIC) and Commercial Improvement (CIC). Distinct from the Board’s separate TRADESMAN licence (electrician, plumber, HVAC, gas fitter individuals).
License types & fees
| Type | Experience | Exam | Fee | Scope Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class A contractor license | Qualified Individual for each classification/specialty must have "a minimum of five years of experience in the classification or specialty" (18VAC50-22-60). Separate financial requirement: the firm must verify "a net worth or equity of $45,000" or "obtain a $50,000 surety bond on the board's bond form." | Designated Employee must pass the board-approved exam. DPOR: "The Class A licensure examination is a three-part exam consisting of the Virginia and General Sections (contained in the Class B exam), as well as, an Advanced Section which tests the candidate's general administrative and business knowledge necessary to engage in Class A contracting." Qualified Individuals must also pass a technical exam for their specialty unless the specialty requires a listed licence (e.g. ELE requires a valid Master Electrician Tradesman licence). Plus an 8-hour board-approved basic business pre-licence course. | LIVE application form A501-27LIC-v17 dated 07/01/2026: "Class A 1022 $439.50**". Regulation 18VAC50-22-100 publishes a $400 Class A initial licence fee plus a separate $25 Recovery Fund assessment; the remaining $14.50 is the technology fee, charged at $7.25 per year across the two-year licence term set by 18VAC50-22-110 ($400 + $25 + 2 x $7.25 = $439.50). BOTH figures stated - see fees. | Va. Code 54.1-1100: Class A contractors "perform or manage construction, removal, repair, or improvements when (i) the total value referred to in a single contract or project is $150,000 or more, or (ii) the total value of all such construction, removal, repair, or improvements undertaken by such person within any 12-month period is $1 million or more." DPOR's application restates this as "There are no monetary restrictions for Class A licenses." |
| Class B contractor license | Qualified Individual must have "a minimum of three years of experience in the classification or specialty" (18VAC50-22-50). Financial requirement: "a net worth or equity of $15,000 or more" or a $50,000 surety bond. | DPOR: "The Class B licensure examination is a two-part exam comprised of a Virginia Section (to test the candidate's knowledge of Virginia's laws and regulations governing contractors) and a General Section (to test the candidate's general administrative and business knowledge)." Qualified Individual technical exam/credential per specialty also applies, plus the 8-hour basic business course. | LIVE form A501-27LIC-v17 (07/01/2026): "Class B 1021 $419.50**". Regulation 18VAC50-22-100 publishes $380 plus a separate $25 Recovery Fund assessment; the remaining $14.50 is the $7.25/year technology fee across the two-year term ($380 + $25 + 2 x $7.25 = $419.50). Both stated. | Va. Code 54.1-1100: Class B contractors "perform or manage construction, removal, repair, or improvements when (i) the total value referred to in a single contract or project is $30,000 or more, but less than $150,000, or (ii) the total value of all such construction, removal, repair, or improvements undertaken by such person within any 12-month period is $250,000 or more, but less than $1 million." |
| Class C contractor license | Qualified Individual must have a "minimum of one year of experience in the classification or specialty" (18VAC50-22-40). No net worth/equity or surety bond requirement is imposed on Class C. | No Designated Employee business examination - the application directs "Class C applicants skip to question 14", and DPOR states the Designated Employee exam applies to "All business entities seeking a Class A or a Class B license." A board-approved technical examination (or listed credential) is still required of the Qualified Individual. A member of responsible management must complete the 8-hour basic business course. | LIVE form A501-27LIC-v17 (07/01/2026): "Class C 1020 $274.50**". Regulation 18VAC50-22-100 publishes $235 plus the $25 Recovery Fund assessment; the remaining $14.50 is the $7.25/year technology fee across the two-year term ($235 + $25 + 2 x $7.25 = $274.50). Both stated. | Va. Code 54.1-1100: Class C contractors "perform or manage construction, removal, repair, or improvements when (i) the total value referred to in a single contract or project is over $1,000 but less than $30,000, or (ii) the total value of all such construction, removal, repair, or improvements undertaken by such person within any 12-month period is less than $250,000." CONFLICT on the 12-month figure: DPOR's information sheet A501-27INTRO-v8 (09/01/2025) instead reads "is no more than $250,000"; DPOR's own application reads "remaining below $250,000", agreeing with the statute. |
| Temporary license | Not separately stated; qualification is holding a comparable out-of-state licence in good standing. | Not separately stated. | THREE OFFICIAL FIGURES - all stated, none collapsed - and the temporary licence is NEVER payable on its own. (1) LIVE temporary application A501-2703LIC-v12, dated 07/01/2026, prints an $85.00 temporary line item and a combined total. Its Finance Use Only table has the columns Trans Code | Initial License (2705) | Temporary License (2703) | Both License (Temp. & Initial), and reads "1022 $414.50** $85.00 = $499.50 / 1021 $394.50** $85.00 = $479.50 / 1020 $249.50** $85.00 = $334.50"; the box the applicant actually completes is headed Type of License | Trans Code | Initial License Fee* and reads "Class A 1022 $499.50** / Class B 1021 $479.50** / Class C 1020 $334.50**", under "APPLICATION FEES ARE NOT REFUNDABLE." The form footnotes those amounts "** Pursuant to 2026's House Bill 30, DPOR is to charge a Technology Fee equal to $7.25 per year." So the amount payable on the live 07/01/2026 form is $499.50 (Class A), $479.50 (Class B) or $334.50 (Class C) - never the temporary fee alone. (2) Regulation 18VAC50-22-100 lists "Temporary License | with license application and applicable initial license fee | $60" - its When Due column itself requires the initial licence fee alongside. (3) DPOR information sheet A501-27INTRO-v8 (09/01/2025) states "The cost for the temporary license is $50. In order to obtain a temporary license, the applicant must submit its application for temporary licensure simultaneously with its application for permanent licensure and pay both application fees." DPOR nowhere reconciles the $85.00 line item with the regulation's $60 or the information sheet's $50; all three are current DPOR publications and all three are stated here. For arithmetic only (not a DPOR statement): $85.00 equals the regulation's $60 temporary fee plus the $25 Recovery Fund assessment that 18VAC50-22-100 requires with each initial license application, and $414.50 / $394.50 / $249.50 equal the $400 / $380 / $235 regulation base plus 2 x $7.25 technology fee. Send the total printed on the live form, not $60 or $50: application fees are non-refundable and a temporary licence "cannot be renewed, reinstated or reapplied for." | DPOR information sheet A501-27INTRO-v8 (09/01/2025): "A temporary license is a 45 day license that cannot be renewed, reinstated or reapplied for. This license will allow firms to have 45 days to complete all entry requirements for a permanent contractor license. To qualify for a temporary license, a firm must hold a comparable license or certificate in another state. The license must be in good standing and the applicant must provide a Certification/Letter of Good Standing, with their application, from the state where they hold a current license. ... In order to obtain a temporary license, the applicant must submit its application for temporary licensure simultaneously with its application for permanent licensure and pay both application fees." (The ellipsis omits the sheet's $50 figure, quoted in full in the fee cell.) The last clause is a payment condition, not just a filing condition. 18VAC50-22-100 imposes the same condition in its When Due column, which for the Temporary License row reads "with license application and applicable initial license fee". The live form A501-2703LIC-v12 (07/01/2026) adds: "This license will allow firms to have 45 days to complete all licence requirements for a two year contractor license that will be renewable" and "If your firm cannot provide a letter of good standing from a state agency equivalent to the Board for Contractors your application will be determined incomplete and your application fee will be valid for one year from the received date." |
Who does NOT need this license — exemptions
Va. Code 54.1-1101(A): “The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to: 1. Any governmental agency performing work with its own forces; 2. Work bid upon or undertaken for the armed services of the United States under the Armed Services Procurement Act; 3. Work bid upon or undertaken for the United States government on land under the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government either by statute or deed of cession; 4. Work bid upon or undertaken for the Department of Transportation on the construction, reconstruction, repair, or improvement of any highway or bridge; 5. Any other persons who may be specifically excluded by other laws but only to such an extent as such laws provide; 6. Any material supplier who renders advice concerning use of products sold and who does not provide construction or installation services; 7. Any person who performs or supervises the construction, removal, repair, or improvement of no more than one primary residence owned by him and for his own use during any 24-month period; 8. Any person who performs or supervises the construction, removal, repair, or improvement of a house upon his own real property as a bona fide gift to a member of his immediate family provided such member lives in the house. For purposes of this section, ‘immediate family’ includes one’s mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandchild, grandparent, mother-in-law, and father-in-law; 9. Any person who performs or supervises the repair or improvement of industrial or manufacturing facilities, or a commercial or retail building, for his own use; 10. Any person who performs or supervises the repair or improvement of residential dwelling units owned by him that are subject to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (§ 55.1-1200 et seq.); 11. Any owner-developer, provided that any third-party purchaser is made a third-party beneficiary to the contract between the owner-developer and a licensed contractor whereby the contractor’s obligation to perform the contract extends to both the owner-developer and the third party; 12. Work undertaken by students as part of a career and technical education project as defined in § 22.1-228 established by any school board in accordance with Article 5 (§ 22.1-228 et seq.) of Chapter 13 of Title 22.1 for the construction of portable classrooms or single family homes; 13. Any person who performs the removal of building detritus or provides janitorial, cleaning, or sanitizing services incidental to the construction, removal, repair, or improvement of real property; 14. Any person who is performing work directly under the supervision of a licensed contractor and is (i) a student in good standing and enrolled in a public or private institution of higher education, (ii) a student enrolled in a career training or technical education program, or (iii) an apprentice as defined in § 2.2-2043; and 15. Work undertaken by a person providing construction, remodeling, repair, improvement, removal, or demolition valued at $25,000 or less per project on behalf of a properly licensed contractor, provided that such contractor holds a valid license in the (i) residential building, (ii) commercial building, or (iii) home improvement building contractor classification. However, any construction services that require an individual license or certification shall be rendered only by an individual licensed or certified in accordance with this chapter.” The statute adds: “All other contractors performing work for any government or for any governmental agency are subject to the provisions of this chapter and are required to be licensed as provided herein.” DOLLAR FLOOR: the statute’s class definitions in 54.1-1100 begin at Class C - “the total value referred to in a single contract or project is over $1,000” - so work valued at $1,000 or less falls below all three class definitions; DPOR’s information sheet restates the same “over $1,000” floor. (Stated as the definitional threshold, which is where Virginia locates it, rather than as a numbered exemption.) CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY CONDITION: 54.1-1101(B) - “Any person who is exempt from the provisions of this chapter as a result of subdivision A 7, 10, 11, or 12 shall obtain a certificate of occupancy for any building constructed, repaired or improved by him prior to conveying such property to a third-party purchaser, unless such purchaser has acknowledged in writing that no certificate of occupancy has been issued and that such purchaser consents to acquire the property without a certificate of occupancy.” BUILDING-CODE DUTY SURVIVES THE EXEMPTION: 54.1-1101(C) - “Any person who is exempt from the provisions of this chapter as a result of subdivision 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, or 14 of subsection A shall comply with the provisions of the Uniform Statewide Building Code (§ 36-97 et seq.).” CRIMINAL PENALTY: 54.1-1101(D) - “Any person who violates the provisions of subsection B or C shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The third or any subsequent conviction of violating subsection B or C during a 36-month period shall constitute a Class 6 felony.” So being exempt from the state contractor licence is not an exemption from the Uniform Statewide Building Code or from the certificate-of-occupancy duty, and violating either is a criminal offence. Exemption from the STATE licence also does not exempt a business from local licensing.
Fees
TWO OFFICIAL FIGURES for the initial application - both stated. (1) LIVE application form A501-27LIC-v17 dated 07/01/2026: “Class A 1022 $439.50** / Class B 1021 $419.50** / Class C 1020 $274.50**”, footnoted “** Pursuant to 2026’s House Bill 30, DPOR is to charge a Technology Fee equal to $7.25 per year.” and headed “APPLICATION FEES ARE NOT REFUNDABLE.” (2) Regulation 18VAC50-22-100, whose Historical Notes run through “amended, Virginia Register Volume 42, Issue 1, eff. September 24, 2025” (after amendments eff. August 1, 2025 and September 1, 2025 and an Errata at 42:1 VA.R. 221, August 25, 2025). Its Fee Type | When Due | Amount Due table reads: “Class C Initial License | with license application | $235; Class B Initial License | with license application | $380; Class A Initial License | with license application | $400; Temporary License | with license application and applicable initial license fee | $60; Residential Building Energy Analyst Firm License | with license application | $240; Change of Designated Employee | with change application | $125; Change of Qualified Individual | with change application | $125; Addition of Classification or Specialty | with addition application | $125” - plus, separately, “In accordance with § 54.1-1119 of the Code of Virginia, a $25 Recovery Fund assessment is also required with each initial license application.” HOW THE TWO SETS RECONCILE (arithmetic on published components; DPOR does not print this working): licences “expire two years from the last day of the month in which they were issued” (18VAC50-22-110), so the $7.25/year technology fee is charged twice - $400 + $25 + (2 x $7.25) = $439.50; $380 + $25 + $14.50 = $419.50; $235 + $25 + $14.50 = $274.50. DPOR’s Board for Contractors page states: “Technology Fee: Effective July 1, 2026, certain fees include a separate Technology Fee of $7.25 per year, pursuant to 2026’s House Bill 30. This fee will remain in place through June 30, 2030 and is used solely to upgrade or replace DPOR’s software system.” TEMPORARY LICENCE - do not send the regulation figure: the live temporary application A501-2703LIC-v12 (07/01/2026) prints an “$85.00” temporary line item payable only together with the initial licence fee, totalling “$499.50” (Class A), “$479.50” (Class B) or “$334.50” (Class C), against $60 in 18VAC50-22-100 and $50 in A501-27INTRO-v8. All three figures and the combined totals are set out in the Temporary license row of the licence-types table. RENEWAL - 18VAC50-22-140, same three-column table: “Class C renewal* | with renewal application | $220; Class B renewal* | with renewal application | $260; Class A renewal* | with renewal application | $270”, with “A $30 Recovery Fund assessment is also required with each contractor license renewal.” REINSTATEMENT - 18VAC50-22-170: “Class C reinstatement* | with reinstatement application | $460*; Class B reinstatement** | with reinstatement application | $550*; Class A reinstatement** | with reinstatement application | $550*”, with “Includes renewal fee listed in 18VAC50-22-140” and “The Recovery Fund assessment specified in 18VAC50-22-140 is also required to reinstate a contractor license.” -170 also closes: “In order to ensure that licensees are qualified to practice as contractors, no reinstatement will be permitted once two years from the expiration date of the license have passed.” THE TECHNOLOGY FEE APPLIES TO RENEWALS AND REINSTATEMENTS TOO, so those regulation figures are not the whole amount charged on or after July 1, 2026. The Act DPOR cites - 2026 Appropriation Act (HB 30), Item 356 D - reads: “The Department is authorized to collect a Technology Fee equal to $7.25 per year with each application for initial licensure, renewal, or reinstatement. The Technology Fee shall be in effect from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2030, and shall support the upgrade or replacement of software systems used by the Department.” COULD NOT SOURCE the charged renewal or reinstatement TOTAL: DPOR mails the renewal notice and publishes no renewal or reinstatement form among the contractor forms on its board page; 18VAC50-22-140 and -170, the board page’s renewal FAQ and DPOR’s fees/payments pages were all checked and none states a post-technology-fee amount. No renewal total is asserted here - pay the amount on the notice DPOR mails you. This matters: the renewal window is a hard 30 days (18VAC50-22-130 A) and an underpayment inside it drops the firm into reinstatement, where 18VAC50-22-170 charges $550 for Class A and Class B and $460 for Class C. OTHER REGULATION FEES: Change of Designated Employee $125; Change of Qualified Individual $125; Addition of Classification or Specialty $125. The live forms match - A501-27CH_QIDE-v14 prints “Change in Designated Employee 9220 $125.00 / Change in Qualified Individual 9210 $125.00” and A501-27ADDSP-v15 prints “Fee $125 per Specialty Classification” - and neither adds a technology fee; but both forms are dated 09/01/2025, before the July 1, 2026 effective date, so the basis for excluding those transactions is Item 356 D’s own enumeration (“initial licensure, renewal, or reinstatement”), not the forms’ silence. INTERNAL CONFLICT INSIDE THE LIVE APPLICATION A501-27LIC-v17: for a CBC/CIC-only request the instruction narrative reads “When applying for Commercial Building or Commercial Improvement only, the Contractor’s Recovery Fund fee is not required and you’re application fee is $360 for Class A, $345 for Class B and $210 for Class C”, while question 12.A of the same form reads “ Modification to your application fee is as follows: … Class A: $400.00 Class B: $380.00* Class C: $235.00**” with “** Contractor’s Recovery fund fee is not required for CBC/CIC only.” The two texts disagree for ALL THREE classes - $360 vs $400, $345 vs $380, $210 vs $235. DPOR does not reconcile them. Only the Class C pair differs by the $25 Recovery Fund assessment both texts say is not required ($235 - $25 = $210); the Class A and Class B pairs differ by $40 and $35, matching no published component. Ask the Board which figure applies before mailing a CBC/CIC-only application.
Exam
Examinations are administered by PSI. DPOR’s Board for Contractors page lists exam vendor “PSI (855) 340-3910”, frequency “Daily*”, “No application deadline”, and exam fees paid directly to PSI: “$40 One portion of the exam / $72 Two portions of the exam / $85 Three portions of the exam / $85 QI specialty exam”. Locations: Charlottesville, Richmond, Roanoke, Vienna, Virginia Beach VA; Johnson City TN; Salisbury MD. The Designated Employee exam applies to Class A and B only: Class B is two parts (Virginia + General), Class A is three parts (Virginia + General + Advanced). Qualified Individuals must be pre-approved by the Board before taking a required examination. NOTE: DPOR’s own documents give a different PSI phone number - A501-27INTRO-v8 and A501-27EXINFO list “1-800-733-9267” while the Board web page lists “(855) 340-3910”.
Renewal & continuing education
Two years. 18VAC50-22-110: “Licenses issued under this chapter will expire two years from the last day of the month in which they were issued, as indicated on the license.” 18VAC50-22-130 A: “The license holder’s completed renewal form and appropriate fees must be received within 30 days of the license expiration date in order to renew the license. Licenses are not valid during the 30-day grace period. Applications and fees received after the 30-day period will be processed in accordance with Part IV (18VAC50-22-160 et seq.) of this chapter.” Past that window reinstatement is required - 18VAC50-22-160 A: “If all requirements for renewal of a license as specified in 18VAC50-22-130 are not completed within 30 days of the license expiration date, the licensee will be required to reinstate the license by meeting all renewal requirements and by paying the reinstatement fee specified in 18VAC50-22-170.” The 24-month outer limit is 18VAC50-22-160 B (not -130): “A license may be reinstated for up to 24 months following the expiration date. After 24 months, the license may not be reinstated and the firm must meet all current entry requirements and apply as a new applicant.” 18VAC50-22-160 C adds that “Any regulated activity conducted subsequent to the license expiration date may constitute unlicensed activity and be subject to prosecution under Chapter 1 (§ 54.1-100 et seq.) and Chapter 11 (§ 54.1-1100 et seq.) of Title 54.1 of the Code of Virginia.” DPOR warns “You CANNOT continue to practice in Virginia after your license has expired” and that “The 30-day period is not a license extension, but only an additional 30 days to complete your renewal and submit payment without having to pay the reinstatement fee.” None for the contractor licence itself. 18VAC50-22-130 (Qualifications for renewal) conditions renewal only on timely receipt of the renewal form and fees and on the firm continuing to meet the entry requirements of 18VAC50-22-40/-50/-60; it states no continuing-education requirement, and no CE section exists anywhere in 18VAC50-22. The 8-hour board-approved basic business class is a PRE-licence requirement, not a renewal requirement. Separate CE regimes do exist elsewhere in Title 54.1 ch. 11 - for tradesmen (54.1-1133), water well systems providers (54.1-1129.1), automatic fire sprinkler inspectors, and elevator mechanics and certified accessibility mechanics (54.1-1143 B: “An elevator mechanic or a certified accessibility mechanic, as a condition of recertification and as part of the recertification application, shall attest to the Board that he has completed at least eight hours of continuing education, approved by the Board, in the specialty of elevator/escalator contracting.”) - but each of those attaches to an individual tradesman or certificate holder, not to the contractor firm licence. The list is illustrative, not exhaustive. Remedial education can be ordered for disciplinary reasons.
How to apply
Applications are handled by Board for Contractors, Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR). Start at the official application page .
Verify a license in Virginia
Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) publishes a public license search , searchable by License Search, Advanced License Search or Disciplinary Action Search. It covers all DPOR-regulated licences agency-wide, including Board for Contractors Class A/B/C contractor licences and tradesman licences - not a contractor-only portal.
Records come from Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR)’s own system. LicensingAtlas does not hold license records and cannot confirm any individual’s status — the date on this page refers to the requirements described above, not to anyone’s credential.