Virginia contractor licenses are issued to businesses, not to individuals, in Class A, B, or C, based on the size of the job and the firm's volume. Look the company up with DPOR before you hire, and confirm the class and specialty cover the work you want done.

What do Class A, B, and C mean?

A city business license or a truck decal is not a substitute for a Board for Contractors license. DPOR's contractor licensing information, drawn from the Code, uses these project and volume tests:

• Class A: the contractor may perform or manage work when a single contract or project is $150,000 or more, or when the firm's total of such work in any 12-month period is $1 million or more.
• Class B: a single contract or project of $30,000 or more but less than $150,000, or 12-month volume of $250,000 or more but less than $1 million.
• Class C: a single contract or project over $1,000 but less than $30,000, or 12-month volume of no more than $250,000.

Work of $1,000 or less generally may not require a contractor license, with important exceptions. Irrigation and water-well contractors must be licensed as Class A, B, or C regardless of the dollar amount. Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and certain other trades also involve individual tradesman licenses for the people who do that work. A firm can have a contractor license and still need a master tradesman as the qualified individual for a specialty.

The classification or specialty on the license, such as residential building, roofing, or plumbing, describes the type of work the company may perform. Doing work outside that specialty can be a problem for the contractor and for you. When you look the company up, read both the class and the specialties, the business name, the license status, and any public disciplinary history.

Licenses are issued to the business entity and expire two years from the month of issuance. If a salesperson uses a trade name, ask for the legal licensed name and look that name up. Localities may also require their own licenses or permits. DPOR tells applicants to contact the local commissioner of the revenue and building official as well.

How should you use the lookup before you sign?

Use DPOR's license lookup and the Board for Contractors pages at dpor.virginia.gov. Search the exact legal name, and ask the company for its license number in advance. If the record is expired, inactive, or in another person's name, stop. If the class is too low for your project size, stop. A Class C license is not the right license for a $200,000 addition.

Get at least three written bids from companies you have already looked up. Ask for proof of insurance, a list of recent local jobs, and the name of the person who will pull permits. For electrical, plumbing, or HVAC work, ask who the licensed tradesman will be. If a bid is far below the others and the company wants a large cash deposit before a written contract, walk away and consider a complaint to DPOR if you suspect unlicensed practice.

Keep a copy of the lookup results, including the date you checked, with your contract. If a company says a license is "in process" or belongs to a friend, that is not a current license for your job. Temporary licenses exist in a narrow situation for firms already licensed in another state, and they last 45 days. Do not treat a pending application as permission to start a major project.

You can read the current Board booklet, "Contractor Licensing Information," and the consumer hiring guide on DPOR's site for more detail, including designated-employee and qualified-individual rules that affect who may run the company. You do not have to master those entry rules. You do have to confirm that the business in front of you is currently licensed for the work and the dollar amount of your project at hand.

FAQ

Who issues Virginia contractor licenses?

The Board for Contractors at the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Licenses are issued to business entities, not to individual salespeople, and they have both a class and one or more specialties.

What is the dollar line between Class C and Class B?

Class C covers a single contract or project over $1,000 but less than $30,000, within the 12-month volume cap. Class B starts at $30,000 for a single project, or at $250,000 of volume in 12 months, and stays below the Class A thresholds.

Does work under $1,000 need a license?

Usually not, except for specialties such as irrigation and water wells, which require a license regardless of the dollar amount. Tradesman licenses can still apply to the people doing regulated trade work.

Where do I look a company up?

Use DPOR's license lookup on dpor.virginia.gov, and confirm the legal name, class, specialties, and status. Also ask the locality about permits and any local license.

Next step

Look up every bidder in DPOR's license lookup, match the class and specialty to your project, and only then compare written bids. A licensed local agent can help you plan a renovation around a sale or a purchase, but the license check is one you should do yourself before you sign.

Sources: DPOR, Board for Contractors licensing information (PDF); DPOR, hiring a contractor consumer guide; DPOR, Board for Contractors; Code of Virginia, Title 54.1, Chapter 11, contractors.

Get a written, signed contract before a Virginia contractor starts residential work, and look the firm up with DPOR. If you signed at home after a solicitation, you generally may cancel until midnight of the third business day. The Recovery Fund pays only after a Virginia court judgment for improper or dishonest conduct, not a mere breach of contract.

What should be in the contract, and when can you cancel?

The three-day right comes from the Home Solicitation Sales Act. DPOR's consumer guide tells households to use a written contract, signed by both parties, for residential contracting work. The writing should identify the licensed business, the work, the price or how the price will be figured, the payment schedule, and the approximate start and completion. Do not leave blanks, and do not pay the full price up front. Tie payments to completed stages, and keep copies of change orders.

If the sale was solicited at your home, including many door-to-door or in-home pitches, the Virginia Home Solicitation Sales Act generally gives you until midnight of the third business day after you sign to cancel. The contract should include a conspicuous "BUYER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL" notice, and you should receive a copy when you sign. Follow the cancellation method in the notice, in writing, and keep proof of how you sent it. This right is specific to covered home solicitations. It is not a general three-day cooling-off period on every remodeling contract signed at a contractor's office.

If something goes wrong, complain to DPOR and to the locality that issued the building permit. A Board complaint can lead to discipline. It does not, by itself, repay your loss, and it does not satisfy Recovery Fund requirements.

How does the Recovery Fund actually work?

The Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Act can provide relief to eligible consumers who lost money through the improper or dishonest conduct of a licensed residential contractor. The Fund is paid by assessments on contractors, not by tax revenue, and filing a claim does not guarantee payment.

You generally must first obtain a judgment in a Virginia court against a contractor who was licensed when the conduct occurred, on a contract for your residence in Virginia. The judgment must be based on improper or dishonest conduct, a term that includes wrongful taking or conversion involving fraud, material misrepresentation, or conduct that is gross negligence, continued incompetence, or an intentional violation of the Uniform Statewide Building Code. Mere breach of contract is not enough. A Board disciplinary action, standing alone, also does not meet the statutory test.

You must try to collect, including debtor interrogatories, before the Fund will step in. If the contractor is in bankruptcy, you generally must file in that court first. A Recovery Fund claim must be filed with DPOR within 12 months after the judgment is final, with a certified copy of the judgment, the contract, a notarized affidavit, and evidence of collection efforts. State law limits a single claim to $30,000, and multiple claims against the same contractor to $100,000 per biennium, with proration if claims exceed that cap. The Fund does not pay interest, punitive, or exemplary damages, though attorney fees and court costs awarded by the court may be included.

People who cannot claim include an employee, vendor, spouse, or child of the contractor, another licensed contractor, a lender, and anyone whose business is construction or development of real property. If the contractor was bonded, you may have to go to the bond first. For questions, DPOR's Recovery Fund office can be reached at (804) 367-1559 or RecoveryFund@dpor.virginia.gov. The claim form and instructions are on DPOR's Recovery Fund page.

The practical lesson is to hire a currently licensed contractor, use a clear written contract, and document every payment, because the Fund is a last resort after a lawsuit, not a shortcut around one.

FAQ

Does a Virginia home-improvement job have to be in writing?

DPOR tells consumers to use a written contract signed by both parties for residential work. Get the licensed business name, the scope, the price, and the payment schedule on paper before work starts.

Do I always have three days to cancel?

The three-business-day cancellation right generally applies to covered sales solicited at your home under the Home Solicitation Sales Act, and the contract should contain the required notice. It is not automatic on every contract signed at a contractor's office.

Will the Recovery Fund pay if the job is just poorly done?

Not for a mere breach of contract. The Fund is limited to eligible losses from improper or dishonest conduct, after a Virginia court judgment and collection efforts, and only within the dollar and filing-time limits in the statute.

How long do I have to file a Recovery Fund claim?

A claim must be filed with DPOR within 12 months after the judgment is final, with the documents the Board lists, including proof that you tried to collect.

Next step

Look the company up with DPOR, put the job in a signed written contract, and keep every invoice and change order. If you need to cancel a home solicitation, do it in writing before the third business day ends. A licensed local agent can help you plan work around a sale, but licensing and Recovery Fund questions belong with DPOR.

Sources: DPOR, hiring a contractor consumer guide; DPOR, Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund; Code of Virginia § 59.1-21.4, home solicitation written agreement; Code of Virginia, Title 59.1, Chapter 2.1, Home Solicitation Sales Act.