Virginia License Classes & Monetary Limits
Virginia sizes a contractor license by the dollar value of the work, using Class A, B, and C. This chapter covers the current §54.1-1100 project and annual limits, the net-worth or bond required for each class, and what happens when a Class A candidate does not pass the Advanced portion.
When a license is required and who issues it
Contractors in Virginia are licensed by the Board for Contractors within the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), under Va. Code Title 54.1, Chapter 11, with regulations at 18VAC50-22. A contractor license is required once work is valued at $1,000 or more, whether as a single project or as a total in a 12-month period. Work under $1,000 generally does not by itself require a license.
The current Class A, B, and C limits
Under the current §54.1-1100 figures, Class C covers single projects of more than $1,000 but less than $30,000, with annual value under $250,000, and has no net worth requirement. Class B covers single projects of $30,000 to less than $150,000, with annual value of $250,000 to less than $1,000,000, and requires a minimum net worth of $15,000. Class A covers single projects of $150,000 or more, or annual value of $1,000,000 or more, with no upper limit, and requires a minimum net worth of $45,000 (or, alternatively, a $50,000 bond). Candidates should ignore older $10,000 / $120,000 / $750,000 figures, which have been superseded.
Matching the class to the job
Choosing the class means comparing the project value to the thresholds: a $60,000 single project needs at least Class B, and a $200,000 project needs Class A. A Class A applicant who passes the Virginia and General exam portions but not the Advanced portion is generally licensed at the Class B level rather than denied. A contractor who takes a job above the class limit is operating outside the license, a violation of board rules.