West Virginia Coverage, Tax Registration & Exam Logistics
Before a West Virginia license issues, a contractor must show workers' compensation and unemployment coverage and register with the State Tax Department. This chapter reviews those prerequisites, the ProV exam format, and license maintenance.
Coverage prerequisites: workers' compensation and unemployment
Before the Contractor Licensing Board issues a license, an applicant must show that it is in good standing with the state's coverage and tax systems: workers' compensation coverage for its employees, unemployment compensation registration with WorkForce West Virginia, and compliance with the Division of Labor's wage and hour requirements. These prerequisites ensure a licensed contractor is meeting its obligations to workers before it takes on public-facing construction work.
Business Registration Certificate from the State Tax Department
A West Virginia contractor must obtain a Business Registration Certificate from the West Virginia State Tax Department before doing business, and must be in good standing on state taxes to receive and keep a contractor license. Registering with the Tax Department ties the contractor into the state's tax system and is a routine condition of licensure that candidates should expect to see referenced.
The open-book ProV exam and license maintenance
Remember West Virginia's exam facts: the Contractor Licensing Act exam is 90 questions, 180 minutes, open book, 70% to pass, administered by ProV since September 1, 2024, with a separate trade exam for the classification. A license may list multiple qualifying individuals but no backup qualifiers. The license number must appear on all bids, contracts, and advertisements, and the license is renewed on the board's cycle — keeping coverage and tax registration current is a condition of renewal.