Virginia licenses contractors by firm, not by individual, and the license class comes straight from the dollar value of the work. The Board for Contractors, part of the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), issues Class A, Class B, and Class C licenses based on monetary thresholds that changed in 2025. Getting the class right matters because the class decides which business exam portions your designated employee takes, how much net worth the firm must show, and how much experience the qualified individual needs.
The 2025 thresholds
HB1707/SB1059 (effective July 1, 2025) raised the Class A thresholds and reset the others. Current law:
- Class A: a single contract or project of $150,000 or more, or $1,000,000 or more in the 12 months before application.
- Class B: a single contract of $30,000 or more but less than $150,000, or $250,000 to under $1,000,000 in the 12 months before application.
- Class C: a single contract over $1,000 but less than $30,000, or under $250,000 in the 12 months before application.
"Value" means fair market value, and the contract price is prima facie evidence of that value. Two warnings: first, almost every third-party prep book still prints the pre-2025 Class A figures ($120,000/$750,000). The statute controls, and the exam will use current law. Second, there is one carve-out in Va. Code 54.1-1103(C): water well drillers and landscape irrigation contractors still use the old thresholds, so do not apply those figures to general contracting.
What each class demands
Class A. The top tier. The firm's qualified individual needs 5 years of experience plus a prerequisite credential or a board-approved technical exam for the classification. The firm must show $45,000 net worth or equity (a $50,000 surety bond may substitute). The designated employee takes all three business exam portions: Virginia, General, and Advanced.
Class B. The middle tier. The qualified individual needs 3 years of experience plus a credential or technical exam. The firm must show $15,000 net worth (again, a $50,000 surety bond may substitute). The designated employee takes two exam portions: the Virginia Portion and the General Portion.
Class C. The small-project tier. No net worth requirement and no business exam, but the qualified individual still needs 1 year of experience (reduced from 2 years effective 9/1/2025) plus a prerequisite credential or a board-approved technical exam for the specialty. Trade and specialty exams live in a separate PSI bulletin.
All three classes need a board-approved 8-hour basic business course for the designated employee or responsible-management member, in place since 8/21/2006.
The two key people: designated employee and qualified individual
These two roles are easy to confuse, and the exam tests the difference:
- The designated employee is a full-time employee or responsible-management member, 18 or older, who passed the board's business exam on the firm's behalf. Only Class A and B firms need one.
- The qualified individual brings the trade experience and the credential or technical exam for each classification or specialty the firm holds.
QI changes must be reported to the Board within 60 days; corporate or LLC principal changes within 120 days. And when a designated employee leaves, there is a genuine conflict in the law: the statute (54.1-1106(E), 54.1-1108(E)) gives the firm 90 days to name a new one, while the board regulation (18VAC50-22-220(B)) says 120 days. Treat it as an open question, not a settled fact, and know both numbers.
Licenses are firm-held and specialty-based
A Virginia license belongs to the business entity, and each classification or specialty on it needs its own qualified individual. Net worth is proved by a board financial statement, a CPA-reviewed statement, or a CPA audit, and property held as tenants by the entirety is excluded from the computation. Adverse-financial disclosures look back 5 years for Class A, 4 years for Class B, and 3 years for Class C (reduced effective 9/1/2025).
Picking your class
Choose by the work you actually intend to do, not the work you hope to do. If you hold a Class B license and take a $200,000 single contract, you are contracting without the proper class, and unlicensed contracting is a Class 1 misdemeanor with fines up to $500 per day. One narrow path exists for out-of-state contractors with a comparable license in good standing: a 45-day non-renewable temporary license.
If your jobs stay under $1,000, read the handyman exemption. Otherwise, figure out your real costs in what the license costs and walk the steps in how to get a Virginia contractor license. This is an independent study aid, not affiliated with DPOR, the Board for Contractors, PSI, or NASCLA; confirm every figure against current law before you apply.
Try the free practice quiz
Want to see where you stand right now? Take the free 12-question Virginia Business and Law practice quiz. You will get your score with explanations for every answer, so you can see exactly which topics need work. Start the free quiz