Virginia licenses contractors by firm, not by individual, and the requirements stack by class. There is no single magic qualification; instead, the firm must assemble a designated employee (for Class A and B), a qualified individual with experience, net worth or a bond, a completed 8-hour course, and a passing application. Here is the full checklist, with every number drawn from current law.
1. Choose your class
Your class follows the dollar value of the work under the 2025 thresholds (HB1707/SB1059, effective 7/1/2025): Class A at $150,000 or more for a single contract (or $1,000,000 in 12 months), Class B from $30,000 to under $150,000 (or $250,000 to under $1,000,000 in 12 months), Class C for work over $1,000 and under $30,000 (or under $250,000 in 12 months). See the full classifications breakdown to place yourself. If every job stays at $1,000 or less, read the handyman exemption instead.
2. Complete the 8-hour basic business course
A board-approved 8-hour basic business course is required for the designated employee or the responsible-management member (18VAC50-22-40(F), -50(H), -60(H)), in place since 8/21/2006. Take it before the exam if you can; the material overlaps with what the business exam tests.
3. Name your designated employee (Class A and B only)
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. Class A designated employees take three PSI exam portions (Virginia, General, Advanced); Class B takes two (Virginia, General); Class C takes no business exam. The exam is open book with the NASCLA Virginia 11th Edition as the primary reference.
One narrow exemption exists: 54.1-1108.1 grandfathers licensees and registrants who held their licenses before 1/1/1991 and were in business on 12/31/1990 from the designated-employee exam requirement.
4. Name your qualified individual
Every classification or specialty on the license needs a qualified individual with both experience and a prerequisite credential or a board-approved technical exam for that specialty. Experience requirements: 5 years for Class A, 3 years for Class B, 1 year for Class C (reduced from 2 years effective 9/1/2025). The designated employee and the qualified individual can be different people or the same person, as long as each requirement is met.
Report QI changes to the Board within 60 days and corporate or LLC principal changes within 120 days. When a designated employee leaves, the statute gives 90 days to name a new one while the regulation says 120 days: an unresolved conflict, so know both figures.
5. Show net worth or post the bond
Class A firms must show $45,000 net worth or equity; Class B must show $15,000; Class C has no net worth requirement. A $50,000 surety bond may substitute for the Class A or B net worth. Prove net worth with a board financial statement, a CPA-reviewed statement, or a CPA audit. 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.
6. Form and register the business
Virginia licenses firms, so the entity has to exist first. Every Virginia business entity must continuously maintain a registered office and registered agent in the Commonwealth (13.1-1015 for LLCs, 13.1-619 for stock corporations, 13.1-833 for nonstock corporations). Plan for the SCC annual registration fee too: $50 per year for an LLC.
7. Apply to the Board and pay
Submit the license application with the initial fee: $400 for Class A, $380 for Class B, $235 for Class C, plus the $25 Transaction Recovery Fund assessment. Once issued, the license runs for 2 years from the last day of the month issued. Renew within 30 days after expiration (but the license is not valid during that window), or reinstate within 24 months at $490/$460/$405, after which you apply as new. Renewal fees are $240/$225/$195.
8. Stay compliant after issuance
Keep records for 5 years. Report name or address changes in writing within 30 days. Before a building official will issue a building permit, the applicant must furnish proof of being duly licensed or file a written statement that licensure does not apply. And note: Virginia has no continuing education requirement for contractor licenses, which is one less ongoing obligation, but the renewal and change-reporting clocks still run.
Contractors with 3 or more employees regularly in service need workers' compensation coverage; with fewer than 3, the business is generally excluded from the Act. If you run payroll in Virginia, the unemployment insurance and withholding rules apply from day one. There is also a 45-day non-renewable temporary license for holders of a comparable out-of-state license in good standing.
This is an independent study aid, not affiliated with DPOR, the Board for Contractors, PSI, or NASCLA. Walk through the money in license cost, the timeline in how long it takes, and the exam itself in what to expect.
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