STATE LICENSE
RequiredVirginia Department of Professional and O…
Virginia licenses the business entity, not the person. Class is set purely by money: Class C covers single jobs over $1,000 and under $30,000 (and under $250,000 a year), Class B runs to under $150,000 per job (under $1 million a year), and Class A is unlimited. Each class steps up the paperwork — Class C needs no business exam and no net-worth proof, Class B needs a Designated Employee who passed the General and Virginia exams plus $15,000 net worth, and Class A adds the Advanced exam and $45,000 net worth.
What you may build is set separately by designation. Residential Building (RBC) covers dwellings and townhouses; Commercial Building (CBC) covers everything else; Home Improvement (HIC) covers repairs and improvements to existing dwellings but no new construction beyond decks, patios, driveways, and permit-exempt outbuildings. None of them includes electrical, plumbing, HVAC, or gas fitting — those need their own designations and licensed tradesmen.
The state sets the license floor; the county or city permit office controls filing, inspections, and local rules wherever the job site sits.
DPOR's license is statewide, but the application itself makes every firm affirm it will comply with local licensing in each city, county, and town where it works. Two local desks matter. First, the building department: Virginia's Uniform Statewide Building Code supersedes local building codes (§ 36-98) but is enforced locally (§ 36-105), and § 54.1-1111 bars the permit desk from issuing a permit without proof of a DPOR license or a written statement that you are exempt. Virginia cities are independent of counties (§ 15.2-102), so in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Richmond, or Alexandria the city's own building department is the desk — no county is involved — while in counties such as Arlington and Loudoun the county building department handles county permits. Towns sit inside their counties. Second, the commissioner of the revenue: the local business license (BPOL) is owed where your office is, and any other locality may require its own once your work there tops $25,000 in a year (§ 58.1-3715); that office also needs proof of your DPOR license or an affidavit of exemption. Code § 54.1-1117 still lets localities license home-improvement and dwelling-construction businesses and fine anyone who falsely claims to hold a contractor's license up to $2,500.
The local offices section below names the exact permit desk for every Virginia county on file.
Each row names the issuing authority, cost, timeline, citation, and status behind the requirement — verified against the official source.
Published fees from the issuing authorities, as of October 2026. Local permit fees vary by project and jurisdiction — the basis is stated where a flat number does not exist.
Under 2026's House Bill 30, DPOR adds a $7.25-per-year technology fee to certain fees from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2030 — that is the $14.50 baked into each two-year application total.
Class C caps you at under $30,000 per job and under $250,000 a year. Exceeding your class is itself a violation — and a $500-per-day fine under § 54.1-1115(B).
A person doing work valued at $25,000 or less per project for a properly licensed RBC, CBC, or HIC contractor is exempt from licensure — but any work that needs an individual tradesman license still needs the licensed individual.
A practical sequence for a new general contracting contractor in Virginia. Actual agency processing times are noted in the ledger above.
Each item names the issuing authority, cycle, and citation.
Statutory consequences with their citations — not estimates, not “commonly cited” guesses.
Contracting or bidding on work for another without a license, or without the proper class for the value of the work, is a Class 1 misdemeanor — up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine — plus a fine of up to $500 for every day in violation. In a consumer transaction it is also a Virginia Consumer Protection Act violation.
A construction contract entered by an unlicensed contractor is not enforceable by that contractor unless he substantially performed in good faith AND did not actually know a license was required. Letting a license lapse creates a rebuttable presumption that you knew.
Working outside your class or specialty, or failing to obtain a required permit or inspection, is a prohibited act for licensees. DPOR boards may fine up to $2,500 per violation, and suspend or revoke.
Inside city limits, the city office listed here issues the permit; the county office serves unincorporated areas. Every office links to its official page.
Every fact in this file was checked against these official sources on October 2026.
Pending verification: PSI fees for the specialty technical exams and the Class A/B business exams (paid to PSI; not stated on the DPOR pages reviewed) · Whether the $7.25-per-year technology fee is also added to renewal and reinstatement fees — confirmed only on the 08/01/2026 initial application form · Surety bond amount accepted in place of net worth for Class B (the $50,000 bond figure was confirmed only for Class A) · Which Virginia localities actually exercise their § 54.1-1117 authority to license home-improvement or dwelling contractors
General information, not legal advice. Always confirm requirements, deadlines, and forms with the issuing authority before filing or contracting.
Store licenses, permits, policies, and renewal dates in one place.