Virginia handyman license rules: what your Class A, B or C license lets you do, and where a handyman must stop

Published November 3, 2026 · Law checked November 3, 2026

• Free to read, nothing to download. The "can I take this job?" table below is the tool.
• Deepsel is our product: free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for contractors (scheduling, quotes, invoicing, card payments). The section before the FAQ says where it fits and where it doesn't.
• Not legal advice. Every rule here links to the statute or regulation it comes from. Ask DPOR or a Virginia attorney before you bet a job on my reading.

Virginia has no handyman license. It has one contractor license from DPOR's Board for Contractors, and you need it for any job worth more than $1,000, counted on the whole contract or project.¹ Your class sets how big a job you can sign: Class C covers single jobs over $1,000 and under $30,000 (and under $250,000 of work in any 12 months), Class B goes up to $150,000 a job, and Class A has no ceiling. The letters on your license set what kind of work you can do. Neither RBC (residential building) nor HIC (home improvement) includes electrical, plumbing, HVAC or gas work, so that goes to a licensed trade contractor.⁴

One Virginia owner described the squeeze before he got licensed: "I'm trying to get properly licensed with Virginia DPOR as a Class C Home Improvement Contractor, but I'm at the point where the $1,000 unlicensed-project limit is keeping me from taking many jobs that are otherwise a good fit for my experience" (r/Contractor). You've got the license now. Here's what it lets you take, where it stops, and what crossing the line costs, with the statute behind each rule. The contract side (what has to be in the paper you sign) is its own article: Virginia home improvement contract requirements.

Virginia contractor license classes: how big a job you can sign

Every Virginia contractor license has two parts. DPOR's licensing sheet puts it plainly: the class "determines what, if any restrictions are placed on the size of contracts/projects," and the classification or specialty "determines what type of work the licensed contractor is allowed to perform."³ Size first.

These numbers are recent. Before July 1, 2025, Class C stopped at $10,000 a job and $150,000 a year, and Class B at $120,000 and $750,000.² The old figures are still all over the internet. On the day I wrote this, Google's AI answer for "virginia handyman license" gave Class C as "Up to $10,000 per project," and DPOR's own "Step By Step Guide" PDF still prints the old limits too.³ The statute and DPOR's current consumer statement both say $30,000 and $150,000.^1,3

Watch the yearly number too

Class C has two ceilings. Each job has to stay under $30,000, and all your work in any 12-month period has to stay under $250,000.¹ A remodeler with a small crew can pass $250,000 in a year without ever signing a $30,000 job. When you see that coming, apply for Class B before you sign the job that tips you over. Working "without the proper class of license" is the same misdemeanor as working with no license at all.¹²

What your RBC or HIC license covers (the Virginia home improvement license and its big brother)

The class is a size limit. The letters printed on your license are the scope. Most new Virginia remodelers and handymen hold one of these two:

• RBC, residential building contractor: "construction, remodeling, repair, improvement, removal, or demolition" of "dwellings and townhouses," including accessory buildings like garages and sheds. New houses, additions and remodels. It includes the home improvement, roofing, concrete, masonry and painting specialties for houses.⁴
• HIC, home improvement contractor: "repairs or improvements to dwellings and townhouses ... or structures annexed to those dwellings or townhouses." It "does not include new construction functions beyond the existing building structure other than decks, patios, driveways, and utility out buildings that do not require a permit per the USBC."⁴

Both cover the remodel trades you'd expect. The regulation's definitions of framing, drywall, finish carpentry, flooring, glass and glazing, insulation, painting, roofing and tile each say the RBC classification and the HIC specialty "also provide for this function."⁴ A kitchen, a bathroom, a basement finish, a new roof, new windows: all inside your license, apart from the trade work.

Three limits catch people:

• New construction. An addition or a new house is RBC work. HIC holders get decks, patios, driveways and small outbuildings, and that's it. The words "that do not require a permit" clearly limit the outbuildings. Whether they limit decks too isn't clear from the text, and most Virginia decks need a permit. If you hold HIC only, ask DPOR before you bid a deck that needs one.
• Commercial work. RBC "does not allow" work on commercial, industrial, institutional or governmental buildings.⁴ That's CBC (commercial building) or the CIC specialty. Apartment and condo buildings are the trap: the CBC definition lists "multi-family housing," while RBC and HIC cover "dwellings and townhouses." Check with DPOR before you bid work in one.
• Trade work. RBC and HIC both say they don't provide for "electrical, plumbing, HVAC, or gas fitting." That's the next section.

Working outside your letters is a violation in its own right. "Practicing in a classification, specialty service, or class of license for which the contractor is not licensed" is on the Board's list of prohibited acts.¹⁷ And the license "shall not entitle the holder to engage in any activity for which a special license is required by law."⁶

Electrical, plumbing, HVAC and gas: what you sub out

Virginia licenses the trades twice. The business needs the classification on its contractor license (ELE for electrical, PLB for plumbing, HVA for HVAC, GFC for gas fitting), and a firm can only get one with a master tradesman as its qualified individual.^1,4 Then the person turning the wrench needs an individual tradesman license, or has to work "under the supervision of a tradesman who is licensed in the specialty for which work is being performed." Practicing as a tradesman without a license is a Class 1 misdemeanor.⁷

So on a bathroom remodel you do the demo, framing, drywall, tile, vanity and trim, and a licensed plumber and electrician make the connections. A few details people miss:

• Gas piping is its own specialty. The PLB and HVA definitions both exclude it. A line for a gas range or fireplace goes to a contractor with GFC.⁴
• Water heaters are in both the PLB and HVA definitions. Either can do one. You can't.
• Your sub has to hold the right class for the size of their part, and you carry the risk if they don't. Contracting with "an unlicensed or improperly licensed contractor or subcontractor" is a prohibited act, and a contractor who hires someone without a required credential "shall be solely responsible for any monetary penalty or other sanction."^17,12 Look every sub up on DPOR's License Lookup before they start.
• If you want the trade work in-house, add the classification. That takes a master tradesman who is a full-time employee or part of your management.⁴

The $250 line for trade work

There's one small exception, and for trade work it's the real handyman line in Virginia. The tradesman licensing article doesn't apply to an individual working on "a single-family residence where the value of the work performed is less than $250 and such individual does not hold himself out to the general public as a tradesman."⁷ A $150 faucet swap or a $120 light fixture on a house is fine without a plumber's or electrician's license. Both conditions have to hold: under $250, and you don't advertise plumbing or electrical. "Plumbing and electrical repairs" on your truck or website looks a lot like holding yourself out.

One caveat if you hold a contractor license. That exemption is about the individual tradesman license. I found nothing that says whether the Board would treat a $150 faucet as your HIC firm working outside its specialty, and nothing that says it wouldn't. Small and rare is one thing. If trade calls are a regular part of your week, get the classification.

What can a handyman do without a license in Virginia?

If you're licensed, this section is about the people around you: helpers, subs, the guy who used to do your punch lists and wants to go out on his own. If you hold Class C and still work as a handyman, it's also how to count your own small jobs.

The $1,000 line, counted the way Virginia counts it

• Over $1,000, not at it. Class C starts at "over $1,000."¹ One commenter put it in a sentence: "In VA you can do up to $1k jobs at a time. If you're gonna charge someone $1001, need a license" (r/handyman).
• Labor and materials together. The statute counts "value," which "means fair market value," and "the contract price shall be prima facie evidence of value."¹ Nothing in it subtracts materials. It doesn't say what happens when the customer buys them. Prima facie means the contract price is where an investigator starts, not where they have to stop, so near the line I'd count the materials either way.
• Per contract or project. The test is "the total value referred to in a single contract or project."¹ A $900 demo contract and a $900 tile contract on the same bathroom are one $1,800 project.
• Change orders count. A $900 job that grows to $1,400 is a $1,400 job.
• Per job, not per year. I found no yearly cap on small jobs in the statute or in DPOR's documents, which describe the trigger only as a project over $1,000.^1,3 There's no part-time exemption either.

The exemptions that matter to a small shop

The full list is in Va. Code 54.1-1101. These are the ones that come up:⁵

• Working under you. Someone doing work "valued at $25,000 or less per project on behalf of a properly licensed contractor" needs no license, as long as that contractor holds RBC, CBC or HIC. So an unlicensed handyman can sub carpentry or drywall for you on projects up to $25,000. Trade work is excluded: anything needing an individual license still needs one.
• Their own home: "no more than one primary residence owned by him and for his own use during any 24-month period."
• Their own rentals: units they own that fall under the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.
• Cleanup: removing "building detritus" and cleaning around a job.

That's it. There's no handyman exemption, no small-business exemption and no hourly loophole.

Lead paint and asbestos: licenses your remodel license doesn't include

Lead paint (EPA's RRP rule)

Virginia doesn't run its own lead renovation program, so EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule applies directly.⁹ Disturb paint for pay in a home built before 1978 and your firm needs EPA certification, and the work must be "directed by renovators certified" by EPA. That covers "all firms, even sole proprietorships," in EPA's words. The exception is minor repair: "6 square feet or less of painted surface per room for interior activities or 20 square feet or less" outside. Two traps sit inside that definition. Window replacement never counts as minor, and jobs "in the same room within the same 30 days must be considered the same job."⁹ One owner's post opens with the line nobody wants to write: "I recently got caught scraping and painting a small area on pre 1978 house" (r/Contractor). The civil penalty under the federal statute behind the rule is up to $49,772 per violation at EPA's January 2025 inflation adjustment.¹⁰

Lead abatement, meaning permanent removal rather than renovation, is another license again: the LAC specialty, qualified by a lead abatement supervisor licensed by Virginia's asbestos and lead board.⁴

Asbestos

Asbestos removal is the ASB specialty, and "no other classification or specialty service provides for this function."⁴ Only a licensed asbestos contractor may contract for or work on an asbestos project. Virginia carves out "nonfriable asbestos-containing roofing, flooring and siding materials which when installed, encapsulated or removed do not become friable,"¹¹ so old shingles or floor tile that come off whole aren't an asbestos project. A textured ceiling or old pipe insulation can be. Virginia's rule requiring an asbestos inspection before a renovation permit doesn't apply to single-family homes or buildings of four units or fewer,¹¹ so nobody will make you test. Test anyway before you scrape. The building code also wants a permit for "removal or disturbing of any asbestos containing materials during the construction or demolition" of a building.⁸

Can I take this job? A table for Virginia RBC and HIC license holders

The verdicts assume you hold Class C or higher with RBC or HIC, the house is a single-family home, and the contract fits your class. The permit column is the Virginia building code's rule. Your building official can also exempt work they consider "minor and ordinary," so call when in doubt.⁸

Sources for the table: classes and specialties,^1,4 the $250 tradesman exemption,⁷ permits (USBC Section 108),⁸ lead,⁹ asbestos.¹¹

What happens if you cross the line

No license, on a job over $1,000

• It's a crime. Contracting without a license is a Class 1 misdemeanor, which carries up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine, plus a fine of up to $500 for each day of the violation.^12,13 Under DPOR's general statute, a third conviction for unlicensed practice within 36 months is a Class 6 felony.¹⁴
• DPOR can also sue for a civil penalty of $200 to $5,000 per violation, up to $25,000 a year.¹⁴
• You may not get paid. The contract "shall not be enforceable by the unlicensed contractor" unless the contractor gave substantial performance in good faith and "did not have actual knowledge that a license or certificate was required." Letting a license lapse creates "a rebuttable presumption of actual knowledge."¹² Anyone who has read this far has actual knowledge.
• No mechanic's lien. Virginia denies a lien to anyone working without the required license.¹⁶
• The customer can sue you. Unlicensed work in a consumer deal is a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act: actual damages or $500, whichever is more, up to three times damages or $1,000 if willful, plus the customer's attorney's fees.¹⁵

Licensed, but in the wrong class (that $40,000 kitchen on Class C)

• Same misdemeanor and the same $500 a day. The statute covers working "without the proper class of license as defined in § 54.1-1100 for the value of work to be performed."¹²
• No lien. The lien statute also strips anyone working "without the proper class of license for the value of the work."¹⁶
• Board discipline: a fine of up to $2,500 per violation, plus probation, suspension or revocation.^17,3
• Getting paid: the unenforceability rule speaks of a person "without a valid Virginia contractor's license" and doesn't mention class. I didn't research how courts read that. Don't be the test case.

Licensed, but outside your letters (your HIC firm does the plumbing)

That's a prohibited act for the firm, with the same Board fines.¹⁷ Whoever did the plumbing without a tradesman license committed a Class 1 misdemeanor.⁷ Skipping the permit is a separate prohibited act: "Failure to obtain a building permit or applicable inspection, where required."¹⁷

Lending your license

Someone will ask you to pull a permit for a job you're not running. Virginia lists "Allowing a firm's license to be used by another" as a prohibited act, and for the other guy, "Presenting or attempting to use the license or certificate of another" is a misdemeanor.^17,12 The best answer to the question came from a GC on Reddit: "Never attach your name to anything in a legal way that you don't have control over... Just a recipe for disaster" (r/GeneralContractor).

Insurance

Virginia doesn't make you carry general liability insurance to hold a contractor license. In the Board's regulations, the only firms that must carry it are residential building energy analysts.⁴ I found no Virginia rule on what working outside your class or specialty does to your coverage. That's in your policy, so ask your agent in writing: "Does my policy cover work outside my license class or specialty?" Keep the reply.

Where your license number has to appear

• Every residential contract: your "name, address, license number, class of license, and classifications or specialty services."¹⁷ The contract article has the other ten required items.
• Every building permit. The building official can't issue one until you furnish your license number, and you also have to show your local license taxes are paid.¹⁸
• Your local business license. The city or county needs your state license number, or a sworn statement that you're exempt, before it issues or renews.¹⁸
• Public bids. The awarding authority has to get your number before it considers your bid.¹²
• Ads and trucks. I found no statewide rule requiring the number there. What does apply: no advertising that's "false, deceptive, or misleading,"¹⁷ no business name that suggests work your license doesn't cover (DPOR's example: a roofing-only firm can't call itself "ABCXYZ Builders"),³ and a locality can fine anyone who falsely claims a state license up to $2,500.¹⁸

Local business licenses: the Virginia BPOL on top of the state license

The state license lets you contract. Your city or county then taxes you for doing business, through the BPOL (Business, Professional and Occupational License). DPOR's licensing sheet tells new contractors to "contact your local Commissioner of the Revenue and Building Official."³ State law sets the frame:¹⁹

• You license where your principal office is. Another city or county can require its own license once you do more than $25,000 of business there in a year.
• The BPOL tax on contractors is capped at 16 cents per $100 of gross receipts.
• No tax under $100,000 of gross receipts in a locality with more than 50,000 people, or under $50,000 in one of 25,000 to 50,000. A license fee of up to $100 can still apply ($50 or $30 in smaller places).

Fairfax County shows how that plays out: no fee at $10,000 of gross receipts or less, $30 from $10,001 to $50,000, $50 from $50,001 to $100,000, and above that $0.11 per $100 for contractors. You register within 75 days of starting work there and renew by March 1.²⁰ Virginia Beach, Prince William, Loudoun, Chesterfield, Henrico, Arlington, Richmond, Norfolk and Chesapeake each set their own rates and forms inside the same state frame. State law also lets a locality require its own license for home improvement or house building from Class B and C contractors.¹⁸ I didn't check every city and county for one, so ask the Commissioner of the Revenue when you register.

Before the next job

1. Look your firm up on DPOR's License Lookup. Write down the class and the letters. That's your scope.
2. Price the whole job before you promise it. If the contract, materials and likely change orders included, gets near $30,000 on a Class C, apply for Class B first.
3. Keep a running 12-month total of your contract values. Class C ends at $250,000.
4. Line up a licensed plumber, electrician and HVAC contractor now, and check each one on License Lookup. Don't wait for the first bathroom.
5. If you'll disturb paint in pre-1978 homes, get the firm EPA-certified and take the certified renovator course.
6. Put your license number, class and specialties on every contract and quote.
7. Register for the BPOL where your office is, and in any other locality once you pass $25,000 of work there in a year.

Where Deepsel fits

Deepsel is the field service software I build, and it doesn't know Virginia licensing. It won't warn you when a quote passes $30,000, track your 12-month total against the Class C ceiling, or tell you a line item needs an electrician. What it does help with: the shop-wide terms text you set once is copied onto every quote and shows under "Terms" on the customer's quote page, and the invoice footer is copied onto every invoice, so your license number, class and specialties go on every document without retyping. Quotes can carry options, the customer approves and signs on screen, and an optional card deposit is credited on the final invoice. Free covers 30 estimates and 30 invoices a month for your whole team, with scheduling and dispatch, quotes, invoicing, card payments, and customer and equipment records; Pro is $29 a month with unlimited estimates and invoices (pricing).

Still choosing an app? Eleven free handyman apps are compared on their free-plan limits, card fees and which popular ones are only trials.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a license to be a handyman in Virginia?

Not for jobs worth $1,000 or less. Virginia has no handyman license. Any job worth more than $1,000, counted on the whole contract or project with labor and materials together, needs a contractor license from DPOR's Board for Contractors, usually a Class C with the home improvement (HIC) specialty. Electrical, plumbing and HVAC work is separate: above $250 on a single-family home, it needs a licensed tradesman at any job size.

How much can a handyman charge without a license in Virginia?

$1,000 per contract or project. Class C starts at 'over $1,000,' so a $1,000 job is fine and a $1,001 job isn't. The statute counts fair market value, with the contract price as the starting evidence, so materials count. Splitting one project into several small invoices doesn't get under the line, because the test is the single contract or project.

What is the difference between a contractor and a handyman in Virginia?

In Virginia law there's no handyman category. A contractor is anyone who, for a fixed price, fee or percentage, contracts to build, repair, remove or improve a building or structure. The law requires a license only when a single contract or project is worth more than $1,000. So a 'handyman' is a contractor who keeps every job at $1,000 or less and keeps electrical, plumbing and HVAC jobs on houses under $250.

Does a general contractor need a license in Virginia?

Yes, for any job over $1,000. The class depends on size: Class C for single jobs under $30,000 and under $250,000 of work a year, Class B up to $150,000 a job and under $1 million a year, Class A above that. The classification depends on the work: residential building (RBC) for houses, commercial building (CBC) for commercial and multi-family buildings. Neither includes electrical, plumbing, HVAC or gas work.

Do you need a license to be a plumber in Virginia?

Yes. The person doing the work needs a tradesman license (journeyman or master) or must work under the supervision of a licensed plumber. The only exception is a job under $250 on a single-family home by someone who doesn't advertise as a plumber. A plumbing business taking jobs over $1,000 also needs a contractor license with the PLB classification and a master plumber as its qualified individual.

Do I need a business license in Virginia as a contractor?

Usually, yes, from your city or county. Most localities levy a BPOL (Business, Professional and Occupational License) tax. For contractors it's capped at 16 cents per $100 of gross receipts, with no tax below $100,000 in larger localities, though a small fee can still apply. You license where your office is, and another locality can require its own license once you do more than $25,000 of work there in a year. The locality will ask for your state contractor license number.

Sources

1. Code of Virginia § 54.1-1100, definitions of Class A, B and C contractors (single contract or project over $1,000 and under $30,000 for Class C, $30,000 to under $150,000 for B, $150,000 or more for A; 12-month totals of under $250,000, under $1 million, and $1 million or more; master tradesman required for electrical, plumbing and HVAC contractors), "Contractor," and "Value" ("fair market value"; "the contract price shall be prima facie evidence of value"). Amended 2025, cc. 127, 133. law.lis.virginia.gov, read November 3, 2026.
2. Department of Planning and Budget, State Fiscal Impact Statement for SB 1059 (2025), published 1/29/2025 - the bill would "raise the maximum allowable revenue for a Class C contractor from $10,000 per project or $150,000 per year to $30,000 per project or $250,000 per year, and for a Class B contractor from $120,000 per project or $750,000 per year." lis.blob.core.windows.net, read November 3, 2026.
3. DPOR documents: "Statement of Consumer Protections," revised 4/29/2025, effective 07/01/2025 (current class thresholds; Board discipline is "monetary penalties and/or remedial education, revocation or suspension of a license, and placing the licensee on probation"), dpor.virginia.gov; "Contractor Licensing Information," A501-27INTRO-v8, 09/01/2025 (class and classification; "Contact your local Commissioner of the Revenue and Building Official"), dpor.virginia.gov; "A Step By Step Guide to Obtaining Your Contractor License" (still shows the pre-2025 $10,000 and $120,000 limits; business-name example), dpor.virginia.gov; Tradesman Exam and License Application, A501-2710EXLIC-v8, 07/01/2026 ("Any applicant performing work over $1,000 must contact the Board for Contractors"), dpor.virginia.gov. All read November 3, 2026.
4. 18VAC50-22, Board for Contractors Regulations, full chapter: 18VAC50-22-20 (RBC, CBC, ELE, PLB, HVA definitions), 18VAC50-22-30 (HIC, GFC, ASB, LAC, MSC and the framing, drywall, finish carpentry, flooring, glazing, insulation, painting, roofing and tile specialties), 18VAC50-22-50 and -60 (net worth of $15,000 and $45,000 or a $50,000 bond), 18VAC50-22-61 (master tradesman as qualified individual for ELE, PLB, HVA, GFC) and 18VAC50-22-62 (general liability insurance required of residential building energy analyst firms). law.lis.virginia.gov, current through Virginia Register Vol. 41 Iss. 25 (eff. September 1, 2025), read November 3, 2026.
5. Code of Virginia § 54.1-1101 A, exemptions, including subdivisions 7 (one primary residence per 24 months), 10 (owner's rental units), 13 (debris removal and cleaning) and 15 (work "valued at $25,000 or less per project on behalf of a properly licensed contractor" holding RBC, CBC or HIC). law.lis.virginia.gov, read November 3, 2026.
6. Code of Virginia § 54.1-1103 - license required for contracting work (A); a license "shall not entitle the holder to engage in any activity for which a special license is required by law" (B). law.lis.virginia.gov, read November 3, 2026.
7. Code of Virginia §§ 54.1-1128 ("Tradesman"), 54.1-1129 A (tradesman license required; supervision), 54.1-1131 C (no tradesman license for work on "a single-family residence where the value of the work performed is less than $250" by someone who doesn't hold himself out as a tradesman) and 54.1-1135 A (Class 1 misdemeanor). law.lis.virginia.gov, read November 3, 2026.
8. Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, 13VAC5-63-80, Section 108 (108.1 when permits are required, including walls, structural components, plumbing, electric wiring, mechanical and fuel supply systems, and disturbing asbestos; 108.2 exemptions, including small sheds, fences, same-size windows and doors, plumbing fixture replacement, switches, receptacles, light fixtures and fans, mechanical appliances not fueled by gas or oil, roof covering, floor finishes, cabinets, trim and paint, and work the building official deems "minor and ordinary"; 108.4 license number on permit applications). law.lis.virginia.gov, read November 3, 2026.
9. EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, 40 CFR 745.81 (firm certification; renovations "directed by renovators certified"), 745.82 (applies to renovations for compensation in pre-1978 target housing), 745.83 ("minor repair and maintenance activities": 6 square feet per room inside, 20 outside, never window replacement; same room within 30 days is one job) and 745.89 (firm certification). 745.81, 745.82, 745.83, 745.89 (Cornell LII copy of the eCFR). EPA, "Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program" (states authorized to run their own program; Virginia isn't one; "all firms, even sole proprietorships"), epa.gov. All read November 3, 2026.
10. 40 CFR 19.4, Table 1, civil monetary penalty inflation adjustments - 15 U.S.C. 2615(a)(1) (TSCA): $49,772 for penalties assessed on or after January 8, 2025. law.cornell.edu, read November 3, 2026.
11. Code of Virginia § 54.1-500 ("asbestos project" excludes nonfriable roofing, flooring and siding that don't become friable), § 54.1-503 A (asbestos contractor's license required) and § 36-99.7 (pre-permit asbestos inspection; does not apply to single-family dwellings or buildings of four or fewer units). 54.1-500, 54.1-503, 36-99.7, read November 3, 2026.
12. Code of Virginia § 54.1-1115, "Prohibited acts" - Class 1 misdemeanor for contracting without a license "or without the proper class of license" (A 1), using another's license (A 3), bids require a license number (A 6); fine up to $500 per day (B); contract "shall not be enforceable by the unlicensed contractor" except for good-faith substantial performance without actual knowledge, and failure to renew creates "a rebuttable presumption of actual knowledge" (C). § 54.1-1115.01, contractor "solely responsible" for penalties from hiring someone lacking a required credential. 54.1-1115, 54.1-1115.01, read November 3, 2026.
13. Code of Virginia § 18.2-11 - Class 1 misdemeanor: "confinement in jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both." law.lis.virginia.gov, read November 3, 2026.
14. Code of Virginia § 54.1-111 - practicing without a required license is unlawful (A 1); third conviction within 36 months is a Class 6 felony (B); civil penalty "at least $200 but not more than $5,000 per violation," capped at $25,000 per year (D). law.lis.virginia.gov, read November 3, 2026.
15. Virginia Consumer Protection Act, Code of Virginia § 59.1-200 A 46 (violating § 54.1-1115 B (i)) and § 59.1-204 (actual damages or $500; up to treble or $1,000 if willful; attorney's fees). 59.1-200, 59.1-204, read November 3, 2026.
16. Code of Virginia § 43-3 D - no mechanic's lien for labor performed "without a valid license or certificate ... or without the proper class of license for the value of the work to be performed." law.lis.virginia.gov, read November 3, 2026.
17. 18VAC50-22-260 B, prohibited acts: 4 (false, deceptive or misleading advertising), 9 i (license number, class and specialties on residential contracts), 19 (allowing a firm's license to be used by another), 27 (practicing outside your classification, specialty or class), 29 (contracting with an unlicensed or improperly licensed sub), 33 (no permit or inspection where required). law.lis.virginia.gov. Board penalty up to $2,500 per violation: Code of Virginia § 54.1-202, law.lis.virginia.gov. Both read November 3, 2026.
18. Code of Virginia § 54.1-1111 (license number, or a statement of exemption, before a building permit or a local business license is issued; proof local license taxes are paid) and § 54.1-1117 (local home improvement and dwelling-construction licenses, except for Class A; civil penalty up to $2,500 for falsely claiming a state license). 54.1-1111, 54.1-1117, read November 3, 2026.
19. Code of Virginia § 58.1-3703 A (local license fee up to $100, $50 or $30 by population), § 58.1-3706 A (no license tax below $100,000 or $50,000 of gross receipts by population; contractors capped at "sixteen cents per $100 of gross receipts") and § 58.1-3715 (license where the principal office is; another locality may require a license above $25,000 of business there in a year). 58.1-3703, 58.1-3706, 58.1-3715, read November 3, 2026.
20. Fairfax County Department of Tax Administration, "Understanding Business, Professional & Occupational License Tax" (flat fees by gross receipts; register within 75 days; renew by March 1) and "BPOL Rate Schedule" (contractors $0.11 per $100 of gross receipts). understanding-bpol-tax, bpol-license-rates, read November 3, 2026.