Virginia: up to $1,000 a job without a contractor license

The limit in Virginia

The limit: Up to $1,000 per job. In short: $1,000 or less per contract/project; above that a Class C (or higher) contractor license.

What counts: "the total value referred to in a single contract or project is over $1,000" (Class C starts there) The state's words do not say whether materials count toward the limit.

Conditions: electrical, plumbing and HVAC work needs a state tradesman license regardless of job size.

Class C: over $1,000 but less than $30,000 per contract, or under $250,000 in 12 months.

Licenses in Virginia

General contractors: State license. License required over $1,000 per contract/project. Class C: over $1,000 to under $30,000 (12-month total under $250,000); Class B: $30,000 to under $150,000 (or $250,000-$1M per 12 months); Class A: $150,000+ (or $1M+ per 12 months). Same regime for residential and commercial.

Plumbing: State license. Tradesman license (Board for Tradesmen) required for plumbing; plumbing contractors also need a master tradesman.

Electrical: State license. Tradesman license required for electrical work; electrical contractors need a master tradesman.

HVAC: State license. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning is a tradesman license; HVAC contractors need a master tradesman.

Your license number in Virginia

Your license number: Residential contractors must show the number on written contracts. None of these rules names invoices.

In the rule's words: “Contractor's name, address, license number, class of license, and classifications or specialty services” (18VAC50-22-260(B)(8)(i) — written contracts for residential contracting (excluding subcontractors and routine maintenance/service contracts))

Virginia's board, and when this was checked

The board: Virginia Board for Contractors / Board for Tradesmen (DPOR). As of November 6, 2026. Dates on the state's pages: 18VAC50-22-260 amended eff. September 1, 2025.

This is a summary of each state's own pages as of November 6, 2026, not legal advice. Rules change, and cities and counties add licenses of their own. Check with your state's board, linked on this page, before you rely on it.

Compare Virginia with every state's limit.

Next door to Virginia

• District of Columbia: under $300 per job, per homeowner a year
• Kentucky: no statewide license found
• Maryland: no small-job exemption
• North Carolina: under $40,000 per job
• Tennessee: under $25,000 per job ($3,000 in 9 counties)
• West Virginia: under $5,000 per job

Official sources for Virginia

6 of Virginia's own pages, each quoted with its link:

• Va. Code § 54.1-1100 Definitions (Va. Code § 54.1-1100): “"Class C contractors" perform or manage construction, removal, repair, or improvements when (i) the total value referred to in a single contract or project is over $1,000 but less than $30,000, or (ii) the total value of all such ... within any 12-month period is less than $250,000.”
• Va. Code § 54.1-1100 Definitions (Va. Code § 54.1-1100): “The Board shall require a master tradesmen license as a condition of licensure for electrical, plumbing, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contractors.”
• Va. Code § 54.1-1103 Necessity for license (Va. Code § 54.1-1103(A)): “No person shall engage in, or offer to engage in, contracting work in the Commonwealth unless he has been licensed under the provisions of this chapter.”
• Va. Code § 54.1-1128 Definitions (tradesman) (Va. Code § 54.1-1128): “any individual who engages in, or offers to engage in, work for the general public for compensation in the trades of electrical, plumbing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning.”
• Va. Code § 54.1-1129 Necessity for licensure (Va. Code § 54.1-1129(A)): “Beginning July 1, 1995, no individual shall engage in, or offer to engage in, work as a tradesman as defined in § 54.1-1128 unless he has been licensed under the provisions of this article.”
• 18VAC50-22-260 Filing of charges; prohibited acts (18VAC50-22-260(B)(8)): “Failure of all those who engage in residential contracting, excluding subcontractors to the contracting parties and those who engage in routine maintenance or service contracts, to make use of a legible written contract ... i. Contractor's name, address, license number, class of license, and classifications or specialty services”

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