Virginia Contractors License & Exam | Class A, B, or C

• Class A, B, or C License

  A Class A contractor performs on projects $120,000 or more, or more than $750,000 over 12 months. Class B is for projects over $10,000 (but less than $120,000) or more than $150,000 over 12 months. Class C is for projects over $1,000 (less than $10,000).

• Contractor Specialty & Trades

  Virginia offers multiple types of contractor licenses, each with an additional exam. We offer courses for all types of Virginia contractors. For example:

• Commercial Building Contractor
• Commercial Improvement Contractor
• Electrical Licenses
• Home Improvement Contractor
• Residential Building Contractor

There are many different types of Virginia Contractors Licenses that the Virginia Board of Contractors offers. See below for different license classifications.

• Alternative Energy System

  AESC means installing, repairing, and improving energy systems and associated equipment. This trade does not include the electrical, plumbing, gas fitting, or HVAC work.

• Asphalt Paving and Sealcoating

  PAV work includes installing asphalt paving and sealcoating on streets, driveways, parking lots, courts, tracks, and playgrounds. Work covered also includes manholes, storm drains, water valves, sewer cleanouts and drain grates, and all necessary excavation and grading. The H/H classification also provides for this type of work.

• Billboard/Sign

  BSC work includes installing, repairing, improving, and dismantling of any billboard or structural sign permanently installed on real property. No trade related plumbing, electrical, or HVAC work is included. H/H and CBC are the only other classifications that can perform this work.

• Commercial Building Technical

  CIC work includes repairing or improving structures not defined as dwellings and townhouses in the USBC. The CBC classification also covers this type of work. The CIC classification does not cover the construction of new buildings, accessory buildings, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, or gas work. CIC includes the work covered under the following specialties: BRK, PTC, and ROC.

• Concrete

  CEM work includes for all work in connection with the processing, proportioning, batching, mixing, conveying and placing of concrete composed of materials common to the concrete industry. This includes finishing, coloring, curing, repairing, testing, sawing, grinding, grouting, placing of film barriers, sealing and waterproofing. Construction and assembling of forms, molds, slipforms, pans, centering, and the use of rebar is also included. The CBC, RBC, and H/H classifications also cover this type of work.

• Drywall

  DRY work includes installing, taping, and finishing of drywall, panels and assemblies of gypsum board, sheathing, cement board and the installation of sheet metal studs for the framing ceilings and nonstructural walls. The RBC, CBC, HIC, and CIC specialties also provide for this type of work.

• Electronic/Communication Service

  ESC work includes installing, repairing, improving, and removing electronic/communications systems. These systems (all operate at 50 volts or less) include telephone wiring, computer cabling, sound systems, data links, network installation, television and cable TV wiring, antenna wiring, and fiber optics. The ELE classification also covers this type of work.

• Environmental Monitoring Well

  EMW work includes the construction of a ground well to monitor toxic and hazardous chemicals.

• Environmental Specialities

  ENV work includes installing, repairing, removing, and improving pollution control and remediation devices. No other specialty is permitted to do this work. This specialty does not cover electrical, plumbing, gas fitting, or HVAC work.

• Equipment and Machinery

  EMC work includes installing and/or removing equipment and machinery. This specialty covers work on conveyors and other heavy machinery. It does not cover electrical, plumbing, or HVAC work.

• Farm Improvement

  FIC work includes installing, repairing, and improving nonresidential farm structures, nonresidential farm accessory-use structures, and additions. The CBC classification also provides for this function. The FIC specialty does not cover electrical, plumbing, HVAC, or gas fitting work.

• Finish Carpentry

  FIN work includes installing, repairing, and finishing of cabinets, sash casing, door casing, wooden flooring, baseboards, countertops, and other millwork. The RBC, CBC, HIC, and CIC specialties also permit for this type of work.

• Fire Alarm Systems

  FAS work includes installing, repairing, and improving of fire alarm systems that operate at 50 volts or less. The ELE classification also covers this this type of work.

• Fire Suppression

  FSP work includes installing, repairing, improving, and removing of fire suppression systems. This includes halon and other gas systems; dry chemical systems; and carbon dioxide systems. No other classification provides for this function. The FSP specialty does not permit the installation, repair, or maintenance of water sprinkler systems.

• Flooring and Floor Covering

  FLR work includes installing, repairing, improving, and removing of materials that are common in the flooring industry. Work includes the installation or replacement of subflooring and leveling products. This specialty does not include the installation, repair, or removal of floor joists or other structural components of a flooring system. The RBC, CBC, HIC, and CIC specialties also permit this work.

• Framing

  FRM work includes constructing, removing, repairing, and improving any framing or rough carpentry necessary for the construction of framed buildings and structures. The RBC and CBC classifications also provide for this type of work.

• Glass and Glazing

  GLZ work includes installing, assembling, repairing, improving, and removing of all makes and kinds of glass and glass substitutes for glazing. The RBC, CBC, HIC, and CIC specialties also provide for this type of work.

• Highway Heavy

  H/H work includes constructing, repairing, improving, and demolishing to the following: bridges; dams; drainage systems; foundations, parking lots; public transit systems; railroads; roads; runways; streets; structural signs & lights; and tanks. The work permitted includes: building demolition, clearing; concrete work; excavating; grading; non-water well drilling; paving; pile driving; road marking; and steel erection. H/H includes the following specialties: PAV, BSC, CEM, ISC, MCC, VCC.

• Home Improvement

  HIC work includes repairs and improvements to dwellings and townhouses. The HIC specialty does not permit work for electrical, plumbing, HVAC, or gas fitting. 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. HIC includes the following specialties: BRK, PTC, ROC. Note that the RBC classification covers all HIC work and more.

• Industrialized Building

  IBC work includes installing and removing industrialized buildings. This classification covers foundation work and permits complete internal tie-ins of plumbing, gas, electrical, and HVAC systems. IBC does not cover installing additional plumbing, gas, electrical, or HVAC work such as installing the service meter, or installing the outside compressor for the HVAC system. The CBC and RBC classifications also provide for this type of work.

• Insulation and Weather Stripping

  INS work includes installing, repairing, improving, and removing insulation used for temperature or sound control of residential and commercial buildings. It does not include the insulation of mechanical equipment and ancillary lines and piping. The RBC, CBC, HIC, and CIC specialties also permit this type of work.

• Landscape Irrigation

  ISC work includes installing, repairing, improving, and removing of irrigation sprinkler systems. This specialty license holder is permitted to install backflow prevention devices after receiving approved formal vocational training in the installation of backflow prevention devices. The PLB and H/H classifications also permit this type of work.

• Landscape Service

  LSC work includes alterations and improvements to a land area by excavation, clearing, grading, construction of landscape retaining walls, and landscaping timbers. The CBC, RBC, and H/H classifications also permit this type of work.

• Marine Facility

  MCC work includes the construction, repair, improvement, or removal of any structure that has the purpose of providing access to, impeding, or altering a body of water. The MCC specialty does not cover the construction of accessory structures, electrical, HVAC, or plumbing work. The CBC and H/H classifications also permit this type of work.

• Masonry

  BRK work includes the installation of brick, concrete block, stone, marble, slate, mortarless type masonry. Masonry work includes the installing grout, caulking, tuck pointing, sand blasting, mortar washing, parging and cleaning and welding of reinforcement steel related to masonry construction. The CBC and RBC, HIC, and CIC classifications also permit this type of work.

• Painting and Wallcovering

  PTC work includes the applying materials common to the painting and decorating industry for protective or decorative purposes, the installation of surface coverings such as vinyls, wall papers, and cloth fabrics. This includes surface cleaning, preparation, caulking, sanding for both interior and exterior surfaces. The CBC, RBC, HIC, and CIC specialties also permit this work.

• Recreational Facility

  RFC work includes the construction, repair, and improvement of any recreational facility, excluding paving and the construction of buildings, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC. The CBC classification also covers this work.

• Refrigeration

  REF work includes the installation, repair, or removal of any refrigeration equipment. No electrical, plumbing, gas fitting, or HVAC work is covered. This specialty is intended for contractors who repair or install coolers, refrigerated casework, ice-making machines, drinking fountains, cold room equipment, and similar equipment. The HVAC classification also covers this type of work.

• Residential Building

  RBC includes the construction, remodeling, repair, improvement, removal, or demolition on real property owned, controlled, or leased by another person of dwellings and townhouses, including accessory buildings or structures on such property. The RBC classification does not include electrical, plumbing, HVAC, or gas fitting work. The residential building specialties includes the work permitted under the following classification: Concrete contracting (CE), Home improvement contracting (HIC), Industrialized building contracting (IBC), Landscape service contracting (LSC), Masonry contracting (BRK), Painting and wallcovering contracting (PTC), Roofing contracting (ROC), Swimming pool contracting (POL).

• Roofing

  ROC work covers the installation, repair, removal or improvement of materials common to the industry that form a watertight, weather resistant roof or deck surface. This includes installing roof system components, dampproofing, waterproofing, roof insulation panels, and other roof insulation systems. The CBC, RBC, HIC and CIC specialties also cover this type of work.

• Steel Erection

  STL work includes the fabricating and erecting structural steel shapes and plates that are used as structural members. This specialty also includes the fabrication, placement and tying of steel reinforcing bars, and post-tensioning to reinforce concrete buildings and structures. The RBC, CBC, and H/H classifications also cover this type of work.

• Swimming Pool Construction

  POL work includes the construction, repair, improvement and removal of in-ground swimming pools. No trade related plumbing, electrical, backflow or HVAC work is permitted. The CBC and RBC classifications and the RFC specialty also provide for this function.

• Tile, Marble, Ceramic, and Terrazzo

  TMC work includes the preparation, fabrication, construction, and installation of artificial marble, burned clay tile, ceramic, terrazzo, encaustic, falence, quarry, semi-vitreous, cementitious board, and other tile, excluding hollow or structural partition tile. The RBC, CBC, HIC, and CIC specialties also permit this type of work.

• Underground Utility

  UUC work includes the construction, repair, improvement, or removal of main sanitary sewer collection systems, main water distribution systems, storm sewer collection systems, and the continuation of utility lines from the main systems to a point of termination up to and including the meter location for residential/small commercial properties, multi-occupancy properties at manhole, wye lateral extend to an invert elevation as engineered to accommodate future building sewers, water distribution systems, and storm sewer collection systems. The H/H classification also permits this type of work.

• Vessel Construction

  VCC work includes the construction, repair, improvement, or removal of nonresidential vessels, tanks, or piping that hold or convey fluids other than sanitary, storm, waste, or potable water supplies. The H/H classification also permits this type of work.