What a Virginia Class A Contractor License Actually Means

Every contractor in Virginia will tell you they are licensed. Fewer will tell you what they are licensed to do — and in Virginia that difference is written into the licence itself.

Virginia licenses contractors in three classes

The Commonwealth issues contractor licences through the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), and they come in three classes — Class C, Class B and Class A. The classes are separated by the size of project a contractor is permitted to take on, with Class C limited to the smallest projects, Class B covering a middle range, and Class A carrying no limit on project value.

Class A is the highest classification the state issues. Reaching it requires more than filling in a form: the state looks at financial standing, proven experience, and a designated employee who has passed the required examinations.

Why the class matters to you

If you are replacing a faucet, the class is irrelevant. If you are finishing a basement, remodeling a kitchen or adding a room, it is not — a contractor working beyond the limits of their licence class is working outside the law, and that has consequences that land on the homeowner:

• Permits. County permit offices verify licensing. Work that cannot be permitted properly cannot be inspected properly.
• Insurance. A claim involving unlicensed or improperly licensed work is a claim your insurer may decline.
• Selling the house. Unpermitted work surfaces during inspection and appraisal, and it is far more expensive to resolve retroactively than to do correctly the first time.

Verify it yourself — it takes a minute

Do not take a contractor's word for it, including ours. DPOR publishes a public licence lookup where you can search by name or licence number and see the class, the status, and the expiration date.

Ask any contractor bidding your project for their licence number. A contractor who hesitates has told you something useful.

Where Potomac Home Pros sits

Potomac Home Pros LLC holds a Virginia Class A contractor licence, number 2705195508. That is the state's highest classification, with no cap on project size, which is why we can take on whole-home renovations, additions and commercial build-outs as well as single-room remodels.

We are based in Gainesville and work throughout Prince William County and Northern Virginia. If you would like to talk through a project, an estimate is free — call (540) 421-2476.