Vermont · Concrete licensing · official-source guide
Vermont issues no concrete or general contractor license. The Office of Professional Regulation, inside the Secretary of State's office, instead requires a Residential Contractor registration under 26 V.S.A. chapter 106 before you contract with a homeowner for residential construction over $10,000.00 in labor and materials. No exam applies, but $1,000,000.00 per occurrence liability coverage does.
State-level license
No — see local details
Public lookup
Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-10-26. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Vermont does not issue a concrete, masonry, or general contractor license. No state board tests slab placement, footing depth, or block laying. The credential that does apply is the Residential Contractor registration issued by the Office of Professional Regulation, which sits inside the Secretary of State's office and lists Residential Contractors among its regulated professions. The agency's own program page states that registration for residential contractors is required as of April 1, 2023. The governing law is 26 V.S.A. chapter 106, added by Act 182 of 2021 (Adjourned Session) and effective July 1, 2022. Section 5501 requires a person to register with the Office of Professional Regulation before contracting with a homeowner to perform residential construction in exchange for consideration of more than $10,000.00, counting labor and materials together. Section 5503 is blunt about what this registration is. It says the mandatory system is intended to protect against fraud, deception, breach of contract, and violations of law, but is not intended to establish standards for professional qualifications or workmanship that is otherwise lawful. A Vermont concrete contractor therefore registers as a seller, not as a tested tradesperson. Other building trades are handled separately. Title 26 chapter 15 covers electricians and electrical installations and chapter 39 covers plumbers and plumbing, and the Office routes both of those to the Department of Fire Safety. Concrete has no parallel chapter and no parallel board. Above the state layer, towns and cities add permits of their own, and those are where most concrete jobs actually get reviewed.
Sourceslegislature.vermont.gov 1sos.vermont.gov 2sos.vermont.gov 3legislature.vermont.gov 4
The trigger in section 5501 is a contract, a homeowner, and a dollar amount. You must be registered before you contract with a homeowner to perform residential construction for more than $10,000.00 including labor and materials. Below that figure the registration requirement in chapter 106 does not attach, though every other obligation on this page still does. The scope definition matters more to concrete work than the threshold does. Section 5501(b) defines residential construction as building, demolishing, or altering a residential dwelling unit, or a building or premises with four or fewer residential dwelling units, in Vermont. It then lists what is included: interior and exterior construction, renovation, and repair; painting; paving; roofing; weatherization; installation or repair of heating, plumbing, solar, electrical, water, or wastewater systems; and other activities the Office specifies by rule. Paving is named outright. A poured driveway, an apron, a walkway, or a patio slab tied to a house or a four-unit building is squarely inside the definition. So is a foundation, a frost wall, a footing, a basement floor, and a slab-on-grade for an addition. The phrase "building or premises" reaches beyond the walls of the dwelling, which is why site concrete attached to the home counts. Note what the threshold does not do: it does not scale with the number of jobs. One $12,000 foundation pour for one homeowner puts you inside chapter 106. Three $4,000 sidewalk jobs for three different homeowners do not, on the face of the statute.
Sourceslegislature.vermont.gov
Section 5502 lists six exemptions, and two of them come up constantly in concrete work. The first is work on a structure that is not attached to a residential building. A free-standing garage pad, a detached shed slab, a stand-alone retaining wall, or a pad for an outbuilding sits outside chapter 106 on that language alone. Read it narrowly. A slab that the finished structure will attach to the house through, such as an addition footing or a breezeway, is attached work. The second is grounds and planting work, which the statute exempts by name. A crew that pours concrete is not doing that work, so do not lean on it for flatwork. The remaining exemptions: an employee acting within the scope of employment for a business organization registered under the chapter, which is why your finishers and laborers do not each need their own registration; a professional engineer, licensed architect, or a tradesperson licensed, registered, or certified by the Department of Public Safety acting within the scope of that credential, plus a business whose residential construction is performed primarily by or under the direct supervision of such people; delivery or installation of consumer appliances, audio-visual, telephone, or computer network equipment; and emergency work, provided the person applies for registration within a reasonable time after performing it. That last one is the clause to remember after a February frost heave or a flood, when a homeowner needs a failed foundation stabilized before anyone can process paperwork.
Sourceslegislature.vermont.gov
Chapter 106 registers two different things, and the fee follows which one you are. Section 5507 sets the fees paid at initial application and at biennial renewal: registration for an individual is $75.00, registration for a business organization is $250.00, and state certifications cost $75.00 for a first certification and $25.00 for each additional certification. Those are the statutory figures, and they are paid again at every renewal rather than once. The renewal cycle is biennial, because section 5507 ties the fee schedule to initial application and biennial renewal. A sole owner who contracts in his own name registers as an individual. A concrete company that contracts in the company name registers the business organization, which then covers its employees through the section 5502 employee exemption. That is the practical reason most Vermont concrete outfits register the business: one $250.00 biennial fee carries the whole crew for work performed in the scope of employment, instead of a $75.00 registration for every finisher. If a registration lapses, the general professional regulation statute applies a nondisciplinary reinstatement penalty under 3 V.S.A. section 127(d): $100.00 if reinstatement occurs within 30 days after expiration, and beyond 30 days an amount equal to the renewal fee increased by $40.00 for every additional month or fraction of a month, capped at $1,500.00. Letting a registration sit expired through a winter shutdown is an expensive way to save a form.
This is where Vermont differs sharply from most states, and where a concrete contractor coming from New York, New Hampshire, or Massachusetts gets the wrong idea. Chapter 106 contains no examination. It contains no apprenticeship requirement, no hour count, no documented years of field experience, and no continuing education condition on renewal. Section 5508 states the whole eligibility test: to be eligible for registration, the Director of Professional Regulation shall find that the applicant is in compliance with the provisions of the chapter and applicable state law, and has satisfied any judgment order related to the provision of professional services to a homeowner. That is it. Compliance, plus no unpaid judgment to a homeowner you worked for. The unsatisfied judgment clause is the one with teeth, because it means a lost small claims case from a cracked slab can block your registration until you pay it. Section 5503 explains the design. Mandatory registration is a consumer protection device, not a competency credential, and the chapter says the Office does not intend to set standards for professional qualifications or workmanship. Chapter 106 does create a second, optional track. The Director may adopt rules issuing voluntary certifications that signify demonstrated competence in particular subfields and specialties related to residential construction, and may set minimum qualifications and standards of performance for them. For a concrete specialist, that optional track is the only state mechanism that speaks to skill at all. Registration alone says nothing about your flatwork.
Sourceslegislature.vermont.gov
Section 5509(a) is a hard number and it is not small. A person registered under chapter 106 shall maintain minimum liability insurance coverage in the amount of $1,000,000.00 per occurrence and $2,000,000.00 aggregate. The statute adds that evidence of the coverage may be required as a precondition to issuance or renewal of a registration, so the certificate is not just a file copy. Failing to maintain liability or workers compensation insurance as required by law is listed in section 5510(c)(2) as unprofessional conduct, which puts it in front of the Office of Professional Regulation as a disciplinary matter rather than only a contract problem. For concrete work the occurrence limit deserves a second look. Formwork failures, blowouts, truck access damage to a septic field or a finished drive, slab heave, and water intrusion through a foundation are all claims that can run past small policy limits, and a $1,000,000.00 per occurrence floor is a floor, not a recommendation. Many Vermont general contractors and construction managers will ask for more before they let a sub on a residential site, and the state minimum gives them a baseline to argue from. Carry the certificate where you can produce it fast. Homeowners in Vermont have been told by the state to ask for it, and a registered concrete contractor who cannot show current coverage on request reads to a buyer exactly like one who does not have it.
Sourceslegislature.vermont.gov
Section 5509(b) changes how a Vermont concrete contractor sells. A registrant shall execute a written contract before receiving a deposit or commencing residential construction work if the estimated value of labor and materials exceeds $10,000.00. The contract must specify four things. First, price, in one of three forms: a maximum price for all work and materials; a statement that billing and payment will be made on a time and materials basis, not to exceed a maximum price; or a statement that billing and payment will be made on a time and materials basis with no maximum price. Second, estimated start and completion dates. Third, a description of the services to be performed and a description of the materials to be used. Fourth, a description of how and when amendments may be approved and documented, as agreed by the parties. Amendments must then be documented in a signed writing. Section 5509(c) caps the deposit. If the contract names a maximum price, or names a time and materials basis not to exceed a maximum price, the contract may require a down payment of up to one half of the cost of labor to the consumer, or one half of the price of materials, whichever is greater. If the contract is open time and materials with no maximum, the down payment is as negotiated. For concrete that matters, because the materials half is often the larger half. Failure to enter into a required written contract is unprofessional conduct under section 5510(c)(1).
Sourceslegislature.vermont.gov
Chapter 106 names workers compensation twice by reference and never sets the rule itself. The rule lives in 21 V.S.A. section 687, which requires employers other than state, county, and municipal bodies to secure compensation for their employees by insuring with an authorized carrier, by keeping guarantee insurance in force, by qualifying as a self-insurer to the satisfaction of the Commissioner, or by participating in an approved nonprofit self-insurance corporation. If an employer fails to secure coverage and an employee is injured, section 687(b) makes the officers and majority stockholders of a corporation personally liable for benefits owed, and makes partners personally liable in a partnership. The penalties in 21 V.S.A. section 692 are structured to escalate. After a hearing, an employer found out of compliance is assessed an administrative penalty of not more than $100.00 per day for the first seven days and not more than $150.00 per day thereafter. The Commissioner then issues an emergency stop-work order until coverage is secured, plus a penalty of not more than $250.00 for every day coverage is missing after the order, and a further penalty of up to $250.00 per employee per day. A notice goes up in a conspicuous place on your job site telling your employees why work has stopped. An employer hit with a stop-work order is barred from contracting directly or indirectly with the state or its subdivisions for up to three years. For a crew with a short pour season, that is the sanction to avoid.
Sourceslegislature.vermont.gov 1legislature.vermont.gov 2legislature.vermont.gov 3
Section 5510(a) sends unregistered practice to the general professional regulation enforcement statute. A person who does not register as required may be subject to an injunction or a civil penalty, or both, for unauthorized practice as provided in 3 V.S.A. section 127(b). Under that section, a person practicing a regulated profession without authority, or an employer permitting such practice, may be enjoined by the Superior Court where the violation occurred or by the Washington County Superior Court, and may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $5,000.00. The Attorney General or an attorney assigned by the Office of Professional Regulation may instead elect to bring an action seeking only the civil penalty of not more than $5,000.00 before the board with regulatory authority or before an administrative law officer, with hearings conducted like disciplinary hearings. Section 127(c) adds a criminal layer: unauthorized practice is punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, and prosecution does not bar civil or administrative proceedings on the same conduct. Note the words "or an employer permitting such practice." A registered concrete company that hands an unregistered sub a $40,000 foundation package is exposed too. Section 5510(c) also catalogs unprofessional conduct for registrants, including failing to carry required insurance, committing a deceptive act in commerce under 9 V.S.A. section 2453, and reincorporating or altering a trade name to evade or mask discipline against a registration.
Vermont has a criminal statute that reaches concrete work directly, and it is more specific than chapter 106. Under 13 V.S.A. section 2029, land improvement includes the construction, replacement, installation, paving, or improvement of driveways, sidewalks, trails, roads, or other grounds features, and includes site work such as grading, excavation, site utility installation, and site preparation that is not part of a building on a parcel. The statute says expressly that land improvement covers activities made in connection with a residence and activities not made in connection with one. Home improvement separately covers fixing, replacing, remodeling, renovating, altering, or adding to any building used or designed as a residence. The offense threshold is far lower than the registration threshold. A person commits home improvement or land improvement fraud by knowingly entering a contract, agreement, or change order, written or oral, for $1,000.00 or more with an owner, or several of them totaling $2,500.00 or more in the aggregate with more than one owner, and knowingly promising performance the person does not intend to perform, misrepresenting a material fact about the contract terms or the condition of the property, or using an unfair or deceptive practice to induce the contract. A declared state of emergency adds a price gouging clause at two times the average price. Penalties run from not more than two years or $1,000.00 up to not more than five years or $10,000.00 for repeat violations of the larger-loss subsection.
Sourceslegislature.vermont.gov
The back half of 13 V.S.A. section 2029 creates something a Vermont concrete contractor should know about, because customers can see it. On conviction for home improvement or land improvement fraud, or for fraudulent acts related to that work, the convicted person must notify the Office of the Attorney General, the court must notify that office, and the Attorney General must place the person's name on the Home Improvement and Land Improvement Fraud Registry. The registry entry also records whether the person has told the Attorney General that a surety bond or irrevocable letter of credit has been filed. The bond is the mechanism that lets a convicted person work again. Under subsection (e), a person sentenced under the heavier penalty subdivisions may engage in home improvement or land improvement activities for compensation only in one of two ways. Either the work is for an unrelated company or individual that has no prior violation under the section, with notice of the conviction given to that employer and address and employment details given to the Attorney General, or the person notifies the Attorney General of the intent to work and files a surety bond or irrevocable letter of credit with the office in an amount of not less than $250,000.00, paying all fees to maintain it. The office releases the instrument only when claims are paid, no actions are pending, and the person has not performed this work for at least six years. Conviction also bars state grants and state contracting for up to three years.
Sourceslegislature.vermont.gov
Vermont does not make you print a number on your truck. Chapter 106 contains no requirement that a registration number appear in advertising, on vehicles, on a website, or on written estimates, and it sets no penalty for omitting one. That is a genuine difference from license states, and it means your Vermont advertising is governed by truth rules rather than display rules. Those truth rules still bite. Section 5510(c)(4) makes it unprofessional conduct to falsely claim certification under the chapter, with a saving clause that the provision does not prevent accurate and nonmisleading advertising or statements about credentials that are not offered by this state. Section 5510(b) applies the general unprofessional conduct statute, 3 V.S.A. section 129a, to registrants, and section 129a(a)(2) makes advertising that is intended or has a tendency to deceive or mislead unprofessional conduct on its own. Section 129a(a)(1) reaches fraudulent or deceptive use of a credential. Section 5510(c)(3) pulls in deceptive acts in commerce under 9 V.S.A. section 2453. Practical reading for a concrete contractor: say "registered with the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation" if you are, because that is accurate. Do not say "state licensed," "state certified," or "state approved concrete contractor," because Vermont issues no such license for this trade and section 5503 says registration sets no workmanship standard. If you hold an out-of-state credential or an ACI finisher certification, name the issuer so the claim stays nonmisleading.
The Office of Professional Regulation runs a public lookup, and it is worth knowing what a customer sees there. The guest service is Find A Professional, reached without an account from the licensing portal at secure.professionals.vermont.gov. It returns results in two tables, one for individuals and one for businesses, with columns for license number, profession type, status, name, branch name, first issuance date, and expiration. The page carries its own warning that not all discipline is linked to the lookup results and that a comprehensive search of discipline sits on the Complaints, Conduct and Discipline page. A second public list exists on the enforcement side. The Attorney General's Home Improvement and Land Improvement Fraud Registry under 13 V.S.A. section 2029 names people convicted of this specific offense and shows whether a bond or letter of credit has been filed. Two consequences for how you sell. First, your registration status, issue date, and expiration are public and dated, so an expired registration is visible to anyone comparing bids. Keep the renewal clean. Second, because Vermont registration says nothing about workmanship by the statute's own terms, the lookup cannot do your selling for you. The homeowner who checks will see that you exist and are current, and then will still want the things the state does not grade: finished slabs, mix tickets, a certificate of insurance at the $1,000,000.00 per occurrence level, and references in their own town.
Sourcessecure.professionals.vermont.gov 1secure.professionals.vermont.gov 2legislature.vermont.gov 3legislature.vermont.gov 4
State registration does not permit a single pour. Under 24 V.S.A. section 4449, in any municipality that has adopted bylaws, no land development may be commenced in the area affected without a permit issued by the administrative officer, and no permit may be issued except in conformance with the bylaws. If the bylaws so provide, it is also unlawful to use or occupy a structure that has been created, erected, changed, converted, altered, or enlarged until the administrative officer issues a certificate of occupancy. Vermont bylaws are local, so a foundation, a driveway, a patio, or added impervious area can require a zoning permit in one town and not the next, and setback, lot coverage, and building coverage limits decide whether the slab you quoted can legally go where the customer wants it. South Burlington is a useful example of the detail level: its Planning and Zoning department runs permitting through an online application portal, publishes its Land Development Regulations, keeps a searchable archive of permits and decisions, and states that all sheds require a zoning permit regardless of size or base, that most cannot exceed 15 feet in height, that they must sit at least 5 feet from property lines, and that they are subject to coverage limits. Section 4449 also ties the energy code in. When an application seeks approval of a structure, the administrative officer must give the applicant the applicable building energy standards under 30 V.S.A. sections 51 and 53, with narrow exceptions for signs, fences, and unheated structures.
Sourceslegislature.vermont.gov 1southburlingtonvt.gov 2legislature.vermont.gov 3
Two more state requirements attach to concrete specifically, because concrete is impervious. Under 10 V.S.A. section 1264(c), a person shall not commence the construction or redevelopment of one half of an acre or more of impervious surface without first obtaining a permit from the Secretary of Natural Resources. A person shall not commence a project that will result in an earth disturbance of one acre or greater, or of less than one acre if part of a common plan of development, without a permit. A person shall not expand existing impervious surface by more than 5,000 square feet such that the total resulting impervious area is greater than one acre, without a permit. Driveways, aprons, parking pads, and large flatwork are impervious surface, and the common plan of development language means a subdivision's worth of small pours can be added together. Know which threshold your job sits under before you dig. The energy side matters on foundations and slabs. Under 30 V.S.A. section 51, residential construction must comply with the Residential Building Energy Standards, and the definition of builder is the general contractor or other person in charge of construction who has the power to direct others on the details to be observed. Certification may be issued by the builder, a licensed professional engineer, a licensed architect, or an accredited home energy rating organization, must be affixed near the heating equipment or electrical panel, must be copied to the Department of Public Service, and must be recorded in the town land records. That certificate is a condition precedent to a certificate of occupancy.
Chapter 106 contains no reciprocity provision and no licensure by endorsement clause, because there is no competency credential to reciprocate. A Quebec, New Hampshire, or New York concrete contractor crossing into Vermont to pour a residential foundation for more than $10,000.00 registers the same way a Vermont contractor does, under the same section 5508 test: compliance with the chapter and applicable state law, and no unsatisfied judgment order related to professional services provided to a homeowner. There is no credit for years held elsewhere, and there is also no exam to retake. Register the business organization if you contract in the company name, carry the section 5509(a) liability limits, secure Vermont workers compensation under 21 V.S.A. section 687 for employees working here, and use a chapter 106 compliant written contract. Several categories of concrete work sit outside chapter 106 altogether. Commercial and industrial slabs, structures with five or more dwelling units, municipal sidewalks and roads, and bridge or highway concrete are not residential construction under section 5501(b), so the registration requirement does not reach them, though bid documents, prequalification, and prevailing wage terms usually impose their own paperwork. Work for a general contractor rather than directly for a homeowner also sits differently, because section 5501 is written around contracting with a homeowner. Do not read that as freedom. The fraud statute at 13 V.S.A. section 2029 applies to owners generally, the consumer protection statute at 9 V.S.A. section 2461 lets a consumer recover damages, attorney fees, and exemplary damages up to three times the consideration given, and the municipal permit still has to be pulled.
Sourceslegislature.vermont.gov 1legislature.vermont.gov 2legislature.vermont.gov 3legislature.vermont.gov 4legislature.vermont.gov 5
These are common details other guides publish about Vermont, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
No. Vermont has no concrete, masonry, or general contractor license and no state board that tests this work. What applies is the Residential Contractor registration from the Office of Professional Regulation, required under 26 V.S.A. chapter 106 before you contract with a homeowner for residential construction over $10,000.00 in labor and materials combined.
Yes, when it is residential and over the threshold. Section 5501(b) names paving in the list of included residential construction, and it reaches a building or premises with four or fewer dwelling units. A driveway, apron, or walkway tied to that property counts. The separate fraud statute also names driveway and sidewalk paving directly.
Section 5507 sets $75.00 for an individual registration and $250.00 for a business organization registration, paid at initial application and at each biennial renewal. A first state certification is $75.00 and each additional certification is $25.00. Registering the business, not each worker, is usually the cheaper route for a crew.
No, provided the company itself is registered. Section 5502(1) exempts an employee acting within the scope of employment for a business organization registered under the chapter. That is the main reason concrete companies register the business organization rather than paying an individual registration fee for every person on the pour.
Section 5509(a) requires a registrant to maintain minimum liability coverage of $1,000,000.00 per occurrence and $2,000,000.00 aggregate. Evidence may be required before a registration is issued or renewed. Failing to maintain required liability or workers compensation insurance is listed as unprofessional conduct under section 5510(c)(2).
Yes, within limits, and only after a written contract. If the contract names a maximum price, or a time and materials basis not to exceed a maximum, section 5509(c) allows a down payment of up to one half the cost of labor or one half the price of materials, whichever is greater. Open time and materials contracts are as negotiated.
No. Chapter 106 has no exam, no hour count, and no continuing education on renewal. Section 5508 requires only that the applicant comply with the chapter and applicable state law and has satisfied any judgment order related to professional services provided to a homeowner. Section 5503 says registration sets no workmanship standard.
Section 5510(a) routes unregistered work to 3 V.S.A. section 127(b): injunction, a civil penalty of not more than $5,000.00, or both. Section 127(c) adds a fine of not more than $5,000.00 or up to one year imprisonment. An employer permitting unauthorized practice is exposed on the same terms.
Vermont does not require it. Chapter 106 contains no advertising display requirement and no penalty for omitting a number. Your advertising is still governed by truth rules: 3 V.S.A. section 129a(a)(2) makes misleading advertising unprofessional conduct, and section 5510(c)(4) prohibits falsely claiming certification under the chapter.
No. Vermont issues no such license for this trade, so the claim is inaccurate and reachable as misleading advertising. Say registered with the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation if you are. If you hold an out-of-state credential or an industry finisher certification, name the issuer so the statement stays nonmisleading.
Under 10 V.S.A. section 1264(c), a permit is needed before constructing or redeveloping one half acre or more of impervious surface, before an earth disturbance of one acre or more, or of less than an acre within a common plan of development, and before expanding existing impervious surface by more than 5,000 square feet past one acre total.
Through Find A Professional, the guest lookup on the Office of Professional Regulation portal at secure.professionals.vermont.gov. It lists license number, profession type, status, name, first issuance date, and expiration for individuals and businesses. The page notes that not all discipline appears there and points to the Complaints, Conduct and Discipline page.
We can review the local market, your current search visibility, and paid-search fit before recommending any marketing work.