Virginia · Concrete licensing · official-source guide
Virginia licenses concrete work at the state level. The Board for Contractors at the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation issues a two-part firm license: a class, A, B or C, that caps project value, plus the concrete contracting (CEM) or masonry contracting (BRK) specialty. The named qualified individual needs one, three or five years of experience, depending on class.
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Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-10-26. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Virginia licenses concrete contracting at the state level. The Board for Contractors, which sits inside the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), issues it. The board licenses businesses engaged in the construction, removal, repair, or improvement of facilities on property owned by others. The license belongs to the firm, not to the person running the screed or setting the forms. One licensed firm can carry several crews. Every Virginia contractor license has two parts, and a concrete company has to get both right. The class, A, B or C, sets the dollar value of the projects the firm may take. The classification or specialty sets the type of work the firm may perform. A firm licensed for the wrong class cannot legally bid a larger slab package, and a firm licensed for the wrong specialty cannot legally pour it at any price. Cities and counties do not issue the contractor license, but they check it. Section 54.1-1111 of the Code of Virginia bars a building official from issuing a building permit until the applicant furnishes a contractor license or certificate number or a written statement of exemption, and it bars a locality from issuing or renewing a business license on the same terms. A building official who issues a permit anyway commits a Class 3 misdemeanor. So the DPOR license is the gate, and the local permit counter and the commissioner of the revenue are the two places where a missing license stops a concrete job before the first truck arrives.
The specialty that matches a concrete company is concrete contracting, abbreviated CEM in board records. The board's definition in 18VAC50-22-30 is broad. CEM covers all work in connection with the processing, proportioning, batching, mixing, conveying, and placing of concrete composed of materials common to the concrete industry. It also covers finishing, coloring, curing, repairing, testing, sawing, grinding, grouting, placing of film barriers, sealing, and waterproofing. Construction and assembling of forms, molds, slipforms, and pans, centering, and the use of rebar are included as well. Read that list against a normal work order. A driveway tear out and repour, a garage slab, a patio with integral color, a stamped and sealed walkway, control joint sawing, slab crack repair, a footing with rebar, and curing and sealing all fall inside CEM. So does setting and stripping forms, which is often where a crew assumes a separate license applies. Core drilling and grinding for a floor prep job also read onto the CEM list. The definition also states that the commercial building contracting (CBC), residential building contracting (RBC), and highway or heavy (H/H) classifications provide for this function. That matters for how a firm applies. A company that already holds RBC for whole house work does not need to add CEM to pour the footings and slab on its own project. A concrete subcontractor that only pours for other people usually holds CEM alone, which keeps the application and the qualified individual requirement narrower.
Sourceslaw.lis.virginia.gov
Masonry is a separate specialty. Masonry contracting, abbreviated BRK, covers the installation of brick, concrete block, stone, marble, slate, or other units and products common to the masonry industry, including mortarless type masonry products. The definition also covers installation of grout, caulking, tuck pointing, sand blasting, mortar washing, parging, and cleaning and welding of reinforcement steel related to masonry construction. A flatwork company that also lays block foundation walls, builds a stone veneer on a porch pier, or parges a foundation needs BRK as well as CEM. The two specialties are added to the same firm license. There is no separate license certificate and no second class determination. The board charges a fee for adding a classification or specialty to an existing license, and the firm has to name a qualified individual who meets the experience and exam requirement for the added specialty. The board lists other paths to the same work. The CBC, RBC and H/H classifications and the home improvement contracting (HIC) and commercial improvement contracting (CIC) specialties also provide for masonry work. Steel erection contracting (STL) is the specialty that covers fabrication, placement and tying of steel reinforcing bars and post-tensioning to reinforce concrete buildings and structures, and CBC, RBC, H/H, HIC and CIC provide for that function too. A firm that only places rebar inside its own pours is covered by CEM, which already includes the use of rebar. A firm that sells rebar placement as a standalone trade package should look at STL.
Sourceslaw.lis.virginia.gov
The class decides the size of job a concrete firm may sign. Section 54.1-1100 of the Code of Virginia sets the limits, and they are stated two ways: per project and per rolling 12 months. Class C contractors perform or manage work when the total value in a single contract or project is over $1,000 but less than $30,000, or when the total value of all such work undertaken within any 12-month period is less than $250,000. Class B contractors cover a single contract or project of $30,000 or more but less than $150,000, or a 12-month total of $250,000 or more but less than $1 million. Class A contractors cover a single contract or project of $150,000 or more, or a 12-month total of $1 million or more. Both tests apply. A driveway company that signs nothing larger than a $12,000 repour still needs Class B once its 12-month volume reaches $250,000, and Class A once it reaches $1 million. Growth, not job size, is what pushes most flatwork firms up a class. The class also decides how much paperwork the application takes. Class C is the lightest: a qualified individual with one year of experience, no financial statement, and no business examination. Class B and Class A both add a designated employee who has passed the board approved examination and a financial test. Section 54.1-1115 makes it a prohibited act to contract for or bid upon work without the proper class of license for the value of the work to be performed, so a Class C firm that bids a $60,000 foundation package is exposed even if the specialty is correct.
Virginia licenses the firm, but two named people carry the qualifications. The qualified individual, or QI, is tied to each classification or specialty. The designated employee, or DE, is tied to the class. For every classification or specialty the firm seeks, it must name a QI who is at least 18, is a full-time employee of the firm or a member of its responsible management, and has the required experience in that classification or specialty. The experience requirement scales with the class: a minimum of one year for Class C, three years for Class B, and five years for Class A. A firm adding both CEM and BRK can name the same person for both if that person has the experience in both, or name two different people. Class B and Class A firms must also name a designated employee who is at least 18, is a full-time employee or a member of responsible management, and has passed the board approved examination required by Section 54.1-1108 for Class B or Section 54.1-1106 for Class A, unless exempt under Section 54.1-1108.1. A Class C firm does not name a DE. Applicants also disclose history. The firm reports outstanding past due debts and judgments, outstanding tax obligations, defaults on bonds, and pending or past bankruptcies, covering three years for Class C, four years for Class B, and five years for Class A. The firm, the DE, the QI and all responsible management disclose all non-marijuana misdemeanor convictions within three years of application and all felony convictions. Prior license discipline in Virginia or any other state is disclosed too.
There are two different exams, and concrete firms often confuse them. The business exam is tied to the class and is taken by the designated employee of a Class A or Class B firm. The specialty exam is tied to the trade and is taken by the qualified individual. DPOR uses PSI as the exam vendor, reachable at (855) 340-3910. The board states that successful completion of the examination is required before applying for licensure, so a firm cannot submit the license application and test later. Exams run daily, which in practice means Monday through Friday, and there is no application deadline. Exam fees are paid directly to PSI: $40 for one portion of the exam, $72 for two portions, $85 for three portions, and $85 for the QI specialty exam. The board's own rule caps examination cost at $200 per element to the candidate. Virginia test sites are Charlottesville, Richmond, Roanoke, Vienna and Virginia Beach, with additional sites in Johnson City, Tennessee and Salisbury, Maryland. The Virginia Building and Fire Regulations are used as references on several examinations. PSI publishes separate candidate information bulletins for the contractor business exam taken by the DE and the contractor specialty exam taken by the QI. Concrete and masonry sit in the catch-all group. The board's table at 18VAC50-22-61 lists the specialties whose QI must instead hold another license or certificate first, such as electrical, plumbing, HVAC, gas fitting and elevator work. CEM and BRK are not on that list, so their qualified individual takes a board approved examination rather than producing a separate trade credential.
Every new Virginia contractor license requires prelicense education, and it is separate from any exam. To become licensed as a Class A, Class B or Class C contractor, applicants must complete eight hours of prelicense education. For Class A and Class B applicants, a member of responsible management or the designated employee completes it. For Class C applicants, a member of responsible management completes it. The course is a basic business course. It covers the regulations, statutes and requirements that apply to every business owner, and DPOR states plainly that the course is not specific to any particular classification or specialty. A concrete firm and a roofing firm sit in the same class. A board approved advanced contractor class also satisfies the prelicense education requirement. DPOR publishes the list of approved contractor prelicense education schools and courses. This is the requirement that most often delays a concrete license application, because it is easy to read the exam requirement and miss the education requirement. The board's entry rules for all three classes state it as a separate condition: the designated employee or a member of responsible management must successfully complete a board approved basic business course. Remedial education is a different thing and comes later. The board may order a licensed contractor to complete remedial education as part of a disciplinary or consent order. Anyone ordered to do it attends a full day, eight hour, in person class at DPOR's Richmond offices at 9960 Mayland Drive. Those classes are free, are taught by certified DPOR staff, and run once a month. Attendance must be for the entire class, and the attendee has to be on the licensed firm's responsible management team.
Class B and Class A applicants face a financial test. Class C applicants do not. A Class B firm must verify a net worth or equity of $15,000 or more, excluding any property owned as tenants by the entirety. It proves that with a completed financial statement and supporting documentation, a financial statement reviewed by a certified public accountant, or a CPA audit. In place of the net worth showing, the firm may obtain a $50,000 surety bond on the board's bond form. A Class A firm must verify a net worth or equity of $45,000 on the same terms and with the same three proof options, and it has the same alternative: a $50,000 surety bond on the board's bond form. DPOR publishes both a financial statement form and a surety bond form and states that Class A and Class B applicants select one or the other. For a new concrete company, the bond route is often the faster one, because a start up slab business with two trucks and a laser screed may not show $45,000 of equity on paper in year one. The bond is not a performance bond for your customers and it does not replace insurance. It is the board's substitute for the net worth showing. Class C firms skip the financial statement entirely, which is one reason small flatwork firms start there. The tradeoff is the Class C ceiling: single projects under $30,000 and under $250,000 in a 12-month period. A firm that expects to cross either line in its first two years should weigh applying directly at the class it will need, because a change of license class requires its own application and fee.
The board's fee schedule is set in regulation, and all fees are nonrefundable. Initial license fees, due with the license application, are $235 for a Class C license, $380 for a Class B license, and $400 for a Class A license. A temporary license costs $60 and is submitted with the applicable initial license fee. In addition, under Section 54.1-1119 of the Code of Virginia, a $25 Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund assessment is required with each initial license application. Changes after licensure carry their own fees. A change of designated employee costs $125. A change of qualified individual costs $125. Adding a classification or specialty costs $125, which is the figure that matters when a concrete firm adds masonry contracting or a masonry firm adds concrete contracting later. No Recovery Fund assessment is charged on a change of designated employee, a change of qualified individual, or the addition of a classification or specialty. Two more charges sit outside the license fee. DPOR has posted that effective July 1, 2026, certain fees include a separate Technology Fee of $7.25 per year under 2026 House Bill 30, in place through June 30, 2030, and used only to upgrade or replace DPOR's software system. Separately, a payment returned by the bank for insufficient funds draws a $50 service charge, requires replacement by certified funds or money order, and leads to license suspension if it is not replaced within 10 days. Exam fees are paid to PSI and are not part of the board fee. DPOR receives no general fund or tax revenue from the Commonwealth, so each program is funded entirely by these fees.
Sourceslaw.lis.virginia.gov 1dpor.virginia.gov 2dpor.virginia.gov 3
Contractor licenses issued under the board's rules expire two years from the last day of the month in which they were issued, and the expiration date is printed on the license. DPOR mails a renewal notice to the last known address of record, and failure to receive that notice does not relieve the licensee of the obligation to renew. Renewal fees are $220 for a Class C license, $260 for a Class B license, and $270 for a Class A license. A $30 Recovery Fund assessment is also required with each contractor license renewal. Renewal is available online for contractor firms. The 30 day window after expiration is not an extension. The completed renewal form and fees must be received within 30 days of the expiration date, and the board states that licenses are not valid during that 30 day grace period. A concrete firm that keeps pouring on day 15 after expiration is working unlicensed. The board does not waive the late fee, and the date the renewal is received, not the postmark, controls. After 30 days the firm must reinstate. Reinstatement costs $460 for Class C and $550 for Class B or Class A, each including the renewal fee, plus the Recovery Fund assessment. A license may be reinstated for up to 24 months after the expiration date. After 24 months it cannot be reinstated and the firm applies as a new applicant under the entry requirements in place at that time. Any regulated activity after the expiration date may be prosecuted as unlicensed activity. A firm that reinstates is treated as continuously licensed, which keeps it under the board's disciplinary authority for the gap period.
The board's entry rules for Class A, Class B and Class C contractor licenses set a net worth or surety bond test, not an insurance minimum. The one firm license in the chapter that carries an insurance condition is the residential building energy analyst firm, which must submit proof of insurance at application and again at renewal. So a concrete firm's general liability limits are driven by its customers, general contractors and lenders rather than by a published state minimum. Workers compensation is different, and it is enforced. The Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission states that Virginia law requires an employer who regularly employs more than two part-time or full-time employees to carry Virginia workers compensation coverage, and that for employers required to have coverage it is mandatory, with no waivers and no exceptions. Subcontractors count. A business or contractor that hires subcontractors to assist in its work or to fulfill a contract must count the subcontractor's employees along with its own in deciding whether it has more than two. That is true even if every subcontractor carries its own coverage. The commission also warns that an insurer can charge premium for any subcontractor hired, including a sole proprietor with no employees, so a concrete firm should collect and keep proof of coverage for every sub it uses and have it ready for audit. No individual trade license covers concrete or masonry work. Virginia defines a tradesman as an individual who engages in work for the general public for compensation in the trades of electrical, plumbing, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Finishers, form setters and masons are not licensed individually by the board.
Sourceslaw.lis.virginia.gov 1workcomp.virginia.gov 2law.lis.virginia.gov 3
Virginia does not publish a blanket license swap for out of state concrete contractors. Under 18VAC50-22-70, firms originally licensed in a state with which the board has a reciprocal agreement, or whose eligibility criteria are substantially equivalent, may obtain a Virginia contractor license in accordance with the terms of that agreement. The practical step is to ask the Licensing Section at (804) 367-8511 whether your home state qualifies before you build an application around it, because the rule points to the agreement rather than listing states. A temporary license exists. The board's rule requires a temporary license applicant to meet the requirements of Section 54.1-201.1 of the Code of Virginia, including simultaneous submission of a completed application for licensure. The fee is $60 on top of the applicable initial license fee, and the holder is subject to disciplinary action for any violation during the period of temporary licensure. That is the mechanism for a firm that has a job in hand and a full application in process. DPOR also publishes an expedited Class A license application with its own eligibility guidelines, which is worth checking for an established out of state firm moving into Virginia work. Military provisions can help. Active duty personnel and their spouses who served outside the United States, along with certain diplomatic service members and veterans, may be eligible for up to a five year extension for meeting license renewal requirements under Section 54.1-117. Spouses of active duty personnel assigned to a duty station in Virginia are eligible for expedited processing, and a temporary, non-renewable 12 month license is available to certain military spouses licensed in another state under Section 54.1-119.
Virginia treats unlicensed contracting as a crime, not a paperwork problem. Section 54.1-1115 makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to contract for, or bid upon, the construction, removal, repair or improvement of real property owned, controlled or leased by another person without a license or certificate, or without the proper class of license for the value of the work to be performed. The same section covers attempting to practice contracting, presenting or attempting to use another firm's license, giving false or forged evidence to the board, and using an expired or revoked license. There is also a daily fine. Any person who undertakes work without a valid Virginia contractor license when one is required, or without the proper class of license for the work undertaken, shall be fined an amount not to exceed $500 per day for each day the person is in violation, on top of the authorized penalties for a Class 1 misdemeanor. If the job is a consumer transaction, working without any valid license is also a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act and is subject to that act's enforcement provisions. The contract itself can become unenforceable. A construction contract entered into by a person working without a valid Virginia contractor license is not enforceable by that unlicensed contractor unless it gave substantial performance in good faith and did not have actual knowledge that a license was required. Letting a license lapse creates a rebuttable presumption of that knowledge. The board's rules also make it a violation to contract with an unlicensed or improperly licensed contractor or subcontractor, so hiring an unlicensed pour crew is itself grounds for discipline.
There is no second concrete license at the city level, but there is a second registration. Under Section 58.1-3715, once a contractor has paid the local license tax required by the county, city or town where its principal office and any branch offices are located, no other Virginia locality may require another license or license tax, with one exception. When the amount of business done in another county, city or town exceeds $25,000 in any year, that locality may require a local license, and the business done there may be deducted from the gross revenue reported to the home locality. A contractor working in a locality for fewer than 30 days without a definite place of business anywhere in Virginia is subject to that locality's contractor license tax. Workers compensation is checked at that counter. Section 58.1-3714 bars a locality from issuing or reissuing a business license to a contractor who is not maintaining required workers compensation coverage, and requires written certification of compliance at every application and renewal. Knowingly presenting a false certificate is a Class 3 misdemeanor. The same section's local tax definition of contractor expressly reaches paving, curbing and other sidewalk, street and private property work in concrete, and excavating for foundations. The metros apply this in their own forms. Chesapeake requires contractors to submit proof of workers compensation and a copy of the Virginia contractor license, or its proof of state licensure or exemption form. Virginia Beach interviews every business license applicant, licenses expire December 31 and renew annually, and renewal payment is due on or before March 1. Richmond raised its BPOL threshold to $500,000 effective January 1, 2026, so firms with gross receipts from $5,000 to $500,000 pay a $30 annual license tax.
Sourceslaw.lis.virginia.gov 1law.lis.virginia.gov 2cityofchesapeake.net 3cor.virginiabeach.gov 4rva.gov 5
Virginia does not run its license display rule through billboards. It runs it through the contract. The board's rules require every firm engaged in residential contracting, other than subcontractors to the contracting parties and routine maintenance or service work, to use a legible written contract signed by both the consumer and the licensee before work starts or payments are accepted. That contract must include the contractor's name, address, license number, class of license, and classifications or specialty services. It must also carry a statement that the contractor will comply with all local requirements for building permits, inspections and zoning, a signed acknowledgment that the consumer received and read DPOR's statement of consumer protections, and notice of the Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund with contact information for claims. Change orders that alter cost, materials, scope or completion date must be written and signed by both parties. Contract records are kept five years. Two rules govern what you may claim. Publishing or causing to be published any advertisement relating to contracting that contains a false, deceptive or misleading assertion, representation or statement of fact is a prohibited act. So is practicing in a classification, specialty service, or class of license for which the contractor is not licensed. A CEM-only firm that advertises foundation block work it is not licensed for is exposed on both counts. Customers verify through DPOR's License Lookup. A homeowner can confirm the firm's class, its classifications and specialties, and its status. The Recovery Fund backs them up: claims from one claimant against one regulant in a single contracting transaction are capped at $30,000, and claims against one regulant are limited to $100,000 per biennium.
Sourceslaw.lis.virginia.gov 1dpor.virginia.gov 2law.lis.virginia.gov 3
These are common details other guides publish about Virginia, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
Concrete contracting, abbreviated CEM, is the specialty. The board's definition covers mixing, conveying and placing concrete, plus finishing, coloring, curing, repairing, sawing, grinding, sealing and waterproofing, along with forms, slipforms, pans and the use of rebar. Firms holding CBC, RBC or highway and heavy classifications are already covered for this work.
You need the masonry contracting specialty, BRK, added to the same firm license. BRK covers brick, concrete block, stone, marble and slate installation, plus grout, caulking, tuck pointing, parging and welding of masonry reinforcement steel. Adding a specialty costs $125 and requires a qualified individual with the experience for that specialty.
Class A. Section 54.1-1100 puts a single contract or project of $150,000 or more in Class A, and so is any firm whose work totals $1 million or more in a 12-month period. Class B covers $30,000 up to $150,000 per project. Class C covers over $1,000 up to $30,000.
No. Virginia defines a tradesman as an individual working for the general public in electrical, plumbing, or heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Finishers, form setters and masons are not licensed individually. The license sits with the firm, and the firm names a qualified individual with the required experience in concrete or masonry.
It depends on the class. The qualified individual needs a minimum of one year of experience in that classification or specialty for a Class C license, three years for Class B, and five years for Class A. The qualified individual must be at least 18 and either a full-time employee or part of responsible management.
Only as an alternative. Class B firms verify a net worth or equity of $15,000 or more, and Class A firms $45,000, using a financial statement, a CPA reviewed statement, or a CPA audit. Either class may instead obtain a $50,000 surety bond on the board's form. Class C firms face no financial test.
Two years from the last day of the month in which it was issued. Renewal fees are $220 for Class C, $260 for Class B and $270 for Class A, plus a $30 Recovery Fund assessment. The 30 day window after expiration is not an extension, and the board states licenses are not valid during it.
Section 54.1-1115 makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to contract for or bid upon work without the proper class of license for the value of the work. The fine can reach $500 per day for each day in violation. The board also treats practicing outside your class or specialty as a separate disciplinary violation.
The three license classes start above $1,000. Class C covers single projects over $1,000 but under $30,000, with a 12-month total under $250,000. Below that project value the classes do not reach, but local business license rules and building permits still apply, and a permit requires a license number or an exemption statement.
A legible written contract signed by both parties before work or payment. It must carry your name, address, license number, class of license, and classifications or specialty services, a permits and inspections compliance statement, the consumer's signed acknowledgment of DPOR's consumer protections statement, and notice of the Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund.
Usually not. Once you pay the local license tax where your principal and branch offices sit, no other Virginia locality may require another one until your business there exceeds $25,000 in a year. Chesapeake wants proof of workers compensation and a copy of your state license with the application.
Through DPOR's License Lookup, which shows the firm's class, classifications and specialties, and status. The Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund stands behind them as well, with a $30,000 cap on one claimant's claim against one regulant in a single transaction and $100,000 per regulant each biennium.
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