What Counts as Experience for a Virginia Contractor License?
One of the most common questions contractors have when applying for a Virginia contractor license is:
Does my work experience qualify?
Virginia requires the Qualified Individual (QI) for each classification or specialty on a contractor license to have a minimum amount of experience in that specific type of work. The amount of experience required depends on whether the business is applying for a Class A, Class B, or Class C contractor license.
The important part isn't simply how long you've worked in construction. Your experience needs to relate to the classification or specialty you're qualifying.
Who Needs the Experience?
Virginia contractor licenses are issued to business entities, not individuals. However, the business must name a Qualified Individual (QI) for each classification or specialty it wants on the license.
The QI must be a bona fide full-time employee of the business, working at least 30 hours per week, or a member of the company's Responsible Management. The QI is the person whose experience and qualifications are used to qualify the business for that particular classification or specialty.
You can learn more about the overall licensing structure on the Virginia Board for Contractors website.
How Much Experience Is Required?
The amount of experience required for the Qualified Individual depends on the contractor license class:
Class C requires at least 1 year of experience.
Class B requires at least 3 years of experience.
Class A requires at least 5 years of experience.
These requirements apply to the classification or specialty for which the individual will serve as the QI.
For example, if a company is applying for a Class B license with the Residential Building Contractor (RBC) classification, its QI needs at least three years of experience related to residential building.
If you're still determining which license class your business needs, see Virginia Contractor License Classes Explained.
What Type of Experience Counts?
The current Virginia Contractor License Application and Instructions states that the type of work that can count toward the experience requirement can be found in the definition of the applicable classification or specialty in the Board for Contractors Regulations.
In other words, your experience should match the scope of work you're trying to qualify.
For example, someone applying as the QI for:
Residential Building Contractor (RBC) should document experience related to the scope of residential building work covered by the RBC classification.
Roofing Contracting (ROC) should document roofing-related experience.
Commercial Building Contractor (CBC) should document experience related to the scope of commercial building work covered by the CBC classification.
This is why simply stating that you've “worked in construction for five years” doesn't give the Board much information about whether your experience applies to the designation you're requesting.
How Do You Document Your Experience?
DPOR provides an official Contractor Experience Verification Form for documenting qualifying experience.
The applicant completes Section A of the form and provides the dates the experience was obtained, whether the work was full-time, part-time, or seasonal, and a detailed description of daily activities as they relate to the trade designation, contractor classification, or specialty being requested.
This is an important detail: DPOR specifically asks you to describe your daily activities as they relate to the designation you're applying for.
Your description should therefore help the Board understand what you actually did—not just your job title.
Be Specific When Describing Your Experience
Avoid descriptions such as “Worked in construction for five years” or “Project manager for residential construction”.
Instead, describe the actual responsibilities and construction activities you performed.
Depending on your real experience, that could include things such as:
managing residential construction or remodeling projects;
supervising construction crews or subcontractors;
reading and interpreting construction plans;
preparing material takeoffs or project estimates;
coordinating construction schedules and inspections;
performing framing, roofing, concrete, electrical, plumbing, or other trade-specific work; or
overseeing projects within the scope of the classification you're applying for.
Don't add duties simply because you think they sound relevant. Describe the work you actually performed and make the connection to the classification or specialty clear.
Who Can Verify Your Contractor Experience?
The Experience Verification Form must also be completed by someone who can attest to the experience you listed.
DPOR's form provides the following verifier categories:
Building Official
Building Inspector
Licensed Contractor
Licensed Tradesman
Licensed Architect
Licensed Professional Engineer
Other
The “Other” category can include someone such as a supervisor, a member of the company's Human Resources department, or a client. However, DPOR notes that selecting “Other” may result in Board review and delay the processing of the application.
The current form also specifically states that a spouse or family member should not be used to verify experience.
The verifier completes their own section and, in their own words, describes the work duties they're able to verify.
What If My Former Employer Is No Longer in Business?
Your verifier does not necessarily have to be your current employer.
The Experience Verification Form is structured around finding an individual who can attest to the experience you are claiming. DPOR's listed verifier options include licensed contractors, tradesmen, building officials, inspectors, architects, engineers, and an “Other” category that may include supervisors, HR representatives, or clients.
So if a former company has closed, look for someone who legitimately has firsthand knowledge of the work you performed and can accurately verify it.
If your situation doesn't fit neatly into one of DPOR's standard verifier categories, it may be worth contacting the Board before submitting the application rather than assuming a particular verifier will be accepted.
Does Part-Time or Seasonal Experience Count?
The Experience Verification Form specifically asks whether the experience was obtained full-time, part-time, or seasonally. If it was part-time, you're asked to provide the average number of hours worked per week; if it was seasonal, you're asked to provide a brief explanation.
However, the form itself does not explain exactly how the Board converts part-time or seasonal work into the required years of experience.
For that reason, I would not make a blanket claim that one calendar year of part-time work automatically equals one full year toward the licensing requirement. If you're relying heavily on part-time or seasonal experience, contact the Board for guidance on your specific circumstances.
Does Every Qualified Individual Submit an Experience Verification Form?
Not necessarily.
The current contractor application instructions specifically state that an Experience Verification Form must be submitted for each QI requesting a designation that requires pre-approval for an examination. Those include many classifications and specialties such as RBC, CBC, HIC, ROC, and others.
Other designations have different prerequisites. For example, trade-related classifications such as Electrical, Plumbing, and HVAC require the QI to hold the applicable DPOR-issued license rather than qualifying through the same technical-exam process.
This is why it's important to check the requirements for the specific classification or specialty you're adding to the contractor license.
Experience Is Only One Part of Qualifying as a QI
Having the required years of experience doesn't necessarily mean the QI has completed all requirements.
Depending on the classification or specialty, Virginia may also require the QI to hold another license or certification or receive approval and pass a technical examination.
For example, trade-related classifications such as Electrical (ELE), Plumbing (PLB), and HVAC (HVA) have individual licensing prerequisites, while classifications such as Residential Building (RBC), Commercial Building (CBC), Home Improvement (HIC), and Roofing (ROC) require pre-approval and a technical examination.
The Virginia Board for Contractors recommends reviewing the Qualified Individual requirements, trade-related exams and qualifications, and Board regulations before applying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my spouse or another family member verify my experience?
DPOR's current Experience Verification Form states that a spouse or family member should not be used to verify experience.
Can I use experience from more than one employer?
The Experience Verification Form instructs applicants to use one form per experience. Therefore, if you need to document separate periods of experience, you can use additional forms as applicable.
Does five years of construction experience qualify me for every classification?
No. The required experience must be in the classification or specialty you're qualifying. Five years of experience in an unrelated type of construction work does not automatically establish the required experience for another designation.
What if I'm not sure whether my experience qualifies?
Because the Board evaluates whether the QI meets the requirements for the requested classification or specialty, unusual or borderline experience situations are best confirmed directly with the Virginia Board for Contractors before relying on them in an application.
