North Carolina to Virginia: general contractor license reciprocity
Virginia has a reciprocity agreement with North Carolina: a North Carolina general contractor can get a Virginia license without retaking the trade exam.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
North Carolina commercial building contractor examination waiver
A signed state-to-state agreement. The trade exam is waived; you apply, prove your history, and pay the fee.
The Board for Contractors publishes an approved agreement described as a North Carolina CBC Contractor Commercial Building Contractor examination waiver, which removes the Virginia Commercial Building technical examination for a qualified individual holding the North Carolina credential. The rest of the application is unchanged: the firm chooses Class A, B or C and meets that class's net worth or surety bond requirement, the qualified individual documents one, three or five years of commercial building experience, the designated employee of a Class A or Class B firm passes the PSI business examination, and eight hours of pre-license education are completed. A complete application with verification of licensure from the North Carolina board is required. The Board does not publish the terms of the agreement or which North Carolina license class it covers, so confirm eligibility with the Board for Contractors at (804) 367-8511 or [email protected] before applying.
This entry appears in the reciprocal-agreements accordion on the Board's own program page and is not repeated in the Board's tradesman-focused Reciprocal Licensing/Examination Agreements PDF. A qualified individual who holds the NASCLA Accredited Examination reaches the same result through the default path without needing an agreement.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
- Typical processing
- About 30 days
- Agreement
- Active
What you must already have
- Your North Carolina license must be active and in good standing.
- You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.
- The qualified individual must still have one year (Class C), three years (Class B) or five years (Class A) of experience in commercial building contracting
What you'll do to get licensed in Virginia
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($414.50). Class A initial license fee for a CBC-only or CIC-only application, which does not pay the Recovery Fund assessment; $394.50 for Class B and $249.50 for Class C. Adding any other classification makes it $439.50, $419.50 and $274.50 respectively..
- 2Other. Verification of licensure from the North Carolina board, submitted with a complete Virginia application..
- 3Law / code exam. Pass a law, rules, or code exam. PSI contractor business examination for the designated employee of a Class A or Class B firm; this examination is not waived by the North Carolina agreement..
- 4Financial responsibility. Show financial responsibility of at least $45,000. At least $45,000 of net worth or equity for Class A and $15,000 for Class B, or a $50,000 surety bond on the Board's form. Class C has no financial requirement..
- 5Other. Eight hours of Board-approved pre-license education..
Published fees on this path total $414.50, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
What you'll need to buy or arrange
Exam preparation
Most boards contract PSI, Prov, or ICC for exams. Check which code edition the exam is written to before buying a prep course.
- Law / code exam
Continuing education
Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.
- Other
How Virginia licenses general contractors
Virginia general contractor · “Class A, B or C Contractor, Commercial Building (CBC)”
Statewide license
Issued by Virginia Board for Contractors (DPOR)
Unlimited and commercial building work in Virginia is a Class A license with the Commercial Building (CBC) classification, issued by the Board for Contractors at DPOR to a business entity rather than to a person. The class letter is purely about money: Class A carries no monetary ceiling and requires $45,000 of documented net worth or equity, Class B is capped at $150,000 per project and $1 million a year and requires $15,000, and Class C is capped at $30,000 per project and $250,000 a year with no financial requirement; a $50,000 surety bond on the Board's form may replace the financial statement for Class A or Class B. The CBC classification covers construction, remodeling, repair, improvement, removal and demolition of commercial, industrial, institutional, governmental and accessory-use buildings, including multi-family housing, and absorbs the commercial improvement, concrete, masonry, roofing, painting, billboard, marine facility, recreational facility and industrialized building specialties for that work; it does not cover electrical, plumbing, HVAC or gas fitting, which are separate classifications, and it does not cover dwellings and townhouses, which are the RBC classification. Heavy civil work is its own Highway/Heavy (H/H) classification. The firm names a qualified individual with five years of commercial building experience for Class A (three for Class B, one for Class C) who passes the CBC technical examination or holds the NASCLA Accredited Examination, and a designated employee who passes the Advanced, General and Virginia portions of the PSI business examination. Eight hours of Board-approved pre-license education are required for every class, and the license runs two years from the last day of the month of issuance.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Virginia general contractor exam if I'm licensed in North Carolina?
- The trade exam is waived, but Virginia requires a law or code exam.
- What does it cost to get a Virginia general contractor license from North Carolina?
- Published fees on this path total $414.50, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my North Carolina work hours count in Virginia?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Virginia's eligibility requirements.
- How long does the application take?
- The board's published or typical processing time is about 30 days.
Sources
- 18VAC50-22-100 - Fees · 18VAC50-22-100; Va. Code § 54.1-1119 · Virginia Board for Contractors / Virginia Register · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
- 18VAC50-22-110 - Renewal required · 18VAC50-22-110 · Virginia Board for Contractors / Virginia Register · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
- 18VAC50-22-20 - Definitions of license classifications · 18VAC50-22-20 · Virginia Board for Contractors / Virginia Register · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
- 18VAC50-22-50 - Requirements for a Class B license · 18VAC50-22-50 · Virginia Board for Contractors / Virginia Register · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
- 18VAC50-22-60 - Requirements for a Class A license · 18VAC50-22-60 · Virginia Board for Contractors / Virginia Register · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
- 18VAC50-22-70 - Qualifications for licensure by reciprocity or substantial equivalency · 18VAC50-22-70 · Virginia Board for Contractors / Virginia Register · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
- Va. Code 54.1-1100 - Definitions (Class A, Class B and Class C contractors) · Va. Code § 54.1-1100 · Virginia General Assembly (LIS) · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- Form A501-27LIC - Contractor Licensing Information and Application Instructions (v18, 08/01/2026) · Virginia Board for Contractors (DPOR) · Form · verified September 17, 2026
- Form A501-27EXINFO - Board for Contractors, Requirements for Qualified Individuals (v10, 09/01/2025) · Virginia Board for Contractors (DPOR) · Form · verified September 17, 2026
- DPOR Board for Contractors - program page (licensing, education and exams, reciprocal agreements) · Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.