How can I tell if my handyman is licensed in Virginia?
Ask the handyman for their Virginia DPOR — Board for Contractors license number, then verify it at the board's public lookup. The license must be Active, the class must include Class A/B/C Contractor License, and there must be no open disciplinary actions. Groundcheck (earthmove.io/trust) does this in under 90 seconds and cross-checks court, OSHA, and BBB records simultaneously.
Confirming a handyman's license in Virginia is a 3-step process. First, get the license number from the contractor — every legitimate handyman working in Virginia should have one and should give it on request. If they refuse or hedge, walk away. Second, plug it into the Virginia DPOR — Board for Contractors public lookup at https://www.dpor.virginia.gov/Boards/Contractors/. Third, verify three fields on the lookup result: license status (must read "Active"), expiration date (must be in the future), and disciplinary history (must be clean).
What classification matters: Class A/B/C Contractor License. Virginia handymen working under any other classification are not authorized for the performs minor repair, maintenance, and installation work across multiple trades, typically at sub-contractor-threshold project values you're hiring them for. The threshold rule: Class C required for any work over $1,000; no license required for jobs under $1,000. Below that threshold, the handyman may be operating legally without the state license; above it, the license is mandatory.
Red flags that the license isn't legitimate or the handyman is misrepresenting: the license number doesn't return a result, the lookup returns a different name or business than you were given, the status is "Suspended" or "Inactive," the license is in another contractor's name (the handyman is using someone else's license — illegal in every state), or the disciplinary history shows multiple open complaints.
What if the handyman won't share their license number? In Virginia, every licensed handyman is required to display the license number on all advertising, business cards, contracts, and vehicles. If they can't or won't provide it, they're either unlicensed or hiding something.
The fast path: run a free Groundcheck at earthmove.io/trust. Enter the contractor name and Virginia as the state. Groundcheck queries Virginia DPOR — Board for Contractors, the Secretary of State, federal court records, OSHA inspection history, and BBB complaints, then returns a single sourced verdict. The contractor is never notified.
Detailed Virginia handyman licensing rules: earthmove.io/trust/license/handyman/virginia.
Verify a Virginia handyman now
Free Groundcheck cross-references Virginia DPOR — Board for Contractors licensing with court records, OSHA history, and BBB complaints. Under 90 seconds. The contractor is never notified.