Which license each job needs in Arlington
| Class | Single job | Or total in any 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| C | over $1,000, under $30,000 | under $250,000 |
| B | $30,000 to under $150,000 | $250,000 to under $1 million |
| A | $150,000 or more | $1 million or more |
Source: Code of Virginia 54.1-1100, read 22 October 2026. Arlington's prices make the class matter:
| Work | Usual filed value | Class that covers the usual job | Arlington permits (firms) | Firms matched to a current license |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New home | $500,000 | A | 512 (119) | 96.6% |
| Addition | $80,000 | B | 750 (348) | 96.0% |
| Deck or porch | $18,500 | C | 402 (180) | 97.2% |
| Remodel | $15,000 | C | 777 (346) | 94.8% |
| HVAC | $8,600 | C, with an HVAC specialty | 2,807 (274) | 94.2% |
| Plumbing | $3,000 | C, with a plumbing specialty | 6,454 (448) | 93.1% |
| Electrical | $3,000 | C, with an electrical specialty | 4,143 (524) | 94.3% |
The usual job is only the middle: a remodel of $40,000 is a Class B job even though the usual remodel is not. The Board for Contractors says the specialty "determines what type of work is allowed"; DPOR's license files code them, for example ELE (electrical), PLB (plumbing), HVA (HVAC) and HIC (home improvement). The Board also licenses tradesmen (electricians, gas fitters, HVAC and plumbers) separately from the firm.
The County's own wording, on Permit Arlington Roles: the contractor "Must meet specific licensing criteria (specialty / class), depending on scope of work". If you hire a contractor, the County "strongly suggest[s] that the Contractor is identified on the permit application as the Permit Holder"; if the contractor is not the permit holder, "a notarized affidavit is required" (read 22 October 2026).
How to run the lookup in five minutes
- Ask for the DPOR license number and, for a remodel with plumbing or wiring, the trade contractors' numbers too.
- Search DPOR License Lookup by number or name. Check the class covers your contract price and a specialty covers the work. DPOR warns the data "may not be up to date at all times".
- Run the Disciplinary Action Search on the same page, for the firm and the owner's name.
- Search the County record in Look Up by Address; the same page has "Look Up by Licensed Professional" to find the firm's other permits.
- Track record: open the firm on our Arlington remodeler list, addition list or plumber list.
How to search Arlington County permit records
The County's permitting system is Permit Arlington, run on Accela Citizen Access. Its property search offers Look Up by Address, Parcel Information, Owner, Record Information and Licensed Professional. The County says official notices come only from permitarlington@accela.com, and it will not ask for payment by phone. For permit requirements and questions about existing permits or permit history, call 703-228-3800 (Contact the Permit Arlington Center).
The County search is organised by property and record. Ours is organised by firm: each firm's Arlington permits, its DPOR match, the share finaled and the days to final, on the Arlington permit statistics page and the compare lists.
What 17,059 Arlington permits show
| Trade | Permits | Firms | Finaled | Usual days to final | Firms with one permit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbing | 6,454 | 448 | 83.3% | 75 | 32.1% |
| Electrical | 4,143 | 524 | 86.5% | 99 | 33.4% |
| HVAC | 2,807 | 274 | 86.9% | 148 | 38.0% |
| Remodel | 777 | 346 | 88.5% | 112 | 61.6% |
| Additions | 750 | 348 | 88.5% | 235 | 65.2% |
| New homes | 512 | 119 | 94.4% | 291 | 49.6% |
"Finaled" is the share of permits a year or more old the County finaled or closed; expired permits and "Closed: No Inspection" count against it. Among the 106 plumbing firms with 10 or more permits, the 10th-percentile firm finaled 60.9% and the 90th 95.9%; for electricians it was 75.5% to 96.0%.
See every Arlington remodeler by DPOR match and permits finaled →
Red flags in Arlington
- A Class C license on a job of $30,000 or more. The class is a legal cap, not a grade.
- No specialty for the work, such as a firm with no plumbing specialty quoting a bathroom with no licensed plumber named.
- A contractor who wants you to be the permit holder. The County suggests the contractor hold it.
- An entry on DPOR's Disciplinary Action Search.
- A firm that has gone quiet: 23 plumbing and 21 electrical firms with 5+ permits filed none in the last 12 months.
What this lookup does not tell you
Our license match uses DPOR's lists of current licenses, matched by business name and address, so a firm we show as matched held a license when DPOR published the list, and a firm we could not match (5.2% of remodel firms) may be licensed under another name or hold only a tradesman license. Expired and revoked licenses are not in those lists, so we cannot flag them; DPOR's lookup can. A license says the firm may work, not how its last job went. Statewide rules, penalties and the recovery fund are in How to check a contractor's license in Virginia.
How we know this
Permits are Arlington County building and trade permits on homes from the County's permit feed, 2023-10 to 2026-09, grouped into the trades above; repeated copies of one permit are counted once. "Finaled" uses permits a year or more old; days to final are the middle permit's issue-to-closed time. License status is our match against DPOR's current-license lists for the Board for Contractors. DPOR, Code of Virginia and County text is quoted from their own pages, read 22 October 2026.
Numbers come from Arlington County, VA building and trade permits, data through October 14, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- Who licenses contractors in Arlington, VA?
The Commonwealth, through DPOR's Board for Contractors. Arlington County issues the permits and, on its Permit Arlington pages, says a contractor must meet licensing criteria (specialty and class) that depend on the scope of work.
- Which Virginia license class does a home addition need?
Usually Class B. Class C covers a single job over $1,000 but under $30,000; Class B $30,000 to under $150,000; Class A $150,000 or more (Code of Virginia 54.1-1100). The usual Arlington addition permit in our file carries $80,000.
- How do I check an Arlington contractor's license?
On DPOR's License Lookup (dporweb.dpor.virginia.gov/LicenseLookup) by name, license number, address or license type. Check the class against the contract price and the specialties against the work, then run the Disciplinary Action Search on the same page.
- How do I see the permits on an Arlington address?
In Permit Arlington's Accela Citizen Access, which has Look Up by Address and Look Up by Licensed Professional searches. For questions about existing permits or permit history, call 703-228-3800.
- Should my contractor or I be the permit holder?
The County strongly suggests that a hired contractor be named on the application as the Permit Holder, who is responsible for the work. If the contractor is not the permit holder, a notarized affidavit is required.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
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- License Lookup — Virginia DPOR (2026-10-22)
- Board for Contractors — Virginia DPOR (2026-10-22)
- Code of Virginia 54.1-1100 Definitions (Class A, B, C) (2026-10-22)
- Permit Arlington Roles — Arlington County (2026-10-22)
- Permit Arlington — Arlington County (2026-10-22)
- Look Up by Address — Arlington County Accela Citizen Access (2026-10-22)
- Contact the Permit Arlington Center — Arlington County (2026-10-22)