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Your rights

Virginia

Virginia · home improvement

Your rights in Virginia

Information, not legal adviceRules checked Oct 4, 2026

3 business days to cancel

If they solicited it at your home and you agreed there

Cancel in writing by midnight of the third business day. Money back within 10 days; they're owed nothing for work done.

Some sales are excepted, such as emergency work you ask for in a signed waiver.

The 5 exceptions, in the rule's words
  • Emergency: you cannot cancel if you asked for the goods or services without delay because of an emergency, the seller in good faith made a substantial beginning before you gave notice, any goods cannot be returned in substantially as good condition, and your request is in a dated writing you personally signed that expressly says you understand you are waiving the right to cancel.
  • Sales made under prior negotiations between you and the seller.
  • Cash sales of less than $25.
  • Sales made entirely by phone or electronically that you started, with no other contact with the seller before the goods are delivered or the services performed.
  • Sales made under a preexisting revolving charge account.
Longer in some cases

30 instead of 3, for sales where the seller did not immediately say they were a seller, or claimed or implied the visit was for some other purpose (the statute gives a total of 30 days, not stated as business days, and any goods must be made available to the seller in substantially as good condition).

Read the full rule

When it applies

Home solicitation sales of consumer goods or services: the seller, or someone acting for them, personally solicits the sale, or solicits it by phone or electronic means at a residence other than the seller's without a prior invitation or appointment, and you give your agreement or offer to buy there (for example, at your home). The Virginia text does not make clear whether a sales visit you invited is covered.

If the contractor sold you the job in person at your home and you signed there, you can cancel in writing until midnight of the third business day after you sign; a mailed notice counts when you post it. The contract must carry a bold 'Buyer's Right to Cancel' notice, and if it is missing you can cancel by any means until the contractor provides it. The contractor must return your payments within 10 days and is not owed anything for work already done.

Va. Code § 59.1-21.1 and following · read on law.lis.virginia.gov · checked Oct 4, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

License number

On the contract and permits

Jobs over $1,000 need a Board for Contractors license, in a class high enough for the contract price.

Read the full rule

Virginia contractors need a Board for Contractors license from DPOR for any job over $1,000, and the license class (A, B or C) must be high enough for your contract price; Class C covers single jobs under $30,000. Check the license and its specialties on DPOR's License Lookup; the license number and class must be on your contract.

Who needs one: Anyone who, for a fixed price, fee, commission or percentage, bids on or does construction, removal, repair or improvement of a building or other improvement to someone else's real property when a single contract or project is over $1,000. The license class must fit the job: Class C for a single contract or project over $1,000 but under $30,000 (or under $250,000 of work in 12 months), Class B for $30,000 to under $150,000 (or $250,000 to under $1 million in 12 months), and Class A for $150,000 or more (or $1 million or more in 12 months). Landscape irrigation and water well work need a license at any contract price.

Who doesn't

  • Owners who build, repair or improve no more than one primary residence they own, for their own use, in any 24-month period
  • Material suppliers who advise on products they sell but do not install them
  • Removal of building debris, and janitorial, cleaning or sanitizing services incidental to construction work
  • Work of $25,000 or less per project done for a contractor licensed in the residential building, commercial building or home improvement classification (work that needs an individual trade license, such as electrical or plumbing, still needs it)
  • Licensed private security services businesses installing or servicing electronic security equipment, including low-voltage and network cabling
  • Students and apprentices working under a licensed contractor's supervision

Where the number must appear

  • the contract
  • building permit applications

Issued by: Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), Board for Contractors

18VAC50-22-260 · read on law.lis.virginia.gov · checked Oct 4, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

The contract must include

Source: VA law

An estimate isn't the contract. Ask for all 12 in writing before you sign.

  • Written, signed, copy to youBefore work or any payment: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Be a legible written contract that clearly states the terms, signed by you and the contractor before work starts or any payment is accepted (routine maintenance or service contracts are excepted), with a fully signed copy given to you before work begins.

  • License #, class & specialties: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Show the contractor's name, address, license number, license class and the classifications or specialties the license covers.

  • Start & estimated finish datesWhen work begins and is mostly done: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Say when the work will begin and the estimated completion date.

  • Total cost: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    State the total cost; a cost-plus contract must name the type of cost-plus contract, the fee or percentage and a cap the total cannot exceed, and a time-and-materials contract must give a fixed price for labor that includes wages, overhead, general and administrative costs, and cost of materials.

  • Down payment & payment planExact down payment and each payment: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Give the amounts and schedule of progress payments, including the exact amount of the down payment.

  • Materials & work describedWhat work and materials are included: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    List the specified materials and the work you asked for.

  • Delays-beyond-control clauseIn plain language: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Include a plain-language clause on events beyond the contractor's control, explaining that delays from such events are not abandonment and are not counted in payment or performance timeframes.

  • Permits & inspections promiseLocal permits and inspections: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Promise that the contractor will comply with all local building permit, inspection and zoning requirements.

  • Cancel rights disclosedBoth sides' cancel rights: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Disclose the cancellation rights of both parties; a contract sold to you at home must carry the 'BUYER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL' notice in bold type of at least 10 points, on the front or just above your signature, with a notice-of-cancellation form.

  • DPOR consumer statementYou sign that you got and read it: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Include your signed acknowledgment that you received and read DPOR's statement of consumer protections.

  • Changes in a signed writingAny change, in a signed writing: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Say that any change to the cost, materials, work or estimated completion date must be in writing and signed by all parties.

  • Recovery Fund noticeAnd how to contact the Board: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Tell you about the Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund and how to contact the Board for claim information.

On signing day

  • Keep a signed copy
  • Find the cancel notice
Sources41 official pages · checked Oct 4, 2026

Notes from our check

  • Independently re-verified on 2026-10-04 against the official text on law.lis.virginia.gov: contractor licensing, classes and exemptions (Va. Code 54.1-1100, -1101, -1103, -1111, -1115, -1117, -1129), contract contents (Board for Contractors regulation 18VAC50-22-260 B 8-10), and the cancellation right (Virginia Home Solicitation Sales Act, Va. Code 59.1-21.1 to 59.1-21.7:1, which the Attorney General's consumer protection laws page lists). DPOR's Board page, consumer guide, Statement of Consumer Protections and 2017 booklet, the Board for Contractors Interpretations and Policies guidance document (Virginia Regulatory Town Hall, document 2959, effective 2/26/2026) and 16 CFR Part 429 on ecfr.gov were also read directly.
  • No deposit cap: no Virginia statute or Board regulation read here limits the deposit or down payment on a home improvement contract, and the Virginia Consumer Protection Act's list of prohibited practices (59.1-200) has none either. The regulation only requires the contract to state the exact down payment amount (18VAC50-22-260 B 9 c). depositCap is null and the app must not state a Virginia cap.
  • DPOR advice is not law and its pages differ: the Guide_Contractor page and the 2017 'What You Should Know' booklet suggest no more than 10 percent or $1,000, whichever is less (up to 30 percent when custom-made or special-order items are needed), while the Statement of Consumer Protections (revised 4/29/2025, effective 7/1/2025) says the Board recommends about 10 percent (about 30 percent for custom-made items). If the app mentions this at all, it must call it a DPOR recommendation, never a legal limit.
  • Related money rules that are not caps: Va. Code 18.2-200.1 makes it larceny to take an advance with fraudulent intent for construction or improvement work, fail to perform, and fail to return the advance within 15 days of a request sent by certified mail, return receipt requested; 18VAC50-22-260 B 16 makes keeping or misapplying money paid for work not performed, or only partly performed, a prohibited act for licensees.
  • Cancellation scope is open to two readings: Va. Code 59.1-21.2 A 1 covers '(i) a personal solicitation' or '(ii) a solicitation by telephone or electronic means at any residence other than that of the seller without prior invitation or appointment', and the text does not make clear whether 'without prior invitation or appointment' also limits in-person visits. Sales 'made pursuant to prior negotiations between the parties' are excluded. The Virginia Act does not define 'business day'. DPOR's consumer guide tells homeowners they have a three-day right to cancel a contract negotiated in the home. Separately, the federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule (16 CFR 429.0 and 429.1, read on ecfr.gov) covers sales of $25 or more made at the buyer's residence, including visits made in response to or following an invitation by the buyer, subject to its own exclusions; it defines a business day as any day except Sunday and federal holidays, requires refunds within 10 business days, and does not displace state laws that give buyers the same or greater protection (16 CFR 429.2). The app should not tell a homeowner that an invited estimate visit is or is not covered by the Virginia Act.
  • The 30-day period (Va. Code 59.1-21.7) applies when the seller fails to immediately identify themselves as a seller, or claims or implies a purpose other than selling; the statute says 'a total of thirty days' and does not call them business days. Any waiver of the right to cancel is void except under the emergency rule (59.1-21.3(6)).
  • The Act's exclusions for farm equipment, entities regulated by the State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Insurance and licensed motor vehicle dealers (59.1-21.2 B 1) are left out of the exceptions list because they do not concern home improvement work.
  • Solar: Va. Code 54.1-1117.1, effective January 1, 2027 (not in force on 2026-10-04; Acts 2026, cc. 851, 852), will require residential solar sale, lease and power purchase contracts to give a right to cancel without penalty within five business days of signing, plus specific disclosures including the down payment amount. Re-check this entry after January 1, 2027.
  • License threshold wording: the statute says 'over $1,000' (54.1-1100) and the 2025 DPOR statement says 'more than $1,000', but the 2017 DPOR booklet says '$1,000 or more'. Follow the statute and say 'more than $1,000'. The class boundaries ($30,000 / $150,000; $250,000 / $1 million in 12 months) are from the current statute text, as amended in 2025 (Acts 2025, cc. 127, 133). Water well and landscape irrigation work use different class limits ($10,000 / $120,000; $150,000 / $750,000 in 12 months) and need a license at any amount (54.1-1103 C).
  • Local licenses: Va. Code 54.1-1117 A lets a locality require its own license for anyone in the business of home improvement or of building dwellings, except contractors licensed under 54.1-1106 (the Class A license). So a Class B or Class C contractor may also need a local license; a Class A contractor cannot be required to hold one under this section.
  • Unlicensed work: an unlicensed contractor commits a Class 1 misdemeanor, can be fined up to $500 a day, and in consumer transactions also violates the Virginia Consumer Protection Act; it generally cannot enforce the contract unless it substantially performed in good faith and did not actually know a license was needed (54.1-1115 B, C). The Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund pays only an individual whose contract with a Board-licensed contractor involved their own Virginia residence (or a property owners' association), after an unsatisfied court judgment for improper or dishonest conduct, which does not include mere breach of contract (54.1-1118, 54.1-1120).
  • Trade coverage left undetermined, so these slugs are in neither list: outdoor_landscaping (the Board's guidance says general landscape services such as mowing, trimming, planting and tree removal need no Board license, while the Landscape service specialty (grading, excavation, landscaping retaining walls) and landscape irrigation are licensed, so the slug is split), environmental-testing (asbestos and lead inspectors are licensed by the Virginia Board for Asbestos, Lead, and Home Inspectors under 54.1-503, but mold and radon testing were not verified), restoration, chimney-fireplace (the Board's guidance lets RBC, CBC and HVAC classifications and HIC and CIC specialties install factory-built fireplaces, inserts and wood stoves, with venting done by an HVAC contractor, but chimney sweeping and inspection were not verified), appliance-repair, window_treatments, smart-home (the Electronic/communication service specialty exists, but licensed private security businesses are exempt under 54.1-1103 E), and water-treatment.
  • Dollar thresholds by trade: building trades listed as statewide-credentialed (roofing, siding, flooring and similar) need the Board for Contractors license only when the job is over $1,000. Individual electrical, plumbing and HVAC tradesmen need a tradesman license with no dollar threshold unless they work under a licensed tradesman's supervision (54.1-1128, 54.1-1129 A), and water well and landscape irrigation contracting needs a contractor license at any price (54.1-1103 C). Pest control, home inspection and locksmith work are licensed under their own statutes without the $1,000 threshold.

General information from official Virginia sources. For your situation, ask the state's consumer protection office or a lawyer.

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