The rules where you work $17
A first 30 days checklist, everyday forms, licenses, workers’ comp and taxes for West Virginia, with a yearly calendar. Instant PDF download.
Buy the packet: $17Digital product, all sales final. Informational only, not legal, financial, tax or business advice.
What West Virginia expects from a new trade business
West Virginia licenses contractors at the state level, and the test is the size of the whole project, not your piece of it. A $4,000 sub on a big job can still need a license. Sales tax is also unusual here: on a repair job you charge it on labor and materials both.
The license turns on the whole project's cost
The West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board licenses anyone contracting on a project costing $5,000 or more residential or $25,000 or more commercial. The board says that's based on the entire project, labor and materials, not your share. A sub paid under $5,000 on a $200,000 home still needs one. If a page says $2,500, it's citing Chapter 21, Article 11, whose sections are marked repealed. The current law is Chapter 30, Article 42.
The law defines separate contractor types, including residential, electrical, plumbing, HVAC and specialty. You'll sit an exam, and the fee is capped at $150. A company needs an officer who holds the license. Painting and landscaping services fall outside the definition.
Working unlicensed brings a cease and desist order and a penalty of $200 to $1,000. Permit offices can't issue you a permit without the license. Work of $10,000 or more needs a signed written contract with a description and the cost.
Source: W. Va. Code 30-42-3 · W. Va. Code 30-42-6 · W. Va. Code 30-42-7 · W. Va. Code 30-42-10 · W. Va. Code 30-42-14 · WV Contractor Licensing Board FAQs · W. Va. Code 21-11-6 (marked repealed)
Who to call: an attorney near you
One regular employee puts you in the system
Anyone in West Virginia regularly employing another person in a business is an employer under the comp law. The casual employer exception is narrow: three employees or fewer, temporary and sporadic work, and no more than 10 calendar days in a quarter. Crew work won't fit.
Owners can step out. A partnership or sole proprietorship can elect not to cover its partners or owner, and a corporation its officers or directors. An LLC can leave out no more than four people acting as manager, officer or member.
Subs can land on you. If a sub has no coverage and you didn't get a certificate of coverage, the sub's injured worker can file against you as the prime contractor. Getting the certificate relieves you. Get one before they start.
Going uninsured when you're required to carry it means you're liable for all damages from a work injury, and you lose your best common-law defenses, including assumption of risk and the worker's own negligence. An insurance agent who writes contractors can price a policy and handle your election.
Source: W. Va. Code 23-2-1 · W. Va. Code 23-2-8 · W. Va. Code 23-2-1d
Who to call: an insurance agent near you
Getting paid: everything runs on 100 days
West Virginia's lien law is built around one number:
- General contractor: record your notice of lien with the county clerk within 100 days after you complete your work.
- Subs: within 100 days after completing your subcontract, serve the owner or their agent with a notice of lien, the way a legal notice or summons gets served, and record it.
- Suppliers and laborers: also 100 days, from when you stopped. Working under a contractor or sub, you serve the owner and record. Dealing directly with the owner, you only record.
- Sue: in circuit court within 6 months of filing your notice, or the lien is discharged.
Homes: since July 1, 2015, the owner can defend by showing they don't owe the general contractor, or owe less than the lien. That covers an existing single-family dwelling, a residence built by or for the owner before occupancy, and a single-family owner-occupied dwelling. So a sub on a home may be limited by what the owner has paid.
Also know: you can give the owner an optional written notice before starting. If an owner demands an itemized account, you have 10 days to answer, or the owner is released for work before the demand. An owner who records the contract and a bond before work starts can limit liability to the contract price. Public buildings carry no lien. A construction attorney can set up your notice forms.
Source: W. Va. Code 38-2-8 · W. Va. Code 38-2-9 · W. Va. Code 38-2-10 · W. Va. Code 38-2-11 · W. Va. Code 38-2-14 · W. Va. Code 38-2-34 · W. Va. Code 38-2-12 · W. Va. Code 38-2-13 · W. Va. Code 38-2-19 · W. Va. Code 38-2-20 · W. Va. Code 38-2-21 · W. Va. Code 38-2-22 · W. Va. Code 38-2-23 · W. Va. Code 38-2-39
Who to call: an attorney near you
Capital improvement or repair? It changes who pays.
West Virginia splits construction work in two, and the split matters on every invoice:
- Repairs, maintenance and installation that aren't capital improvements: you collect sales tax from the customer on both labor and materials, and send it to the state.
- Capital improvements: you don't collect sales tax from the customer. You generally pay sales or use tax yourself on the materials, tools and equipment you buy, so it goes in your price.
A capital improvement has to meet all three tests: it substantially adds value or life to the property, it becomes part of the property so removal would cause damage, and it's meant to stay permanently or indefinitely.
The Tax Division's TSD-310 goes through it. A CPA who works with contractors can help you code your invoices.
Source: WV Tax Division TSD-310, Capital Improvement Rule
Who to call: a CPA or tax pro near you
LLC, sole proprietor, or S-corp?
Articles of organization cost $100 with the Secretary of State. The annual report is $25, filed between January 1 and June 30, and $75 after June 30. A trade name registration is $25. There's no franchise tax and no publication.
You also need a business registration certificate from the State Tax Department, and the registration tax is $30.
Your pass-through profit lands on your West Virginia personal return. Rates were cut for 2026: they run from 2.11% up to 4.58% on income over $60,000.
When an S-corp election starts paying is a numbers question. Bring what the business clears after your floor rate to a CPA and ask them to run it.
Source: W. Va. Code 59-1-2 (fees) · W. Va. Code 11-21-4j (2026 rates) · WV Secretary of State, Annual Reports · WV Secretary of State, Limited Liability Companies · WV Tax Division, Business Registration · W. Va. Code 11-12-3
Who to call: a CPA or tax pro near you
Education, not legal or tax advice. Rules change. Confirm anything here with a licensed pro in West Virginia before you rely on it. Last updated November 2026.