Residential Contractor Registration (Individual)

Vermont Residential Contractor Registration (Individual)

Vermont law (26 V.S.A. Chapter 106) requires any individual who contracts to perform residential construction — on projects valued at more than $10,000, including labor and materials — to register with the Secretary of State's Office of Professional Regulation (OPR) before signing the contract.

What Triggers Registration

The $10,000 threshold applies per contract, inclusive of labor and materials. Self-employed individuals performing their own residential work use this individual registration. If you operate through a business entity, the business registration applies instead.

Insurance Is Required

Despite being a registry rather than a license, individual registrants must maintain liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate throughout the registration period. No examination and no bond are required — but active insurance coverage is. (26 V.S.A. § 5509)

Fee and Renewal

• Registration fee: $75, paid at initial application and at each biennial renewal

Penalties for Unregistered Work

A contractor performing regulated residential construction without registration may face an injunction, a civil penalty, or both under 26 V.S.A. § 5510. Civil penalties are enforced through 3 V.S.A. § 127(b), which caps individual violations at $5,000. OPR investigates consumer complaints against unregistered contractors.