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Guide · Virginia · 7 min read

How to Win Government Roofing Contracts in Virginia

By the XL Eagle bid team · Updated November 2, 2026 · Built from our live bid database and USAspending.gov

Roofing contracts in Virginia come from age, wind, coastal storms and busy public buildings that cannot leak. A government job gives a roofer a written scope, a fixed price and a buyer that pays.

Buyers include state agencies and colleges on eVA, local governments and schools, and federal bases and hospitals on SAM.gov. Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia have a lot of older military buildings that need repair and replacement.

This guide covers the license classes, how public roof bids differ from a house job, and how to price them. It also shows how to bid without your own SAM.gov account. Read it once, then use it as a checklist each time a new bid comes up.

Roofing contracts in Virginia at a glance

  • 229 open roofing bids in Virginia on XL Eagle today. See them all.
  • 14 roofing solicitations in Virginia in the last 12 months that we tracked (10 federal, 4 state and local).
  • Federal agencies made 77 contract awards worth $19.0 million for work performed in Virginia under NAICS 238160 in FY2025 (Oct 2024 - Sep 2025).
  • Top federal buyers that year: Department of Defense ($13.3 million); Department of Justice ($4.1 million); Smithsonian Institution ($1.2 million).
  • Agencies posting this work most often in our data: Army, US Coast Guard, Mvendor.cgieva.com, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
  • Where these jobs get posted: OpenGov.

Bid counts from the XL Eagle bid database as of November 2, 2026. Award totals from USAspending.gov.

Who buys roofing work in Virginia

  • State agencies and public universities that post roof repair and replacement through eVA, including its Open Construction list.
  • Naval Station Norfolk and Joint Base Langley-Eustis, with large numbers of shops, hangars, barracks and offices.
  • Fort Belvoir, Marine Corps Base Quantico and Fort Lee, where older buildings need repair and replacement.
  • The Richmond VA Medical Center and other VA sites that bid roof work on SAM.gov.
  • Cities, counties and school divisions that re-roof schools and fire stations, often in summer.

Open roofing bids in Virginia right now

All open roofing bids in Virginia →

Licenses you need in Virginia

Virginia licenses roofers through the Board for Contractors, part of DPOR. Roofing is its own specialty, ROC, defined as installing, repairing, removing or improving materials that form a watertight surface for roofs and decks. License class depends on size. Class C covers a single job of more than $1,000 but under $30,000, with under $250,000 a year. Class B covers $30,000 up to $150,000 a job, with $250,000 up to $1 million a year. Class A starts at $150,000 a job or $1 million a year. Class A and B applicants also send a financial statement or surety bond.

Register to bid in Virginia

State and local jobs in Virginia are posted on these sites:

  • eVA (Virginia's electronic procurement system): The Commonwealth's purchasing system, where suppliers register and where state agencies, colleges and many local governments buy.
  • Virginia Business Opportunities (VBO): The list inside eVA that shows open opportunities, with a separate Open Construction list for construction bids.
  • VDOT Business Opportunities and Bid Express: The Virginia Department of Transportation's page for contractor, goods and services, and snow contractor opportunities, with Bid Express listed as a bidding tool.
  • SAM.gov: The federal site where jobs at Virginia bases and federal offices are posted, and where a business registers to bid as a prime.
  1. Go to the eVA Register Now page and start the supplier registration.
  2. Read the New Supplier Registration Guide and look up your commodity codes with the NIGP code lookup tool.
  3. Finish the registration form with your business details and the codes for what you sell.
  4. Log in, then upload a signed Commonwealth of Virginia Substitute W-9 under Documents and Certs. eVA says registration is not complete without it.
  5. Apply for SWaM certification through the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity if you qualify. It is optional.
  6. Check VBO and the eVA construction list every week, and read each posting for the buyer's own rules.

The eVA registration page lists no sign-up fee, but eVA suppliers pay a 1 percent transaction fee on orders, capped at $500 per order for SBSD-certified small businesses and $1,500 for others, so confirm the current schedule on eVA's billing page.

Federal jobs in Virginia use SAM.gov, which is free. What SAM.gov is and how to register.

Small business certifications in Virginia

  • SWaM certification (small, women-owned, minority-owned): A business at least 51 percent owned by U.S. citizens or legal resident aliens who run it, with 250 or fewer employees or average yearly receipts of $10 million or less over three years for the small business category.
  • Micro business add-on: A certified small business with no more than 25 employees and no more than $3 million in average yearly revenue over the three years before certification.
  • Service-disabled veteran designation: A business certified as service-disabled veteran owned by the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, which then shows in its SWaM profile.

Wage rules on public jobs

Virginia has a prevailing wage law for public works, Code of Virginia section 2.2-4321.3, in effect since May 1, 2021. It covers state public works contracts over $250,000, and a city, county or school division only if it has adopted its own ordinance. The 2026 General Assembly amended this law (Chapters 1014 and 1060 of the 2026 Acts), with some changes phasing in through July 2027, so read the wage terms in each bid. On federal jobs, Davis-Bacon covers construction over $2,000 and the Service Contract Act covers service contracts over $2,500.

What roofing jobs look like in Virginia

  • Check your license class against the job size before you bid. A $200,000 roof job needs Class A.
  • Public roofs are often low slope. Know the system in the bid, such as single ply membrane or built-up, and the warranty it requires.
  • Coastal wind and storm work in Hampton Roads can raise the wind rating and fastening needs in the scope.
  • Federal roof jobs are construction, so Davis-Bacon wages apply when the contract is over $2,000.
  • State jobs over $250,000 can carry Virginia prevailing wage, and a locality is covered only if it has adopted its own ordinance.
  • Large roof jobs often need bid and performance bonds. Ask your surety early.
  • Ask who inspects the work. Some buyers send an inspector to each stage, and you should plan crew time around those visits.

Pricing roofing work for Virginia public buyers

  • Price by roof area and system, then add tear-off, disposal, insulation, flashing and edge metal as separate lines.
  • Use a written material quote with a hold date, because roofing material prices change often.
  • Use the wage rate in the bid, not your usual rate, on federal and covered state jobs.
  • Count weather days. A fixed price with no room for rain or wind delays eats your margin.
  • Add a unit price for bad decking so extra wood is agreed before work starts.
  • Add the cost of fall protection, staging and any lift or crane the site needs. These show up late and cut into the margin.

Mistakes that lose these bids

  • Bidding a job above your license class limit.
  • Treating a public job like a house job and leaving out bond, insurance and wage paperwork.
  • Missing the mandatory pre-bid roof walk.
  • Not asking which wage rules apply to the contract.
  • Quoting a membrane that does not match the warranty the buyer names.

The fastest way to bid: send us your price

You can register and bid on your own using the steps above. If you would rather not, send XL Eagle your price on any roofing job in Virginia. We write and submit the bid as the prime contractor under our registrations. If it wins, you do the work and get paid. You do not need your own SAM.gov registration to work this way.

Pick a Virginia roofing job or read the national guide to government roofing contracts.

Frequently asked questions

Does Virginia require a roofing license?

Yes. Virginia contractors need a license from the Board for Contractors, and roofing has its own specialty, ROC. Your class depends on the size of your jobs. The experience needed for the qualifier is one year for Class C, three for Class B and five for Class A.

What are the Virginia license class limits?

Class C is for single jobs of more than $1,000 and under $30,000. Class B is $30,000 up to $150,000, and Class A is $150,000 and above. Yearly totals also count. Check both numbers against your own volume.

What is Davis-Bacon and does it apply to roofing?

It requires local prevailing wages on federal construction contracts over $2,000. Roof replacement counts as construction, and the bid includes the wage sheet.

Can I bid on a base roofing job without SAM.gov?

Not as the prime. If you send XL Eagle your price, it writes and submits the bid as the prime and you do the roof work if it wins.

Sources

Have a price for a government job?

Send it to us. XL Eagle writes and submits the bid under our registrations, free to you. If we win, you do the work at your price.

Find a job and send your price →