How to Become a Roofer in Virginia

$23/hr

Learn roof installation through supervised crew work, roofing apprenticeship instruction and practice with the systems your employer installs.

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About this Guide

Roofing work starts with preparing a sound surface and ends with details that keep water out. This guide helps new workers choose training for shingles, membranes and flashing. It separates Virginia's contractor business licensing from employee requirements and explains what to ask about roof access, heat precautions and paid work before joining a crew.

Who's hiring roofers in Virginia

Virginia · this week
Live on American Recruits

Employers across Virginia are hiring roofers right now

A good share of those postings are open to people at entry level with no licence yet. Live counts move week to week — the training routes below do not.

See who's hiring
Live postings
Steady
Open roles in Virginia
Applicants per role
Low
Few applicants — good time to apply
Typical time to hire
2–4 weeks
From applying to starting

Roofer skill levels in Virginia

The trade is not one job, it is three, and they are separated by what you are legally allowed to do rather than by how good you are. Knowing which level you are aiming at tells you which hours, which exam and which certificates actually matter.

AWhere you startApprentice Roofer

Paid from day one, working under a licensed hand while you bank the hours that lead to your own card.

What they'll actually be doing
  • ✓Material handling, layout and site preparation
  • ✓Basic installation work under supervision
  • ✓Tool and equipment staging for the crew
  • ✓Clean-down, housekeeping and site safety tasks
What they can't do yet — legally
  • ✕Can't work unsupervised on anything the state licenses
  • ✕Can't pull permits or sign inspection paperwork
What they need to hold
OSHA 10 (Construction)Apprentice registration where the state requires itFirst Aid / CPR
Worth doing
Take every free ticket your employer offers. At this level they cost you nothing, they follow you for the rest of your career, and they make you more employable than the next apprentice.
Where recruiters stall
People get stuck here by not documenting hours. If nobody signed for them, the board won't count them, and four years of work can turn into two years of credit.
Only hire when
You can run a small task without being walked through it, and your hours log is signed and current.
JThe main goalJourneyman Roofer

Qualified to work on your own. This is the level nearly every job ad is really asking for, and the biggest pay step you will ever get.

What they'll actually be doing
  • ✓Install and troubleshoot without supervision
  • ✓Read and build from drawings without constant clarification
  • ✓Take responsibility for your own work at inspection
  • ✓Direct one to three apprentices on a task
What they can't do yet — legally
  • ✕Can't pull permits in your own name in most states
  • ✕Can't act as licence-holder of record across sites
What they need to hold
Journeyman card where the state issues oneOSHA 30 (Construction)Trade-specific safety training, kept current
Worth doing
Sit the exam the month you become eligible. Every month you wait is money you are not earning at the higher rate, and the material is freshest right after your classroom hours finish.
Where recruiters stall
The exam is where most people stall, usually on lookup speed rather than knowledge. Practise finding answers in the book against a clock, not just reading it.
Only hire when
Your hours are in, your instruction is done, and you can size a job and defend the answer without checking.
MWhere it leadsMaster / Lead Roofer

You run work rather than just do it: crews across sites, permits where the trade allows, and the option of qualifying a business of your own.

What they'll actually be doing
  • ✓Run crews across more than one site
  • ✓Own compliance and inspection outcomes
  • ✓Estimate and scope packages of work
  • ✓Train and sign off the people below you
What they can't do yet — legally
  • ✕Still can't trade as a business without a contractor licence, insurance and usually a bond
What they need to hold
Master or supervisor card where the state issues oneContinuing education current for the licence cycleOSHA 30 and trade safety training kept current
Worth doing
The card is worth money even if you never start a company: shops need a qualifying individual and will pay a premium for one who stays.
Where recruiters stall
People reach this level and discover that running a business is a different job from running a crew. Learn estimating and cashflow before you take the leap, not after.
Only hire when
You have held the level below for the required period and you have been running work rather than doing it.

What does a roofer earn in Virginia?

Roofers in Virginia start around $18.37 an hour and reach $31.93 at the top of the trade. Once you are working unsupervised the middle of the market sits near $23.28.

Hourly range
$18.37–$31.93
Virginia · per hour
See the full roofer salary guide →

What you're legally required to have

Virginia has no personal roofer license. Independent contracting generally requires licensing above $1,000, subject to exemptions. Employees work under employer arrangements, including required fall protection, hazard instruction and wage records.

Licence & registrationMust haveGet this wrong and the hours you work may not count toward your licence.0 / 3
0 / 3
Safety trainingMust haveWithout these you won't get through the gate on most sites.0 / 3
0 / 3
Working legally & getting paidMust haveKnow your status before you start — it decides your tax and your cover.0 / 3
0 / 3
Site access & practicalSite-drivenDriven by the site you are sent to rather than by law, but they still stop a start date.0 / 3
0 / 3

Where to train as a roofer in Virginia

Roofing apprenticeships pair supervised installation with technical instruction. College construction basics develop tool and drawing skills. Online roofing packages add system knowledge and practical activities for an employer to supervise.

Union apprenticeship

Roofers Local 30

Local 30 serves Virginia and combines supervised roofing work with technical classes. Its Baltimore training center is a regional contact. The length below covers first-year OSHA instruction, not the full apprenticeship. Local terms vary. Tuition excludes personal expenses such as travel to classes and jobs. Ask which participating contractors have accessible work and how classes fit around roofing assignments.
Typical length10 hours safety
What it costs$0 tuition
College foundation

Piedmont Virginia Community College

Introduction to Construction in Charlottesville covers tools, drawings, safety and material handling as preparation for roofing crew work. The listed course has twelve sessions. Full tuition appears below, with FastForward assistance for eligible Virginians. Roofing installation requires additional instruction and supervised practice after this foundation. Contact Workforce Services for enrollment information.
Typical length12 sessions
What it costs$1,098
System training

National Roofing Contractors Association

The online TRAC Asphalt Shingle Installation package is accessible to Virginia crews. It includes steep-slope onboarding and hands-on activities. The price spans member and nonmember rates. An employer can schedule practical work alongside the lessons, connecting online instruction with shingle installation on the crew's projects.
Typical lengthOver 20 hours
What it costs$299–$499

What recruiters actually look for

Certificates get you past the first filter. These are the things foremen and recruiters decide on, and they change depending on which level you are applying at.

Qualities that get you hired

01You turn up, every day, on time
Why it matters: At apprentice level nobody expects you to be fast or skilled yet. Attendance is genuinely what separates the apprentices who get kept from the ones who do not.
02You ask instead of guessing
Why it matters: Shops would far rather answer the same question twice than fix a mistake behind a wall. Asking reads as safety awareness, not ignorance.
03You own basic tools and look after them
Why it matters: It signals you take the trade seriously. Turning up with nothing tells a foreman you might not be back next month.
04You can take a correction without sulking
Why it matters: The trade runs on blunt feedback. How you take it in week one tells a foreman whether you are worth training.

What holds people back

!

No signed record of your supervised hours

!

Long gaps with no explanation at all

!

Leaving three or four shops inside a year

!

No OSHA card when the site requires one

!

Certifications that lapsed and were never renewed

!

Listing a licence as 'in progress' as though it is held

!

No supervisor anyone can call

From no experience to hired

The realistic route, start to finish. Most of it is paid — you are earning from the point you are taken on, not from the point you are licensed.

Month 0–3

Decide and enrol

Month 3–12

Get taken on as an apprentice

Year 1–4

Bank your supervised hours

Year 4

Sit the licence exam

Year 4+

Get hired at journey rate

Certifications that pay off

Sorted by payback speed.

CertificationRate bumpExtra / yearCostPayback
Roofers Local 30 Apprenticeship (journeyperson)+$1.28$2,662$00 weeks
OSHA 30-Hour Construction+$0.27$562$15915 weeks
OSHA 10-Hour Construction+$0.09$187$5917 weeks
NFPA Hot Work Safety Certificate (Fire Watch / NFPA 51B)+$0.04$83$4931 weeks
Fall Protection Competent Person+$0.07$146$14954 weeks
Aerial/Scissor Lift (MEWP) Operator+$0.02$42$5974 weeks

Questions people ask

Do I need ROC before joining a roofing crew?▾
No. ROC is the roofing contracting specialty DPOR's Board for Contractors issues to businesses, and an employee roofer has no separate DPOR roofer license. Selling roofing work independently brings contractor class, scope and local requirements into the decision.
What protection applies on residential roofs?▾
Under VOSH, Virginia's state OSHA plan, residential construction generally requires fall protection at six feet above lower levels. Employers must choose a compliant system and train workers. Ask your supervisor to explain the system before going onto the roof.
Does Virginia have a heat-illness rule for roofers yet?▾
No. Va. Code § 40.1-44.2 directs Virginia's Safety and Health Codes Board, with DOLI, to adopt one by May 1, 2028. It will require water, shade where practicable, rest, acclimatization and training. Until then, ask each employer how its crews handle heat.

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Source: Current BLS Virginia employee wages for Roofers, SOC 47-2181; May 2025 wages exclude premium pay and benefits, self-employment income and contractor quotations.

Last updated October 26, 2026. Rates are market estimates, not guarantees.