Virginia: homes, climate zones and who licenses the work

Age changes what applies to a house. In general, anyone paid to do work that disturbs painted surfaces in a home built before 1978 must be certified in lead-safe work practices under the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, which the EPA administers directly in Virginia.

The 2021 International Energy Conservation Code assigns every county a climate zone from 1 to 8 and a moisture regime: A for moist, B for dry, C for marine. Zones 7 and 8 have no letter. Here is how Virginia's residents divide among them, by the county they live in.

ENERGY STAR rates windows, doors and skylights for four climate zones of its own. Virginia spans 3: North-Central (78.7% of residents), South-Central (20.7% of residents), Northern (0.2% of residents).

By NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals, counties here average 87 days a year with a low of 32°F or colder, weighted by where people live. The range runs from 33 days in the mildest county to 150 in the coldest.

2.7% of residential structures in Virginia carry a National Flood Insurance Program policy: 72,514 policies, in FEMA's count as of August 3, 2026.

In FEMA's National Risk Index, 1 of 133 counties rates high or very high for riverine flooding; 2 of 133 counties rate high or very high for coastal flooding; 1 of 133 counties rates high or very high for hurricanes.

23 of Virginia's 133 counties are inside the federal imported fire ant quarantine, home to 21.5% of its residents. The federal quarantine requires a certificate to move soil, sod, nursery plants with soil attached, used soil-moving equipment, and hay or straw stored on the ground out of the quarantined area.

Before anyone starts work, check the license with the agency below. Where the state does not license a trade, cities and counties may; ask the one where the house is.