Short answer: As of October 2026, the five highest-scoring roofing contractors in the Roanoke, VA metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score are Big Lick Roofing (91.0), VBR Roofing (79.3), Bob Riddick Roofing Inc (77.4), Simple Construction (77.0), Mason Company Roofing (72.3). All of them carry a verifiable manufacturer certification, every rating here was cross-checked against an independent record, and no money changed hands for any placement.
The Roofing Brief scored 8 certified roofing contractors serving the Roanoke metro on a published, reproducible formula, then researched each of the top five individually to confirm its record. Virginia does two things no other state in this programme does. It largely exempts residential re-roofing from a building permit, so long as the house is not in an area where the nominal design wind speed exceeds 100 mph, which in the Roanoke valley it is not. And it runs a Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund that pays real money to homeowners who win a judgment against a licensed contractor, financed entirely by assessments on licensees rather than from taxation. Put those together and the licence does almost all the work here: nobody will inspect your reroof, but if the contractor was licensed and defrauds you, there is a fund. Two of the six certified contractors in this metro have no Virginia licence record we could find at all.
Wind, terrain and the Roanoke housing stock
This is wind country rather than hail country. Across 2016 to 2025 the counties and cities of the Roanoke metro logged 70 hail reports against 349 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports and 4 tornado events, with $3.36 million in reported property damage. Counting severe-weather reports of every kind together, July leads with 123, then May with 96 and June with 85. This is mountainous terrain, and wind behaves differently here from the way it does on a plain: it accelerates over ridges, channels along valleys and loads one aspect of a roof far harder than another. The relevant specification questions are the fastening schedule, the edge and rake detail and how the deck is attached, rather than the impact rating of the shingle.
Virginia’s licensing system is the most structured in this batch and the class matters more than the licence. The Board for Contractors issues Class A, B and C licences, graded by the value of a single project and of annual gross work, so the class caps what a firm may lawfully contract for. On top of the class sit specialty designations, and the one for roofing is ROC. Note that it is ROC and not RFC: under 18VAC50-22, RFC is recreational facility contracting, a different designation entirely, and guidance that tells you to look for RFC is wrong. Of the six certified contractors here, four hold Class A licences and two of those carry the ROC roofing specialty; the others hold Residential Building or Commercial Building designations, which under the same regulation also encompass roofing. All four verified licences are Class A, so none is value-capped.
The permit position surprises most homeowners and it follows from a wind number. Section 108.2 item 14.5 of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code exempts the replacement of an unlimited amount of roof covering or siding in Group R-3, R-4 or R-5 dwellings, provided the building is not in an area where the nominal design wind speed is greater than 100 miles per hour. The residential code conversion table turns an ultimate design wind speed of 110 mph into a nominal 85 mph and 115 mph into 89 mph, both comfortably under the trigger, and the code sets mountainous wind speeds by elevation, reaching 140 mph ultimate only at or above 4,000 feet. So for an ordinary Roanoke valley house the answer is that no permit is required to replace the roof covering, however much of it you replace. Where a permit is required, the City of Roanoke charges $50 up to $1,000 of value and then $50 plus $6.57 per $1,000, with a 2 percent state levy on top.
The housing stock is the oldest in this batch and it shapes what a tear-off finds. The median year built is 1959 in the City of Roanoke, 1978 in Roanoke County, 1971 in Salem, 1984 in Botetourt, 1979 in Craig and 1987 in Franklin. A median of 1959 in the city means a very large number of roofs on their third or fourth covering, with 1950s decking underneath and fastening schedules set long before modern uplift requirements existed. On a house of that age the questions that decide the job are what the decking is made of, whether it will hold modern fasteners, and whether replacing it is inside the quote or outside it.
The 5 best roofers in Roanoke, VA
Scored 2026-10-01. The metro mean rating used as the Bayesian prior for Roanoke is 4.662, across a pool of 8 certified contractors.
| Rank | Company | TRB Score | Certification | Rating (reviews) | Adjusted | In business since | Based in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Lick Roofing | 91.0 | President’s Club | 4.9 (172) | 4.847 | not published | Boones Mill, VA |
| 2 | VBR Roofing | 79.3 | Master Elite | 4.9 (136) | 4.836 | 2021 | Daleville, VA |
| 3 | Bob Riddick Roofing Inc | 77.4 | Master Elite | 4.9 (154) | 4.842 | 1992 | Moneta, VA |
| 4 | Simple Construction | 77.0 | Master Elite | 5.0 (38) | 4.808 | 2019 | Roanoke, VA |
| 5 | Mason Company Roofing | 72.3 | Master Elite | 4.8 (36) | 4.72 | not published | Vinton, VA |
1. Big Lick Roofing — TRB Score 91.0
Big Lick Roofing is based in Boones Mill, VA, led by Dakota Weddle, Owner, Not accredited, A+ rating, and holds President’s Club standing on the GAF certification registry.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 35 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 33.9 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 15.0 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 7.2 | 10 |
| Total | 91.0 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- No Virginia contractor licence record could be found for this company. We searched the trading name, legal-name variants, the owner’s surname and the street address.. Virginia DPOR License Lookup
- Rated A+ though not accredited, listing Dakota Weddle as founder and owner.. BBB business profile
What they actually do. Residential roof replacement and repair across the Roanoke valley.
Why it ranks here. The top score in the metro on President’s Club certification, GAF’s highest tier, with 4.9 across 172 reviews and an owner named consistently on its own site and its BBB profile.
Best fit for: Homeowners who obtain and verify the DPOR licence number first.
What we would want clarified. One finding needs resolving before you engage them, and it matters more in Virginia than it would elsewhere. We could not find a Virginia contractor licence record for this company on the DPOR public lookup, having searched the trading name, legal-name variants, the owner’s surname and the street address. Virginia requires a licence from the first dollar above $1,000, and the Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund is available only against licensed contractors, so an unresolved licence position is also an unresolved question about your recourse. It may well be licensed under a registered entity name we could not identify, and Virginia’s corporate register timed out on us, so treat this as something to ask for rather than a finding against the firm: request the DPOR number and the class, and check it yourself. Its BBB profile is also not accredited, and it publishes no founding year or manufacturer credential outside GAF. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (540) 352-7989, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
2. VBR Roofing — TRB Score 79.3
VBR Roofing is based in Daleville, VA, in business since 2021, led by Robert Rigatti, President, with Jim Lane as partner, BBB accredited, A+ rating, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
Certifications held: Master Elite (GAF), Virginia contractor licence 2705178867, Class A, verified on the DPOR lookup. Certification by more than one manufacturer is uncommon and requires meeting each programme’s separate standards for insurance, training and track record.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 33.4 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 14.3 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 7.6 | 10 |
| Total | 79.3 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Virginia contractor licence 2705178867, Class A, holding the Residential Building (RBC) specialty, expiring 30 June 2027, in the name Virginia’s Blue Ridge Roofing & Restoration Inc.. Virginia DPOR License Lookup
- Accredited with an A+ rating at the Daleville address.. BBB business profile
What they actually do. Residential roof replacement and restoration across the Roanoke valley and Botetourt County.
Why it ranks here. Master Elite certification with 4.9 across 136 reviews, BBB accredited at A+, and a Class A Virginia licence verified by number on the state lookup, meaning it is not capped on the value of work it may contract for. Its trading name differs from its legal name, Virginia’s Blue Ridge Roofing & Restoration Inc, which is the name to search the register under.
Best fit for: Homeowners in Botetourt County and the northern valley who want a verified Class A licence behind a strong rating.
What we would want clarified. Its licence carries the Residential Building specialty rather than the Roofing (ROC) designation, which is permitted for roofing work under the same regulation but is less specific than the ROC designation two other firms here hold. It is the youngest business on this page, dating from 2021, and it publishes no manufacturer credential outside GAF. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (540) 353-6767, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
3. Bob Riddick Roofing Inc — TRB Score 77.4
Bob Riddick Roofing Inc is based in Moneta, VA, in business since 1992, led by Bob Riddick, President, with Laura Jolliff as business manager, BBB accredited, A+ rating, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
Certifications held: Master Elite (GAF), Virginia contractor licence 2705066960, Class A with the Roofing (ROC) specialty, verified on the DPOR lookup. Certification by more than one manufacturer is uncommon and requires meeting each programme’s separate standards for insurance, training and track record.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 33.7 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 14.7 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 5.0 | 10 |
| Total | 77.4 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Virginia contractor licence 2705066960, Class A, carrying the Roofing (ROC) specialty, first certified 20 February 2002 and current to 31 May 2027.. Virginia DPOR License Lookup
- Accredited with an A+ rating at the Moneta address.. BBB business profile
What they actually do. Residential roof replacement and repair.
Why it ranks here. On credentials this is the strongest entry on the page. It is one of only two contractors here holding the Roofing (ROC) specialty designation rather than a general building one, at Class A so uncapped on project value, continuously certified since February 2002 and current to 2027. Add 33 years of trading, BBB accreditation at A+ and 4.9 across 154 reviews, and every public record points the same way.
Best fit for: Homeowners who want the most specific roofing credential Virginia issues, verified by number, behind a long local record.
What we would want clarified. It is based in Moneta, in Bedford County on Smith Mountain Lake, at the southern edge of the metro rather than in the Roanoke valley itself, so confirm it covers your address. It publishes no manufacturer credential outside GAF, and its 154 reviews are a moderate base next to the leader. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (540) 721-1329, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
4. Simple Construction — TRB Score 77.0
Simple Construction is based in Roanoke, VA, in business since 2019, led by Dustin Derrick, Owner and Operator, Not accredited, A+ rating, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
Certifications held: Master Elite (GAF), Virginia contractor licence 2705172308, Class A, verified on the DPOR lookup. Certification by more than one manufacturer is uncommon and requires meeting each programme’s separate standards for insurance, training and track record.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 32.3 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 10.7 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 10.0 | 10 |
| Total | 77.0 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Virginia contractor licence 2705172308, Class A, holding the Home Improvement (HIC) and Residential Building (RBC) specialties, expiring 31 October 2027, in the name Simple Roofing & Construction LLC.. Virginia DPOR License Lookup
- Rated A+ though not accredited, at the Roanoke address.. BBB business profile
What they actually do. Residential roof replacement and general construction.
Why it ranks here. A clean 5.0 with Master Elite certification and a Class A Virginia licence verified by number, and the only contractor ranked here whose office is actually inside the City of Roanoke. It holds both Home Improvement and Residential Building specialties, which between them cover roofing and the wider work an older city house often needs alongside it.
Best fit for: City of Roanoke homeowners, particularly on the pre-1960s stock where a reroof may uncover more than a covering problem.
What we would want clarified. Its 38 reviews are much the thinnest customer record on this page, so the 5.0 rests on a small sample. Its BBB profile is not accredited, it is six years old, and the licence is registered under a different legal name, Simple Roofing & Construction LLC, which is the name to search. Its BBB record also lists a different telephone number from the one in the GAF registry. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (540) 944-8535, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
5. Mason Company Roofing — TRB Score 72.3
Mason Company Roofing is based in Vinton, VA, led by Marc Mason, President, BBB accredited, A+ rating, and holds Master Elite standing on the GAF certification registry.
Certifications held: Master Elite (GAF), Virginia contractor licence 2705154500, Class A, verified on the DPOR lookup. Certification by more than one manufacturer is uncommon and requires meeting each programme’s separate standards for insurance, training and track record.
| Score component | Points | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Certification tier | 24 | 35 |
| Adjusted rating | 28.8 | 40 |
| Review corpus depth | 10.5 | 15 |
| Metro proximity | 9.0 | 10 |
| Total | 72.3 | 100 |
Independently corroborated:
- Virginia contractor licence 2705154500, Class A, holding the Commercial Building (CBC) and Residential Building (RBC) specialties, expiring 31 October 2028. DPOR records two complaints closed in 2021, both with no disciplinary action.. Virginia DPOR License Lookup
- Accredited with an A+ rating.. BBB business profile
What they actually do. Residential and commercial roof replacement and repair.
Why it ranks here. Master Elite certification with 4.8 across 36 reviews, BBB accredited at A+, and a Class A Virginia licence verified by number and running to 2028, the longest remaining term of any licence on this page. It holds both Commercial Building and Residential Building specialties, so it is credentialed for mixed-use and commercial work as well as houses.
Best fit for: Mixed residential and commercial work, and homeowners who want the longest-dated licence on the page.
What we would want clarified. Its DPOR record shows two complaints closed in 2021, both resolved with no disciplinary action; we report them because Virginia publishes them, and no action followed. Its founding year is unresolved, with the BBB recording 2012, the DPOR record 2014 and the company’s own site implying more than 40 years, so we have left it blank rather than choose. Its licence address in Moneta differs from its BBB address in Wirtz, and at 36 reviews its customer record is thin. We publish this because a ranking that only prints the flattering findings is an advertisement, not an assessment.
Verify the certification yourself on the GAF registry listing. The number carried on that listing is (540) 297-4200, which is the registry’s contact line and is often a directory tracking number rather than the contractor’s own: take the number from the company’s own website and compare the two.
The 349 wind reports that shape a Roanoke roof
Aggregate hail counts tell you very little about a specific roof. These are the individual events: every severe-weather report logged by the National Weather Service across the 6 counties of the Roanoke, VA statistical area over ten years, with the dates, the stone sizes and the towns they landed on. Over that decade the metro logged 70 hail reports, 349 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports and 4 tornadoes. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $3.4 million; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
The biggest hail to fall on Roanoke in a decade
| Date | Stone size | Reported near | County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 August 2019 | 2.0 in | Roanoke | Roanoke (C) |
| 9 April 2021 | 1.75 in | Ferrum | Franklin |
| 28 September 2019 | 1.75 in | Salem (C) | Salem (C) |
| 31 May 2019 | 1.75 in | Cave Spg | Roanoke |
| 2 May 2016 | 1.5 in | Ferrum | Franklin |
| 8 May 2025 | 1.5 in | Henry | Franklin |
The largest stone on record for this metro fell on 1 August 2019 near Roanoke, measured at 2.0 inches. That is hen-egg sized. Two inches is the threshold at which insurers expect functional damage and full replacement claims.
Wind. The strongest thunderstorm gust logged in the metro was 65 knots, about 75 mph, near Fincastle on 26 June 2024. Asphalt shingles begin lifting at roughly 67 mph when they are correctly nailed, and considerably below that when they are not.
Tornadoes. 4 tornadoes touched down in these counties over the decade, the strongest rated EF3 near Snydersville on 19 April 2019.
What the National Weather Service wrote about it
The NWS logs a written account of each severe-weather episode. This is its description of the 26 June 2024 event near Fincastle, reproduced verbatim:
Shingles were blown off of a house and nearby small barn by thunderstorm winds on Wheatland Road. In addition, seven trees were blown down by the thunderstorm winds.
That is the kind of damage a roof in this metro has to be specified against, described by the agency that recorded it rather than by a contractor selling the repair.
When it happens. Severe weather reports cluster in July (123), May (96), June (85). The worst years on record were 2019 (64), 2016 (63), 2022 (51). If you are scheduling non-urgent work in Roanoke, the months outside that window are when crews are least stretched and least likely to be triaging emergency callouts ahead of your job.
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, county-level detail files 2016 to 2025, filtered to the counties of this statistical area by The Roofing Brief. Damage figures are as reported to the NWS and undercount insured losses.
What to do with this. Hail is not the governing risk in Roanoke. Weight your decision toward wind rating, ventilation and flashing detail rather than paying extra for impact-rated shingles.
The fund that pays out when a Virginia contractor defrauds you
The Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund provides relief to consumers who have lost money through the improper or dishonest conduct of a licensed residential contractor. It is administered by the Board for Contractors and, importantly, it is supported entirely by assessments paid by licensed contractors rather than by any tax revenue: an initial applicant pays an assessment toward it on licensure. In a state that will not send an inspector to look at your reroof, this is the mechanism that gives the licence its teeth.
What counts is defined rather than left to discretion. Section 54.1-1118 of the Code of Virginia defines improper or dishonest conduct to include the wrongful taking or conversion of money, property or other things of value involving fraud or material misrepresentation. So this is a fund for being cheated, not a warranty for workmanship you are unhappy with.
The precondition is the part most homeowners do not expect: you need a court judgment first. A claimant is a person with an unsatisfied judgment involving residential construction against a licensed contractor, who has then filed a verified claim. Eligibility requires that judgment, a monetary loss arising from improper or dishonest conduct, and a contract relating to the claimant’s own residence in Virginia. There is a cap on what one claimant may recover from the Fund arising out of a single transaction, and a claim must be filed no later than twelve months after the date of the final judgment from which no further right of appeal exists. Miss that window and the entitlement lapses however good the claim was.
The practical consequence for choosing a roofer in Roanoke is specific. The Fund covers losses caused by a licensed contractor. If you hire someone who is not licensed, you are outside it, and since Virginia will not require a permit for your reroof there is no other point at which anybody checks. That makes the DPOR licence lookup the single most valuable two minutes in this market: it will give you the licence number, the class, the specialties held and the expiry date. We ran every contractor on this page through it, and the results are in the table below. One honest caveat on what we did not establish: sections 54.1-1122 and 54.1-1123 contain no provision automatically revoking a licence when the Fund pays out, and a former section that dealt with reinstatement was repealed in 2013, so we make no claim about what happens to the contractor’s licence afterwards.
Virginia contractor licences held by the ranked contractors, checked on the DPOR public lookup
| Contractor | Licence number | Class | Roofing (ROC) specialty | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Lick Roofing | No DPOR record found | – | – | – |
| VBR Roofing (Virginia’s Blue Ridge Roofing & Restoration Inc) | 2705178867 | Class A | No, holds Residential Building (RBC) | 30 June 2027 |
| Bob Riddick Roofing Inc | 2705066960 | Class A | Yes | 31 May 2027 |
| Simple Construction (Simple Roofing & Construction LLC) | 2705172308 | Class A | No, holds HIC and RBC | 31 October 2027 |
| Mason Company Roofing (Mason Company of Virginia Inc) | 2705154500 | Class A | No, holds CBC and RBC | 31 October 2028 |
Source: Code of Virginia sections 54.1-1118 to 54.1-1123; 18VAC50-22; Virginia DPOR License Lookup; Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code section 108.2.
What a Roanoke homeowner should ask for in writing
Licensing is required in VA. Virginia requires a licence from the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation for any roofing work valued above $1,000 including labour and materials. Roofing carries the specialty code ROC.
Virginia issues three classes by project value under Va. Code 54.1-1100. Class C covers single projects over $1,000 and under $30,000 (and under $250,000 of work a year), Class B covers $30,000 up to $150,000 (or $250,000 to $1 million a year), and Class A covers $150,000 or more (or $1 million a year), with qualifying-individual experience requirements of two, three and five years respectively. All classes require a board-approved eight-hour pre-licence course, and roofing requires its own specialty endorsement exam.
Check here: Virginia DPOR licence lookup. The class caps the contract value. A Class C licensee cannot legally take a project above $30,000, so confirm the class matches the size of your job before signing.
Four checks to run before you sign anything, in any state.
- Verify certification at the source. Use the GAF verification tool rather than trusting a badge image on a company website.
- Get the certificate of insurance from the insurer, not the contractor, and confirm general liability and workers compensation are both active on the day work starts.
- Confirm who pulls the permit. If a contractor asks you to pull it as the homeowner, that moves liability onto you. Decline.
- Get warranty terms in writing before any deposit, and check the manufacturer warranty being promised actually requires the certification tier the contractor holds.
The Roanoke market behind this ranking
8 certified roofing contractors serve the principal cities of the Roanoke, VA statistical area, of which 1 hold the top President’s Club tier. The pool carries 597 customer reviews between them at a mean rating of 4.662. The statistical area had a 2024 population of 315,749, a change of 0.16% against the 2020 census base, per the U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 estimates.
How these Roanoke rankings were produced
Every contractor in the Roanoke, VA pool was scored out of 100 on four published components: certification tier, a Bayesian adjusted rating, review depth and distance from the metro centre. In this metro that meant scoring 8 certified contractors, of whom 1 hold President’s Club standing and 5 Master Elite, against a metro mean rating of 4.662. The top five were then researched individually against Better Business Bureau records, state licence registers and manufacturer directories. Good and bad findings are published together, and no contractor paid for a place here.
The full method, the weightings, what the GAF certification tiers actually mean, who is eligible to be ranked and what we do not claim are all set out on our roofer ranking methodology page. Last updated: October 2026. Scoring run: 2026-10-01. Corrections go to the editor and are actioned on verification.
Roanoke roofing questions, answered
Who is the best roofer in Roanoke, VA?
Big Lick Roofing of Boones Mill, VA scores highest in the Roanoke metro on The Roofing Brief Contractor Score, at 91.0 out of 100 as of October 2026. It holds President’s Club certification with a 4.9 rating across 172 reviews. Highest-scoring is not the same as best fit for your specific job, and the four companies behind it score within 18.7 points.
How many certified roofing contractors serve Roanoke?
8 contractors on the GAF certification registry serve the principal cities of the Roanoke, VA statistical area as of October 2026, of which 1 hold President’s Club status.
How much damaging hail does Roanoke get?
The Roanoke, VA statistical area recorded 51 hail reports of 1 inch or larger and 1 of 2 inches or larger between 2016 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Events Database. The largest hailstone reported measured 2.0 inches.
Did any contractor pay to appear on this list?
No. The Roofing Brief takes no placement fees, no lead fees and no affiliate commission from any roofing contractor. Ranking comes entirely from the published formula applied to public registry data, followed by an individual research pass on the top five.
What was the worst hailstorm in Roanoke in the last ten years?
The largest hailstone logged by the National Weather Service in the Roanoke, VA statistical area between 2016 and 2025 measured 2.0 inches, reported near Roanoke on 1 August 2019. That is hen-egg sized. Two inches is the threshold at which insurers expect functional damage and full replacement claims. Across the decade the metro recorded 70 hail reports. Reported property damage from hail, severe wind and tornado over that decade totalled $3.4 million; flood and winter-storm losses are counted separately and are not included.
When is the worst time of year for roof damage in Roanoke?
Severe-weather reports in the Roanoke, VA statistical area cluster in July, May, June, on the NOAA record for 2016 to 2025. Scheduling discretionary work away from that window tends to get you a better crew and a faster start, because nobody is juggling emergency callouts.
Do roofers need a licence in VA?
Virginia requires a licence from the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation for any roofing work valued above $1,000 including labour and materials. Roofing carries the specialty code ROC. Virginia issues three classes by project value under Va. Code 54.1-1100. Class C covers single projects over $1,000 and under $30,000 (and under $250,000 of work a year), Class B covers $30,000 up to $150,000 (or $250,000 to $1 million a year), and Class A covers $150,000 or more (or $1 million a year), with qualifying-individual experience requirements of two, three and five years respectively. All classes require a board-approved eight-hour pre-licence course, and roofing requires its own specialty endorsement exam.
What should I check before hiring a roofer in Roanoke?
The class caps the contract value. A Class C licensee cannot legally take a project above $30,000, so confirm the class matches the size of your job before signing.
The fund that pays out when a Virginia contractor defrauds you?
The Virginia Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund provides relief to consumers who have lost money through the improper or dishonest conduct of a licensed residential contractor. It is administered by the Board for Contractors and, importantly, it is supported entirely by assessments paid by licensed contractors rather than by any tax revenue: an initial applicant pays an assessment toward it on licensure. In a state that will not send an inspector to look at your reroof, this is the mechanism that gives the licence its teeth.
Is Roanoke a hard market to find a good roofer in?
Virginia does two things no other state in this programme does. It largely exempts residential re-roofing from a building permit, so long as the house is not in an area where the nominal design wind speed exceeds 100 mph, which in the Roanoke valley it is not. And it runs a Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund that pays real money to homeowners who win a judgment against a licensed contractor, financed entirely by assessments on licensees rather than from taxation. Put those together and the licence does almost all the work here: nobody will inspect your reroof, but if the contractor was licensed and defrauds you, there is a fund. Two of the six certified contractors in this metro have no Virginia licence record we could find at all.
Is wind or hail the bigger risk to a roof in Roanoke?
Wind, by a wide margin. The Roanoke, VA statistical area logged 349 severe thunderstorm and high wind reports against 51 hail reports of an inch or more between 2016 and 2025. Wind damage shows up at the rake, ridge and edge rather than across the field of the roof, so the fastening schedule and edge detail matter more here than the impact rating of the shingle.
Roofer rankings for other metros
The Roofing Brief scores certified roofing contractors in the 400 largest U.S. metropolitan and micropolitan areas on the same formula.
- Best roofers in Lynchburg, VA, about 43 miles from Roanoke
- Best roofers in Charlottesville, VA, another VA metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Richmond, VA, another VA metro on the same formula
- Best roofers in Kingsport, TN, a metro of comparable size
- Best roofers in Kennewick, WA, a metro of comparable size
See the full index of all 400 metro roofer rankings, or read how to find and vet a roofing contractor anywhere in the country.
Cite this analysis
The Roofing Brief. “Best Roofers in Roanoke, VA: The Roofing Brief Contractor Score.” Published October 2026. Inputs: GAF certification registry; NOAA Storm Events Database 2016-2025; U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 population estimates; Better Business Bureau and independent review-platform records for each ranked contractor.