Sample Vendor Insurance Requirements by Trade

This guide is informational only and is not legal or insurance advice. Have your insurance broker or attorney review your vendor requirements.

Sources last reviewed October 15, 2026. Rules change, so confirm current requirements with the agencies linked below.

What you require from each vendor is set by your contract. This guide gives HOA managers, contractors, and event planners in DC, Maryland, and Virginia three reference points: a government benchmark, state licensing insurance requirements for certain trades, and notes by trade. Property managers and facilities teams may also use it as a reference. It gives general information, not individualized advice, and it does not promise compliance with any law or contract. Nothing here is a legal requirement for a private vendor unless your contract adopts it.

Reference point 1: DC government contracts, a benchmark and not a rule for private vendors

DC's Contract Insurance Requirements policy (OCP Policy 3002) applies to contracts the District enters under its procurement law. It is not a legal requirement for private vendors unless your own contract adopts it. For its own contracts, DC's baseline looks like this:

  • General liability: $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, with $2,000,000 for products and completed operations and $1,000,000 for personal and advertising injury
  • Auto liability: $1,000,000 per occurrence combined single limit, covering owned, hired, or non-owned vehicles used in the work
  • Workers' compensation: as the applicable statute requires
  • Employer's liability: $500,000 each accident, $500,000 employee disease, and $500,000 policy disease limit
  • Umbrella or excess liability: depends on the contract (the policy's guidelines list $2,000,000 to $5,000,000 or more for services contracts and $2,000,000 to $10,000,000 or more for construction contracts)
  • General liability policy: names the District as an additional insured, is primary and non-contributory, and carries a waiver of subrogation
  • Insurers: licensed to do business in the District or where the work is performed, with an A.M. Best rating of A-VIII or higher
  • Subcontractors: carry the same insurance required of the primary contractor

Reference point 2: State licensing requirements that involve insurance

Some trades must carry insurance to hold a license. These are floors set for licensing, not a measure of what any particular job needs.

Maryland

  • Electricians. The Maryland State Board of Electricians says applicants for an electrician's license must carry at least $300,000 in general liability and $100,000 in property damage insurance. Umbrella coverage is not acceptable. The Board must be the certificate holder, the policy must list the licensee's name and registration number, and the insurer must notify the Board 10 days before cancellation.
  • HVACR. The HVACR Board says master, master restricted, and limited contractors who sign or approve contracts must carry general liability of at least $300,000 and property damage of at least $100,000, for at least $400,000 combined, with the Board named as certificate holder. A licensee whose insurance expires cannot legally continue entering contracts.
  • Plumbing. The Board of Plumbing requires at least $400,000 per occurrence, made up of $300,000 general liability and $100,000 property damage. Umbrella coverage is not acceptable. The Board is the certificate holder, the certificate must show the licensed person's name and registration number, and the insurer must notify the Board at least 10 days before cancellation.
  • Home improvement. Effective June 1, 2024, Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC) licensed home improvement contractors must carry at least $500,000 in general liability insurance under Business Regulation Article section 8-302.1. MHIC rules concern residential home improvement work, so confirm whether your work and property type are covered.
  • License checks. Each of these boards offers an online license search through the Maryland Department of Labor.

The certificate a Maryland electrician, plumber, or HVACR contractor files with their licensing board names the board as certificate holder. That is separate from a certificate issued to you.

Virginia

  • Contractor licenses. The Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) says a valid Virginia contractor's license is required for work valued at $1,000 or more, and its License Lookup shows license status and past disciplinary actions.
  • Classifications. The Board for Contractors regulations (18 VAC 50-22) list roofing contracting and landscape service contracting as licensed specialty services. The electrical, plumbing, and HVAC contractor classifications each require a qualified individual with the matching master tradesman license.
  • Insurance. The entry requirements for Class A, B, and C contractor licenses address financial responsibility (net worth or a bond), not liability insurance.
  • Workers' compensation. The Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission says Virginia law requires an employer who regularly employs more than two part-time or full-time employees to carry workers' compensation. Employees of subcontractors hired to perform the same trade or to fulfill a contract count toward the total, and executive officers count as employees.
  • Coverage lookup. The Commission's Insurance Coverage Search lets the public look up an employer's commercial workers' compensation coverage by business name or federal employer identification number. It does not show self-insured employers.

DC

  • DC's Office of Risk Management states that employers with one or more employees must obtain workers' compensation coverage for their employees in the District.
  • DC's Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) sets minimum insurance levels by license type. For general contractor and construction manager licenses it lists commercial general liability of at least $2,500,000 per occurrence for Class A, $1,500,000 per occurrence for Class B, $500,000 per occurrence and $1,000,000 aggregate for Classes C and G, and $500,000 per occurrence for Class H (17 DCMR section 3902.1). For home improvement contractors it lists $50,000 for bodily injury or death of one person in a single accident, $100,000 aggregate for more than one person in a single accident, and $10,000 for property damage in a single accident (16 DCMR section 803.2). Licensing varies by trade, so confirm which license applies to the work you are hiring for.

Reference point 3: Notes by trade

These are the facts we found for each trade. They are not requirements.

Electrical

  • Maryland: the electrician licensing insurance requirement above
  • Virginia: the electrical contractor classification requires a qualified individual with a master electrician tradesman license

Plumbing

  • Maryland: the plumbing licensing insurance requirement above
  • Virginia: the plumbing contractor classification requires a qualified individual with a master plumber tradesman license

HVAC

  • Maryland: the HVACR licensing insurance requirement above
  • Virginia: the HVAC contractor classification requires a qualified individual with a master HVAC tradesman license

Roofing

  • Maryland: if the job is residential home improvement work, an MHIC license and its $500,000 general liability requirement may apply. Confirm with MHIC.
  • Virginia: roofing contracting is a licensed specialty service

Janitorial

  • We did not find a janitorial classification in Virginia's Board for Contractors regulations, and we did not research Maryland or DC licensing for janitorial work.

Landscaping

  • Virginia: landscape service contracting is a licensed specialty service
  • We did not research Maryland or DC licensing for landscaping

A certificate does not show a policy's exclusions or the wording of its endorsements. Your broker can help you review a vendor's policy for the work you are hiring them to do.

Copyable requirements checklist

Copy this into your own document and fill it in for each vendor.

  • Vendor name:
  • Trade or service:
  • Contract dates:
  • General liability, per occurrence: $
  • General liability, aggregate: $
  • Auto liability, combined single limit (if the vendor drives for the work): $
  • Workers' compensation (if applicable), employer's liability each accident: $
  • Employer's liability, disease policy limit: $
  • Employer's liability, disease each employee: $
  • Umbrella or excess liability (if required): $
  • Additional insured status: Required / Not required
  • Waiver of subrogation: Required / Not required
  • Notice of cancellation: Required / Not required
  • Certificate holder name and address (yours):
  • Policy period: from ______ to ______
  • Certificate received on:
  • Certificate expires on:
  • Notes:

What a certificate does and does not tell you

DC's procurement policy describes a certificate as evidence, but not proof, that the named insured has the listed policies in place, and says it confers no rights on the certificate holder that do not already exist in the policy contract.

The ACORD 25 form says similar things on its face: it is issued for information only and does not amend, extend, or alter the policy's coverage. If you are supposed to be an additional insured, the policy itself must have additional insured provisions or be endorsed, and a statement on the certificate does not replace that endorsement.

The newest edition, ACORD 25 (2025/12), adds wording saying the limits shown include amounts requested by the certificate holder and may not reflect higher policy limits. Older editions may still be in circulation, so do not reject a certificate only because of its edition.

Virginia law adds a rule of its own. Code of Virginia section 38.2-518 says no one may issue a certificate of insurance that attempts to confer rights on a third party beyond what the policy expressly provides, and that a certificate may not represent an insurer's obligation to give notice of cancellation or nonrenewal to a third party unless the policy requires that notice. It applies to certificates issued as a statement or summary of coverage on property, operations, or risks located in Virginia.

Next steps

A certificate of insurance summarizes selected insurance information. It does not guarantee coverage or prove that a policy is in force. Confirm unclear, expired, or conflicting information with the vendor's broker or insurer, and consult your own broker or attorney before relying on any requirement described here.

Spotted something out of date? Email lanyrde@polsia.app.

Sources