What West Virginia requires of your website, phone lines and sales calls

Federal law covers West Virginia the same as every state. The TCPA reaches texts and autodialed calls, covered in our TCPA guide, and the baseline for recording is in our call recording guide. Below is the West Virginia layer. Treat it as general information as of October 2026, with no legal advice intended. We found no West Virginia statute that regulates marketing text messages or marketing email separately from the federal rules, so those topics are not covered below.

Does a West Virginia contractor have to show a license number online?

If you are a licensed contractor, yes. W. Va. Code § 30-42-6(b) requires the license number to appear in all contracting advertisements and in all fully executed and binding contracts. The same subsection requires the license, or a copy, to be posted conspicuously at every construction site where you work. A website that advertises contracting services is an advertisement, so the number belongs in the header or footer and on service pages, as well as on social profiles, truck lettering and paid ads. The statute lists a warning, a reprimand, or a fine of up to $200 after a hearing as the discipline for violations.

The rule only reaches people who need the license. Under § 30-42-3, a contractor is someone who builds, alters, repairs, improves or demolishes a structure for pay on a job of $5,000 or more for residential work or $25,000 or more for commercial work. The same section says the definition does not include a person who performs landscaping or painting services. A lawn crew or painter therefore has no contractor license number to display, and our West Virginia licensing guide covers the trades that are licensed by other agencies. Do not put a license number on a page for work you are not licensed to do.

Can you record customer calls in West Virginia?

Yes, calls you take part in. W. Va. Code § 62-1D-3(e) makes interception lawful for a participant in the conversation, or with a participant's prior consent, unless it is done to commit a crime or tort. That covers a recorded business line, call tracking and an AI receptionist that records for you, since you are a party to every call. A caller in an all-party state brings that state's rules with them, so a short notice at the start of the greeting is the sensible default. Our state table shows where the notice is required.

What does West Virginia's telemarketing article cover?

Article 6F of Chapter 46A is West Virginia's telemarketing law. A "telemarketing solicitation" is a communication meant to sell consumer goods or services after either an unsolicited call to a consumer who has not shown interest, or a communication that invites the consumer to respond when the seller intends to close the deal during later phone calls (§ 46A-6F-112). A telemarketer is anyone who initiates or receives calls for that purpose (§ 46A-6F-113). The article sets out registration and security requirements for telemarketers (Part 3, starting at § 46A-6F-301) and a list of exemptions (§§ 46A-6F-201 to 220).

Two exemptions can matter to a service business. One covers a seller that does not make the major sales presentation on the phone, does not complete or obtain provisional acceptance of a sale on the call, and makes the presentation and closes at a later face-to-face meeting under the home solicitation provisions (§ 46A-6F-204). That fits a company whose phone calls only book an estimate visit. The exemption is lost if the seller sends someone to the customer mainly to collect payment or deliver an item. The second covers a seller with a permanent business location under the same name, offering the identical goods or services there, with more than half provided at that location (§ 46A-6F-213). Most mobile service companies will not meet that test.

For anyone who counts as a telemarketer, the abusive-practices section bars calls to a residence at any time other than between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. local time at the called person's location, calls to a person who has said they do not want calls from or for that seller, and repeated or harassing contact (§ 46A-6F-601). A seller is not liable for a do-not-call slip if it has written procedures, trained staff, a recorded list of people who said no, and the later call was an error. Keep that list. The article speaks of calls and communications, and we did not find language that clearly extends it to text messages, so check with the Attorney General's consumer protection division if you run outbound texting.

What are West Virginia's three-day cancellation rules for sales away from your shop?

A buyer may cancel a home solicitation sale until midnight of the third business day after signing an agreement or offer to purchase (§ 46A-2-132). The notice can be any written statement that the buyer does not wish to be bound, and mailing it counts as giving it. The one exception covers a bona fide emergency: the buyer asked for the goods or services to be provided without delay, and the seller made a substantial beginning of performance in good faith before the notice, or the goods cannot be returned in about the same condition.

The agreement has to carry a notice. Under § 46A-2-133, the written agreement must include a "BUYER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL" statement saying the sale was solicited at a place other than the seller's business at a fixed location, and that notice must be mailed before midnight of the third business day after signing, to a stated name and address. If you leave this out, the buyer may cancel in any manner until you comply. A notice that meets the federal trade commission form and is substantially similar is deemed compliant. For a website, this affects estimates signed at the customer's house or sold on an in-home visit. Build the cancellation notice into your digital contract template and keep the delivery record.

How does West Virginia sales tax show up on an invoice?

The West Virginia Tax Division states that all sales of goods and services are presumed subject to sales and use tax unless an exemption is clearly provided (Tax Division, October 2026). That presumption means a lawn, cleaning or repair business should assume it collects tax until it confirms otherwise with the Division. The Division publishes a Certificate of Capital Improvement (form CST-290) and a Special Contractors Exempt Purchases Certificate (form CST-286) for construction work, and it says nonresident contractors must register with the state and post a bond to cover use tax. Returns are filed through the MyTaxes site. Ask how your jobs are classified before you quote, and make the invoice template able to split labor from taxable items. Our sales tax table compares states.

What this means for your setup

Licensed contractors should put the license number on every page of the website that advertises contracting work, and in the contract template. Give the business phone line a recorded notice even though West Virginia is a one-party state, and keep any outbound sales calling inside the 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. window with a written do-not-call procedure. If estimates are signed at the customer's home, use a contract that carries the BUYER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL statement. The West Virginia startup guide covers formation and workers' comp. Confirm each point with the agency named in the sources before you change a process.

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