How to become a painter in 2026

There is no painter's license in the US — not federal, not in any state. What the law licenses is the contractor: in the states that license construction work above a dollar line, a painting business past that line needs the state's contractor license or registration, and a few states name painting as its own classification. In Texas, Florida, New York and Illinois there is nothing at state level at all. On top of that sits one federal rule every painter meets — the EPA's lead-paint certification for homes built before 1978 — and the ordinary business license your city issues to any trade. Here is each big state, from its own board or statute:

• California: the Contractors State License Board lists "C-33 - Painting and Decorating Contractor" (CSLB license classifications), defined in the regulation as a contractor who "prepares by scraping, sandblasting or other means and applies any of the following: paints, papers, textures, fabrics, pigments, oils, turpentines, japans, driers, thinners, varnishes, shellacs, stains, fillers, waxes, adhesives, water and any other vehicles, mediums and materials which adhere by evaporation" (16 CCR §832.33). The line: no license is needed where "the aggregate contract price for labor, materials, and all other items is less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), that work or operation being considered of casual, minor, or inconsequential nature, and the work or operation does not require a building permit" — and the exemption is lost by anyone who "Advertises or puts out a sign or card or other device that might indicate to the public that the person is a contractor" or "Employs another person to perform, or assist in performing, the work" (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §7048); an unlicensed ad is lawful only under $1,000 and if "the person states in the advertisement that the person is not licensed under this chapter" (§7027.2). To get the C-33: "not less than four years experience as a journeyman, foreman, supervising employee or contractor in the particular class", and an apprenticeship cannot "count for more than 3 years of the experience" (16 CCR §825); the board "shall require an applicant to show the degree of knowledge and experience in the classification applied for" (§7068); the bond is "twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000)" (§7071.6). The CSLB's fee pages refused our reader, so no California dollar fee is printed here. One owner's route: "In 2020 during covid I quit the union and went on my own. I got my C-33 Painters license in 2021 and started Flex Painting" (Kyle Paul, Flex Painting, Pomona, VoyageLA, March 3, 2026).
• Florida: painting is not one of the contractor types the statute lists — the sixteen licensed categories run from "General contractor" to "Solar contractor" and "Specialty contractor", and the word paint appears nowhere on the page (Fla. Stat. §489.105) — so there is no state painting license. The county cards people remember are over: "The licensing of occupations is expressly preempted to the state", and "Any local government that imposed licenses on occupations before January 1, 2021 … any such local government licensing of occupations expires on July 1, 2025" (§163.211); Miami-Dade's own notice reads "Effective July 1, the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER), Consumer Protection and Neighborhood Protection Division, is no longer issuing licenses for these occupations and businesses, in accordance with Section 163.211 of Florida Statutes" (Miami-Dade County, July 2025). A Florida painter registers a business like any other and carries the insurance a property manager asks for.
• Texas: no state license — the Department of Licensing and Regulation's program list runs from boilers to tow trucks and has no painting entry (TDLR). Cities register contractors on pages that refused our reader, so ask your city's permit office. Illinois: the state's profession list licenses roofing contractors and no painters (IDFPR, licensed professions). New York: no state license; New York City licenses the business — "A person or business must have a Home Improvement Contractor license to do construction, repair, remodeling, or other home improvement work to any residential land or building in New York City." The checklist asks for "Home Improvement Business Trust Fund Enrollment OR Copy of $20,000 Surety Bond", "The fee for joining the Trust Fund is $200", an exam of "30 questions. You must answer a minimum of 21 questions correctly to pass", copies of the "EPA Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) certification", and a two-year license fee that depends on the filing window — "Pay $200 for a license expiring February 28 of the next odd year. (Valid for at most 24 months.)" or "Pay $150" for a shorter first term (NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection).
• Virginia: the state licenses the business by contract size — "Class C contractors" work "when (i) the total value referred to in a single contract or project is over $1,000 but less than $30,000", Class B from "$30,000 or more, but less than $150,000", Class A at "$150,000 or more" (Va. Code §54.1-1100); every applicant "must complete eight hours of pre-license education", "a basic business course" that "is not specific to any particular classification or specialty" (Virginia DPOR, contractors). Washington: from the first dollar — "Washington State requires all construction contractors to register with L&I", and "L&I regulates 63 specialties that each require contractor registration. These specialties include roofing, painting, HVAC, tree removal, mobile home set-up, and dozens more"; "Specialty contractors can only perform work in the specialty they are registered in. They cannot hire subcontractors"; the application fee is "$150.20", the bond "$30,000 for general contractors. $15,000 for specialty contractors", the liability policy "$200,000 in public liability and $50,000 property damage" (Washington L&I, register as a contractor). Oregon: "Oregon law requires anyone who works for compensation in any construction activity involving improvements to real property to be licensed", and the board's own list of work that requires a license reads "Roofing Siding Painting Carpentry Floor covering Concrete"; the route is "the 16-hour training" and an exam, and even the small-job exemption "does not eliminate the need for licensed tradespersons or a lead-based paint renovator's certification" (Oregon CCB) — the board's fee and bond pages did not open, so neither is printed.
• Nevada: the board's "42 distinct subcontracting fields within Classification C" include "plumbing, electrical, carpentry, painting, concrete contracting" (Nevada State Contractors Board, classifications), and the handyman exemption covers "Work to repair or maintain property valued at less than $1,000, including labor and materials, unless certain conditions apply (e.g., building permit required, type of work, contractor's license)" (NSCB, handyman exemptions). Arizona: the same $1,000 line — exempt is work "for which the aggregate contract price, including labor, materials and all other items … is less than $1,000", "of a casual or minor nature", unless "the performance of the work requires a local building permit" (A.R.S. §32-1121). Utah: exempt is "a person engaged in the alteration, repair, remodeling, or addition to or improvement of a building with a contracted or agreed value of less than $7,000, including both labor and materials" — but "if the total value of the project is greater than $3,000, the person shall file with the division a one-time affirmation" of liability insurance (Utah Code §58-55-305). Minnesota: the residential building contractor license is for a business "providing two or more special skills", and "interior or exterior painting" is one skill inside "Interior finishing" (Minn. Stat. §326B.802) — so "specialty contractors who provide only one special skill" are exempt (§326B.805): a painting-only company needs no state license there.
• Louisiana: "For commercial projects, if the total project amount exceeds $50,000, a contractor's license is required. For home improvement projects, if the total project amount exceeds $7,500 but not exceeding $50,000, a home improvement registration is required" (Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors). Pennsylvania: a registration, not a license, and painting is named in it — "home improvement" includes "painting, doors and windows and waterproofing"; excluded is "A person for whom the total cash value of all of that person's home improvements is less than $5,000 during the previous taxable year"; the application asks for liability insurance "in an amount not less than $50,000" for personal injury and "$50,000" for property damage, and "shall be accompanied by a fee of $50" (Pennsylvania Act 132 of 2008). Maryland: a Home Improvement Commission license with an exam through "PSI Exams", a Guaranty Fund assessment of "$100.00 for an original MHIC contractor" and "$175.00 every two years" on renewal, and since June 1, 2024, general liability insurance "in the amount of at least $500,000" (Maryland Home Improvement Commission). New Jersey: "No person shall engage in the business of making or selling home improvements in this State unless registered with the Division", and no one may advertise as a contractor unregistered (N.J.A.C. 13:45A-17.3). North Carolina: "a general contractor must be licensed if the contract is valued at $40,000 or higher" (NC Licensing Board for General Contractors). Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan, Georgia and Tennessee regulate home-improvement work too, on pages that refused to open or that we did not reach, so none of their lines is printed here.

The one federal rule: lead paint. "In 1978, the federal government banned the sale of lead-based paint for use in homes, childcare facilities and preschools. Approximately three-quarters of the homes in the United States built before 1978 still contain some lead-based paint" (EPA, the RRP program). The rule: "anyone who is paid to perform work that disturbs paint in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978 must be certified. This includes all firms, even sole proprietorships", and "Firms cannot advertise or perform renovation activities covered by the RRP Rule in homes or child-occupied facilities built before 1978 without firm certification"; not covered are "Housing built in 1978 or later" and "Minor repair and maintenance activities that disturb six square feet or less of paint per room inside, or 20 square feet or less on the exterior of a home or building" (EPA, RRP for contractors; the definition is 40 CFR §745.83, which names "surface preparation activity (such as sanding, scraping, or other such activities that may generate paint dust)" as renovation). Two cards. The person: "The renovator course must last a minimum of 8 training hours, with a minimum of 2 hours devoted to hands-on training activities" (40 CFR §745.225), with a refresher "within 5 years of the date the individual completed the initial course" (§745.90). The firm: "Renovation Firm Certification" is "$300" for the initial certification and "$300" to re-certify, "$550" combined with abatement (EPA fee table; §745.92), and "To maintain its certification, a firm must be re-certified by EPA every 5 years", with "A certified renovator … assigned to each renovation performed by the firm" (§745.89). The course fee is the training provider's, and none that opened printed one.

The safety rules a crew will ask about. Falls: "Each employee on a walking/working surface (horizontal and vertical surface) with an unprotected side or edge which is 6 feet (1.8 m) or more above a lower level shall be protected from falling by the use of guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems" (29 CFR §1926.501). Ladders: "the ladder side rails shall extend at least 3 feet (.9 m) above the upper landing surface to which the ladder is used to gain access" (§1926.1053). Respirators: "A respirator shall be provided to each employee when such equipment is necessary to protect the health of such employee" and the employer runs "a respiratory protection program" (§1910.134).

How you learn it. On a crew. The union route is a registered apprenticeship: in the Pacific Northwest, "The Painter's apprenticeship is a 4 year program. The apprenticeship consists of 6000 hours of on the job training and 576 hours of trade related classroom instruction for four years" (Finishing Trades Institute of the Northwest); the national union's page puts it as "Minimum 144 hours of classroom and mandated on-the-job hours per year" and "While a typical apprenticeship lasts up to four years, enough experience in your craft can make this process much shorter", with "stenciling, faux finishes, texture coatings, striping, gold leafing, and custom mural work" in the later years (IUPAT, commercial painter). The federal standard behind every registered apprenticeship: "at least 2,000 hours" of on-the-job learning a year and "A minimum of 144 hours for each year of apprenticeship is recommended" (29 CFR §29.5). The non-union route is a painting contractor who hires helpers — nearly every owner quoted below started that way — and the trade association sells the classroom part on its own: PCA Painter Training, "Interior Levels 1-3" and "Exterior Levels 1-3" with "a certificate of completion", at $99 a course for non-members and free for members (PCA, painter training), with membership at "$499 Annually" (PCA membership). No public technical college we reached runs a painting program with a tuition table, so none is printed; the trade is learned on jobs.

You are self-employed from the first invoice. In the US a one-van painter is a sole proprietor by default: "Use Schedule C (Form 1040) to report income or (loss) from a business you operated or a profession you practiced as a sole proprietor" (IRS, Schedule C instructions); "The self-employment tax rate is 15.3%" once net earnings reach $400 (IRS), and sole proprietors "generally have to make estimated tax payments if they expect to owe tax of $1,000 or more" (IRS). If you want an LLC: Texas $300 (Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code §4.154); Florida $100 plus $25 for the registered agent and $50 a year (Fla. Stat. §605.0213); New York $200 (N.Y. LLC Law §1101) plus a notice "published once in each week for six successive weeks, in two newspapers of the county" (§206); California $70 (Cal. Gov. Code §12190) and "Every LLC that is doing business or organized in California must pay an annual tax of $800" (Franchise Tax Board). Workers' compensation: "In Texas, private employers can choose to carry workers' compensation insurance coverage, but it is not required in most cases" (Texas Department of Insurance), while "All California employers must provide workers' compensation benefits to their employees under California Labor Code Section 3700" (California DIR).

Sales tax on the work — two states' rules. Texas names the trade: "Repair or remodeling includes reroofing and repainting. But if the repainting is maintenance (as defined in this bulletin), tax is not due on the repainting labor", and the house-versus-office line is "Labor to repair, remodel, or restore residential real property is not taxable" while "the total amount charged for remodeling, repairing, or restoring nonresidential real property is taxable" (Texas Comptroller, Publication 94-116) — the same repaint untaxed in a home, taxed in a restaurant. New York: "painting existing cabinets" is among "taxable repair and maintenance work" (New York TB-ST-104). Confirm the details with your accountant.

The money to start. Our arithmetic from the pages that print each price. A lean start for a first solo job — a Purdy 2-1/2-inch angle sash brush at $15.19 (Zoro, read October 27, 2026), a 9-inch roller frame at $8.79 (Zoro) and a 3-pack of covers at $16.50 (Zoro), a 6-to-12-foot extension pole at $64.49 (Zoro), a 5-gallon roller grid at $12.98 (Zoro), a 6-pack of ScotchBlue tape at $60.39 (Zoro), a 3M half-mask respirator with P100 filters at $28.99 (Zoro) and a Werner 6-foot step ladder at $141.99 (Zoro) — is $349.32. The fuller start as a painting business — the same kit, a Graco Magnum X5 airless sprayer at $454.99 (Zoro), a Werner 24-foot fiberglass extension ladder at $421.99 (Zoro) and a 28-foot aluminum at $597.99 (Zoro), the $300 EPA firm certification, Washington's $150.20 registration fee as one state's example, a year of general liability at Insureon's $862 painter median and a year of commercial auto at $3,539 — is $6,675.49. Drop cloths and a five-in-one tool belong in both kits; the product pages refused our reader, so neither is priced. Neither total includes the van, the paint or the website — and the insurance is a median, not your quote: "painters pay an average of $72 per month , or $862 annually, for general liability insurance", "$109 per month for a business owner's policy , or $1,313 annually", "$190 per month for workers' compensation insurance , or $2,279 annually", "$295 per month , or $3,539 annually, for commercial auto insurance" and "$42 per month for contractor's tools and equipment insurance , or $505 annually" (Insureon, updated August 3, 2026). The plan page for the business side is the painting business plan, the prices are in painting pricing, the step after this guide is how to start a painting business, the name goes on the van from painting business names, and the site from the painting website builder or the painting website design page.

In the UK: there is no license to paint and decorate; the government's career profile puts pay at "£21,000 Starter" to "£32,000 Experienced" on "37 to 42" hours a week, with routes through "a college course" — a "Level 2 or Level 3 Diploma in Painting and Decorating" needing "2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course" — or "an apprenticeship", the "Painter and Decorator Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship" and the "Craft Painter and Decorator Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship", or "working towards this role" (National Careers Service, GOV.UK). In Australia the principle inverts: New South Wales and Queensland treat painting as building work that needs a contractor license from the state building regulator above a dollar line, with a fine for working without one — every regulator page we reached either refused or carries a British spelling in its address that this US page cannot link, so no figure is printed here. Check your own state's contractor board, and your city's, before you quote the first job.