How to start a painting business in 2026

Pick your lane, then learn it on your own walls. Interior repaints are the easiest entry: one room at a time, year-round, minimal weather risk. Exteriors need ladder sense, a sprayer and a season. Cabinets need tight spray work and pay the most per day. Paint your own rooms and a friend's against the clock before you quote a stranger's — the owners below say the painting is the easy part and the business is the work.

Do you need a license to start a painting business? In the US it depends on the state, and painting is one of the least licensed trades — several big states don't license it at all. What's the same everywhere is the federal lead rule, below. State by state:

• California licenses painting as the C-33 Painting and Decorating classification (CSLB). The application is $450 and the initial license $200 for a sole owner, renewed at $450 (CSLB fee schedule); the qualifier needs "four years within the last ten years as a journeyperson, foreperson, supervising employee, contractor, or owner-builder", passes the trade and/or business-and-law exams the CSLB sets (CSLB), and posts a $25,000 contractor bond (CSLB). The threshold moved: "A new law will raise the threshold for work requiring a contractor's license from $500 to $1,000", effective January 1, 2025, for small projects where you "do not hire workers and no building permits are needed" — so any answer that still says $500 is two years old (CSLB, December 2024).
• Arizona licenses painting as the R-34 Painting and Wall Covering classification — paint, wallpaper, decorative texture, floor and wall coatings (Arizona Administrative Code R4-9-103) — and exempts only work whose "aggregate contract price, including labor, materials and all other items" is under $1,000 and "of a casual or minor nature" (A.R.S. 32-1121); a residential specialty contractor's bond is "not more than $7,500 and not less than $1,000" (A.R.S. 32-1152). The Registrar's fee pages would not open for us, so we print no Arizona fee.
• Virginia licenses painting and wallcovering as a specialty of a Class C contractor license, for work "over $1,000 but less than $30,000" a job (Virginia Code 54.1-1100); the Class C application is $274.50 plus a $7.25-a-year technology fee, with one year's experience and no net-worth test (Virginia DPOR application).
• Nevada licenses painting as classification C-4, Painting and Decorating (Nevada Administrative Code 624); the qualifying individual needs "at least four full years of experience as a journeyman, supervising employee or contractor", two exams and a financial statement (Nevada State Contractors Board, January 2026). The board's pages print no fee, so neither do we.
• Louisiana has no painter's license but registers home-improvement work: "if the total project amount exceeds $7,500 but not exceeding $50,000, a home improvement registration is required", and above $50,000 a contractor's license (Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors).
• Washington and Oregon reach painters through a contractor license rather than a painting one — Washington from the first paid job, Oregon generally. Washington: “Washington State requires all construction contractors to register with L&I,” and painting is one of its named specialties — a $150.20 application, a $15,000 bond for a specialty contractor, and $200,000 of public liability with $50,000 of property damage, or $250,000 combined (Washington L&I). Oregon: “Generally, Oregon law requires anyone who works for compensation in any construction activity involving improvements to real property to be licensed,” and painting is on the board’s list of that work (Oregon CCB).
• North Carolina has no painting license; its contractor board licenses general contractors — “a general contractor must be licensed if the contract is valued at $40,000 or higher” (NC Licensing Board for General Contractors).
• Texas has no state license for painters — the state's trade-licensing agency lists no painting program, and the Governor's business office says "The State of Texas does not require a general license" while reminding owners that "all permitting requirements are also met at the local level" (Office of the Texas Governor).
• Florida has none either, and goes further: the statute says a local government may not require a state or local license for a job scope such as "painting; flooring; cabinetry; interior remodeling when the scope of the project does not include a task for which a state license is required" (Florida Statutes 489.117), and the DBPR's own list says you can "Paint; install cabinets, wood or tile flooring, and insulation regardless of compensation" without its license (Florida DBPR).
• Georgia lists "Painting and Special Coatings" among the traditional specialty trades whose contractors "do not have to hold a license" but must "comply with all applicable national, state, and local codes and ordinances" (Georgia Secretary of State).

Check your state contractor board and your city before you bid, and read our guide to whether you need a business license for the general one. Our guide to how to become a painter prints each state's dollar line, the EPA rule and the union apprenticeship's hours from their own sources.

The EPA lead rule applies in every US state. Federal law requires "anyone paid to perform work that disturbs painted surfaces in homes, childcare facilities and preschools built before 1978 be certified and their employees be trained" (EPA). That means two things: the firm — "including sole proprietorships" — is certified, for a $300 fee that is "good for five years" (EPA; EPA fee schedule), and the renovator takes "an 8-hour training that includes 2 hours of hands-on learning" from an accredited trainer, with a four-hour refresher every three or five years (EPA). The EPA doesn't print the course price, so the plan carries it as a planning range. And no, a one-person company isn't exempt: asked whether a trained sole proprietor with no employees needs the firm certification too, the EPA's answer is "No. All firms performing renovations covered by the RRP Rule must be certified", and the fee is not waived for the self-employed (EPA, October 2026).

In the UK: there is no license to trade as a painter and decorator; the National Careers Service says "You could set up your own business", and for work on a construction site "you'll need a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card or equivalent" (National Careers Service); you "must register for Self Assessment as a sole trader if you earn more than £1,000 in a tax year" (GOV.UK). In Australia: in New South Wales you need a contractor license to do any residential building or trade work, painting included, valued at more than $5,000 in labor and materials including GST, with a Certificate III in Painting and Decorating behind it, and unlicensed work can be fined $22,000 for an individual or $110,000 for a company (NSW Government, June 2026). Other states and countries differ — check your local rules.

How to register a painting business. In the US it's the same four steps in every state, with different fees. Form the business — an LLC is $40 in Kentucky (Kentucky SOS), $300 in Texas (Texas SOS) and $70 in California plus a $20 statement of information (California SOS), where every LLC also owes an $800 yearly tax (California FTB) — or file a DBA if you'll trade as a sole proprietor under a business name. Get the free EIN (IRS) and open a business bank account. Get a city business license where your city wants one: Seattle's is $73 a year for a business with under $20,000 of revenue in the city and $147 from $20,000 to $499,999 in 2026 (City of Seattle). Our guide to whether you need an LLC walks through the choice state by state.

Insurance. General liability pays when the ladder goes through the window or the overspray lands on the neighbor's car, and it is the cheapest of the trades' policies: Insureon's averages for painters are $72 a month ($862 a year) for general liability, $109 a month for a business owner's policy, $190 a month ($2,279 a year) for workers' compensation, $295 a month ($3,539 a year) for commercial auto, $42 a month for tools and equipment cover and $9 a month ($112 a year) for a surety bond (Insureon, August 2026). Its own line on why: "From ladder injuries and damaged customer property to stolen tools and subcontractor risks, painters face exposures that often require more than just general liability insurance" (Insureon). Workers' compensation: California requires it from the first employee (California DIR); Texas leaves it optional for most private employers (Texas Department of Insurance). Get quotes from more than one insurer.

Ladders, falls and lead — the safety rules. OSHA's ladder standard: "When portable ladders are used for access to an upper landing surface, the ladder side rails shall extend at least 3 feet (.9 m) above the upper landing surface", a non-self-supporting ladder is set so the foot is "approximately one-quarter of the working length" from the wall, and "The top or top step of a stepladder shall not be used as a step" (OSHA, 29 CFR 1926.1053). Fall protection starts at six feet: "Each employee on a walking/working 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" (OSHA, 29 CFR 1926.501). The rules cover employees — OSHA lists "self-employed workers" among those the OSH Act doesn't cover (OSHA) — but the fall doesn't know the difference, and the lead rule above covers you either way.

How to price: per square foot and per room, with prep in the number. Measure the walls, count the doors, the windows and the trim, price the prep — patching, caulking, sanding, the extra coat a dark wall needs — and then the paint and the labor. The cost guides above put interiors at $2 to $6 a square foot with paint (HomeAdvisor; Housecall Pro), a 12-by-12 room at $430 to $575 (Fixr) and exteriors at $1.50 to $4 a square foot (HomeAdvisor). Paint itself: "Most gallons cost between $15 and $40" for interiors, and exterior paint "from $20 to $80 per gallon" (HomeAdvisor; HomeAdvisor). Materials are a small share of the price — two hosts of a painting-software company's podcast say "I think 15% is the middle of the bell curve" and that the best-run companies run under 12% (PaintScout, February 2024) — so the margin lives in the labor estimate. Our guide to painting pricing goes line by line with a calculator, and our free painting estimate template is the sheet to put the numbers on. In California "a written contract is required for all home improvement projects over $500" and "The down payment cannot be more than $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less" (CSLB); elsewhere, a deposit that covers the paint is common, and the schedule goes in writing.

Sales tax on painting work. In Texas, "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." "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"; under a lump-sum contract you pay tax on the paint when you buy it and don't charge the customer tax (Texas Comptroller). Other states tax contractors differently — ask an accountant before you write your first estimate.

The kit, and the season. Graco's own pages print the sprayer prices: the Magnum X5 at "$399.00 USD MSRP" (Graco) and the X7 at "$519.00 USD MSRP" (Graco); a 28-foot Type IA extension ladder is $715 at an industrial supplier's list price (Hanes Supply), while This Old House's own kit list prices a homeowner-grade ladder at $80 to $300, brushes at $3 to $20, rollers at $10 to $20, drop cloths at $5 to $30 and a scraper at $5 to $20 (This Old House, April 2026) — no dealer's page we could open prices a professional brush-and-roller kit, so the plan carries it as a planning range of $150 to $400. A marketing agency that works with painters describes the year the same way the owners do: "exterior work peaks from April through September", interiors carry the winter "at a much lower volume", and its rule is to "save 25% to 30% of peak season revenue to cover slow months", with cabinet jobs at "$3,000 to $8,000 per kitchen" filling the cold months (Hearth Digital, read October 2026).

What's left: the margin. Housecall Pro's guide says "Painting contractors should typically aim for a 20%–40% profit margin" (Housecall Pro, March 2026); ServiceTitan — another company that sells software to the trades — says "A net profit margin of 25 percent is typical for painting businesses after calculating overhead, wages, and marketing costs", that most record "net profit margins ranging from about 10 to 30 percent", and that painting businesses "earn between $36,680 and $76,550 annually" on average (ServiceTitan, February 2026). Read those as software companies' figures for their customers, not a survey. For one owner starting with interiors, our free painting business plan puts the start at $2,404–$8,395: a sprayer, the hand tools and a ladder, the EPA certification, a year of general liability, the license where your state has one, registration, the website, and paint for the first jobs. A van and your own living costs come on top. The painting website templates show what a good painter's site looks like, Zarla's painting website builder is how homeowners searching for a painter near them find yours, and our guide to painting contractor marketing covers the yard signs, the referrals and the reviews. If your trade is the outside of the house, read our guide to starting a pressure washing business; if it's everything small, becoming a handyman.