How do I verify a painter?

Painting occupies the middle of the licensing spectrum. It's not regulated as tightly as electrical or plumbing, but it has specific certification requirements for hazardous materials work and benefits from many of the same verification protocols as licensed trades.

Painting licensing by state:

- California: C-33 Painting and Decorating specialty class through CSLB. Required for projects above $500. - Arizona: C-48 Painting or K-48 Painting through ROC. Required above $1,000. - Florida: painting can be performed by registered contractors at various levels. - Most states: no painting-specific license. General contractor or business license applies. - Oregon: CCB residential or commercial license required for any painting work. - Colorado, Texas, and other no-statewide-GC-license states: no specific painting license; trade governed by local business licensing.

EPA RRP (Renovation, Repair, and Painting) certification:

- Required for any work that disturbs paint in pre-1978 homes (potential lead paint). - The contractor's firm must be RRP-certified at the EPA level. - The lead-trained worker on site must be EPA-certified. - Violations carry federal penalties up to $37,500+ per violation. - Verify at epa.gov/lead.

State lead programs:

- Some states have parallel or enhanced lead programs (Oregon, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, others). Oregon specifically requires a CCB Lead-Based Paint Renovation endorsement on top of EPA RRP.

OSHA silica standards:

- Sanding cement, drywall, and certain primers can release respirable crystalline silica. OSHA standards require respiratory protection and exposure control. - Painters with poor silica practices show up in OSHA citation history.

How to verify:

1. State license (where applicable). Active, in the painting trade class.

2. Secretary of State entity match.

3. Court records. Painters file mechanics' liens less often than GCs but the same pattern applies.

4. OSHA citations. Especially for fall protection (interior painting from ladders), silica, and lead.

5. EPA RRP certification (for pre-1978 homes).

6. General liability insurance. $1M minimum.

7. Workers' comp. Required if employees.

8. References on similar work (interior vs. exterior, scale, prep work).

Painting-specific red flags:

- Pre-1978 home work without RRP certification. Federal violation, EPA can fine the contractor and the homeowner. - "Spray painting your exterior without prep." Predictor of paint failure within 12-24 months. - No surface preparation in the bid. Good exterior painting is 70% prep, 30% painting. - Lead paint testing not offered or denied for pre-1978 homes. Required disclosure under federal Title X. - Skipping primer on bare wood, repainting over peeling paint, painting in cold weather (below 50F). Quality fails.

Common painter scams:

- Door-to-door post-storm exterior painting. "Storm damaged your paint." Same playbook as roofing storm chasers — out-of-state crew, hasty LLC, large deposit, partial work, disappearance.

- "Leftover materials from a neighbor's house." Used to justify pressure-tactic pricing.

- "Whole house exterior for $2,500." Below cost. Either fraud or extreme quality compromise.

- Cash-only payment.

Groundcheck (earthmove.io/trust) verifies painter licensing where it exists (California, Arizona, Oregon, and a few others), Secretary of State entity, court records, OSHA, BBB. EPA RRP certification is NOT in Groundcheck — verify directly at epa.gov/lead by the firm's RRP certificate number.