Trade license requirements · 51 jurisdictions

Painter · light exam-mandate stack (#18/20 by exam-mandate count)

Applies paint, stain, and other finishes to interior and exterior surfaces Board-sourced exam stack: 0 licensing states mandate an exam for this trade (#18/20 by exam-mandate count). Open-data from state boards, NCSL, and NASCLA; verify live status before you hire.

36
States require license
71%
Of all jurisdictions
0
Surety bond mandates
15
No state license

Painter exam-mandate posture

Painter sits in the light exam-mandate stack (#18/20 by exam-mandate count): 0 of 36 licensing states also mandate an exam, while statewide licensing covers 36/51 jurisdictions (71%).

36
states require a license
0
of those also mandate an exam
0
also require a surety bond
#15
of 20 trades by breadth

Source: state licensing boards · NCSL · NASCLA · snapshot 2026-06-27. Specialty or local credentials may still apply where no statewide license is listed.

Painter · light exam-mandate stack

According to state licensing boards, NCSL, and NASCLA, Painter requires a state license in 36 of 51 jurisdictions (71%), rank #15 of 20 by licensing breadth; #18/20 by exam-mandate count.

According to the same board-sourced directory (snapshot 2026-06-27), painter sits in the light exam-mandate stack. Of the 36 licensing states, 0 also mandate an exam and 0 list a surety-bond requirement. This is a requirements directory, not a live credential check - confirm status on the board roster before you hire.

Among 36 licensing states

NASCLA trade screen folio

Painter board screens in this snapshot

Entity-varying counts from state licensing boards, NCSL, and NASCLA: how many jurisdictions stamp exam, bond, and insurance requirements on this trade.

  1. 36/51 jurisdictions require a license 71% coverage
  2. 0 licensing states mandate an exam 0% of licensed rows
  3. 0 licensing states list a surety bond 0% of licensed rows
  4. 36 licensing states set a liability floor 100% of licensed rows
  5. #15 of 20 trades by breadth

Breadth peers

Peer placement

Exam-mandate intensity across 20 tracked trades

Highlighted bar is Painter's share of jurisdictions requiring a state license; the opener above is the exam stack (#18/20 by exam-mandate count).

Same board as the distribution above (state licensing boards · NCSL · NASCLA · 2026-06-27).

States Requiring a Painter License (36)

The Exam, Bond, Insur., and Fee columns below reflect an industry-typical baseline for painter licensing, per-state statutory research for this trade is still in progress, so these are not yet confirmed dollar figures for each individual state. Confirm the exact current requirement with the state licensing board (link on each state's page) before relying on a specific number.

State License Type Exam Bond Insur. Fee
Alabama Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Alaska Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Arizona Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Arkansas Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
California Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Connecticut Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Delaware Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
District of Columbia Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Florida Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Georgia Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Hawaii Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Kentucky Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Louisiana Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Maine Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Maryland Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Massachusetts Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Michigan Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Minnesota Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Mississippi Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Montana Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Nevada Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
New Hampshire Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
New Jersey Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
New Mexico Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
North Carolina Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
North Dakota Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Oklahoma Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Oregon Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Rhode Island Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
South Carolina Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Tennessee Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Utah Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Vermont Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Virginia Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
Washington Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200
West Virginia Painting Contractor License No No $100K $50-$200

States Without State Painter License (15)

In these states, painter contractors do not require a state license. Local permits and municipal registration may still apply.

Colorado Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Missouri Nebraska New York Ohio Pennsylvania South Dakota Texas Wisconsin Wyoming

Breadth peers

Trades whose statewide licensing share sits nearest to Painter's 71% - not a fixed guide strip.

All 20 trades →

Disclaimer: Requirements shown are from state licensing boards, NCSL, and NASCLA data. Always verify current requirements directly with your state's licensing board.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Nationwide trades with a similar exam-mandate stack

Peer sets for Painter lead with exam-mandate count (0 here), then jurisdiction licensing share, distinct from the sidebar ABS(%) peers.

Similar exam-mandate stack

Nearest nationwide trades by count of licensing states that also mandate an exam (0 here).

Similar licensing breadth

Nearest nationwide trades by share of jurisdictions requiring a license (71% here).

Data sourced from official state contractor licensing board records for Painter (#18/20 by exam-mandate count). See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHireCheck from NCSL and NASCLA directories (snapshot 2026-06-27).