Do painters need a license in Florida? State law, Lake County and the lead paint rule

Suppose a two-person painting crew in Clermont is offered a turn in a duplex built in the 1970s: repaint every room, patch the drywall, recoat the flat roof over the porch. The paint needs no license. Two of the other items might, and the age of the building brings in a federal rule that has nothing to do with Florida's licensing law.

Does a painting contractor need a state license in Florida?

No. Section 489.117(4)(a) of the Florida Statutes says a person whose job scope does not substantially correspond to one of the state's contractor categories is not required to register with the licensing board. It then bars local governments from requiring a license, whether issued locally or by the state, for those job scopes, and from requiring a license to get a permit for them. The statute's list of examples starts with painting, and goes on to flooring, cabinetry, plastering, pressure washing, stuccoing and caulking, among others.

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation says the same thing in plainer form. Its What Requires a License page puts painting, installing cabinets, wood or tile flooring, and insulation in the column of work that does not need a DBPR license, regardless of compensation.

So a painter in Florida needs no state certificate and no local competency card for the painting itself. The business still needs what any business needs: insurance a client will ask for, and whatever local business tax applies where it is based.

When does a painting job turn into licensed work?

When the contract includes work that does fall inside a licensed category. The DBPR page draws the line for drywall: installing or replacing drywall needs no license if the contract includes no other work on the load-bearing part of the wall and no plumbing, electrical or air-conditioning work. If the contract includes any of those, it needs a licensed contractor. Remodeling that alters or replaces a load-bearing wall needs one too.

Roofs are the other crossing. Under section 489.105(3), the roofing contractor's trade includes roofing, waterproofing and coating, except a coating that is not represented to protect, repair, waterproof, stop leaks or extend the life of the roof. Recoating the porch roof with a product sold to the owner as a leak fix is roofing work. And section 489.117 lets a local government keep a license for rooftop painting, coating and cleaning above three stories, if it required one before January 1, 2021.

Small jobs have a separate, conditional exemption under $2,500, which our guide to the handyman exemption covers.

What does the lead paint rule require in pre-1978 rentals?

Certification, for the firm and for the people on the job. EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule requires anyone paid to do work that disturbs painted surfaces in homes, child care facilities and preschools built before 1978 to be certified, and their employees to be trained in lead-safe work practices, either as a certified renovator or on the job by one. EPA runs the program itself in most states and lists the states it has authorized to run their own; Florida is not on that list, so the EPA program is the one that applies here.

EPA's page for contractors is specific about who is covered. Certification applies to all firms, even sole proprietorships, and the examples include residential rental property owners and managers and special trade contractors, painters among them. Firms cannot advertise or perform covered work in pre-1978 homes or child-occupied facilities without firm certification. Painting preparation is on the list of covered activities.

The same page lists what the rule does not cover:

• Housing built in 1978 or later.
• Housing for elderly or disabled people, and zero-bedroom dwellings such as studio apartments, unless children under six live there or are expected to.
• Housing or components declared lead-free by a certified inspector or risk assessor, or components a certified renovator has cleared with an EPA-recognized test kit or lab sample.
• Minor repair and maintenance that disturbs six square feet or less of paint per room inside, or 20 square feet or less outside.

Window replacement and demolition of painted surfaces are covered whatever the square footage. Paint testing is not required, but unless you have documentation that the paint is not lead-based, the rule applies. For the Clermont duplex, that means scraping and sanding a 1970s unit is covered work unless one of those exemptions fits.

What does Lake County require of a painting business?

No license. Section 489.117 bars local governments from requiring one for painting, or from demanding a license before issuing a permit for painting work.

The business tax receipt depends on where your business is based. The Lake County Tax Collector's city information page lists fourteen cities and towns, each with a phone number and website: Astatula, Clermont, Eustis, Fruitland Park, Groveland, Howey-in-the-Hills, Lady Lake, Leesburg, Mascotte, Minneola, Montverde, Mount Dora, Tavares and Umatilla. If your shop or home office is in one of them, call that city before your first job. If it is in unincorporated Lake County, call the Tax Collector at 352-343-9602. This post could not confirm from a county source whether the county itself still issues a receipt, so ask rather than assume either way.

How does this fit with working through 1Stop?

1Stop Service Pro takes insured trade vendors, licensed where the trade requires it. Its trades include painting and drywall and stucco repair, and in Lake County it takes scheduled work only, with no emergency window. Vendors pay no listing fee, lead fee or percentage, invoice one company, 1Stop, and are paid net-14. 1Stop is new and pre-launch, so it has no job counts to point to.

The Lake County page for vendors covers the area, and the vendor application is where to start.