Questions to ask before you hire a painter in Dallas

1. What can you show me to prove you’re an established local painting company, and do you hold a City of Dallas home repair license?

Why it matters: The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) licenses many trades, but painting is not on its list of licensed programs (TDLR: Programs licensed and regulated). A painter who claims a “state painting license” is claiming something that does not exist. The Texas Attorney General’s consumer guidance says to choose a contractor with an established physical address, get more than one written bid with detail about exactly what will be done, seek references and ask to see completed work, and be wary of a low-ball bidder whose price is far below everyone else’s (Texas AG: How to avoid home improvement scams). Ask how long the company has had a Dallas-area office, drive by it if you can, and check references from recent local jobs.

Inside Dallas city limits, a separate City license can apply. Dallas’s home-repair ordinance defines home repair as the addition, improvement, remodeling, repair, or replacement to an existing single-family or duplex dwelling or to the fixtures, land, or other permanent structures on the premises. The definition “includes, but is not limited to,” work such as driveways, swimming pools, porches, garages, landscaping, fences, roofs, floor covering, and central heat and air conditioning. It does not include removable appliances or furnishings. Painting is not named in that illustrative list, but painting an existing house is an improvement or repair to the dwelling itself, not a removable appliance, so a typical house-painting job appears to fall within the definition. A person who is not a licensee shall not perform, agree to perform, or advertise or represent that they will perform a home repair for compensation, with narrow exemptions such as a contractor’s employees (Dallas City Code §§50-131–50-135). Ask for the City of Dallas home repair license, look the company up with DallasNow’s “Search for a Licensee” tool (DallasNow), and call the Code Compliance Consumer Protection Unit, which regulates home repair licenses, if you can’t confirm it or if the painter says painting is outside the ordinance (City of Dallas: Consumer Protection). Separately, Chapter 52’s Building Inspection contractor-registration list names categories such as roof, fence, landscape, pool, and residential general contractor — painting or painter is not among them — so a painter doing ordinary painting work is not on that registration list the way a roofer is (Dallas City Code ch. 52 (PDF), §§1101–1103).

2. Can I see current certificates for general liability insurance and workers’ compensation, and may I call the insurer to confirm them?

Why it matters: Because Texas does not license painters, there is no state board that forces a painter to carry insurance before bidding your job. Painting involves ladders, scaffolds, and scraping, so ask for a certificate of general liability insurance and proof of workers’ compensation before anyone starts, and call the companies listed to confirm the coverage is current. Texas generally lets private employers choose whether to carry workers’ compensation, so a certificate that says “nonsubscriber” or that covers only the owner is a different risk than a policy that covers a crew — ask who will be on your job and whether every person is the contractor’s employee. An uninsured worker injured on your property can pull you into the dispute.

3. Was my home built before 1978, and if so, is your firm EPA lead-safe certified?

Why it matters: Federal rules require firms that disturb lead-based paint in homes built before 1978 to be EPA (or authorized-state) certified and to use lead-safe work practices. The EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule covers paid work that disturbs more than 6 square feet of paint inside a room or more than 20 square feet on the exterior, plus window replacement and demolition of painted surfaces (see EPA: Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program and the EPA RRP rule FAQ). Scraping, sanding, and heat-stripping old paint on a mid-century Dallas bungalow is exactly the kind of work it covers. Texas does not run its own authorized RRP program — EPA’s firm-certification page lists the authorized states, and Texas is not among them — so certification runs through the EPA (EPA: RRP firm certification). Ask the painter to show the firm’s EPA certification, to name the certified renovator who will supervise, and to explain containment, cleanup, and how paint chips will be handled. The firm must give you EPA’s Renovate Right pamphlet before work starts. EPA also keeps a tool for finding lead-safe certified firms. Dry sanding with no containment is the practice to refuse.

4. Does any part of my job need a permit, and how do you handle exterior washing and prep?

Why it matters: Inside Dallas city limits, ordinary painting is on the City’s list of work that does not need a building permit. Chapter 52 lists “Painting, papering, paneling, floor coverings, cabinets, moldings, countertops, and similar finish work” among building items for which no permit is required (Dallas City Code ch. 52 (PDF), §301.2.1). That is Dallas’s own wording — do not assume another city’s painting exemption applies at your address. A permit exemption does not authorize work in a way that violates other City rules, and it does not authorize work that needs a conservation-district work authorization or a historic-district certificate of appropriateness (Dallas City Code ch. 52 (PDF), §301.3; see also the City of Dallas: Building Inspection FAQs). Other work that often rides along with a repaint — siding or fascia repair beyond ordinary finish work, window replacement, wall changes, or abrasive blasting — may need its own review, so get the answer in writing and name who pulls any permit. Irving, Garland, Mesquite, Richardson, Plano, and other nearby cities, as well as unincorporated Dallas County, have their own building departments, so confirm the permitting authority for your exact address rather than assuming Dallas’s exemption applies. Also tell the painter about any HOA or deed-restriction color rules before colors are chosen.

5. Is my house in a Dallas historic (landmark) or conservation district, and do I need approval for exterior paint?

Why it matters: Unlike Houston, which generally treats paint colors as exempt from historic review, Dallas does review exterior paint in designated districts. Certificates of Appropriateness are required before any exterior work can begin on structures and lots in a Landmark District or individually listed as a Dallas Landmark. Matching paint, or paint that is an appropriate dominant, trim, or accent color, can qualify as routine maintenance reviewed by staff, but a Certificate of Appropriateness is still required for those routine-maintenance items; more substantial alterations go to the Landmark Commission (City of Dallas: Landmark Review Process). The City’s Certificate of Appropriateness checklist asks for paint chips or specifications (brand, color name and number) and where each color will go (body, trim, or accent) (City of Dallas: Certificate of Appropriateness submittal checklist (PDF)). The Landmark Review Process page also lists cleaning that includes low-pressure water-blasting and stripping but excludes sandblasting and high-pressure water blasting.

Individual historic-district ordinances can be stricter than that citywide routine-maintenance list. For example, the Swiss Avenue Historic District ordinance says repainting an item a different color is neither routine maintenance nor routine replacement; brick and stone surfaces not previously painted must not be painted unless painting is the only method by which the masonry can be restored or preserved, or the color and texture of replacement masonry cannot be matched and the paint color matches the existing surface; and fluorescent and metallic colors are not permitted on the exterior (Dallas Development Code Article 63, Swiss Avenue Historic District (PDF)). If the citywide Landmark page and your district’s ordinance seem to describe color changes differently, get the preservation staff’s answer for your parcel in writing before anyone opens a can. Conservation districts have their own work-review process, and each district’s ordinance is unique (City of Dallas: Building Inspection FAQs). The City’s current Conservation District submittal checklist includes a painting section that requires a paint color chip showing the brand, color number and name, and whether it is for body, trim, or accent (City of Dallas: Conservation District submittal checklist (PDF)), so do not assume a conservation district ignores paint color. Check whether your parcel is in a historic, conservation, or planned development district before you assume any review applies, ask your painter whether they have worked through that review in your district, and how they will treat unpainted brick or stone.

6. Exactly which products will you use — brand, product line, sheen, number of coats — and will you give me the product data sheets?

Why it matters: “Premium paint” is not a specification. Ask for the manufacturer, product line, sheen, color, and coat count for each surface, and ask for the product data sheet and the labeled VOC content. For the Dallas-Fort Worth area — as well as the Beaumont-Port Arthur, El Paso, and Houston-Galveston-Brazoria areas — 30 TAC §115.427(3) excludes architectural coatings applied in the field to stationary structures and their appurtenances from the VOC emission calculations described in that surface-coating exemption (see also TCEQ: Controlling VOC emissions from surface coating, which lists the Dallas-Fort Worth area among the Chapter 115 coating-rule counties). This is a calculation exclusion, not a blanket exemption from all paint-product rules. Federal architectural-coating VOC standards also apply to covered manufacturers and importers, with specified exceptions (40 CFR Part 59, Subpart D). Check the product label and data sheet — a painter who won’t name the product, or who plans to thin it past the label, is a problem for indoor air and for your warranty. Also ask who buys the paint, and make sure the written quote says whether the paint cost is included. For North Texas exteriors, ask which products the painter recommends for heat, hail-scuffed siding, and hard summer sun on south- and west-facing walls, and get that choice in writing.

7. Is the quote based on a site visit, and does it list each room or exterior side, the repairs, and the prep separately?

Why it matters: Photos and square-foot guesses miss ceiling height, chalking or hail-bruised siding, rotted fascia, and the number of coats needed to cover a faded dark color under Dallas heat and sun. An itemized, visit-based quote lets you compare bids on the same scope and reduces change orders later. It should state the surfaces to be painted, what will be washed, scraped, sanded, patched, caulked, and primed, which items stay unpainted, how furniture, floors, plants, and landscaping will be protected, and who handles minor repairs. For exteriors, also ask how the painter plans around heat and summer storms — adhesion fails when coats are rushed onto hot, wet, or damp surfaces — and get weather-delay language in the contract. If one bid is far below the rest, find out which prep step it quietly dropped before you sign.

8. What will be in the written contract, what happens if I change my mind, and if you came to my door, can I see your Dallas solicitor’s permit?

Why it matters: The Texas Attorney General says not to sign a contract with blanks in it, not to let anyone rush you, to insist on a written contract that states what the contractor will do, when work starts and finishes, and the cost of materials, and to get and keep copies of everything you sign (Texas AG: How to avoid home improvement scams). For homestead improvements, Texas also requires a boldface notice that you and your contractor are responsible for meeting the contract and that failing to meet its terms can put your ownership rights at risk; the AG warns that signing that language can allow a contractor’s lien on the homestead if you don’t pay. Because painting an existing single-family or duplex home appears to be home repair under Dallas’s ordinance, Dallas also requires a contractor, on a home-repair job above a low dollar threshold, to give you a written contract before work begins with the contractor’s name and address, approximate beginning and ending dates, a description of the work and materials, and the price plus other charges such as taxes, permit fees, and materials, and to give you a written memorandum of any changes before the job is finished (Dallas City Code §50-142). Ask that the contract name the exact products, sheens, and colors from your quote, say who removes debris and cleans up, and require every change in writing, with its price, before the work happens. When a sale is solicited and signed at your home rather than at the seller’s place of business, Texas generally lets you cancel until midnight of the third business day after you sign, and the seller must give you a copy of the contract with a completed cancellation form attached (Texas Bus. & Com. Code ch. 601; see also 16 CFR 429.1). Inside Dallas city limits, anyone soliciting door to door, other than charitable and nonprofit groups, must get a City of Dallas solicitor permit, handled through Dallas Police, and the permit identification card must be worn where you can see it (Dallas Police: Solicitor’s permit). Home solicitation is allowed only from 9 a.m. to sunset Monday through Saturday, not on Sundays or listed holidays, and a solicitor must leave if you post a “No Solicitors” sign or ask them to go (Dallas City Code §§42-13–42-14).

9. How do you want to be paid, and will I get a final bills-paid affidavit and lien releases?

Why it matters: The Texas AG says not to pay in full until the work is complete and you have inspected it, and that a partial-payment schedule should specify what part of the job is done when each payment is due. Pay by check or card to the company named in the contract, not cash, gift cards, or cryptocurrency. Texas Property Code chapter 53 also tells the owner to hold back ten percent of the contract price until thirty days after the work is complete, requires the contractor to give you a final bills-paid affidavit as a condition of final payment, and limits when a lien waiver counts: a waiver is enforceable only if it substantially follows a statutory form, the claimant has actually been paid in full, or it meets the statute’s other narrow exceptions; an unconditional waiver can only be required once the payment has actually been received (Texas Property Code ch. 53, §§53.101, 53.259, 53.281–53.284, including §53.282(a)). Ask how the painter handles retainage, and match any lien notices you receive from suppliers against the releases you collect. Hold the last payment until you have walked the job in good light, listed the touch-ups, and seen them done.

10. Who are your material suppliers and subcontractors, and will you provide the Texas residential disclosures before I sign?

Why it matters: Texas requires the contractor on a residential job to give you a “Know Your Rights and Responsibilities” disclosure statement before you sign the contract, and to give you a list of the subcontractors and suppliers it plans to use before work starts, with updates as they change; you don’t have to waive that list. If the house is your homestead, a contractor’s lien requires a written contract signed before the work begins, by both spouses if you’re married, and filed with the county clerk (Texas Property Code ch. 53, §§53.254–53.256). The AG also notes that if a subcontractor or supplier who furnishes labor or materials is not paid, the property may be subject to a lien even when you did not hire that person directly — so keep the sub list, and collect releases as you pay. Ask for the brand and product line, prep and disposal, cleanup, and both the manufacturer and workmanship warranties to be written into that contract.

11. What does your warranty cover, and who handles cleanup and leftover paint?

Why it matters: Peeling, blistering, and early fading usually trace back to prep or the wrong product under Dallas heat and summer storms, so ask what the workmanship warranty covers, how long it lasts, and how to make a claim, and get it in writing. Ask for a finish schedule listing every color, sheen, and brand, plus a labeled can of each color for touch-ups. Also settle who removes drop cloths, scraped paint, and old cans. Texas does not participate in PaintCare’s statewide paint-stewardship program (PaintCare: participating states); leftover household paint should not go in your trash. For household waste, Dallas residents can take paint and home-repair products to the Dallas County Home Chemical Collection Center at 11234 Plano Road, which the City of Dallas points residents to for leftover household chemicals; the City’s page lists paint among acceptable household items and says not to bring business or commercial waste (City of Dallas: Household Hazardous Chemicals; Dallas County: Household Hazardous Waste). Do not assume a resident household drop-off service accepts a contractor’s business waste; confirm an appropriate disposal outlet separately. Your contract should say the painter takes unusable paint and debris away lawfully, not leave it in your trash cans, a storm drain, or a ditch.