Questions to ask
1. What is your Arizona ROC license number, does the license class cover residential painting, and are you the company named on that license?
Why it matters: Arizona issues separate residential and commercial contractor licenses, and the license belongs to the business. The residential painting classification is R-34 Painting and Wall Covering, which covers surface preparation plus installing, applying, and repairing wallpaper, wall covering cloth or vinyl, decorative texture, paint, and liquid floor and wall coatings; CR-34 is the dual residential and commercial version, and C-34 is commercial only (ROC: License classifications). The ROC’s pre-hire advice is to look the license up in its Contractor Search, make sure the license class covers the work in the contract, and confirm the person you’re negotiating with is an authorized representative of that company by calling the phone number on the ROC record (ROC: Before You Hire). Arizona’s small-job “handyman” exemption does not apply to work that requires a building permit (A.R.S. §32-1121). A city business license, a yard sign, or a paint-store “pro” account is not an ROC contractor license. The ROC also warns that painting is one of the trades travelers and unlicensed operators commonly pitch door to door.
2. Can you show me your bond on the ROC record, plus current certificates for liability insurance and workers’ compensation?
Why it matters: The ROC requires a bond to be licensed, but it notes that apart from workers’ compensation it does not require contractors to carry insurance (ROC: Before You Hire). Painting involves ladders, scaffolds, and scraping, so ask for a certificate of general liability insurance and proof of workers’ comp before anyone starts, and confirm the bond on the contractor’s ROC record. A painter who truly works alone may have a workers’ comp exemption on file, but a crew needs coverage. 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 Phoenix bungalow is exactly the kind of work it covers. 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 the City of Phoenix, “painting, papering and similar finish work” is on the list of work exempt from a building permit (City of Phoenix: Work exempt from permit (PDF)), and the City’s residential projects page likewise lists painting among home improvements that do not require a permit (City of Phoenix: Residential projects). Phoenix zoning also treats nonstructural facade remodeling such as paint as outside development review (Phoenix Zoning Ordinance §507). Exempt work still has to meet code, and the City says the property owner is responsible for that. Other work that often rides along with a repaint — stucco or drywall repair, wall changes, window replacement, or abrasive blasting that goes beyond ordinary finish work — may need its own review, so get the answer in writing and name who pulls any permit. Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Peoria, and other Valley cities run their own building departments, and unincorporated areas fall under Maricopa County Planning and Development, so confirm your jurisdiction. The ROC also says permits are the owner’s responsibility, even though many contractors include them in the contract, and that you must tell the contractor about any HOA or CC&R restrictions (ROC: Before You Hire).
5. Is my house in a Phoenix Historic Preservation (HP or HP-L) overlay, and do I need approval for exterior paint?
Why it matters: Unlike some California HPOZs, the City of Phoenix Historic Preservation Office says routine maintenance such as painting is excluded from historic review, and that the HPO does not regulate paint colors (City of Phoenix: Historic Preservation FAQ). You generally do not need permission to paint as long as materials and design are not changed; a conservation easement is the exception the City calls out. The HPO does discourage painting masonry that has never been painted and removing paint from masonry that was originally painted, and it recommends avoiding abrasive methods such as sandblasting that can permanently damage masonry. Check whether your parcel has an HP or HP-L zoning suffix on Phoenix Maps Online / the Historic Property Register before you assume any review applies, and ask your painter whether they have worked in your district and how they will treat unpainted brick or block. Painting without needed approval for work that does change exterior appearance can still mean being asked to undo it.
6. Exactly which products will you use — brand, product line, sheen, number of coats — and do they meet Maricopa County VOC rules?
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. Maricopa County Air Quality Rule 335 (Architectural Coatings) limits the VOC content of architectural coatings manufactured, sold, or applied in the county, and it applies to anyone who applies or solicits application of those coatings. A December 2024 revision added tighter limits in a “Effective January 1, 2026” column, but Section 102.1 of the revised rule says those revised requirements take effect only after EPA finds the Phoenix-Mesa ozone area missed an attainment or reasonable-further-progress milestone — so confirm which Rule 335 limits apply when you buy, and get the product’s labeled VOC content in writing. A painter who won’t name the product, or who plans to thin it past the label, is a problem for the air and for your warranty. Also ask who buys the paint, and make sure the written quote says whether the paint cost is included.
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 stucco, rotted fascia, and the number of coats needed to cover a dark color under Valley 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 extreme heat and monsoon storms — adhesion fails when coats are rushed onto hot or wet 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, and what happens if I change my mind?
Why it matters: Arizona law requires contracts between a contractor and a property owner, other than very small jobs, to include the contractor’s name, address, and license number; the owner’s name and the job address; the contract date; the estimated completion date; a description of the work; the total price including taxes; any deposit; the progress payments and the stages at which they’re due; and a notice, in bold type, of your right to file a complaint with the Registrar of Contractors with the ROC’s phone number and website. The contractor must give you copies of everything you sign and a receipt for any cash (A.R.S. §32-1158). 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. Never sign a blank or partly blank contract. When a sale is made at your home without you having asked for it, Arizona’s home solicitation law requires the agreement to tell you that you can cancel before midnight of the third business day after the transaction, with a cancellation form attached (A.R.S. §44-5001; A.R.S. §44-5004; see also 16 CFR 429.1).
9. How do you want to be paid, and will payments stay behind the work that’s done?
Why it matters: The ROC advises agreeing on a payment or draw schedule up front, never paying cash, making checks out to the company named in the contract, not letting payments get ahead of the work, and putting every change in a signed change order (ROC: Before You Hire). A painter who wants a large deposit “to buy paint,” cash only, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or most of the money before the first coat is a risk. Payments are easier to keep clean when they follow the job: for example, after prep and priming, after the first finish coat, and at final completion. Hold the last payment until you have walked the job in good light, listed the touch-ups, and seen them done. If something goes wrong with a licensed residential contractor, you generally have two years from when work was last performed to file a complaint with the ROC (ROC: File a complaint), and eligible owner-occupants may also be able to claim against the contractor’s bond and then the Residential Contractors’ Recovery Fund after the license action and bond claim steps the ROC describes.
10. Who are your material suppliers and subcontractors, and will you provide lien waivers as you’re paid?
Why it matters: Arizona gives owner-occupants an important protection: no lien can be placed on an owner-occupant’s dwelling except by someone who has a written contract directly with the owner-occupant, and any waiver of that protection is void (A.R.S. §33-1002). That protection depends on meeting the statute’s owner-occupant definition, so rentals and flips are treated differently. Suppliers and subs generally must serve a Preliminary Twenty-Day Lien Notice to protect their lien rights; that notice tells owners they can ask for a conditional waiver before paying the contractor and an unconditional waiver after (A.R.S. §33-992.01). Waivers are only enforceable in the statutory forms (A.R.S. §33-1008). Keep any twenty-day notices you receive, and match the waivers to them.
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 desert sun, 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. Arizona does not participate in PaintCare’s statewide paint-stewardship program; leftover household paint should not go in your trash. City of Phoenix residential solid-waste customers can schedule a household hazardous waste home collection that accepts latex and oil-based paint within the City’s published volume limits (City of Phoenix: Household Hazardous Waste Collection; see also the City’s HHW acceptable materials list (PDF)). Your contract should say the painter takes unusable paint and debris away lawfully, not leave it in your trash cans, a storm drain, or an alley.
Red flags
- Can’t give an ROC license number you can verify, or the license is commercial-only or doesn’t cover painting (look for R-34 or CR-34 for paint work on a home).
- The person you’re dealing with can’t be confirmed as a representative of the licensed company when you call the number on the ROC record.
- A crew with no workers’ comp, or “I work alone” while several people show up.
- Your house was built before 1978 and the painter says lead rules don’t apply, can’t show EPA lead-safe certification, or plans to dry-sand or heat-strip old paint with no containment.
- Says an HP-district color review is required when the City’s FAQ says paint colors are not regulated — or plans to sandblast unpainted masonry the HPO discourages abrading.
- Won’t name the paint brand, product line, or sheen, or won’t show the labeled VOC content against Rule 335.
- A quote far below the others with no itemized prep, or a “this week only” door-to-door price.
- Wants cash, a gift card, crypto, a check made out to an individual, or full payment before the work is done.
- Door-to-door pitch with pressure to sign today, or a contract with no cancellation notice.
- Asks you to sign a lien waiver of your owner-occupant protections, can’t list suppliers or subs, or gets annoyed when you ask.
- No written warranty, and no plan for leftover paint, debris, or touch-up cans.
Next-step checklist
- Look up each painter on the ROC Contractor Search: license class (R-34 or CR-34), status, bond, and complaint history; then call the number on the record to confirm the salesperson.
- Get certificates of liability insurance and workers’ compensation directly from the insurer or agent.
- Find out the year your home was built; if it was before 1978, ask for the firm’s EPA lead-safe certification and the Renovate Right pamphlet.
- Confirm your jurisdiction (City of Phoenix, another Valley city, or Maricopa County), whether any non-paint part of the job needs a permit, and check HOA rules if they apply; look up HP / HP-L zoning if your neighborhood may be historic.
- Get at least three written, site-visit bids for the same scope: surfaces, prep, repairs, products, sheens, coats, protection, weather plan, and cleanup.
- Ask for the paint brand, product line, sheen, and labeled VOC content in writing, and confirm Rule 335 compliance.
- Sign a contract with the license number, start and completion dates, total price including taxes, payment stages, product specs, and the ROC complaint notice; use signed change orders for anything added.
- Pay by check or card to the company named in the contract, keep payments behind the work, and collect statutory conditional and unconditional lien waivers.
- Keep the contract, color schedule, product sheets, certificates, releases, warranty, photos, and a labeled can of each color; arrange lawful leftover-paint disposal through the City’s HHW program or another lawful outlet.
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