Find a licensed painter on Long Island

What painters do

A painter prepares and paints interior walls, ceilings and trim, and exterior siding, trim and decks, from scraping and patching to primer and finish coats.

• Walls and trim that need fresh paint before a sale or a move.
• Peeling or failing exterior paint.
• A renovation that ends with paint.

Who licenses painters on Long Island

• Under the EPA's lead rule, anyone paid for work that disturbs paint in housing built before 1978 generally must be certified in lead-safe work practices, and that includes every firm, even a sole proprietor.
• Homeowners doing renovation, repair or painting projects in their own pre-1978 homes are generally outside the EPA lead rule.

Suffolk County

• The painting of residential structures is part of how Suffolk's law defines home improvement, and Consumer Affairs licenses the businesses that law regulates.
• Painting is one of the areas of work on Suffolk Consumer Affairs' list of what home improvement includes.
• A separate Commercial Painting license also appears among Suffolk Consumer Affairs' license types.

Nassau County

• Nassau County Consumer Affairs names painting contractors on its Who Must Be Licensed list.
• Interior and exterior painting are both part of the home improvement definition in Nassau's Administrative Code.
• Nassau's license application requires home improvement contractors whose work could touch surfaces at a home previously painted with lead paint to complete an EPA approved lead safety course for renovation, repair and painting.
• When painters submit RRP certificates, Nassau Consumer Affairs accepts only those issued by an EPA accredited training program under 40 CFR Part 745.225.

Step by step: how to check a painter's license in Suffolk or Nassau.

What it costs

Labor is a large part of any price. Long Island painters, construction and maintenance earn a median $63,080 a year, from about $49,299 at entry level to $86,281 with experience. (New York State Department of Labor, wages updated to the first quarter of 2026.)

Painting prices turn on the area, the prep the surfaces need, the number of coats and colors, height and access, and lead-safe work in older homes. See the painting cost guide.

What to ask before you hire

• Your county license number, so I can check it before I sign?
• A certificate of insurance sent to me by your insurer, not a photo?
• For a house built before 1978: are you certified for lead-safe work?
• How will you prepare the surfaces, and how many coats are in the price?
• Which paint and sheen, by brand and line, is in the quote?
• Is moving furniture, covering floors and cleanup included?

How Revival helps

Request a free call. Revival goes over the job and the permit with you, checks licenses and insurance, and introduces up to two vetted, licensed painters as they join our network. You choose who to hire, and you never pay Revival.