13 Questions to Ask a Painter Before Hiring (with Scoring)

Quick answer: The 13 questions below are the standard vetting checklist for hiring a residential painter. Organized into pre-meeting (4 questions to ask before scheduling the walkthrough), on-site (5 questions during the walkthrough), and post-estimate (4 questions after you have the bid). A painter who can answer all 13 in 60 seconds each is a professional. A painter who deflects on more than 2-3 of them isn’t ready to bid your job.

Pre-meeting questions (ask before scheduling the walkthrough)

1. “What’s your license number, and which state?”

What a good answer sounds like: “C-33 #1024897, California.” Specific number, classification, state. They’ll often share without prompting on the website or first call.

What a bad answer sounds like: “We’re licensed” (no number) or “I’ll get you that.” If they can’t share it in the first conversation, look elsewhere.

2. “What insurance do you carry?”

Good: “General liability $2M aggregate with [Carrier Name], workers comp through [Carrier Name]. I can email you a Certificate of Insurance.”

Bad: “Yes, I’m insured” without specifics. Or worse: “I don’t need workers comp because my guys are subcontractors.” That’s often false and means YOU could be liable if their helper gets hurt at your house.

3. “How long have you been in business in [city/region]?”

Good: “12 years here, 18 in the trade.” Specific number with regional context.

Bad: “Long time” or “decades.” A painter who can’t pin down their own business history is either evasive or fronting.

4. “Can you share 3 references from jobs in the last 6 months?”

Good: “Yes — here are three names and phone numbers. The last one was a 2,800 sq ft exterior we wrapped up in February.” Recent and specific.

Bad: “I have lots of reviews online” (not the same as actual references) or “I’ll get those to you” (delay). The 6-month recency matters — a painter who can only cite work from 3 years ago has fewer current customers.

On-site questions (ask during the walkthrough)

5. “What paint brand and product line do you recommend, and why?”

Good: “For interior walls I’d use Sherwin-Williams Emerald in eggshell — lifetime warranty, excellent scrubbability, holds color. Two coats. For trim, ProClassic semi-gloss because it’s a hybrid alkyd that levels out brush marks.” Specific products, specific reasoning.

Bad: “Premium paint” or “I use whatever’s on sale.” The painter who can’t name specific products doesn’t care which paint they apply — meaning they’ll substitute cheaper paint if no one’s watching.

6. “Walk me through your prep process for this house.”

Good: “I’d patch the nail holes you have in the master bedroom, sand the trim where the gloss is showing, caulk these gaps where the baseboard meets the floor, tape off the floors, mask the outlets, and prime your kitchen wall before the color change. About 12-14 hours of prep across the whole house.” Specific to YOUR house.

Bad: “We do thorough prep” without specifics, or skipping prep entirely. Prep is 30-50% of a quality interior repaint; a painter who can’t describe it specifically is going to skip it on your job.

7. “How many people will be on the crew, and will the same crew be here every day?”

Good: “Two of us — me and Carlos. Same two every day for the whole job.” Specific names, consistent crew.

Bad: “I have a team” without specifics, or “sometimes my guys come, sometimes different ones.” Rotating crew on residential work usually means subcontractors of varying quality, which means inconsistent results.

8. “How long do you think this job will take?”

Good: “5 working days for a 2-painter crew. We’d start Monday, finish Friday. I’ll add a half-day for touch-ups so figure end of the next Monday for sign-off.” Specific working days plus calendar buffer.

Bad: “Should be a week or two” without distinguishing working days from calendar days. The painter who hasn’t actually estimated the job time is going to miss the schedule.

9. “What’s your warranty?”

Good: “2 years on workmanship covering paint adhesion, peeling, and blistering. Manufacturer warranty on the paint itself — SW Emerald has a lifetime limited warranty. We don’t warranty against damage from structural movement or moisture intrusion behind walls.” Specific years, specific scope.

Bad: “We stand behind our work” without specifics. That’s a phrase, not a warranty.

Post-estimate questions (ask after you have the bid)

10. “What does my deposit cover?”

Good: “The 10% covers the paint and primer I’m buying for your job — about $620 of materials at retail. The rest covers the time I’ve put into your estimate and helps me hold the slot on my calendar.” Specific dollars, specific purpose.

Bad: “Standard deposit” without explanation, or asking for 30%+ without justification.

11. “What happens if scope changes mid-job?”

Good: “We’d stop, talk to you, and write a one-line addendum to the contract. Changes get billed at $75/hour plus actual material cost. We don’t do extra work without your written agreement first.”

Bad: “We’ll figure it out” or “extras are normal.” The painter who has no change-order process is the painter who’ll surprise you with a $1,800 charge for “extras” on day 4.

12. “What’s my point of contact if I have questions during the job?”

Good: “Me, directly. Here’s my cell. I respond same day, usually within an hour during business hours.”

Bad: “The office” or no clear contact path. Painters who hide behind an office number on a small residential job are usually crew-only and don’t have direct accountability.

13. “Can I see the contract you’d have us both sign?”

Good: “Yes, here’s the template I use. It covers scope, payment schedule, change orders, warranty, and cancellation. You can review it before signing.” Painter readily shares.

Bad: “We don’t use formal contracts” or “the estimate is enough.” For jobs over $1,500, you want a separate signed contract OR an estimate detailed enough to function as one. Either is fine; verbal-only is not.

What a good answer scoring chart looks like

You ask the 13 questions. Score each on a 0-2 scale: 2 = confident specific answer, 1 = partial or hedge, 0 = deflection or false.

• Score 22-26: Hire this painter. They’ve thought through the job and the business.
• Score 16-21: Acceptable, but probe the weak answers before signing. Some painters interview poorly but execute well; ask for additional references.
• Score 10-15: Yellow flag. Likely fine for small jobs; risky for anything over $5,000.
• Score below 10: Don’t hire. Multiple deflections mean either lack of experience, lack of preparation, or lack of honesty — all of which create problems mid-job.

What to do if the painter resists answering

If you ask “what’s your license number?” and the painter says they’ll send it later, that’s answer information. Painters who deflect basic questions during the bidding phase will deflect harder questions during the job.

Polite exit script: “Thanks for coming out. I’m going to think it over and let you know.” You owe them nothing else. Don’t share why you’re passing — it gives them feedback for the next prospect.

Bonus: 3 questions painters love to hear (because they signal a serious customer)

1. “What’s the right time of year to schedule this job?” — signals you’re thinking about quality, not just price.
2. “Is there anything about the house that’ll make this job harder than a normal one?” — gives the painter permission to flag issues honestly.
3. “What would you do differently if you were spending your own money on this house?” — great painters love this one. The answer reveals whether they’d take the same shortcuts they sometimes do for budget-driven customers.

Frequently asked questions

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