How to become a painter in Virginia

The path in Virginia, step by step

Virginia licenses painting work at the state level through the Virginia Board for Contractors (DPOR). These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Complete eight hours of pre-license education.
2. Pick your class by job size and your specialty.
3. Apply to the Board for Contractors with your experience and credit information.

The full license guide, with every fee and form: painting contractor license in Virginia.

Finding an apprenticeship in Virginia

Virginia runs Registered Apprenticeship through its own State Apprenticeship Agency, recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor to register and oversee programs there. Its staff are state employees, and it may use the federal paperwork or forms of its own. Apprenticeship.gov lists the Virginia State Apprenticeship Agency as the contact.

Either way, a registered program means paid work with a mentor, raises as you progress, classroom instruction and a credential recognized in every state. Search open spots in the Apprenticeship Job Finder.

Across the country. Painting apprenticeships are less common, but where they exist they last 3 or 4 years and are open to people with a high school diploma or equivalent who are at least 18.

License levels and exams in Virginia

The license to aim for: Contractor license, Class C (or B or A by job size), with the right specialty.

Business exam. Eight hours of pre-license education on business rules, completed by a member of responsible management.

What painters earn in Virginia

The median painter in Virginia earned $22.82 an hour in May 2025, 34th of 51 states, with 5,930 on payrolls. The national median was $23.75.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of painters in Virginia earned under $18.89 an hour and a tenth under $17.50. At the top, a quarter earned over $27.03 and a tenth over $30.44.

Every state, the neighbors and what a business should charge: painter salary in Virginia.

Jobs ahead in Virginia

Virginia's labor market office projects jobs for painters growing from 8,520 in 2022 to 8,710 in 2032, a change of 2.2%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 680 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 2.2% from 2022 to 2032, about the same as the 1.5% projected nationally, ranking 45th of the 50 states in the file.

These are the state's own long-term projections, published together on Projections Central for the occupation group painters, construction and maintenance.

Starting your own painter business in Virginia

To contract on your own in Virginia, the license is the Contractor license, Class C (or B or A by job size), with the right specialty.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Virginia median of $22.82 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $110.66 per billable hour. Try your own in the labor rate calculator.

The full checklist is in how to start a painting business. The free Koira Office plan gives you a website on a Koira address, estimates customers sign with a deposit, invoices with card payments and your day's jobs in one place, with no per-person fee. See the plans.