- Register a sole proprietorship or incorporate with BC Registries
- File your municipal business licence (and IMBL if you work across cities)
- Get liability insurance — homeowners expect “fully insured” on the quote
- Buy or upgrade core gear: sprayer, ladders, drops, prep tools
- Build a brand, portfolio website, and online quote request
- Set up professional quotes, card payments, and bookkeeping
- Launch a Google Business Profile and gather review momentum
Painting has one of the clearest paths from skill to income of any trade: homeowners are constantly repainting, exteriors in the Lower Mainland take a beating from the rain, and a single interior repaint can be a $2,000–$6,000 job. The work is there.
The problem is that homeowners spending that kind of money don't hire a guy with a phone number — they hire a company they can verify. A website with a portfolio, Google reviews, a professional quote with a business name on it. Skilled painters lose winnable jobs to more “established-looking” competitors every single week, often on higher quotes. Closing that credibility gap is the whole game.
What it costs to start
| Item | Typical range |
|---|---|
| BC business registration | ~$40–$380 (sole prop vs. incorporation) |
| Municipal business licence | $100–$250/yr |
| General liability insurance | $800–$1,800/yr |
| Sprayer, ladders, drops, prep gear | $1,500–$4,000 |
| Vehicle signage / car magnet | $50–$300 |
| Branding, website & quote system | $0 DIY – $4,000+ agency |
| Realistic lean total | $2,500–$6,000 |
Assumes you own basic hand tools already. Insurance varies with revenue, crew size, and whether you do exterior height work.
What the market pays
Interior repaints in Metro Vancouver commonly run $2,000–$6,000+, exteriors $4,000–$12,000+. What you take home depends on how full your calendar is, your niche, your service area, and how professional you look. The painters who escape price-shopping are the ones whose brand supports premium quotes — same brush, better business.
Painting Pricing Calculator
Work out what to charge before you quote your first job. Set the job size, condition and the hourly rate you need to earn, and get a number you can defend.
Open the calculator →Licensing & requirements in BC
There's no provincial certification required to paint houses in BC (Red Seal exists but is voluntary for residential repaints). You need business registration, a municipal licence, and — realistically — liability insurance, because “fully insured” is on every winning quote. Working at height on exteriors may bring WorkSafeBC requirements, and if you hire anyone, WorkSafeBC registration is mandatory once you hire workers; as a solo owner-operator, coverage for yourself is optional (Personal Coverage). For jobs on pre-1990 homes, be aware of lead-safe practices.
Let's name it
“Why would anyone pick me over a company that's been around 15 years?” Because you'll answer faster, quote more professionally, and show up with proof: portfolio, reviews, insurance, and a real brand. New painting businesses win against slow incumbents constantly — but only when they look like a business.
Talk it through on a free callThe 7 steps, properly
01Register the business
Sole proprietorship (~$40) gets you working fast. Many painters incorporate (~$350+) once revenue is real — it protects personal assets and reads as more established on commercial bids.
02Licence and insure
Municipal business licence in your home city; consider the Inter-municipal Business Licence if you paint across Metro Vancouver. Liability insurance for painters typically runs $800–$1,800/yr and pays for itself the first time a client asks.
03Gear up strategically
An airless sprayer changes your economics on repaints. With ladders, drops, and prep tools, expect $1,500–$4,000 if you're starting from hand tools.
04Build a portfolio brand
Painting is visual — your website should lead with befores-and-afters. A brand that photographs well (shirts, magnet, clean quotes) compounds with every job.
05Professionalize the quote
The quote is where jobs are won. A branded, itemized quote with your business name, insurance line, and payment terms beats a text message with a number in it — even a lower number.
06Set up payments and books
Card payments and e-Transfer, invoices sent by email, accounting software tied to your business account. Homeowners paying $4,000 want a real invoice.
07Own your local search
“Painters near me” and “painters [city]” searches are where repaint money starts. Google Business Profile with project photos plus city pages on your website put you in that conversation.
The shortcut: launched in about 10 business days
Everything above is doable yourself over a couple of months of evenings. Or you hand us the details on one 30-minute call and we build all of it — registration, licence filing, brand, website, online booking, payments, accounting setup, Google Business Profile, socials, and your service agreement — in about 10 business days, with 30 days of support after handoff. Painters usually fit Launch ($1,997): incorporation, local SEO pages for every city you serve, and the branded shirt and car magnet that make you look like a crew, not a Craigslist ad. On a tight budget, Starter ($997) still gets you registered, insured-ready, and quoting professionally.
Painting business FAQ
Do I need a licence or certification to paint houses in BC?
No trade certification is required for residential painting in BC. You do need a registered business and a municipal business licence, and most clients will expect proof of liability insurance. We prepare and file the registrations and licence applications; approval rests with the authorities.
How much does it cost to start a painting business?
If you own basic tools, a lean start runs roughly $2,500–$6,000: registration, licence, insurance, a sprayer and ladders, plus your brand and website. That's often recovered in the first one or two jobs.
How should I price painting jobs?
Most Metro Vancouver painters quote by the job, built from surface area, prep condition, and coats — commonly landing at $2,000–$6,000 for interiors. Underpricing to win work is the classic new-painter trap; a professional brand is what lets you quote properly and still win.
Sole proprietorship or incorporation for a painter?
Sole prop is cheaper and fine to start. Incorporation adds personal liability protection — relevant in a trade involving ladders, overspray, and expensive homes — and it's included in our Launch package. We help you pick; for legal or tax specifics, talk to a professional.
How do I get my first painting clients?
Fast wins: a Google Business Profile with real photos, quote-request form on your site, neighbourhood visibility (magnet on the truck, lawn signs during jobs), and asking every early client for a review. Our Launch tier includes a first-10-clients playbook built for this.
What it costs to licence a painting business, city by city
The work is the same across Metro Vancouver. The paperwork is not: the five cities use five different licence categories, three different renewal clocks and two different inter-municipal schemes. Every figure below was read off the city’s own fee schedule on 22 September 2026, and we pass all of it through at cost.
| City | Annual licence | Application | Multi-city option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | $376–$277 General Contractor | $77 | Metro West — $300 |
| Burnaby | $378 first year, $133 to renew Contractor — Misc | $55 | Metro West — $300 |
| Richmond | $166–$281 Service Use — 0 to 5 employees | — | Metro West — $300 |
| Surrey | $377 Contractor — Painting | $50 | Metro West — $300 |
| Coquitlam | Not published — we confirm it with the city set by the licence inspector | — | Tri-Cities Intermunicipal — $175 |
Richmond has no contractor category at all — it prices service businesses by employee count. Burnaby is the only one charging a high first year and a low renewal. Coquitlam doesn’t publish its schedule, so we phone the licence office rather than print a number we can’t source. The full rules for each city, including what you may and may not do from home, are on the city guides: Vancouver · Burnaby · Richmond · Surrey · Coquitlam.
Related guides
The rules, in plain English:
Launching in a specific city?