Make This Useful

Updated · Make This Useful

Painting contract template

A painting contract has to name every surface with its color, brand, sheen and number of coats, and draw a line between the prep in your price and the repairs that cost extra. Those two decide most arguments at the walk-through. Then it covers who buys the paint, moving furniture, color changes once you’ve started, touch-ups and the deposit. Most of all, no color goes on a wall until the customer has approved it in writing.

Write up the paint job

Write each room into the services line with its colors, brand and sheens, then fill the blanks for coats, larger repairs and the touch-up period. If the customer is buying the paint, say so in the services line and cut the deposit clause before you print.

Painting service agreement

Between ____________ (____________) and ____________, ____________.

  • Services included: ____________
  • Price: ____________
  • Schedule: ____________
  • Start date: ____________
  • Payment terms: ____________
  1. Rooms and surfaces. We paint the rooms and surfaces listed in the services above. Closets, doors, window sashes, cabinets, stair rails and rooms not listed there are extra, priced in writing before we paint them.
  2. Colors, sheens and coats. Each surface gets the color, brand and sheen written here: ____, in ____ coats, with primer where a repair or a big color change needs it. If the old color still shows through after that, the extra coat is on us, since we saw the walls before we priced them.
  3. Prep in the price. The price includes filling nail holes and small dings, sanding patches smooth, caulking open gaps in trim and spot-priming repairs. Cracked or water-stained drywall, holes bigger than ____, peeling paint and wallpaper removal are extra repairs: we show you each one, price it, and do it once you agree.
  4. Who supplies the paint. We buy the paint, primer and supplies, and the price includes them, unless the services say you are buying the paint. In that case, get the brand, color, sheen and amount we list; a trip lost to a short or wrong can is $____. Leftover paint stays with you, labeled by room.
  5. Furniture and your things. We move furniture to the middle of each room and cover it and the floors. Before we arrive, please take down pictures, curtains and anything breakable, and keep pets out of rooms with wet paint. Pianos, full bookcases and anything that has to leave the room are yours to move, or $____ for us to move.
  6. Color changes after we start. Once paint is on the walls, a new color is extra work: we price the added coats and time, and repaint once you agree by text or email. If you’re unsure of a color, ask us to brush a sample on the wall the first morning and decide before we roll the room.
  7. Walk-through and touch-ups. On the last day we walk each room with you in good light, mark anything you want fixed with tape, and touch it up before we leave. For ____ days after that, we come back to fix any flaw in our work that shows up later. Scuffs, dents and marks made after we leave are a new job.
  8. Deposit for paint. A $____ deposit at signing buys your paint and supplies and comes off the balance. Tinted paint can’t be returned, so if you cancel after it has been mixed, we keep the deposit and leave the paint with you.
  9. Final payment. The balance is due at the walk-through, once the touch-ups we marked together are done. A balance unpaid ____ days after that carries a $____ late fee.
  10. Moving or cancelling the job. To move the start date, give us ____ days’ notice and we book the next date we have open. If you call off the job after we’ve started, we bill the rooms finished and the paint bought, and take your deposit off that bill.

____________: signature ____________ date ____________

____________: signature ____________ date ____________

What should a painting contract say about prep and repairs?

List the prep that’s in the price, item by item: filling nail holes and small dings, sanding the patches, caulking open trim gaps, spot-priming. Then list what isn’t, such as cracked or water-stained drywall, peeling paint, wallpaper removal and holes over a size you pick. Peek Brothers Painting in San Diego publishes that its prep includes moving furniture, protection and patching nail holes, which is the level of detail a contract needs.

The wall that causes trouble is the one that looked fine at the estimate. Low afternoon light through a west window shows every old patch and seam, and the customer sees it on the last day. Hold a work light flat to the wall when you estimate, show the customer what it picks up, and write those repairs as priced lines. A repair they saw and turned down isn’t yours to answer for at the walk-through.

When should the customer sign off on paint colors?

Before the paint is mixed, because tinted paint can’t go back to the store. Write each color into the contract by brand, name and code, with the sheen for each surface: eggshell walls, flat ceiling, semi-gloss trim. The code matters when you need another gallon halfway through. CertaPro Painters of Northwest Arkansas names its products in its published prices, Sherwin-Williams Cashmere on walls and ceilings and ProClassic on trim; a contract should be as specific.

The change that costs painters a day is a new color on a wall already rolled. Going from a deep blue to a pale gray can take primer and two more coats, so price it before you open another can and get the yes by text. If the customer is torn between two chips, brush both on the wall the first morning and let them decide in their own light.

How should a painting contract tie touch-ups to the final payment?

Make the walk-through the payment point. Walk each room with the customer in good light, mark every spot with a strip of tape, touch them up before you pack the van, and collect the balance when the last strip comes off. Then give a set number of days for flaws that show up later, and say that scuffs from furniture going back into the room are a new job.

Frequently asked questions

Does a painting job need a written contract?

Yes, even for one room; the contract is what settles whether the closet was in the price. In California, painting a home is home improvement work, and the Contractors State License Board says jobs over $500 in labor and materials need a written contract with specific information about the customer’s rights. Changes to that contract have to be in writing too.

Does a house built before 1978 change the painting contract?

It can change who is allowed to do the job. The EPA says anyone paid to disturb painted surfaces in a home built before 1978 must be certified, with workers trained in lead-safe work practices. Ask the build year before you quote any scraping or sanding, and if the rule applies, write the lead-safe setup and its cost into the contract.

How long should a painter guarantee the work?

Best Buy Painting in Cleveland gives a two-year workmanship warranty on whole homes (checked October 2026); pick a period you can afford to come back for. Say what it covers, such as peeling or blistering caused by your prep or application, and what it doesn’t: cracks from settling drywall, water damage and walls scrubbed before the paint cured.

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