Do you need a contractor's license as a muralist?

The simple answer is yes, you need a contractor's license in California at the present time. According to the California State Licensing Board "Contractors who engage in extensive painting and decorating work on various structures and surfaces, and whose project costs surpass $500, are required to hold a C-33 license." As mural painters we are in theory partaking in extensive painting and decorating and are subject to procuring a license.

We are writing this blog post as of March 2025, with rules and regulations subject to change at any time. We are not lawyers and are in no way offering any sort of legal advice, but are simply sharing our opinion and experience as a mural painting company based out of the San Francisco Bay Area who have procured their own C-33 License in California. We cannot verify the accuracy of this article but have done our best to provide you with our knowledge working to obtain our license as mural painters.

Mural painter Maxfield Bala atop a scissor lift in Santa Clara, Ca.

Mural Painting and Contractors Licenses

When beginning their mural painting careers in California, Muralist Maxfield Bala and Bala Creative painted murals without a contractor license as the vast majority of mural artists operate. The thought being that "we are artists, and not painting contractors." However, insurance companies, city governments, and larger corporate clients requirements quickly made it evident that mural painting without a contractor's license in the state of California could be against the law and subject our team to fines, penalties, and even lawsuits based on the organization. We ultimately were required to obtain a license in order to legally paint murals, procure basic insurance and hire employees under the current laws and quickly took the steps to become a C-33 painting contractor in California.

A contractors license as a muralist can be a challenge to procure as you will need to meet the following requirements in California:

• Age: Be at least 18 years old. 

• Social Security Number of ITIN

• You need four years of experience as a journeyman, foreman, supervisor, or licensed painting contractor within the last ten years. 

• Completion of trade-specific and law & business exams necessary for licensure.

• CSLB verification of identity and criminal history for all contractors.

• Payment of licensing fees to CSLB.

• Procurement of all necessary insurance including General Liability and Workman's Compensation insurance and $25,000 Contractor License bond. 

• Renewal of your contractor's license every two years while maintaining good practices 

Mural painters should have a fundamental understanding of the walls they are painting and some training may be necessary in order to properly prep, paint and seal murals safely. The education and training these licensing requirements provide offer a mural painter a heightened level of quality, safety, and efficiency for their artwork from start to finish. Helping to save you money, away from legal woes, and giving you a better understanding of your business. 

For example artists going from a small canvas to a large wall mural without a contractor license may have no training in painting large surfaces and not fully understand the most effective methods to prepare and prime certain surfaces like masonry or metal surfaces. These surfaces when, prepped incorrectly and this can result in paint failing prematurely and in some cases can cause damage to the building's structure. Leaving the metal to corrode, the wood to rot, or the stucco to fail. Weeks of mural painting can be destroyed because the primer did not hold properly to the surface. With the proper training and certifications one can learn the proper prepping and painting methods to avoid disaster. Its the knowledge that comes with a license that can help avoid these mishaps.

The safety a license and qualified experience brings you and your team might be the most important aspect to a license. A lack of experience operating lifts or working on elevated surfaces can result in extreme fall hazards not only to the mural artist but those passing by. Operating against CalOsha safety standards regardless of your knowledge of these rules can leave you subject to extreme fines. Again, With the proper training and certifications one can learn the proper safety methods to avoid potentially deadly mishaps and legal woes.

It took us countless hours to procure our C-33 painting and decorating license as mural painters in California but at the end of the day it helped provide us with a better understanding of how to paint murals, run our business, and meet a wide swath of legal requirements and regulations applied by insurance companies, and the state of California. This has helped open us up to paint bigger projects that become more efficiently and effectively for our clients.

Scissor lift experience.

Maxfield Bala Creative is a fully licensed C-33 Painting and Decorating Contractor operating out of the San Francisco Bay area as a mural painting company. License number CSLB C-33 #1120177. Please contact us if you're looking for a mural painting company with an active contractors license to paint your next mural project in California.