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Trades and pay

House painter: residential, commercial and self-employed

By · Published · 7 min read

House painter rolling paint onto a living room wall above drop cloths in natural light

It's 7 a.m., the drop cloth is down, the tape is on and the first gallon is open. Whether you're painting a living room or the hallways of a brand-new school, the brush is the same; the rules are completely different. Here's the difference between residential work and regulated construction sites, plus training, cards, pay and how to go self-employed without getting into trouble.

Two worlds: the client's home and the regulated site

In Québec, most construction work is governed by the R-20 Act, administered by the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ). Painter is one of the 25 construction trades. On a regulated site, you need a CCQ competency certificate to work, and collective agreements set the rates.

But the law provides for exclusions. The most important one for a painter: maintenance, repair, renovation and alteration work on a dwelling, done for a person who lives there and acts on their own behalf, for personal, non-profit purposes. Repainting a couple's kitchen in their own home is generally outside the CCQ's scope.

  • Generally outside the CCQ: repainting rooms in a house or condo for the person who lives there.
  • Generally regulated: a school, a hospital, an office building, a store, a factory, a new building.
  • Grey zone: units a landlord rents out, the common areas of a condo building, a commercial space on the ground floor of a house. These aren't “a dwelling the person lives in.” Check with the CCQ before you say yes.

According to the CCQ's trade profile, painters' volume of work on regulated sites in 2025 broke down as follows: 66% institutional and commercial, 25% residential, 6% industrial and 3% civil engineering and roadwork.

Do it today: make two columns, “private homes” and “construction sites,” and put each type of contract you're aiming for in the right one. That's what decides which cards you need.

Training: a 900-hour DEP, then apprenticeship

To come in through the regular construction route, the CCQ points to the vocational diploma (DEP) Peinture en bâtiment (5336), or its English version, Commercial and Residential Painting (5836). It takes 900 hours and is offered in the Capitale-Nationale, Estrie, Laurentides, Montréal and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean regions.

The path after that:

  1. After the DEP, you get the apprentice competency certificate (CCA).
  2. You complete three apprenticeship periods of 2,000 hours each, for 6,000 hours in total.
  3. You pass the provincial qualification exam and get the journeyperson competency certificate (CCC).

There are several ways to be admitted to the DEP, for example being 16 with Secondary III credits in language of instruction, second language and math, or being 18 and passing the general development test. The training centre will tell you which one applies to you.

In residential work outside the CCQ, many painters learn on the job, alongside an experienced painter. It's a real way in, but it doesn't give you apprenticeship hours recognized for construction sites.

Do it today: if construction sites interest you, note the date of the next information session at the nearest training centre.

The cards to keep in your wallet

A painter doesn't show up on a site with just a brush and a smile. Here's the checklist depending on where you work:

  • Regulated site: CCQ apprentice or journeyperson competency certificate. Also ask the CCQ about the health and safety training required on construction sites.
  • Working at heights: scaffolds, aerial lifts and ladders are part of daily life. The safety rules that apply to roofers largely concern you too: read Roofer: working at heights, licences and pay.
  • Driver's licence: most employers expect you to get to the client's place, often with equipment.
  • First aid: not always required, always appreciated.
  • Self-employed: a licence from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ). More on that below.

On GPP Emploi, the Passport section of your profile groups your cards and licences. Our team checks licences against the public register, then a badge appears. For a busy employer, that badge saves a verification call.

Do it today: take a photo of each of your cards and put their expiry dates in your calendar, one month before they expire.

Pay: what the numbers say

On regulated sites, rates are set by collective agreements and published by the CCQ. Here are the ones listed in the CCQ's Painter trade profile:

LevelLight residentialIndustrial, institutional and commercialCivil engineering and roadwork
Apprentice, 1st period$25.69$28.43$28.73
Apprentice, 2nd period$29.96$33.17$33.52
Apprentice, 3rd period$36.39$40.28$40.71
Journeyperson$42.81$47.39$47.89

Careful: an hourly rate isn't an annual income. Again according to the CCQ, the average annual salary in 2025 was $26,843 for an apprentice who worked at least one hour, $50,667 for a journeyperson who worked at least one hour and $67,002 for a journeyperson who worked at least 500 hours. The gap shows how much the number of hours worked in the year matters. The CCQ also rates the outlook as excellent: few available workers, a very marked aging workforce and not enough new graduates.

In residential work outside the CCQ, no collective agreement rate applies: the employer sets the wage, which can't be lower than the $16.60 an hour minimum wage in effect since May 1, 2026. In winter, exterior painting stops and interior work takes over; some painters round out their year with another seasonal trade, such as snow removal. The main article in this section, Snow removal worker in Quebec: pay, hours, licences and how to get hired, details what that winter trade pays.

Do it today: calculate your realistic number of hours over 12 months, not just your rate. That's the number that pays your rent.

Going self-employed, legally

Many painters end up wanting their own clients. Good idea, as long as you do it by the rules. A client who finds out their painter didn't have the right licence rarely becomes a good reference.

  1. Choose your market. Private homes and regulated sites don't have the same requirements. To work as a contractor on regulated sites, check with the CCQ.
  2. Check your RBQ licence. The RBQ publishes a list of work that doesn't require a licence; painting isn't on it. Before taking on contracts as a self-employed painter, check with the RBQ which licence subcategory applies to your work.
  3. Get your business in order. Registration, sales taxes, insurance: the main article Becoming self-employed in Quebec: the steps from A to Z gives you the steps in order.
  4. Write your quotes. Surfaces, number of coats, prep included or not, products, timeline. Prep is often half the time and most of the disputes.
  5. Sign a contract. A price without paperwork is a misunderstanding waiting to happen.

Avoid: taking a contract in a commercial building “just to help out” without checking whether the work is regulated, or advertising your services before you've sorted out the licence question.

Do it today: write a one-page quote template, with a separate line for surface preparation.

Finding a job or contracts with GPP Emploi

Looking for a salaried painter position? The painting trade page groups job ads and profiles for the trade. Your profile is anonymous: employers see your trades, region, availability and cards, then invite you. You accept or decline.

Self-employed? Turn on “Contracts on my own” in your profile and answer requests for quotes with your price. The contract is signed on the platform and you deliver in stages. After each stage is delivered, the client has 72 hours to accept or dispute it; with no response, it's accepted automatically. Protected payment isn't offered yet: the client pays you directly, according to the signed schedule. The 5% matching fee on the contract amount is paid by the client, in credits, at signing.

Some construction work requires a verified RBQ licence to submit a quote. Add yours to your Passport as soon as you have it. You can also open a public showcase with photos of your projects and your reviews.

Do it today: create your self-employed profile and add three before-and-after photos of your best work.

The bottom line

Before choosing between residential, commercial and your own business, ask yourself one question: who am I painting for, and is it regulated? The answer decides your training, your cards and your licence. The tape, on the other hand, goes on the same way everywhere.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a CCQ card to be a painter in Quebec?

On a site regulated by the R-20 Act, yes: you need an apprentice or journeyperson competency certificate. Renovation and maintenance work done for a person in the dwelling they live in, for personal purposes, is generally excluded. When in doubt, check with the CCQ.

How much does a house painter earn in Quebec?

According to the CCQ's trade profile, a journeyperson painter's rate ranges from $42.81 an hour in light residential to $47.89 in civil engineering and roadwork. The average annual salary of a journeyperson who worked at least 500 hours was $67,002 in 2025. Outside the CCQ, the employer sets the wage, which can't go below the minimum wage.

Does a self-employed painter need an RBQ licence?

Painting isn't on the list of work that doesn't require a licence published by the RBQ. Before taking on contracts on your own, check with the RBQ which licence subcategory applies to your work.

How long is painter training in Quebec?

The Peinture en bâtiment DEP, also offered in English as Commercial and Residential Painting, takes 900 hours. To become a journeyperson, you then complete three apprenticeship periods of 2,000 hours each and pass the provincial qualification exam.

Can you paint for homeowners without a CCQ card?

Maintenance, repair, renovation and alteration work done for a person in the dwelling they live in, for personal and non-profit purposes, is excluded from the R-20 Act. Rental units and commercial spaces aren't covered by that exclusion: check with the CCQ.

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