How can I obtain a painters license?

I'm in Oklahoma. I have amatuer experience painting interior. I loved it and want to persue it professionaly but don't know where to start. I need as much info as possible please.

I am a licensed paint contractor of 37 years experience..I have becamed licensed in Texas..and now In Florida....I can get a person licensed legally online within 2 to 3 buisness days for most states...If you will e mail me at pcbeachrat@yahoo.com and tell me what county and city you live in in oOklahoma, I can do the research and tell you exactly how you can do it..each county has thier own set rules for the local codes..Here I had to register the license for this staet(89.00 cost)...then get general liability insurance(100.00 down payment and 104.00 monthly) for 300,000.00 , cost above...and this covered me legally for up to a 3 story structure..any higher I needed to carry more insurance coverage...Then I had to pay workmans comp exempt payment of 50.00 for a year..If you file as a incorporation you are allowed 4 ceo's within the company that are workmans comp exempt and require not taking out for workmans comp insurance and they can work like this...This included a president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary, as the 4 options..So to start if you have only 3 employees, you can designate them a ceo..and not have to give 18% of your income to the State of oklahoma for workmans comp coverage..I also have to pay the city here 47.00 a year for a occupational permit to contract here in this county...total cost was about 450.00...but if you do not have this amount you can do it in phases and pay first for the license...then a piece at a time untill ready to contract the first job...If at first you do not want to employ 3 other [people and possibly just you and a friend..You can assign just you2 as a ceo saving 100.00 on the workmans comp exempt cost...feel free to e mail me and I will search your city and find out all the information you need ..e mail me direct instead of from my profile..for some reason when I get mail from my profile it does not let me reply to it... pcbeachrat@yahoo.com

PS..as mentioned above ..you DO NOT have to have schooling and all that as someone suggested for PAINTING AND DECORATING....I know I am licensed...If you want to be a General Contractor..dealing with structure and all then you do..electrician , plumbing, ac/heat and all that you need schooling for it is structural aspects..Painting is a Cosmetic trade...and requires no schooling or tests.

you need to contact your state's licensing laws. Here in Nevada you do have to be a contractor to conduct business of painting. You do have to takes classes and pass a test and obtain insurance.

I would get on board with a painting company. Start from the bottom doing prep. You will learn something new everyday. Work your way up. Then get your license. Experience is what will make you good money in the long run. Do a good job and you will have referrals for life. Half as*'n it and learning as you contract jobs will give you a bad name quick. You need to learn as much as you can about all aspects of painting, including product knowledge. I would suggest learning tape and texture as well.

P.S. You also have to show work history of being a painter for past 6 years. With references. That is this state. You need to check Ok.

Contractor licensing is done on a state to state basis, there is no national licensing regulatory board for painters.

According to the Contractor's License Reference Site (a link to their site comes from the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America website which would seem to give credibility to this site) the state of Oklahoma is one of the states that does not require resident painters of their state to have a contractor's license to paint within the state of Oklahoma. See this reference from their website for further information:
http://www.contractors-license.org/

not sure what kind of license you mean. Business license, contractors' license, or what. Unlike electricians, painters aren't certified on a national level, unless you mean something like a journeyman level.

Okay, back up. To do work for anybody, you generally have to have a business license, which is a local government issue. Cost? about $50- $500 or more

Along the same lines, if you want to paint for a living in house or commercial construction-type work, you will have to obtain a contractor's license, which usually requires some schooling to learn legal issues, contracts, liability and bonds, insurance, and business finances, among other issues like waste disposal, workman's comp, job site safety, employer duties and requirements, IRS mandates, and others. Cost? Schooling, exams and certifications, fees, bonds, etc; likely $5,000 to $15,000, maybe more.

If you simply want to become a journeyman painter, the best and easiest way is to join an apprenticeship program spnsored by your local painters' union; if not that, then a similar exercise sponsored by the AGC (Associated General Contractors (non-union)), both of which, allow you to get certifications while you work. technically speaking, to get to journeyman level, you will receive instruction in painting (paint types, solvents, spray, brush, roller, coatings, rough and finish technique, problemsolving. Also tape and texture work, as per drywall finishing. and Wallpaper. The full journeyman layout. Personally, I stopped after the painting portion was completed, simply because tape and texture did not interest me, nor did wall paper.

As for jobs, New construction is on the skids right now, but if you know a contractor that does semi and custom homes, amybe you can go to work with him or her and learn the ropes.

If you are good enough to pass for a painter, try working for local government in parks, public works, facilities maintenance. Doesn't pay really great at first, but it gets better, is steady work, and the pensions are usually way better than the private sector.

If you cannot pass as a painter, then try entry as a skilled trades helper. that way, you can learn painting, carpentry, cabinetry, drywall, tape and texture, finishes, HVAC, a/c, electrical, and more, then use the combined skills to start your own maintenance company, or get sidework jobs going. after a while as a skilled trades helper, you'll likely get the chance and senority to move up into the journeyman trades level of your choosing.

Besides this, some communities are inundated with graffiti, so even there, maybe they want a guy like you to start a program and eradicate graffiti off private and public property.

So you have a lot of choices in Oklahoma, or wherever you want to live.

One last thing, all civil service jobs (working for the government, school district, public-owner water company or utility, post office, state, county, city, etc.), may require an exam. In the local library or on amazon (buy it if you cannot check it out) has comparable civil service exam practice books that you can study up on and figure out how to properly answer the questions before the real deal.

They don't make up exams using new information; no, the entity takes the questions out of a book like the one you'll study. not all questions, just some. In other words, it pays to know how to take the test, not neccesarily a complete knowledge of the subject matter, just enough familiarity with the subject to ace the test.