Workers’ Comp Class Code 5474: Painting
Class code 5474 is the California workers’ comp classification for painting contractors, and it is really a family of three codes, each with a higher-wage twin. Which branch your crews sit in, and whether their pay clears the wage line, are the two questions that shape a painting company’s premium.
What the painting class covers
The main branch, 5474(1), is painting or wallpaper installation at customers’ locations, inside or out, with paint, stain or varnish. It takes in the preparation that goes with the job, such as cleaning, stripping and patching surfaces, and it includes lead paint abatement and covering graffiti by painting. Shop, yard and storage work connected with the field painting stays in the same class.
Two further branches use the same number. 5474(2) is waterproofing other than roofing or underwater work, including water-repellent coatings and caulking on surfaces that are not roofs, and 5474(3) is painting water, oil or gasoline storage tanks.
The 5482 pair and the wage line
Each branch of class code 5474 is the low-wage half of a pair, with 5482 as the high-wage half. The threshold was set at $32.00 an hour in 2024, and the WCIRB’s September 1, 2026 filing raises it to $36.00 for all three pairs. A painter earning a regular $36.00 an hour or more can be reported in 5482; below that, the payroll is 5474.
Proof decides it. The high-wage code needs time cards or time book entries showing the wage, or a valid union agreement with a roster, and without qualifying records the auditor reports the painter in 5474. For salaried painters the rate is yearly pay divided by 2,000 hours, and overtime premium and bonuses do not count toward it.
Finishing trades with their own codes
Several jobs that look like painting from the street are classified elsewhere:
- Painting done only in your shop for others: 9501(1).
- Drywall taping, finishing or texturing: 5446 and 5447.
- Plaster or veneer plaster: 5484 and 5485.
- Painting steel structures or bridges: 5040(3).
- Pavement striping and traffic markings: 5506.
Office staff, small jobs and payroll records
Estimating and bookkeeping staff can go to 8810, clerical office employees, only when their work stays in a separated office area. An office manager who also preps walls on busy weeks is reported in the painting class, because a single person’s pay cannot be split between 8810 and another code.
Touch-up painting as part of minor repairs that need no permit and stay under the $1,000 contractor exemption is classified in 9015(1), not in the painting codes. Hiring anyone for a job, or taking permitted work or jobs above that limit, means a CSLB license is needed, and the work is reported in the painting classes.
Checking your painting code with the WCIRB
Read the class codes on your declarations page and last audit report, and match each crew against the branches above. The WCIRB inspects employers’ premises for classification and runs an inspection program to keep insurers’ assignments accurate. When it assigns a class after an inspection, the employer receives a copy of the report within 30 days of its publication.
A corrected class with a higher rate reaches back to the start of the error only if the correction is published, or written notice is given, within three months. After that it runs from the publication date, which is one more reason to raise questions early.
How 5474 affects the price
The WCIRB’s advisory pure premium rates effective September 1, 2026 are 8.509 per $100 of payroll for 5474 and 4.778 for 5482, against a statewide average benchmark of $1.65. In loss-cost terms, every $10,000 of painter payroll carries about $851 in the low-wage code and about $478 in the high-wage code. Insurers are not bound by these figures and set their own rates, so treat them as a guide to the gap, not a quote.
When we request workers’ compensation quotes for a painting business, we list crews by branch and wage so the insurer can review the file and decide. Our insurance for painters page covers liability and the other policies painters are asked for.
A few useful answers
Common questions
What wage qualifies a painter for 5482 instead of class code 5474?
A regular hourly wage of $36.00 or more under the WCIRB’s September 1, 2026 filing, up from $32.00, verified by time records or a collective bargaining agreement and roster.
Is drywall texturing classified as painting?
No. Wallboard taping, finishing and texturing are classified in 5446 and 5447, separate from 5474.
Is waterproofing reported under the painting class?
Waterproofing other than roofing or underwater work is 5474(2) or 5482(2), a branch of the same painting family with the same wage threshold.
Can my painting company get workers’ comp through Mithril1?
It can, when an insurer accepts the business after reviewing payroll by class, the type of work and claims history. We request the quotes and the insurer decides the terms.