Lead-safe rental rules by state

State-by-state summary

• Alabama: Alabama runs its own lead-based paint contractor program through the Alabama Department of Public Health, with UA SafeState handling accreditation and registration functions for individuals and public firm lists.
• Alaska: Alaska is one of the states where EPA, not the state, administers the lead-based paint activities program for inspectors, risk assessors, and abatement firms.
• Arizona: Arizona is also EPA-administered for lead-based paint activities, so EPA handles certification of inspectors, risk assessors, and abatement firms rather than a state licensing program.
• Arkansas: Arkansas runs its own lead-based paint activities program through the Arkansas Department of Health, including certification of inspectors and risk assessors.
• California: California separately regulates lead-related construction through the California Department of Public Health, and paid lead inspections or risk assessments in residential or public buildings require a CDPH-certified Inspector/Assessor.
• Colorado: Colorado runs a state lead-based paint certification program through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
• Connecticut: Connecticut’s lead program is run by the Department of Public Health, and lead inspections or risk assessments must be performed through CT DPH-licensed companies using certified personnel.
• Delaware: Delaware runs its own lead program through the Division of Public Health’s Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, and it also administers its own RRP program.
• District of Columbia: The District’s lead-based paint accreditation, certification, and permitting program is run by DOEE as the authorized EPA state program for those lead activities.
• Florida: Florida’s health department focuses on childhood lead poisoning prevention, screening, and public education.
• Georgia: Georgia runs both its own lead-based paint abatement program and its own RRP program through the Environmental Protection Division.
• Hawaii: Hawaii’s lead-based paint program is housed in the Department of Health’s Indoor and Radiological Health Branch.
• Idaho: Idaho’s childhood lead information is published by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, but EPA administers Idaho’s lead-based paint activities program.
• Illinois: Illinois runs its own Illinois Lead Program through the Illinois Department of Public Health.
• Indiana: Indiana runs a state lead licensing program through the Indiana Department of Health’s Lead and Healthy Homes Division, but EPA administers the federal RRP program in Indiana.
• Iowa: Iowa runs its own lead-based paint certification and renovation program through the Department of Inspections, Appeals, & Licensing (DIAL).
• Kansas: Kansas runs its own Residential Lead Hazard Prevention Program through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).
• Kentucky: Kentucky runs its own lead activities program through the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Public Safety Branch, Environmental Lead Program.
• Louisiana: Louisiana runs its own lead-based paint accreditation program through the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, and LDEQ publishes separate official lists for accredited lead inspectors and lead risk assessors.
• Maine: Maine’s lead hazard program is centered in the Department of Environmental Protection’s Lead Hazard Prevention program, which licenses lead professionals and maintains official lists of inspectors and other providers.
• Maryland: Maryland has the most developed state rental lead system of these three states: the Maryland Department of the Environment runs the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, property registration, and the LRCA certification system.
• Massachusetts: Massachusetts has a state lead law that goes beyond the federal pre-1978 disclosure rule by requiring owners to make homes lead-safe when a child under 6 lives there.
• Michigan: Michigan’s lead program is state-run through Mi Lead Safe at MDHHS, not EPA-administered for abatement licensing and lead professional certification.
• Minnesota: Minnesota’s lead program is run by the Minnesota Department of Health, which licenses lead inspectors and lead risk assessors.
• Mississippi: Mississippi’s lead-based paint program is run by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, which says MDEQ was authorized to enforce abatement rules in January 2003 and renovation rules in March 2010.
• Missouri: Missouri runs its own lead abatement licensing program through the Department of Health and Senior Services, while EPA regulates Renovation, Repair and Painting in Missouri.
• Montana: Montana is one of the states where EPA directly administers the lead-based paint activities program for inspections, risk assessments, and abatement.
• Nebraska: Nebraska runs its own lead-based paint abatement and licensing program through the Department of Health and Human Services, and the state licenses individuals and firms that perform lead-based paint activities.
• Nevada: Nevada is one of the states where EPA administers the lead-based paint activities program, rather than an EPA-authorized state agency.
• New Hampshire: New Hampshire runs its own lead licensing and enforcement system through the Department of Health and Human Services Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.
• New Jersey: New Jersey runs a state lead program rather than leaving lead abatement and evaluation entirely to EPA.
• New Mexico: New Mexico does not run an EPA-authorized state lead abatement/inspection program; EPA administers the lead-based paint activities program there.
• New York: New York has a mixed structure: EPA administers the lead-based paint activities and RRP programs statewide, while New York State Department of Health runs the statewide Lead Rental Registry program in designated communities.
• North Carolina: North Carolina runs its own lead-based paint and RRP programs through the N.C.
• North Dakota: North Dakota's lead-based paint program is run by the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Waste Management.
• Ohio: Ohio licenses lead inspectors, risk assessors, abatement contractors, and related professionals through the Ohio Department of Health, and state law creates a voluntary lead-safe residential rental unit registry.
• Oklahoma: Oklahoma designates the Department of Environmental Quality as the official agency for its lead-based paint program, and DEQ also runs Oklahoma’s RRP program.
• Oregon: Oregon’s lead-based paint system is split between the Oregon Health Authority and the Construction Contractors Board.
• Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania uses a state certification system for lead abatement occupations through the Department of Labor & Industry, while EPA enforces the RRP rule.
• Rhode Island: Rhode Island has a statewide lead-safe rental system run through the Department of Health, and landlords of most pre-1978 non-exempt rentals must both register and maintain current lead documentation.
• South Carolina: South Carolina has childhood lead prevention information through state health and environmental agencies, but EPA administers the lead-based paint activities program for inspectors and risk assessors.
• South Dakota: South Dakota’s current official lead pages focus on childhood lead poisoning prevention through the Department of Health, while EPA administers the lead-based paint certification programs.
• Tennessee: Tennessee runs its own EPA-authorized lead-based paint abatement program through TDEC, but Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) remains federally administered by EPA.
• Texas: Texas runs its own EPA-authorized lead-based paint activities program through DSHS, but RRP is still administered by EPA rather than the state.
• Utah: Utah runs both its EPA-authorized lead-based paint activities program and its own authorized RRP program through the Department of Environmental Quality's Division of Air Quality.
• Vermont: Vermont runs its own asbestos and lead program through the Vermont Department of Health's Asbestos & Lead Regulatory Program.
• Virginia: Virginia's public-health lead education pages are run by the Virginia Department of Health, while professional lead abatement licensing is handled by DPOR's Board for Asbestos, Lead, and Home Inspectors.
• Washington: Washington runs both its lead-based paint activities and RRP programs through the Washington State Department of Commerce, while the Department of Health provides tenant and family guidance.
• West Virginia: West Virginia has a state-run lead abatement licensing program under the Bureau for Public Health, while consumer renovation guidance sends residents to EPA’s certified renovator tools for pre-1978 work.
• Wisconsin: Wisconsin has a comparatively robust state system: DHS runs lead certification, a statewide Lead-Free/Lead-Safe Registry, and an EPA-authorized state renovation program.
• Wyoming: Wyoming’s lead-based paint activities program is federally administered by EPA rather than a Wyoming certification office.