Requirements at a glance
| Who needs it | Paid renovation, repair or painting that disturbs paint in pre-1978 homes or child-occupied facilities |
|---|---|
| Course | 8-hour initial Certified Renovator course (2 hours hands-on) with a final exam |
| In Utah | Utah runs its own program: certify individuals and firms with Utah DEQ |
| Refresher | Required to stay certified (4-hour refresher course) |
Contractors, painters, remodelers, roofers, window installers, plumbers and electricians who disturb painted surfaces in pre-1978 housing or child-occupied facilities.
Official links
How to get certified, step by step
Find an accredited course
Use EPA's training search or Utah DEQ's approved provider list.
EPA: find an accredited RRP training course (opens in a new tab)Utah DEQ lead-based paint program (Utah certification) (opens in a new tab)
Take the course and pass the exam
The hands-on portion and the final exam can't be done online. The passing score is set by the provider, commonly 70%.
Certify with Utah
Utah administers RRP itself. Submit your course certificate and application through Utah DEQ's system, and certify your firm too.
Utah DEQ lead-based paint program (Utah certification) (opens in a new tab)
How to prepare
- Know the numbers: pre-1978, 6 sq ft interior / 20 sq ft exterior, containment 6 ft (interior) and 10 ft (exterior), the 1,100°F heat-gun limit, and 3-year recordkeeping.
- Learn the cleaning-verification card procedure step by step. It's always on the exam.
- Start with the free questions above to find your weak topics, then drill those first.
- Take at least two full timed simulations before exam day. Timing is where most people fail open-book exams.
- Read every explanation, including for questions you got right, and look the section up in your own book.
What to study
This is a closed-book exam, so nothing comes into the exam room. Study from these:
EPA Lead Safety for Renovation, Repair and Painting: Renovator course manualEssential
Provided by your training provider. The final exam is written from it.
Renovate Right pamphlet (EPA)
You hand this to owners before work. Its contents are fair game on the exam.
40 CFR 745 Subpart E (RRP rule)
Definitions, work practices, cleaning verification and recordkeeping.
Official reference list (as published by the testing agency)
- 40 CFR Part 745, Subpart E (Residential Property Renovation)
- EPA Lead Safety for Renovation, Repair and Painting: Renovator course manual
- Renovate Right pamphlet
What's on the exam
Estimated topic weighting. No official breakdown is published:
| Topic | Questions | |
|---|---|---|
| RRP Rule & Regulations | 6 | |
| Lead Health Effects | 4 | |
| Before Work: Testing & Pre-Renovation Education | 4 | |
| Containment & Setup | 4 | |
| Work Practices & Prohibited Practices | 3 | |
| Cleaning & Cleaning Verification | 3 | |
| Recordkeeping & Worker Training | 1 |
Exam day details
- Administered by EPA-accredited training providers (end-of-course exam).
- Fee: Included in the course fee (typically $150–$300).
- Initial certification lasts 5 years; refresher courses keep it current.
- The firm must also be EPA-certified. Utah administers its own lead-based paint program.
- Passing scores are set by each training provider, commonly 70%.
Note: The exam is written by each accredited training provider, so length and passing score vary. Our 25-question, 70% format matches the most common setup, and topics follow the EPA renovator curriculum.
Frequently asked questions
Who needs EPA RRP certification?
Anyone paid to do renovation, repair or painting that disturbs more than 6 sq ft of interior (20 sq ft exterior) painted surface in pre-1978 housing or child-occupied facilities, or any window replacement or demolition there.
Free questions with answers
Show all 10 free questions and answers
For interior work, the minor repair and maintenance exception applies only when the job disturbs no more than how much painted surface per room?
Answer: 6 square feet
Minor repair and maintenance means disturbing 6 sq ft or less of painted surface per room inside, or 20 sq ft or less outside, with no prohibited practices, window replacement or demolition. 20 sq ft is the exterior limit, which is the common mix-up.
Reference: 40 CFR Part 745 (Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention in Certain Residential Structures), 40 CFR 745.83 (definition of minor repair and maintenance activities)
At 2 a.m. a pipe bursts in a 1958 apartment, and a plumber must cut open painted drywall immediately to stop the leak. Which requirement still applies to this emergency renovation?
Answer: Cleaning and cleaning verification after the work
Emergency renovations are exempt from pamphlet delivery, and from warning signs, containment, waste handling, training and certification to the extent necessary to respond to the emergency. They are not exempt from the cleaning requirements, the cleaning verification (by a certified renovator) or the related recordkeeping.
Reference: 40 CFR Part 745 (Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention in Certain Residential Structures), 40 CFR 745.82(b)
According to EPA's Renovate Right pamphlet, what is the most common way people are exposed to lead?
Answer: Lead-contaminated dust
Renovate Right states that lead in dust is the most common way people are exposed to lead, and that lead dust is often invisible. People can also get lead from soil or paint chips. Intact paint that is not disturbed is not the main exposure route.
Reference: EPA Renovate Right pamphlet (EPA-740-K-10-001, rev. Sept. 2011), The Facts About Lead (p. 2); Where Does the Lead Come From? (p. 4)
According to EPA, by what two routes does lead get into the body?
Answer: Swallowing it and breathing it in
Renovate Right states that lead gets into the body when it is swallowed or inhaled. Children swallow dust through hand-to-mouth activity, and anyone who sands, scrapes or burns lead paint can breathe in dust or fumes.
Reference: EPA Renovate Right pamphlet (EPA-740-K-10-001, rev. Sept. 2011), Lead and Your Health (p. 3)
For a renovation in a pre-1978 dwelling unit, the firm must give the owner the Renovate Right pamphlet no more than how many days before work begins?
Answer: 60 days
The firm must provide the pamphlet no more than 60 days before beginning the renovation. Seven days is the minimum lead time only when the pamphlet is mailed with a certificate of mailing.
Reference: 40 CFR Part 745 (Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention in Certain Residential Structures), 40 CFR 745.84(a)
A firm will renovate a tenant-occupied unit in a 1966 duplex. Who must receive the Renovate Right pamphlet?
Answer: The owner and an adult occupant of the unit
The firm must provide the pamphlet to the owner and, if the owner does not occupy the unit, also to an adult occupant, documenting each delivery by acknowledgment, certification of attempted delivery or certificate of mailing.
Reference: 40 CFR Part 745 (Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention in Certain Residential Structures), 40 CFR 745.84(a)(1)-(2)
A painter is scraping the second-floor exterior trim of a three-story 1930 house. Which windows must be closed?
Answer: Those within 20 ft on the second floor, plus first-floor windows within that same horizontal distance
On multi-story buildings, the firm must close doors and windows within 20 feet of the renovation on the same floor and on all floors below that are within the same horizontal distance. Floors above are not included by this provision.
Reference: 40 CFR Part 745 (Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention in Certain Residential Structures), 40 CFR 745.85(a)(2)(ii)(A)
A crew will scrape siding on a 1945 house that sits 6 feet from the property line. What does the rule require?
Answer: Vertical containment or equivalent extra precautions
If the renovation will affect surfaces within 10 feet of the property line, the firm must erect vertical containment or equivalent extra precautions so dust and debris do not contaminate adjacent buildings or migrate to adjacent properties.
Reference: 40 CFR Part 745 (Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention in Certain Residential Structures), 40 CFR 745.85(a)(2)(ii)(D)
A painter wants to use a heat gun to soften paint on window trim. Which temperature setting is permitted under the RRP Rule?
Answer: 1,050 degrees F
Operating a heat gun on painted surfaces is permitted only at temperatures below 1,100 degrees F. Of these settings, only 1,050 degrees F is below that limit; the others are all above it.
Reference: 40 CFR Part 745 (Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention in Certain Residential Structures), 40 CFR 745.85(a)(3)(iii)
Interior cleaning must cover all objects and surfaces in the work area and within how far of the work area?
Answer: 2 feet
The firm must clean all objects and surfaces in the work area and within 2 feet of the work area. Six feet is the floor containment distance, not the cleaning distance.
Reference: 40 CFR Part 745 (Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention in Certain Residential Structures), 40 CFR 745.85(a)(5)(ii)
Sources
- EPA: Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program (opens in a new tab)
- eCFR: 40 CFR 745 Subpart E (opens in a new tab)
Questions last verified September 30, 2026. Licensing rules change. Always confirm current requirements with the licensing agency before you apply.