"Licensed and insured" gets printed on a lot of van doors in Norwich, but it means different things depending on who's saying it. In the UK, painting and decorating isn't a licensed trade in the way gas or electrical work is, so there's no central register to check. What matters instead is insurance: public liability cover in case a dust sheet fails and paint ends up on your carpet, a ladder marks your render, or someone gets hurt on site. Some painters also carry professional indemnity cover for advice given on products or preparation. The 7 businesses in this category all carry documented insurance, which is the baseline you should expect before anyone picks up a brush in your home.
What to check before you hire
- Proof of cover, not just a claim. Ask for the insurer's name and a current certificate, or at least a policy number you could verify. A trader who hesitates on this is worth a second thought.
- Level of public liability. £2 million is common for domestic jobs in and around Norwich; larger commercial or listed-building work often calls for £5 million or more.
- Who's actually on site. If a firm subcontracts, check whether the subcontractors are covered under the same policy or need their own.
- Trade body membership. Bodies like the Painting and Decorating Association aren't a legal requirement, but membership usually means some vetting and a complaints process behind it.
Insurance protects you from the worst-case scenario. It doesn't tell you whether the finish will be any good, whether they'll turn up when they say they will, or whether the price is fair, so it's one filter among several, not the whole decision.
How we score the list
Our ranking weighs verified insurance and trading history alongside review volume, consistency of customer feedback, and responsiveness, so a business doesn't rank well just because it says the right things on its own website. The full breakdown of how we weight and verify each factor is on our methodology page. For the ordered results, see the best painters in Norwich guide.