Lead paint and the EPA RRP rule

If your home was built before 1978, it may contain lead-based paint — about 75% of pre-1978 US homes still do. The hazard is not the intact paint. It is the dust created when someone sands, scrapes, cuts or demolishes it. Federal rules exist to control that dust, and most homeowners have never heard of them.

Does the rule apply to my house?

The EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting rule covers housing, childcare facilities and preschools built before 1978. It applies to anyone paid to perform work that disturbs painted surfaces in those buildings, including sole proprietors working alone.

Work you do on your own home is generally exempt — but that exemption does not extend to a property you rent out, a childcare facility, or a renovation you are doing to sell for profit.

What a compliant job looks like

A certified firm contains the work area, avoids the practices that generate the most dust, cleans up with HEPA equipment, and verifies the cleaning. Two requirements run in parallel: the firm must be EPA-certified, and the individuals doing the work must be trained certified renovators or trained on the job by one.

You are entitled to ask to see both. A contractor who cannot produce them is not positioned to do pre-1978 work legally.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• 13 January 2025 — EPA updated the definition of "abatement".
• 12 January 2026 — terminology changed: "dust-lead action levels" replaced "dust-lead clearance levels", and "dust-lead reportable levels" replaced "dust-lead hazard standards".

Guidance written before those dates uses terms that no longer match the rule.

Worker exposure is a separate rule

OSHA regulates lead exposure for workers under 29 CFR 1926.62. The permissible exposure limit is 50 µg/m³ averaged over 8 hours, adjusted downward for longer shifts. The action level is 30 µg/m³. Medical removal applies at a blood lead level of 50 µg/dL or above, with monitoring every two months at 40 µg/dL or above, and return permitted after two consecutive tests below 40 µg/dL.

Penalties

TSCA civil penalty maximums are adjusted for inflation every year. We do not publish a dollar figure here because any number we quoted would be out of date. The current amount is on EPA's civil monetary penalty inflation adjustment page.

What to do next

Read EPA's Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home — it is published in English, Spanish, French, Polish and Chinese. If you are hiring, ask for the firm's EPA certification number before work starts, not after.

Sources

Last reviewed: 2026-08-17