Check Lead Company Certification
Renovating or remodeling your pre-1978 home? Need to check your home for lead or have lead hazards abated?
Where to start
We recommend using your favorite internet search tool to find companies in your area that offer the type of work you’d like to have done. It’s always a good idea to seek bids from more than one company. Consider asking friends and neighbors who they recommend.
When you've found a company
It’s a good idea to have a written contract for services. Before you sign it or pay any money, make sure any companies named in the contract are on our current certified company list.
The list is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and will open in a new window. You may need to turn off your pop-up blocker or check the "Downloads" folder on your device to open it. Email us at DHSAsbestosLead@dhs.wisconsin.gov to request a different file format (for example, PDF).
Download the certified lead company list
We update the list monthly.
When the work starts
Certified companies must use trained and certified individuals, as described below for each type of lead work. Anybody who is certified must have proof of certification available while doing work that requires it, so you can ask to see this.
A lead-safe renovation company is qualified to work lead-safe when performing renovation, repair, painting, or remodeling work that disturbs paint in residential and child-occupied facilities built before 1978. Window replacement, siding removal, and interior remodeling are just a few examples of work that may only be conducted by a certified lead-safe renovation company.
A certified lead-safe renovator* must be assigned to the job, and all individuals involved must have received on-the-job training in lead.
*A lead abatement worker or lead abatement supervisor may also be assigned to the job, if trained in Wisconsin.
If the work is intended to permanently eliminate a lead hazard identified through a risk assessment, this is abatement. A lead-safe renovation company cannot abate lead hazards. See the Lead Abatement drop-down for more information.
A certified lead abatement company is qualified to control and eliminate lead-based paint hazards identified through a risk assessment, and every abatement job must pass a third-party clearance before it is considered complete.
Lead abatement companies may work on properties under orders, or properties receiving federal or state funding, to reduce or eliminate lead hazards.
There must be at least one certified lead abatement supervisor on site while abatement work is ongoing, and all individuals involved must be, at a minimum, certified as lead abatement workers.
These companies are qualified to conduct some or all of these activities: inspect for lead-based paint, identify lead hazards through a risk assessment, conduct hazard screens to determine whether a risk assessment is warranted, or conduct post-abatement or renovation clearance. They may also conduct lead-free and lead-safe property inspections.
Depending on the nature of the investigation, individuals performing this type of work must be certified as a lead risk assessor, hazard investigator, inspector, or sampling technician.