UNSPSC 31211500: Paints and primers

UNSPSC 31211500 Paints and primers is a Class code spanning traffic marking paint, facility maintenance paints, and painting supplies purchased by counties, municipalities, school districts, and state departments. State and local governments procure under this code primarily for roadway markings (waterborne and thermoplastic traffic paint in white, yellow, and black), exterior and interior building painting (preparation, application, and coating of structures), and institutional painting supplies for schools and maintenance operations. Recent solicitations show a mix of two distinct buying patterns: procurement of finished paint products for inventory (traffic marking paint, curb paint, graffiti cover paint supplied on recurring as-needed or contract-term bases) and procurement of painting services at specific facilities (buildings, parking structures, bridges, campuses).

The issuing bodies span all categories of state and local government. County public works departments (Orange County California, Wasatch County Utah, Santa Clara County California, Sarasota County Florida) are the most active recent buyers for as-needed painting services and traffic-marking supplies. State departments—particularly California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT)—solicit regularly for pavement marking paint and facility painting. Municipal governments (City of Salem Oregon, City of Pembroke Pines Florida, City of Madison Wisconsin) and independent school districts (Donna ISD Texas) appear on specific projects. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Illinois Secretary of State each solicited for assorted paints for operational use. Geographic concentration is heaviest in California (Caltrans has issued multiple IFPQ and SB Minor B solicitations), Utah, Florida (Orange County and Sarasota County), and Texas. Recent opportunities posted between January and July 2026 show activity across the West (California, Utah, Oregon), Southeast (Florida), and scattered across Texas and Illinois.

Representative recent opportunities include Wasatch County's ITB for 2026 traffic marking paint (NS27-5, response due August 11, 2026, covering 309 units of message paint and 2,043 gallons of centerline/edge-line paint), Orange County California's IFB for traffic and curb paint supplies (IFB0802954701RN, closed February 13, 2026, covering waterborne curb paint, traffic line paint, and thermoplastic markings on a five-year contract with a not-to-exceed value of $1,375,000), MAPC's sealed-bid procurement for roadway paint and markings on behalf of seven Massachusetts municipalities and the MBTA (estimated one-year contract value of $4,477,485 through February 28, 2027), and multiple Caltrans IFPQ solicitations for exterior building painting and site refurbishment (including door installation and surface preparation work at maintenance stations in San Diego, El Dorado, and Nevada counties, each with bid caps of $461,000 to $484,000). Painting services contracts typically require prevailing-wage compliance when exceeding $15,000, performance and payment bonds, and contractor licensing (C-33 Painting and Decorating licenses in California; equivalent credentials in other states). Paint supply contracts emphasize delivery capability, inventory management, and technical compliance with state paint specifications (VOC limits, reflectance properties, pigment content). School-district and city-level procurement shows shorter timelines (two to six weeks) and smaller individual project scope; state and county supply contracts show longer initial terms (three to five years) and larger dollar values.