What is an journeyman plumber license, and how do you get one?
A journeyman plumber licence is issued by a state plumbing board — or, in a handful of states, by a city or county — after documented supervised apprenticeship hours, commonly around 8,000 over four to five years, and an examination on the plumbing code the jurisdiction has adopted: the International Plumbing Code in most of the country, the Uniform Plumbing Code across much of the West. It authorises independent plumbing work but not contracting to the public. Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters earn a $63,800 median.
- Register as a plumbing apprentice and log supervised hours.
- Complete the related classroom instruction your state requires.
- Apply to the plumbing board with verified hours.
- Pass the exam on the adopted plumbing code.
- Add backflow certification and renew with continuing education.
How to get a journeyman plumber license
- 1
Register as an apprentice
File your apprentice registration with the state plumbing board so hours count from the start, and join a registered apprenticeship through the United Association, PHCC or an NCCER-affiliated programme where possible.
- 2
Log supervised hours and classroom instruction
Accumulate the hours your board requires with each period signed off by the supervising licensed plumber, alongside related instruction on drainage and venting, water supply, gas piping and isometrics.
- 3
Confirm which plumbing code your state adopted
Establish whether your jurisdiction is on the International Plumbing Code or the Uniform Plumbing Code, and which edition with which amendments. Preparing from the wrong model code is the most common avoidable exam failure in this trade.
- 4
Apply and pass the code exam
Submit verified hours and the fee to the board, then sit the open-book examination covering drainage and vent sizing, fixture units, water heaters and relief valves, gas piping and licensing law.
- 5
Add specialisms and plan for master
Obtain backflow prevention assembly tester certification, and medical gas installer certification if you work in healthcare facilities. Renew with code-update continuing education, and start counting the journeyman time your state requires before the master exam.
Journeyman Plumber license requirements
Requirements are set by each state plumbing board and are consistent in structure nationwide. To qualify you need:
Documented hours
Commonly around 8,000 hours of supervised plumbing work over four to five years, verified by the supervising licensed plumber or the apprenticeship programme. The exact figure is set by each board.
Classroom instruction
Related technical instruction on code, drainage and venting, water supply, gas piping, isometrics and safety, usually delivered through the apprenticeship.
Code examination
A state examination on the adopted International Plumbing Code or Uniform Plumbing Code with local amendments, plus fixture and pipe sizing, drainage, venting, water heaters and gas piping.
Application and fee
Application to the plumbing board with proof of hours and instruction and the board's fee; some states add a background check.
How much a journeyman plumber license costs
Fees are modest and the apprenticeship behind the licence is paid. The lines to budget for:
Plumbing apprenticeships are paid and classroom instruction is usually programme-funded, so most plumbers reach journeyman without tuition debt. Backflow tester certification carries its own course and recertification fee.
The journeyman plumber license exam
The examination is open book against the plumbing code your jurisdiction has adopted — the International Plumbing Code across most of the country, the Uniform Plumbing Code through much of the West — plus local amendments. Content covers drainage and vent sizing, water supply and fixture unit calculations, water heaters and relief valves, gas piping, backflow prevention principles and state licensing law. Passing marks are commonly around 70%. Because the two model codes differ in real ways, preparing from the wrong one is the most common avoidable failure; confirm the adopted code and edition with your board before you buy a book.
How long it takes to get licensed
Four to five years of hours, then six to ten weeks from application to licence.
Journeyman Plumber license types: the full ladder
The journeyman licence sits in the middle of the plumbing ladder, below master and the contractor business licence.
Plumbing apprentice
Registered with the state and working under supervision while accumulating hours.
Tradesman / residential plumber
A limited licence in states that issue one, covering residential work with fewer hours than full journeyman status.
Journeyman plumber
Independent installation, alteration and repair of plumbing systems within the scope the state defines.
Backflow prevention assembly tester
A separate certification required to test and certify backflow assemblies, with its own course, exam and recertification cycle.
Medical gas installer
ASSE 6010-series certification for medical gas and vacuum piping in healthcare facilities — distinct from the plumbing licence.
Master plumber
The supervisory tier, requiring journeyman time plus a harder exam, and needed to qualify a plumbing contractor licence.
Plumbing contractor
The business licence required to offer plumbing work to the public, which a journeyman licence does not confer.
Apprentice vs Journeyman: journeyman plumber license
Journeyman Plumber license reciprocity between states
Some states have journeyman plumbing reciprocity agreements with named neighbours, generally requiring that your licence was obtained by examination and is current. The complication specific to plumbing is the model code: a plumber licensed in a UPC state moving to an IPC state, or the reverse, is being examined on genuinely different provisions, so boards are less willing to waive testing than in trades with a single national code. Documented hours usually travel even where the licence does not. Confirm the destination board's agreement list and adopted code before relying on either.
Journeyman Plumbersalary & job outlook
Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters earn a median of about $63,800 per year ($30.67/hour), and the journeyman licence is what lifts an apprentice into that band. Employment is projected to grow 4.5%, with roughly 44,000 openings a year. See the full journeyman plumber salary guide for pay by state, city and experience level.
Journeyman Plumber license requirements by state
What differs by state is the hours requirement, which model code is adopted, and whether journeyman licensing is handled at state or local level.
Most states license journeyman plumbers at state level; a few — New York and Kansas among them — license only at city or county level, and there the local authority sets the hours and exam. Adopted codes differ between the IPC and the UPC with state amendments. Confirm with the board before applying.
Browse all state guides
Journeyman Plumber license FAQs
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (Plumbers, Pipefitters and Steamfitters) · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (47-2152) · International Code Council, International Plumbing Code · IAPMO, Uniform Plumbing Code. Requirements and fees are set per state and change, confirm with your state board before applying.
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