[Marlin]

I never really looked into the licensing process here before. I just did and found out how crazy it is.

To get your license in the town I live in you have to be employed five years as a Journeyman plumber. Then you have to take a written and a practical test. Their is no definition for Journeyman plumber, nor is their any separate test, license, application or anything to become a Journeyman plumber. It seems they use the term for simply being employed by a plumber. That part isn't so bad.

My town has reciprocity licensing with a few other towns. Now the bad part, they have reciprocity with five of 64 towns in the county. If you want to work in the other towns you need a separate license from each town (some have reciprocity in other towns, others don't). Some require six or seven years of experiance to apply. Then you need to take your written and practical test in each of those towns. Each town has different code amendments which you need to know. If you want to be licensed to work anywhere in the county you need a total of about 20 plumbing licenses. That's 20 written exams, 20 practicals, and about $100 a license per year. Some towns require separate insurance policies to work in that town as well.

Want to work in the next county over? Pay your exam fee, take the tests, pay $100 a year and you're licensed to work in the entire county. Basically it's a cash grab by the local governments that has been allowed to go on by a corrupt county legislature and a corrupt building department. The building department just had a huge percentage of it's employees fired when they uncovered the corruption. They were selling permits, COs, and licenses, if you didn't pay it was difficult to obtain one. If you paid you could have a legal two family in your two bedroom house. I know the state is considering making a uniform code but I don't know how much better they would handle it.

 

[Plumberman]

Our lis. down here are good state wide. Now different parishes and cities have admended parts of the code but thats the only variation between parishes. You take your test after 5 years of working with a lis. journeyman, or master. Or 5 year app. I went through the app. through my Local.

 

[uaplumber]

Up here you take your apprenticeship with a Journeyman for 4 years.Then you write the test and get your J-MAN ticket. You are then good for the entire province. You can write the "Red Seal" ticket at the same time or anytime later which will allow you to work as a Journeyman in every province except Quebec. All provinces accept the Quebec red seal but they fel the need to be picky. ( french protectionism). Once you are a Journeyman there is no further fees for renewal, it's yours for life. There is no thought given to further education at all, which I do not agree with. I take any course I can get into because I want to learn it all. The wholesalers put on alot of training up here if a plumber wants to go.

 

[Wiser]

Be glad you have strict requirements for licensing.

Here, you can get Speciality license to do plumbing. Requirements: work one year with a plumber, pass a computerized test from home and then you can do plumbing jobs up to $5,000.00.

 

[Double-A]

Apprentice - GED or High school diploma. Must be sponsored by master plumber. Attend school 4 years at night while working full time. Once they have complete school hours and work requirements, they may sit the Journeyman's test after paying application fee. 25/year renewal.

Journeyman. Successful completion of apprenticeship and acceptable test score, or have journeyman in reciprocating state. OK and one other, can't recall off hand, however, you must surrender your old state license. 75/year renewal

Master. Required to have worked as a journeyman in the state for one year, pay application fee and make an acceptable score on the test. 250/year renewal.

State wide license.

 

[para1]

M A R L I N What state do work in?

 

[Marlin]

M A R L I N What state do work in?

The Peoples Republic Of New York.

 

[smellslike$tome]

Be glad you have strict requirements for licensing.

Here, you can get Speciality license to do plumbing. Requirements: work one year with a plumber, pass a computerized test from home and then you can do plumbing jobs up to $5,000.00.

It's not quite that bad in Alabama but close.

Purchase apprentice card for $25.00 w/no pre requisites.

To obtain a journeyman's license you must have an apprentice card, 2 years verified work history (signed letter from an employer/s). Go to 1 of 4 testing facilities throughout the state (test is given quarterly). Pay $125 to take the test. Obtain a passing grade on the 4 hour open book exam w/no practical exam. Annual renewal is $125.00 with no further testing or continuing education credits. Just pay the renewal fee until you are 103. Basically this means that anyone who bothers to read the code once and has half a brain or at least enough brain to remember where he read about the question in front of him, can probably pass the test with little trouble. I say that but on the other hand if you don't have the work experience you may not have any idea what the code is talking about.

To obtain a master's certification you must have been a certified journeyman for at least 1 year, pay $125 to take the test, and pass essentially the same 4 hour open book exam. Once you are a master you are always a master as long as you pay your renewal and don't do anything really stupid that gets your license revoked (I don't know if this has ever happened here).

So in the great state of Alabama it is possible to be a state certified master plumber in as little as three years. It took me 4 only because I screwed around for the first 2 years thinking that I had entered plumbing on a purely temporary basis (yes I was a little slow to realize that it was not temporary). Once I figured out that this is where life had taken me, but still not being sure it was what I would do for the rest of my life, I decided that I was foolish not to pursue all the certification I could get for as long as I was in it. If I left plumbing after that, fine, I just didn't want to continue without getting everything I could get from it, so I started studying and asking a lot of questions and subsequently passed both the journeyman and masters exams on my first attempts. I wish I could strut and crow as if it were some fantastic accomplishment and it did take some effort but after all it was an open book exam.

I guess it's a little more difficult than some places but not nearly difficult enough if you ask me. Their are a lot of things that were just simple basic plumbing skills 40 years ago that I have no idea how to do.

 

[I'mYourTourGuide]

In KY, you have to possess 4 qualifications.

1. Be at least 18 yrs old.
2. Have good character.
3. Legal citizen of the U.S.
4. Possess any other qualifications that may be prescribed the Division of Plumbing.

-a 2 year apprenticeship.
-after the 2 year apprenticeship, you're qualified to take the Journeyman's Exam (5hr test, written portion and practical)
-Possess a Journeyman's license for 2 years then you're qualified to take the Master's exam.

 

[Cal]

I had 4 year school and full time work apprenticeship . Sit for Journeyman's at the end of the four years . Carry your card for another 6 before sitting for Master's .

So 10 years from first day to sit for Master's ,,,, It was LONG but I AGREE with it !

These people who get a Master's in ,,,, WHATEVER after 2-4years I think is wrong ! How can you master anything in that short a time ??

Don't mean to offend anyone ,,, it is just MHO ( my humble opinion )

Cal

 

[gear junkie]

I had 4 year school and full time work apprenticeship . Sit for Journeyman's at the end of the four years . Carry your card for another 6 before sitting for Master's .

So 10 years from first day to sit for Master's ,,,, It was LONG but I AGREE with it !

These people who get a Master's in ,,,, WHATEVER after 2-4years I think is wrong ! How can you master anything in that short a time ??

Don't mean to offend anyone ,,, it is just MHO ( my humble opinion )

Cal

Hate to tell you but times have changed. They now give journeyman's away but it's a weird system. If you have so much education, you need less feild time and vice versa. You hold your journeymans card for a year and your eligible to take your master's. It's possible to get a master's in less than 4 years with enough education. Once you have your master's, you can get your contractors lisence-a,b, or c. You can get the contractors without getting your masters(it's not a prerequisuite) but you need a masters to do plumbing and this includes draincleaning.

 

[Cal]

Times HAVE changed !! Well ,,, long as it's good folks like you ,,,, I won't storm the capital

Cal

 

["DAPlumber" 101]

Were I reside it is a 5yr apprenticeship and 8,000 hrs in multiple area's of plumbing (required state wide) 4 semester's of day school for 8 hrs per week, ton's of homework. 5yrs night school 4hrs per week. When that is complete you send in for your Journeyman application. Pay the fee and take an 8hr state plumbing exam. You can get youy Master's after 3yrs and 3000 hrs. I guess it's not so much exp. required as it is knowledge of how plumbing system's work and are installed. I don't follow UPC,IPC or NPC. Our code is seperate from every one else.

 

[DUNBAR PLUMBING]

Your Credentials to Operate a Plumbing Business in your State

Thought this information "per state" would be useful for those who visit this site in accordance to what state they live in.

This would allow the information highway to do its job of obtaining information to the state you reside in or state you might be performing the profession of plumbing in during the near future.


I'll start off with my state of Kentucky and what is required to operate a business, install plumbing and the time span needed to accomplish/satisfy the requirements along with associated fees.


KENTUCKY


Plumber's Licenses
To operate a plumbing business in Kentucky you need a master plumber license. To install plumbing you need a journeyman license. A journeyman plumber applicant must document two years of experience as an apprentice plumber working under the supervision of a licensed plumber. A master plumber applicant must have possessed a valid journeyman license for two years before taking the exam. To get an application for a plumbing license, contact:
Department of Housing, Buildings, & Construction
Division of Plumbing
1047 US Highway 127 S, Suite 1
Frankfort, KY 40601-4337
(502) 564-3580
Fax: (502) 564-0690
http://ohbc.ky.gov/plb/plblic.htm




Please add to this list to help others in the profession.

 

[Marlin]

Here is another thread on it with a lot of the answers you seek.
http://www.plumbingzone.com/showthread.php?t=651&highlight=license

 

[DUNBAR PLUMBING]

Ahh ! Jeez!


Mods!

Merge!

 

[kellybhutchings]

I doubt that the owner of a plumbing company has to have a master license anywhere in the U.S. but you do have to at least have a Responsable Master Plumber on staff(Full Time Employee) in Texas. You can't just use someone for their license. I know a guy here in town that for years ran a service plumbing company with his masters and did industial plumbing for someone else using his journeymans. I wouldn't really say he ran the service company because he was never around. He said it was legal but I never thaught so because how can you be considered full time if you work for someone else.

 

[Bill]

Here in VA a company does not need to be licensed as long as there is at least one master in full time employ.

 

[Proud Plumber]

Here-

Show up sober (english optional)

learn how to set a toilet, your a plumber now.

If you work for a real Co.

3 years of school

Journeymans test work as journeyman and foreman

10 years total experience commercial and residential and you pass the state masters/contractrs exam. You qualify for activation another person of equal licensing or an engineer have to sign off and verify your experience.

Although, believe it or not. The test is so hard from the buiness end many guys send there wives to take it and somehow push the paperwork through the state and it works. I am not sure how they get by this loophole.

 

[ROTOR KING]

licencing in quebec.

quebec likes the cash grab.4 year apprenticeship ,pay a 100 dollars, take your ex am.once your a plumber ,and you want to open up a company,you need a r.b.q. number,wich consists of a administration ex am,safety ,and code,worth about 2 thousand dollars.then you go for your contractors ex am,another 800$ after that you have to register yourself with the ccq,wich is another 500$.once your in business every job done has to be registered with the government.a hours paperwork per job.Is it like this elsewhere.P.S.the course to pass the r.b.q. ex am,is about4000$,with books.