Plumber License Reciprocity: Transfer Your Journeyman or Master License Between States
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · every fact cites the official board or compact commission
Plumbing license reciprocity is sparse and almost entirely bilateral: there is no interstate compact and no federal licensing authority, and no state grants full reciprocity. 17 states waive their journeyman trade exam only for a plumber licensed by examination in a specifically named partner state — usually a neighbor — while 19 evaluate out-of-state plumbers case-by-case for endorsement, and 15 offer no reciprocity at all, 9 of them because they issue no statewide journeyman license in the first place. Where an agreement applies it waives only the destination's journeyman exam; you still file its application, pay its fee, and keep your original license in good standing.
Check your exact transfer pathway
Pathway, requirements, fees, and board links for your specific state pair.
Plumbing has no portability shortcut, and pretending otherwise costs plumbers weeks. There is no interstate compact the way nurses have one, and no federal body issues or recognizes a plumbing license. What exists instead is a thin lattice of two-state deals, almost all of them between neighbors, and each one does a narrow thing: a destination board agrees to waive its own journeyman trade exam for a plumber who earned an active license by examination in the one partner state the agreement names, and does nothing for anyone else. Even inside an agreement, "reciprocity" waives a single exam, not the process — you still file the destination's application, pay its fee, and prove your original license is current and in good standing.
Two facts trip people before they reach a partner list. First, the credential that travels is the state journeyman (journeyworker) license; the master tier sits above it with its own experience minimum and frequently is left out of the same agreement, so a state can waive your journeyman exam and still make you qualify separately for master. Second, several states license no individual journeyman plumber at the state level — plumbing there is regulated at the contractor level, where individuals work under a licensed plumbing contractor, or entirely by cities and counties that run their own exams. A credential earned under one of those regimes generally cannot be transferred by any state agreement, because there is no state journeyman credential to transfer. Every list on this site is verified against the state board or division; the technical codes those boards adopt — the IAPMO Uniform Plumbing Code and the ICC International Plumbing Code — set installation standards, not who may hold a license.
The four transfer pathways
Named bilateral reciprocity (the journeyman-exam waiver)
The most common real agreement is a two-state deal: the destination board waives its own journeyman trade exam for a plumber who was licensed by examination in a specifically named partner state, usually a neighbor with a comparable exam. It is directional — your origin must be on the destination's list, and the reverse says nothing — and it is conditioned on your original license being active and in good standing, sometimes on your having held it for a minimum period. It waives the exam only; you still file the destination's application and pay its fees.
Endorsement and experience credit
Some boards publish no partner list but will still evaluate an out-of-state plumber individually, crediting a comparable exam or documented years of experience toward licensure short of a fresh apprenticeship. A handful license by equivalency instead — comparing your home state's standards and experience requirements to their own and licensing you if they match. The paperwork resembles reciprocity; the certainty does not, because the credit is discretionary. Where a state works this way, its page states exactly what the board has committed to in writing.
Qualify as a new applicant (no agreement)
Where no agreement or endorsement covers your origin state, an out-of-state plumber qualifies from the same starting line as a local one: document the required apprenticeship years or on-the-job training hours, then pass the destination state's journeyman exam. Your existing license does not shorten the checklist, but the hours you have already logged usually count toward the experience requirement — so bring your certified license history and employment records.
States with no statewide license
A distinct group issues no state-level journeyman license, in two flavors. In some, plumbing is licensed only at the contractor level: the state licenses the plumbing contractor or company, and individual journeymen work under that license rather than holding one of their own. In others, licensing is devolved entirely to cities and counties, each running its own exam and often declining to recognize outside licenses. Either way there is no state credential to reciprocate — you meet the contractor board's or the specific municipality's rules, and a license issued there rarely satisfies another state's "licensed by examination at the state level" condition.
Definitions in depth: how plumber transfer works· full reciprocity overview
Every state, one table
Sorted A-Z. Each state links to its full transfer guide with requirements, fees, steps, and board links.
Frequently asked questions
Does my plumbing license transfer to another state?
Plumbing license reciprocity is sparse and almost entirely bilateral: there is no interstate compact and no federal licensing authority, and no state grants full reciprocity. 17 states waive their journeyman trade exam only for a plumber licensed by examination in a specifically named partner state — usually a neighbor — while 19 evaluate out-of-state plumbers case-by-case for endorsement, and 15 offer no reciprocity at all, 9 of them because they issue no statewide journeyman license in the first place. Where an agreement applies it waives only the destination's journeyman exam; you still file its application, pay its fee, and keep your original license in good standing.
Is there a plumbing license compact like nursing's?
No. Plumbing has no interstate compact and no federal licensing authority. Each state — and in several states, each city or county — controls its own licensing, so portability comes only from individual, mostly bilateral agreements between states, plus case-by-case endorsement in some states.
What does plumber reciprocity actually waive?
Usually just the destination state's journeyman trade exam, and only for a plumber licensed by examination in a specifically named partner state. You still submit the destination's application, pay its fee, and prove your original license is active and in good standing. Master-license rules are frequently narrower or excluded.
Which states have no statewide journeyman plumbing license?
Arizona, California, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Pennsylvania, Wyoming issue no statewide journeyman plumber license as of 2026-07-21 — plumbing there is regulated at the contractor level or by individual cities and counties. A credential earned locally generally cannot be transferred through any state reciprocity agreement; you meet the specific contractor board's or municipality's own requirements.
Do I have to retake the plumbing exam when I move?
Only where an agreement or endorsement pathway covers you. A named partner state waives its journeyman exam if you were originally licensed by examination and remain in good standing; everywhere else you qualify as a new applicant, documenting your apprenticeship or on-the-job hours and passing the destination state's journeyman exam.
Why do online plumbing reciprocity lists disagree so much?
Because the agreements are bilateral, condition-laden, and change quietly, aggregators overstate them — listing partner states after a deal has ended, or copying fee figures that are years out of date. This site lists each state's partners as confirmed against the board, with the verification date shown.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- IAPMO — International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (Uniform Plumbing Code) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- PHCC — Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors National Association ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Per-state sources are listed on each state's page — this hub cites the national bodies; the full source registry is at /sources/.
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]