Transfer Your Plumber License to Arizona: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) ↗
Arizona does not license individual journeyman plumbers at the state level — regulation is at the contractor level or through cities and counties — so there is nothing to transfer into or out of by state agreement. Not applicable at the journeyman level — Arizona issues no state journeyman (or master) plumber license, so there is no state journeyman trade exam to waive or require. Plumbing is regulated only at the contractor level by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (e.g., C-37 commercial plumbing, plus residential and dual plumbing classifications); individual journeymen and apprentices are not state-licensed and work under a licensed contractor. At the contractor level, A.R.S. § 32-1122 lets the Registrar waive the trade exam for a qualifying party who held an Arizona license in the same classification within five years, and Form RC-L-200G extends a comparable out-of-state trade-exam waiver, but the Arizona Statutes and Rules Exam (SRE) is never waived..
Moving to Arizona from a specific state?
Pick your current state — the checker returns your exact pathway.
Verdict
Full re-application required
The structural fact first: Arizona does not issue a statewide journeyman plumber license, so "which board do I apply to" has no state-level answer and there is no state credential to carry across. Your first task is to identify the authority that governs the jobsite — a contractor-level board, or the city or county where you will work — and read its exam and experience rules directly. Just as important on the way out: a credential earned under Arizona's regime generally will not satisfy another state's condition that you hold a state license earned by examination, so expect new-applicant treatment if you later move to a state that does license at the state level. Treat the notes below as directions to the right authority, not a transfer checklist.
Arizona has no state journeyman/master plumber license; the Registrar of Contractors licenses only plumbing CONTRACTORS, and individual journeymen/apprentices work unlicensed under a licensed contractor. Because the canonical journeyman credential does not exist at the state level, endorsement_available, full_reciprocity, and reciprocity_partners are all false/empty. Any Arizona contractor-tier reciprocity is credential-based (A.R.S. § 32-1122 in-state prior-license waiver plus the out-of-state waiver Form RC-L-200G), not a fixed bilateral partner list, and the Statutes and Rules Exam is always required — so no partner states are asserted here. The roc.az.gov site returned HTTP 403 to automated fetch; the contractor-only structure was confirmed via the official ROC classifications page (search result) and cross-referenced against A.R.S. Title 32 and CSLB's reciprocal-classifications list, and aggregator reciprocity claims (e.g., CA/NV/UT) were refused. No journeyman license lookup exists (the ROC public Contractor Search verifies contractors).
Arizona requirements at a glance
| Exam | Not applicable at the journeyman level — Arizona issues no state journeyman (or master) plumber license, so there is no state journeyman trade exam to waive or require. Plumbing is regulated only at the contractor level by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (e.g., C-37 commercial plumbing, plus residential and dual plumbing classifications); individual journeymen and apprentices are not state-licensed and work under a licensed contractor. At the contractor level, A.R.S. § 32-1122 lets the Registrar waive the trade exam for a qualifying party who held an Arizona license in the same classification within five years, and Form RC-L-200G extends a comparable out-of-state trade-exam waiver, but the Arizona Statutes and Rules Exam (SRE) is never waived. |
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| Additional requirements |
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| Fees | No state journeyman plumber license exists, so there is no journeyman application/license fee. For reference, ROC contractor plumbing fees under Ariz. Admin. Code R4-9-130 are $100 application + $480 biennial for C-37 commercial and $80 application + $270 biennial for the residential plumbing classification (contractor tier, out of scope for the journeyman credential). |
| Processing time | Not applicable — no state journeyman plumber license is issued |
Step by step
- Confirm Arizona's current requirements on the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) website — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- No state journeyman or master plumber license exists — the state licenses only plumbing contractors through the Registrar of Contractors.
- To operate a plumbing business, obtain an ROC plumbing contractor license (e.g., C-37 commercial plumbing, or the residential/dual plumbing classification).
- Journeyman and apprentice plumbers need no state license; any journeyman-level credentialing is handled locally/municipally.
- Pay the fees (No state journeyman plumber license exists, so there is no journeyman application/license fee. For reference, ROC contractor plumbing fees under Ariz. Admin. Code R4-9-130 are $100 application + $480 biennial for C-37 commercial and $80 application + $270 biennial for the residential plumbing classification (contractor tier, out of scope for the journeyman credential).) and allow Not applicable — no state journeyman plumber license is issued.
Official links
Coming from a specific state?
Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Arizona:
Frequently asked questions
Does my plumbing license transfer to Arizona?
Arizona does not license individual journeyman plumbers at the state level — regulation is at the contractor level or through cities and counties — so there is nothing to transfer into or out of by state agreement. Not applicable at the journeyman level — Arizona issues no state journeyman (or master) plumber license, so there is no state journeyman trade exam to waive or require. Plumbing is regulated only at the contractor level by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (e.g., C-37 commercial plumbing, plus residential and dual plumbing classifications); individual journeymen and apprentices are not state-licensed and work under a licensed contractor. At the contractor level, A.R.S. § 32-1122 lets the Registrar waive the trade exam for a qualifying party who held an Arizona license in the same classification within five years, and Form RC-L-200G extends a comparable out-of-state trade-exam waiver, but the Arizona Statutes and Rules Exam (SRE) is never waived..
Will I have to take Arizona's plumbing exam?
Not applicable at the journeyman level — Arizona issues no state journeyman (or master) plumber license, so there is no state journeyman trade exam to waive or require. Plumbing is regulated only at the contractor level by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (e.g., C-37 commercial plumbing, plus residential and dual plumbing classifications); individual journeymen and apprentices are not state-licensed and work under a licensed contractor. At the contractor level, A.R.S. § 32-1122 lets the Registrar waive the trade exam for a qualifying party who held an Arizona license in the same classification within five years, and Form RC-L-200G extends a comparable out-of-state trade-exam waiver, but the Arizona Statutes and Rules Exam (SRE) is never waived..
Does Arizona issue a state plumbing license?
No — Not applicable at the journeyman level — Arizona issues no state journeyman (or master) plumber license, so there is no state journeyman trade exam to waive or require. Plumbing is regulated only at the contractor level by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (e.g., C-37 commercial plumbing, plus residential and dual plumbing classifications); individual journeymen and apprentices are not state-licensed and work under a licensed contractor. At the contractor level, A.R.S. § 32-1122 lets the Registrar waive the trade exam for a qualifying party who held an Arizona license in the same classification within five years, and Form RC-L-200G extends a comparable out-of-state trade-exam waiver, but the Arizona Statutes and Rules Exam (SRE) is never waived.. Because there is no statewide journeyman license, an out-of-state credential is not transferred by reciprocity; you meet the contractor board's or the specific city or county's requirements (verified 2026-07-21).
What will licensing in Arizona cost an out-of-state plumber, and how long does it take?
No state journeyman plumber license exists, so there is no journeyman application/license fee. For reference, ROC contractor plumbing fees under Ariz. Admin. Code R4-9-130 are $100 application + $480 biennial for C-37 commercial and $80 application + $270 biennial for the residential plumbing classification (contractor tier, out of scope for the journeyman credential).; processing Not applicable — no state journeyman plumber license is issued.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- Arizona Registrar of Contractors — License Classifications (plumbing licensed only at contractor level) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Arizona Revised Statutes § 32-1122 — Qualifications for license; waiver of examination (contractor tier) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- California CSLB — Reciprocal Classifications List (confirms AZ C-37/C-37R plumbing recognition operates at the contractor tier, not journeyman) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]