Plumber License from California to Tennessee: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Tennessee accept a California plumbing license?
No — Tennessee has no reciprocity or endorsement path for California plumbing license holders. You must apply to the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Department of Commerce and Insurance) as a new applicant and meet Tennessee's full licensing requirements, including any exams it requires that you have not already passed.
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Full re-application
Tennessee has no plumbing reciprocity or endorsement covering California, so this is a full journeyman application either way. Tennessee does not waive its Limited Licensed Plumber (LLP) trade exam for out-of-state plumbers; the LLP exam is expressly non-reciprocal and every applicant must pass it (the only exam waiver is for reinstating an expired Tennessee LLP). Tennessee licenses journeyman and master plumbers only at the local city/county level, not statewide. The productive plan: gather proof of the apprenticeship or on-the-job hours you logged in California, register for Tennessee's journeyman exam, and treat your experience as exam preparation and as credit toward Tennessee's experience requirement. Budget a new-applicant timeline and order your certified license history early — it is the long-lead item.
One thing to check first: because California licenses plumbers only at the contractor level or through cities and counties, you may not hold the kind of state license earned by examination that some boards ask for. Document your hours and any local license or certification you do hold; the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Department of Commerce and Insurance) will weigh them toward its experience requirement even though they do not trigger a waiver.
What's different between California and Tennessee
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Tennessee. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
California to Tennessee (this page): Full re-application.
Tennessee to California (the reverse move): No state license to transfer.
California issues no statewide journeyman plumber license, so neither direction is a state-license transfer.
- Does coming from California matter?
Coming from California does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into Tennessee.
- Fee and processing
California issues no statewide journeyman plumber license, so there is no California state license application fee or processing time to compare with Tennessee's.
- Exam rules on record
Tennessee and California carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Tennessee (this move): Tennessee does not waive its Limited Licensed Plumber (LLP) trade exam for out-of-state plumbers; the LLP exam is expressly non-reciprocal and every applicant must pass it (the only exam waiver is for reinstating an expired Tennessee LLP). Tennessee licenses journeyman and master plumbers only at the local city/county level, not statewide
- California (the reverse move): Not applicable at the journeyman level — California issues no state journeyman plumber license, so there is no state journeyman trade exam. Plumbing is licensed only at the contractor level by the Contractors State License Board (C-36 Plumbing). At that contractor tier, CSLB has a reciprocity agreement covering the C-36 classification with Arizona only: an Arizona C-37 or C-37R contractor who has held that license active and in good standing for the previous five years may have the C-36 trade exam waived (CSLB reserves the right to require it), but must still pass CSLB's Law and Business exam. CSLB's other reciprocity partners (Nevada, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina) do not map to C-36 Plumbing.
What changes, California → Tennessee
| California (current) | Tennessee (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | No state journeyman plumber license exists, so there is no journeyman fee. For reference, the CSLB C-36 plumbing CONTRACTOR license (contractor tier, out of scope) is $450 original application + $200 initial license fee (sole owner) / $350 (non-sole owner), plus a bond and Live Scan fingerprint fee | $75 ($75 two-year LLP license/application fee ($50 non-refundable); LLP exam fee ~$55 paid to PSI/Prov separately; a state Contractor license with a plumbing (CMC/MC) classification is a separate, higher fee for work of $25,000 or more) |
| Processing time | Not applicable — no state journeyman plumber license is issued | No board-stated processing time; applications needing experience or felony review are heard at the Board's bi-monthly meetings (January, March, May, July, September, November) |
| Licensing authority | California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) | Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Department of Commerce and Insurance) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Tennessee sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Review Tennessee's initial-licensure requirements on the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Department of Commerce and Insurance) website (linked below).
- Expect to meet Tennessee's education/experience requirements and pass any required exams you have not already passed — a national exam you passed often still counts, as can prior out-of-state licensure toward experience.
- Submit the standard (new applicant) application with fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
- Allow No board-stated processing time; applications needing experience or felony review are heard at the Board's bi-monthly meetings (January, March, May, July, September, November).
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
What does the California-to-Tennessee move cost and how long does it take?
$75 ($75 two-year LLP license/application fee ($50 non-refundable); LLP exam fee ~$55 paid to PSI/Prov separately; a state Contractor license with a plumbing (CMC/MC) classification is a separate, higher fee for work of $25,000 or more), plus the exam and experience-documentation costs of qualifying as a new applicant. Processing time: No board-stated processing time; applications needing experience or felony review are heard at the Board's bi-monthly meetings (January, March, May, July, September, November).
What happens to my California credential after I'm licensed in Tennessee?
Nothing changes it. California issues no statewide journeyman plumber license, so any local or contractor-level California credential you hold runs on its own authority's renewal rules, independently of your Tennessee license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- TN Commerce & Insurance — Limited Licensed Plumbers (LLP) program page ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- TN Board for Licensing Contractors — LLP Application ($75 fee, 1-year experience, 40-question exam, local-license exemptions, exam waiver only for reinstatement) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- CSLB — C-36 Plumbing Contractor classification detail (plumbing licensed only at contractor level) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- CSLB — Reciprocal Classifications List (C-36 reciprocity maps only to Arizona C-37/C-37R) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- CSLB — Reciprocity Exam Requirements (trade portion may be waived; Law & Business exam still required; 5-year license) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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