Plumber License from Colorado to North Carolina: Does It Transfer? (2026)

What's different between Colorado and North Carolina

Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into North Carolina. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.

Route, each way

Colorado to North Carolina (this page): Licensure by endorsement.

North Carolina to Colorado (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.

The route is the same in both directions.

Does coming from Colorado matter?

Colorado gets North Carolina's most common result: 41 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get the same one, so for most movers the origin does not change the answer.

The others get: no state license to transfer (9).

Application fee

North Carolina lists $30–$150 for an out-of-state applicant; Colorado has no verified fee figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.

Processing time

North Carolina lists 4–6 weeks; Colorado has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.

Exam rules on record

North Carolina and Colorado carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.

• North Carolina (this move): North Carolina has no license reciprocity; every applicant must meet the NC experience requirement and pass the NC business/law exam section. Under a Technical Examination Waiver Agreement it waives ONLY the technical exam section for South Carolina plumbing contractors who passed the SC technical exam (SC Residential Plumbing maps to NC Plumbing Class II; SC Commercial Mechanical Plumbing (PB) maps to NC Plumbing Class I). Separately, under G.S. 87-21(g) the Board may, at its discretion, license an out-of-state contractor of the same or equivalent class without written examination if its standards are found substantially equivalent.
• Colorado (the reverse move): Colorado has no bilateral state-to-state reciprocity; it licenses out-of-state plumbers by endorsement, accepting successful completion of a comparable state plumbing examination (based on a plumbing-code edition adopted by the Colorado board) in lieu of the Colorado examination, provided the applicant currently holds an active license in the endorsing state and meets the apprenticeship/experience requirement; applicants who cannot document a comparable exam must qualify and pass the Colorado examination

What changes, Colorado → North Carolina

The destination column is what you must satisfy — North Carolina sets the rules for this move.

Step by step

1. Confirm North Carolina's current requirements on the North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors website (linked below) — rules change.
2. Submit the endorsement application to the North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors (application linked below).
3. Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
4. Document 4,000 hours of hands-on plumbing experience for a Plumbing Contractor (Class I or Class II); up to 50% may be met with related post-secondary coursework.
5. Pass the NC business/law exam section ($100 per exam section); the technical section is waived only for qualifying South Carolina plumbing contractors.
6. Obtain a nationwide CastleBranch criminal background report at your own expense.
7. Verify Social Security number via Form SSA-89 — the Board cannot issue a license without SSN verification.
8. Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.

Official links

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