Transfer Your Plumber License to Idaho: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) — State Plumbing Board ↗
Idaho has bilateral plumbing reciprocity with 3 states (Montana, Oregon, Washington): a plumber originally licensed by examination in one of them can skip Idaho's journeyman exam. Idaho waives its journeyman plumber written examination for reciprocity applicants who hold an active journeyman license obtained BY EXAMINATION in Montana, Oregon, or Washington and who meet the experience and residency conditions ('No written examination shall be required for the reciprocal certificate when reciprocating from' these states); every other applicant must pass the IAPMO-based Idaho journeyman examination. Everyone else applies as a new journeyman applicant. Fee: Idaho DOPL journeyman plumber license fees are prorated and reciprocity applicants pay the standard application/license fee, but the exact figure could not be confirmed on a directly loaded DOPL fee schedule because every idaho.gov host was unreachable (connection refused) from the research environment; one search result cited a $147 three-year license fee and another cited roughly $29 license / $22 renewal — the two conflict, so no figure is asserted. Confirm on the DOPL fee schedule.
Moving to Idaho from a specific state?
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Verdict
Reciprocity with 3 states
Read Idaho's reciprocity as a named list, and the list is the rule: if you were licensed by examination in a state on it and your license is in good standing, the streamlined track below applies; if not, no amount of field experience substitutes for Idaho's exam. Two cautions. The agreement is directional — it describes the states Idaho recognizes, which tells you nothing about the reverse move — and it typically excludes licenses that were grandfathered in rather than earned by examination. Confirm both against the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) — State Plumbing Board before you rely on the waiver.
Reciprocity is limited to Montana, Oregon, and Washington and only for licenses earned by examination that are active and in good standing; the Idaho written exam is waived for those applicants. All idaho.gov hosts refused direct connections from the research environment, so DOPL page and PDF content was read via search extraction (cross-checked against Oregon BCD's mirror of the agreement) and the journeyman license fee is left null with a note rather than asserting an unverified/conflicting figure. No national plumber verification database exists, so verification_system_url is DOPL's own license search.
Idaho requirements at a glance
| Exam | Idaho waives its journeyman plumber written examination for reciprocity applicants who hold an active journeyman license obtained BY EXAMINATION in Montana, Oregon, or Washington and who meet the experience and residency conditions ('No written examination shall be required for the reciprocal certificate when reciprocating from' these states); every other applicant must pass the IAPMO-based Idaho journeyman examination |
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| Additional requirements |
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| Fees | Idaho DOPL journeyman plumber license fees are prorated and reciprocity applicants pay the standard application/license fee, but the exact figure could not be confirmed on a directly loaded DOPL fee schedule because every idaho.gov host was unreachable (connection refused) from the research environment; one search result cited a $147 three-year license fee and another cited roughly $29 license / $22 renewal — the two conflict, so no figure is asserted. Confirm on the DOPL fee schedule |
| Processing time | No board-stated processing time in weeks |
Step by step
- Confirm Idaho's current requirements on the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) — State Plumbing Board website — rules change.
- Submit the reciprocity/endorsement application to the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) — State Plumbing Board (application linked on this page).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Reciprocity: hold an active out-of-state journeyman license obtained by examination in Montana, Oregon, or Washington, shown on a DOPL License Verification Form.
- Reciprocity from Montana or Oregon: document completion of an apprenticeship program and 8,000 hours of work experience.
- Reciprocity from Washington: document 8,000 or 16,000 hours of work experience.
- Applicants reciprocating from Montana or Washington must be a resident of the state where they are licensed at the time of application.
- Standard (non-reciprocity) applicants must document 8,000 hours of supervised experience and pass the IAPMO examination; specialty/appliance/pipe-fitting hours do not count toward journeyman experience.
- Pay the fees (Idaho DOPL journeyman plumber license fees are prorated and reciprocity applicants pay the standard application/license fee, but the exact figure could not be confirmed on a directly loaded DOPL fee schedule because every idaho.gov host was unreachable (connection refused) from the research environment; one search result cited a $147 three-year license fee and another cited roughly $29 license / $22 renewal — the two conflict, so no figure is asserted. Confirm on the DOPL fee schedule) and allow No board-stated processing time in weeks.
Official links
Coming from a specific state?
Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Idaho:
Frequently asked questions
Does my plumbing license transfer to Idaho?
Idaho has bilateral plumbing reciprocity with 3 states (Montana, Oregon, Washington): a plumber originally licensed by examination in one of them can skip Idaho's journeyman exam. Idaho waives its journeyman plumber written examination for reciprocity applicants who hold an active journeyman license obtained BY EXAMINATION in Montana, Oregon, or Washington and who meet the experience and residency conditions ('No written examination shall be required for the reciprocal certificate when reciprocating from' these states); every other applicant must pass the IAPMO-based Idaho journeyman examination. Everyone else applies as a new journeyman applicant. Fee: Idaho DOPL journeyman plumber license fees are prorated and reciprocity applicants pay the standard application/license fee, but the exact figure could not be confirmed on a directly loaded DOPL fee schedule because every idaho.gov host was unreachable (connection refused) from the research environment; one search result cited a $147 three-year license fee and another cited roughly $29 license / $22 renewal — the two conflict, so no figure is asserted. Confirm on the DOPL fee schedule.
Will I have to take Idaho's plumbing exam?
Idaho waives its journeyman plumber written examination for reciprocity applicants who hold an active journeyman license obtained BY EXAMINATION in Montana, Oregon, or Washington and who meet the experience and residency conditions ('No written examination shall be required for the reciprocal certificate when reciprocating from' these states); every other applicant must pass the IAPMO-based Idaho journeyman examination.
Which states does Idaho have plumbing reciprocity with?
Montana, Oregon, Washington (3 states, verified 2026-07-21 against the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) — State Plumbing Board). The waiver applies only if you were licensed by examination there; plumbers from every other state qualify as new applicants.
What will licensing in Idaho cost an out-of-state plumber, and how long does it take?
Idaho DOPL journeyman plumber license fees are prorated and reciprocity applicants pay the standard application/license fee, but the exact figure could not be confirmed on a directly loaded DOPL fee schedule because every idaho.gov host was unreachable (connection refused) from the research environment; one search result cited a $147 three-year license fee and another cited roughly $29 license / $22 renewal — the two conflict, so no figure is asserted. Confirm on the DOPL fee schedule; processing No board-stated processing time in weeks.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- Idaho DOPL — State Plumbing Board FAQs (reciprocity states and conditions) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Idaho DOPL — Plumbing Journeyman Application Instructions (exam waiver for reciprocity; 8,000-hour experience; IAPMO exam) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Idaho DOPL — Montana plumbing reciprocity agreement ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Idaho DOPL — Oregon plumbing reciprocity agreement ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Oregon BCD — Reciprocal agreement, Idaho journeyman plumber (mirror) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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