How to get a plumbing license in Arizona

Licensing office Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) · (602) 542-1525 [5]

The license pathway in Arizona

1. 1

   Plumbing apprentice or employee (no state license)

   Arizona has no state apprentice, journeyman or master plumber license. If you work for a contractor and your wages are your only pay, the licensing law doesn't apply to you. After a registered apprenticeship you can file your completion certificate with the ROC. [1][4][14]

2. 2

   Plumbing contractor qualifying party (C-37, R-37R or CR-37)

   • 4 years of experience
   • Yes: Statutes and Rules Exam (online through Gmetrix, open book) and a plumbing trade exam (PSI); 70% to pass
   • Application plus license: C-37 $580, R-37R $720, CR-37 $850 (includes recovery fund). Exams: $61 SRE, $66 PSI trade
   • Every 2 years: C-37 $480, R-37R $540, CR-37 $650

   The qualifying party is the person whose experience and exams qualify a contracting business. You need four years of plumbing experience, the two exams, a background check, a bond and a business to hold the license. [1][2][3][5][6]

Who needs a license in Arizona

In Arizona, plumbing licensing is about contracting, not about the individual plumber. The Registrar of Contractors licenses businesses that contract for plumbing work. Arizona does not issue a state journeyman or master plumber license.

The contractor law lists people who don't need a license. One is any person who does the work "as an employee with wages as the person's sole compensation." So if you work for wages for a plumbing contractor, you don't need your own ROC license. Your employer does.

The main plumbing classifications are:

• C-37 Plumbing (commercial): installing, altering and repairing plumbing within property lines, including water supply piping, fixtures and appliances, drainage and venting, gas piping, and hot water heating and supply systems within set pressure and temperature limits.
• R-37R Plumbing (residential): a residential plumbing license, listed by the ROC alongside narrower residential subclasses such as gas piping and swimming pool plumbing.
• CR-37 Plumbing (dual): the work of both C-37 and R-37R.

Versions that include solar (C-77, R-37 and CR-77) also require a solar exam. [1][2][4]

The qualifying party

Every license names a qualifying party: a person regularly employed by the licensed business who is actively doing the type of work the license covers. That's the person whose experience and exam scores qualify the company.

Before a license is issued, the qualifying party must have:

• Four years of practical or management experience in plumbing, at least two of them in the last ten years. The ROC's requirements chart lists four years for C-37, R-37R and CR-37, and says the experience must be hands-on and/or managerial.
• Passing scores on the required exams, taken no more than two years before applying.

Technical training at an accredited college or university, or in a manufacturer's accredited program, can replace part of the experience, but no more than two of the four years. [2][3][5]

The exams

The qualifying party must pass each required exam with at least 70%.

• Statutes and Rules Exam (SRE): an online, open-book training course and exam offered only through Gmetrix. It costs $61.
• Plumbing trade exam: taken online or at a test center through PSI for $66.

[2][5][6]

Fees, bond and renewal

ROC licenses last two years. Fees for a new license (application plus license fee):

• C-37 (commercial specialty): $100 + $480 = $580.
• R-37R (residential specialty): $80 + $270 + $370 recovery fund assessment = $720.
• CR-37 (dual specialty): $100 + $380 + $370 recovery fund assessment = $850.

Renewal every two years costs $480 (commercial), $540 (residential) or $650 (dual). Exam fees are extra.

You also need a license bond. For residential specialty contractors it's $4,250 under $375,000 a year, or $7,500 at $375,000 or more. For commercial specialty contractors it runs from $2,500 for $150,000 or less of annual work to $50,000 for over $10 million. Dual license bonds combine the two amounts. [6][7]

Union and open-shop apprenticeships in Arizona

With no state apprentice or journeyman license, an apprenticeship in Arizona is about training and pay, not a state credential. Your years in a program can build toward the four years a qualifying party needs. See union vs. non-union.

• Union: the Arizona Pipe Trades Apprenticeship (UA Local 469) is a five-year, state-registered plumbing and pipefitting program. You must be 18, have a diploma or GED and two forms of ID, join its waitlist, and take an in-person aptitude test.
• Other registered programs: the Arizona Apprenticeship Office's program list shows every registered plumber program by sponsor and city, including contractor-association, community college and employer programs. DES says to contact the program directly.
• State: the Department of Economic Security runs Arizona's registered apprenticeship program. The ROC doesn't offer apprenticeships itself.

More on getting in: how to get an apprenticeship. [8][9][10][11][12]

If you're licensed in another state

No reciprocity. The ROC says "Arizona does not have direct reciprocity with any state."

Out-of-state waiver. The ROC can waive the trade exam and the experience requirement if the qualifying party held a comparable license in another state within the past five years and earned it by passing a trade exam. Submit the Out of State Waiver Request Form with your application. The Statutes and Rules Exam can't be waived unless the qualifying party was the qualifying party on an Arizona license within the past five years (the FAQ on the same ROC page says simply that it can't be waived, because it covers Arizona law).

Universal recognition (A.R.S. 32-4302). Arizona's universal licensing law says a person who moves to Arizona is to be granted a license in the same discipline and practice level if they have been licensed in another state for at least one year and in good standing, met that state's education and experience requirements, passed its exam if one was required, have no revocations, discipline, pending complaints or disqualifying criminal history, and pay the fees. An agency that gives a test on Arizona law may still require it. Ask the ROC which route fits you. More: license reciprocity. [5][13]

Steps to get licensed in Arizona

1. Get hired and build experience

   Work for wages for a licensed plumbing contractor, as a helper or through a registered apprenticeship. As an employee you don't need a license. [4][8][11]

2. Build four years of experience

   The qualifying party needs four years of practical or management experience in plumbing, with at least two in the last ten years. Accredited technical training can replace up to two of the four years. [2][3]

3. Pass the Statutes and Rules Exam

   Take the online, open-book Statutes and Rules training course and exam through Gmetrix ($61). [5][6]

4. Pass the plumbing trade exam

   Take the trade exam online or at a test center through PSI ($66). You need at least 70% on each exam. [5][6]

5. Set up the business, bond and background checks

   Form the business (LLCs and corporations register with the Arizona Corporation Commission), get a license bond, and get a background check for everyone named on the application. [5][7]

6. Apply to the ROC

   Submit the license application through the ROC online portal or by mail with exam results, bond and fees. [5][6]

Where to get the hours

Programs that train plumbers in or for Arizona, from their own official pages. Listed by type, not ranked.

• Union

  Arizona Pipe Trades Apprenticeship (UA Local 469)

  A five-year, state-registered plumbing and pipefitting apprenticeship in the Phoenix area. You must be 18 and have a diploma or GED; join the waitlist and you're invited to an aptitude test when applications open. [8][9][10][15]

• State program

  Arizona registered apprenticeship program list (DES)

  The Arizona Apprenticeship Office's list of registered programs by occupation. Plumber sponsors include union, contractor-association, college and employer programs. Contact the program directly to apply. [10][11]

• Union

  Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council apprenticeship contacts

  The council lists contacts for its affiliated union apprenticeship programs, including the Arizona Pipe Trades Apprenticeship, and has an inquiry form. [16]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask