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How to get a plumbing license in Arkansas

State law and licensing-board sources · Last reviewed October 11, 2026

Journeyman level 8,000 hours on the job + state exam What's a journeyman?

Arkansas licenses plumbers statewide through the Plumbing and Natural Gas Section of the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH). You start as a registered apprentice plumber, working under an Arkansas master plumber and enrolled in a state-approved apprenticeship. After four years (8,000 hours of work and 640 classroom hours) you can take the journeyman exam. A master license needs five years of experience and a year as a licensed journeyman. [1][2][3]

New to the trade?

Starting from zero in Arkansas

In Arkansas you can't work as a plumber's apprentice until you're registered with the Arkansas Department of Health and enrolled in a state-approved apprenticeship program. Get hired by a company with an Arkansas master plumber, or apply to a program such as PPATA (the UA union program) or ACEF, and register within 30 days of starting work. Registration costs $25 a year. [1][3][5][14][15][16]

  • High school diploma or GED

    We found no diploma rule in the Arkansas plumbing law or ADH rules The ADH apprentice application asks you to check which you have (GED, high school diploma or college degree). Programs set their own rules: to get a PPATA application you must bring a high school diploma or equivalency certificate and your transcript or equivalency test grades. The state Office of Skills Development notes that registered apprenticeship standards may require a diploma or GED. [1][2][16][17][21]

  • Minimum age

    16, under the state's plumbing apprenticeship rules. If you're under 18, a parent or guardian signs your apprenticeship agreement on the ADH application. [3][16]

  • Register before you start work

    State law: no one may work as an apprentice plumber without registering with ADH. The state rules require registration within 30 days of being hired with your local apprenticeship committee, ADH and the U.S. Department of Labor, and the master plumber is responsible for it. The ADH form includes an apprenticeship agreement signed by your employer and the master plumber The fee is $25 a year. [1][3][5][16]

  • Helper jobs and supervision

    One master or journeyman may supervise up to three apprentices on a job, and apprentices are under a licensed plumber's supervision at all times, within sight or at the same address on homes. In your final year (480 classroom hours and 6,000 work hours done) you may work under indirect supervision if you carry the ID card your apprenticeship committee issues. [3]

  • Classroom schedule

    State rules: eight periods of 80 classroom hours (at least 160 hours a year), attended on your own time. ACEF's plumbing classes meet one night a week, 5:00 to 9:00, for four years (640 hours) while you work full time for a plumbing company. [3][15]

  • Driver's license and documents

    PPATA asks for a valid driver's license, birth certificate or Social Security card, your diploma or equivalency and transcripts, your DD-214 if you served, and a $25 nonrefundable application fee by cashier's check or money order. [17]

  • Application windows

    As of October 2026, PPATA's application page still describes its March 2022 application days, so call PPATA at (501) 562-4482 for the next window. PPATA says some apprentices start work the first day, while others wait several weeks for an opening in their area. [14][17]

  • Pay while you learn

    The Office of Skills Development says registered apprentices are paid and their wages rise with their skills. PPATA says its apprentices get scholarships for all five years, so classes cost them nothing. [14][19]

  • Credit for prior experience

    State rules let you request credit for documented out-of-state plumbing work under a master plumber, or for in-state work done while you were registered. [3]

  • Still in high school?

    Arkansas's Youth Apprenticeship lets 16- to 24-year-olds who are full-time high school or college students join a registered apprenticeship, with paid on-the-job training and a parent's signature if you're under 18 State license rules still apply. School-district high school career centers let juniors and seniors earn college credit at no cost. Hours from an Arkansas Certified Pre-Apprenticeship count toward a registered apprenticeship and cut your class time, and ACEF runs free pre-apprenticeships for high school students with tool packages and school credit. [21][22][23][24]

Where to apply in ArkansasHow to get an apprenticeshipHelper jobs

Licensing office Arkansas Department of Health, Plumbing and Natural Gas Section (State Committee of Plumbing Examiners) · (501) 661-2642 [2][7]

Arkansas plumbing license at a glance

Who issues licenses
Arkansas Department of Health, Plumbing and Natural Gas Section The State Committee of Plumbing Examiners approves applicants [2][7]
Apprentice registration
Required before you work as an apprentice Within 30 days of being hired; $25 a year [1][3][5]
Journeyman experience
A completed state apprenticeship (4 years, 8,000 hours of work), or at least 4 years of documented plumbing and natural gas experience [2][3][4]
Classroom hours
640 hours over the apprenticeship 8 periods of 80 hours [3]
Journeyman exam
Given by ADH: four sections (riser drawing and water sizing, 50 code and law questions, gas piping and venting, code illustrations) in 4 hours [3][6]
Master experience
5 years of experience, plus 1 full year holding a journeyman license [2]
Fees
Journeyman $75 application + $75 yearly license Master $125 application + $200 yearly license; apprentice $25 a year [2][5]
Renewal
Master, journeyman and apprentice licenses expire every December 31 [2][5]
Minimum age
16 for an apprentice under the state plumbing apprenticeship rules [3]
On this page
  1. At a glance
  2. Starting from zero
  3. The license pathway
  4. Who needs an Arkansas plumbing license
  5. The license ladder
  6. Apprenticeship rules
  7. The journeyman exam
  8. Fees and renewal
  9. If you're licensed in another state
  10. Steps to get licensed
  11. Where to get the hours
  12. Licensed in another state?
  13. Questions people ask

The license pathway in Arkansas

  1. 1

    Apprentice Plumber

    • $25 a year (no application fee)
    • Yearly; expires December 31

    You register with ADH under the Arkansas master plumber you work for and enroll in a state-approved apprenticeship. You work under a licensed master or journeyman plumber at all times. [1][2][3][5][16]

  2. 2

    Journeyman Plumber

    • 8,000 hours on the job
    • 4 years of experience
    • 640 hours in a state apprenticeship
    • Yes, given by ADH: four sections in 4 hours, based on the 2018 Arkansas Plumbing and Fuel Gas Codes
    • $75 application; $75 license
    • Yearly ($75); expires December 31

    The main working license. You qualify by finishing the state apprenticeship and being released to test, or by documenting at least four years of plumbing and natural gas experience. [2][3][4][5][6]

  3. 3

    Master Plumber

    • 5 years of experience
    • Yes, given by ADH
    • $125 application; $200 license
    • Yearly ($200); expires December 31

    Plans and superintends plumbing work. You need five years of experience and must have held a journeyman license for one full year (the committee may waive the year for extreme hardship). In a city or utility district, a licensed master plumber must be in charge of every plumbing installation. [1][2][5]

Who needs an Arkansas plumbing license

State law says no one may work as a master, journeyman or apprentice plumber, or hold a restricted license, without first being licensed or registered by the Department of Health. In any city, town, sewer or water district, or utility gas system, a licensed master plumber (or restricted licensee) must be in charge of every plumbing installation.

You don't need a license to do plumbing in a home you own and live in, unless a local ordinance requires one, or for work on agricultural buildings outside city or town limits that aren't connected to a public water, sewer or natural gas system. [1]

The license ladder

ADH also issues restricted licenses for single phases of plumbing: gas fitter, governmental maintenance, water and sewer service line installation, solar mechanic and hospital maintenance. [2][4][5]

Apprenticeship rules

The state plumbing apprenticeship rules set a term of at least four years: eight periods of 1,000 hours of work and eight periods of 80 classroom hours. The total is 8,000 hours of work, spread across areas such as water, sewer and vent piping, gas piping and venting, fixtures, welding and brazing, backflow devices, and code and blueprint study. The first 1,000 hours are a probationary period.

A master or journeyman may supervise up to three apprentices on a job. On homes and jobs that don't need a contractor's license, the supervisor must be within sight, at the same or a neighboring address, or in the same subdivision. On other jobs, the supervisor must be within sight, within 250 yards or on the same job site. A final-year apprentice may work under indirect supervision, reaching a master or journeyman by phone, text or email. [3]

The journeyman exam

ADH gives the exam. The study guide describes four sections, handed out one at a time in random order, with four hours for all of them:

A missed or failed section costs $50 to retake. [2][6]

Fees and renewal

Master, journeyman and apprentice licenses expire December 31 and must be renewed by February 1; after that, a $5 a month penalty is added. ADH waives the initial license fee if you receive Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, TANF or Lifeline benefits, were approved for unemployment in the last 12 months, or earn no more than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. [2][5]

If you're licensed in another state

ADH posts reciprocal agreements for journeyman plumbers with Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas (for licenses earned by passing that state's exam), and for master plumbers with Ohio. ADH's rules also let the committee enter reciprocal agreements and license plumbers from jurisdictions with substantially similar requirements (a national model code and a national exam) without an exam or apprenticeship. A licensed plumber from a substantially similar state with no agreement can be approved to take the Arkansas exam. Out-of-state applicants must show proof of natural gas certification.

Act 457 of 2023 gives automatic licensure to new Arkansas residents who have held a similar license in good standing for one year, or who worked three years in a state that doesn't license plumbers. ADH may require an exam on Arkansas law, and its rule says automatic licensure doesn't apply if your license is covered by one of its reciprocal agreements. Uniformed service members, veterans and their spouses get special consideration on the application. See license reciprocity for how this works across states. [2][4][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Steps to get licensed in Arkansas

  1. Get hired and enrolled in an apprenticeship

    Apply to PPATA, ACEF or another state-approved program, or get hired by a plumbing company with an Arkansas master plumber that enrolls you. The Office of Skills Development map lists programs. [1][13][14][15]

  2. Register as an apprentice plumber

    Within 30 days of being hired, send the ADH apprentice application with the apprenticeship agreement signed by your employer and master plumber, plus the $25 fee. [3][5][16]

  3. Finish the apprenticeship

    Complete four years: 8,000 hours of supervised work and 640 classroom hours. Renew your apprentice registration by each December 31. [2][3]

  4. Apply for the journeyman exam

    Send the journeyman application with the Arkansas Apprenticeship Committee Release form (endorsed by your program and the Office of Skills Development) and the $75 application fee. The Committee of Plumbing Examiners reviews applications at its monthly meetings and mails you a Notification of Examination. [4][5]

  5. Pass the exam and pay the license fee

    The four-part exam takes 4 hours. ADH tells the state apprenticeship office whether you passed, and you must pass before your program releases you. The license costs $75 a year. [3][5][6]

Where to get the hours

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

Licensed in another state?

  • Journeyman: LA, OK, TX

    ADH posts reciprocal journeyman plumber agreements with Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. They let a journeyman licensed by passing the other state's exam be licensed without another exam; a license gained through reciprocity doesn't qualify. Louisiana's agreement covers its journeyman plumbers with natural gas fitter certification. [7][8][9][10]

  • Master: OH

    ADH posts a master plumber agreement with Ohio, effective September 1, 2022. Arkansas waives its exam for Ohio master plumbers whose Ohio licenses came by an exam covering plumbing and natural gas, not by reciprocity, and who meet Arkansas's other master plumber requirements. [7][11]

  • Master, journeyman and restricted

    ADH rules also let the State Committee of Plumbing Examiners license plumbers from jurisdictions with substantially similar requirements without an exam or apprenticeship. Ask ADH how this applies to your state. [2]

  • Any license (new Arkansas residents)

    Act 457 of 2023 grants automatic licensure to a new Arkansas resident who has held a license with a similar scope of practice in good standing for one year in another state. ADH may require an exam on Arkansas law. ADH's rule says this doesn't apply if your license is covered by one of its reciprocal agreements. [2][12]

Also listed by: Alaska, Delaware, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah (their own boards list Arkansas as a partner; check both sides before you move).

Open the reciprocity map · How reciprocity works

AlaskaAK MaineME VermontVT New HampshireNH WashingtonWA IdahoID MontanaMT North DakotaND MinnesotaMN IllinoisIL WisconsinWI MichiganMI New YorkNY Rhode IslandRI MassachusettsMA OregonOR NevadaNV WyomingWY South DakotaSD IowaIA IndianaIN OhioOH PennsylvaniaPA New JerseyNJ ConnecticutCT CaliforniaCA UtahUT ColoradoCO NebraskaNE MissouriMO KentuckyKY West VirginiaWV VirginiaVA MarylandMD DelawareDE ArizonaAZ New MexicoNM KansasKS ArkansasAR TennesseeTN North CarolinaNC South CarolinaSC District of ColumbiaDC OklahomaOK LouisianaLA MississippiMS AlabamaAL GeorgiaGA HawaiiHI TexasTX FloridaFL
AR Listed here (agreement or endorsement) Lists AR

Questions people ask

How long does it take to become a journeyman plumber in Arkansas?

Four years through a state apprenticeship: 8,000 hours of supervised work and 640 classroom hours. Without an apprenticeship, you need at least four years of documented plumbing and natural gas experience. [2][3][4]

How much does an Arkansas plumbing license cost?

Apprentice registration is $25 a year. A journeyman pays a $75 application fee and $75 a year for the license. A master pays $125 to apply and $200 a year. [5]

Who gives the Arkansas plumbing exam?

The Arkansas Department of Health's Plumbing and Natural Gas Section. The journeyman exam has four sections and a four-hour limit. [3][6]

Sources (24)
  1. Arkansas Plumber's Law (Ark. Code 17-38), 2022, Arkansas Department of Health. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  2. Rules Pertaining to Master, Journeyman, and Restricted Plumber Licenses ... (effective September 5, 2024), Arkansas State Board of Health. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  3. Rules and Regulations for Plumbing Apprenticeship Programs (September 15, 2017), Career Education and Workforce Development Board (Code of Arkansas Rules). Accessed October 11, 2026.
  4. Journeyman Plumber application (8/15/25), Arkansas Department of Health. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  5. Application Instructions for Arkansas Plumber and Restricted Plumber Licenses; License/Fees (1/15/2026), Arkansas Department of Health. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  6. Arkansas Journeyman Plumber Examination Study Guide, Arkansas Department of Health. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  7. Plumbing & Natural Gas, Arkansas Department of Health. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  8. Reciprocal Journeyman Plumber Licensing Agreement Between Arkansas Committee of Plumbing Examiners and State Plumbing Board of Louisiana, Arkansas Department of Health. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  9. Reciprocal Journeyman Plumber License Agreement Between the States of Arkansas and Oklahoma, Arkansas Department of Health. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  10. Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners and the Arkansas Committee of Plumbing Examiners: Reciprocal Journeyman Plumber Licensing Agreement, Arkansas Department of Health. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  11. Outline of Ohio/Arkansas Plumbing License Reciprocity Agreement (effective September 1, 2022), Arkansas Department of Health. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  12. Act 457 of 2023 (SB90): Automatic Occupational Licensure for Out-of-State Licensure Act, Arkansas General Assembly. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  13. Find an Apprenticeship Program Near You, Arkansas Office of Skills Development. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  14. About PPATA, Plumbers and Pipefitters Apprenticeship Training of Arkansas. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  15. Plumbing Apprenticeship, Arkansas Construction Education Foundation. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  16. Apprentice Plumber application (9/16/2025), Arkansas Department of Health. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  17. Application Process, Plumbers and Pipefitters Apprenticeship Training of Arkansas (Local 155). Accessed October 11, 2026.
  18. WIOA Approved Apprenticeship Programs, Arkansas Division of Workforce Services. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  19. Apprenticeship in Arkansas, Arkansas Office of Skills Development. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  20. Act 695 of 2025 (SB390): An Act to Establish the State Apprenticeship Agency, Arkansas General Assembly. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  21. Youth Apprenticeship in Arkansas, Arkansas Office of Skills Development. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  22. High School Career Centers, Arkansas Office of Skills Development. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  23. Arkansas Certified Pre-Apprenticeship, Arkansas Office of Skills Development. Accessed October 11, 2026.
  24. Education: Pre-Apprenticeships, Arkansas Construction Education Foundation. Accessed October 11, 2026.