How to become a licensed plumber in Hawaii

Journeyman level 10,000 hours on the job + state exam What's a journeyman?

Licensing office Hawaii Board of Electricians and Plumbers (Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division) · (844) 808-3222 [4][8]

The license pathway in Hawaii

1. 1

   Apprentice or helper (no license)

   An apprentice, plumber's helper or other unlicensed person may do plumbing work only under a licensed journey worker or master plumber who oversees the work and is physically present at the project site the whole time. [2][3]

2. 2

   Journey Worker Plumber (PJ)

   • 10,000 hours on the job
   • 5 years of experience
   • Yes: 100 questions, 180 minutes, 70% to pass; closed book (PSI)
   • $40 application + $90 exam; license fee $102-$306
   • Every 3 years by June 30; $306 active; UPC update course or exam

   The license to perform and supervise plumbing work. You need at least five years full-time, and not less than 10,000 hours, as a helper to a journey worker or master plumber, plus a passing exam score. [1][4][7][8][9][16]

3. 3

   Master Plumber (PM)

   • 2 years of experience
   • Yes: 80 questions, 180 minutes, 70% to pass (PSI)
   • $40 application + $90 exam
   • Every 3 years by June 30

   Provides overall supervision of plumbing work and is responsible for proper installation. You need two years as a licensed journey worker plumber, or equivalent, such as two years licensed at that level in another place with substantially equivalent rules. [1][2][4][7][16]

4. 4

   C-37 Plumbing Contractor (Contractors License Board)

   • 4 years of experience
   • Yes: Business and Law (80 questions, 75% to pass) plus the C-37 trade exam (PSI)
   • $50 application; $80 per trade exam
   • Every 2 years by September 30 of even years

   The license to contract for plumbing jobs. It needs four years of supervisory experience in the last ten years. If the contractor's managing person isn't a licensed plumber, the company must employ licensed plumbers to do the work. [5][10][11][17]

Who needs a license in Hawaii

Hawaii's rules say anyone who performs plumbing work, or directs and supervises it, needs a journey worker plumber or master plumber license. Plumbing work includes drainage, venting, water supply and fuel systems in or near buildings.

You may make emergency plumbing repairs in your own home if they don't involve rearranging valves, pipes or fixtures, and not on sewer lines, drains, gas lines or fixtures with backflow devices.

A plumber's license doesn't let you contract for jobs. Contracting takes a separate license from the Contractors License Board. [2][3][4]

Working as a helper or apprentice

State law says an apprentice or trainee doesn't need a license while working under the supervision of an appropriately licensed person.

The board's rule says no plumbing work may be done in or within five feet of a building by an unlicensed person unless a licensed journey worker or master plumber oversees and is responsible for the work and is "physically present and available at the project site at all times."

Another law requires at least half of the people doing plumbing work for a plumbing contractor on a construction site to be licensed, wearing their license on the site. See our helper jobs guide. [2][3][5]

The license ladder and hours

Hawaii has two plumber licenses:

• Journey worker plumber (PJ): at least 5 years full-time, and not less than 10,000 hours, as a journey worker's or master plumber's helper. Hawaii sets no classroom-hour requirement for plumbers.
• Master plumber (PM): 2 years as a licensed journey worker plumber, or equivalent experience. Being licensed as a journey worker or master plumber for two years somewhere with substantially equivalent requirements counts.

See journeyman vs. master for how this compares. [1][2][4]

The exam

The board approves your application first; applications are due at least seven days before a board meeting, and your approval to test lasts two years.

PSI Services gives the plumber exams. Its candidate bulletin (dated July 2023) lists the journey worker plumber exam at 100 questions in 180 minutes, with 70% to pass. It's closed book; questions draw on the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC, the plumbing rulebook Hawaii uses), plumbing math and OSHA safety rules. The master plumber exam is 80 questions in 180 minutes. The exam fee is $90. [4][6][7]

Fees and renewal

You pay a $40 application fee, then $90 to PSI for the exam. After you pass, the license fee depends on where you are in the three-year cycle, from $306 down to $102.

Plumber licenses renew by June 30 every three years; the board lists 2027, 2030 and 2033. The on-time active renewal is $306. Before renewing you must take a UPC update course approved by the community colleges or pass a UPC update exam, unless your license was issued within a year of the renewal date. [4][7][8][9]

Becoming a plumbing contractor

To bid and contract for plumbing work, you need a C-37 plumbing contractor license from the Contractors License Board. It requires age 18, four years of supervisory experience in the last ten years, passing the Business and Law exam and the trade exam, and liability and workers' compensation insurance.

If the contractor's responsible managing employee isn't a licensed plumber, the contractor must employ licensed plumbers to do the plumbing work. [5][10][11]

If you're licensed in another state

The board's application says: "Hawaii does not reciprocate with any jurisdiction." You apply and pass Hawaii's exam like any applicant.

Out-of-state experience can count. Your supervisors sign Experience Verification forms; if you worked in a state that licenses only contractors, the board accepts a form signed by the licensed contractor. More in our reciprocity guide.

Military spouses: state law (HRS 436B-14.7) gives a temporary license to the spouse of an active-duty service member transferred to Hawaii who has held a license in good standing elsewhere for at least a year, if the licensing board finds the other state's requirements equal to or higher than Hawaii's. It lasts no more than five years in total or the length of the member's orders. We found no general universal license recognition law in Hawaii's professional and vocational licensing act (HRS chapter 436B). [2][4][12]

Union and open-shop apprenticeships in Hawaii

The union route is the Honolulu Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for the plumbing and pipefitting industry, run with Plumbers & Fitters UA Local 675. It trains plumbers, refrigeration and air-conditioning fitters, fire sprinkler fitters and steamfitter welders in a five-year program of 10,000 work hours plus ten semesters of classes.

The open-shop route is ABC Hawaii's plumbing apprenticeship: full-time work for a member employer plus classes two nights a week.

More: how to get an apprenticeship and union vs. non-union. [13][14]

Steps to get licensed in Hawaii

1. Get hired as a helper or join an apprenticeship

   Apply to UA Local 675 or ABC Hawaii, or get hired to work under a licensed plumber. [2][13][15]

2. Build 10,000 hours as a plumber's helper

   Work at least five years full-time, and not less than 10,000 hours, as a helper to a journey worker or master plumber. Each licensed plumber you worked under signs a notarized Experience Verification form. [1][4]

3. Apply to the board

   Send the application with a $40 fee at least seven days before a board meeting; meetings are usually every other month. [2][4]

4. Pass the PSI exam

   After approval, register with PSI and pay $90. Your eligibility lasts two years. [6][7]

5. Pay the license fee and renew every three years

   Pay the license fee after you pass. Renew by June 30 every three years with proof of a Uniform Plumbing Code update course or a passed update exam. [4][8][9]

Where to get the hours

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

• Union

  Plumbers & Fitters UA Local 675 apprenticeship (Honolulu JATC)

  Union apprenticeship on all islands: a five-year program of 10,000 work hours plus ten semesters of classroom and hands-on training, at training centers in Pearl City and Iwilei. [13]

• Open shop

  ABC Hawaii plumbing apprenticeship

  Open-shop apprenticeship: you work full time for a member employer and attend classes two nights a week, earning Honolulu Community College credit. [14][15]

• State program

  Hawaii DLIR registered apprenticeship

  The state Workforce Development Division registers Hawaii's apprenticeship programs, lists construction programs and posts recruitment notices. [18]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask