How to get a plumbing license in North Dakota

Journeyman level 7,600 hours on the job + state exam What's a journeyman?

Licensing office North Dakota State Plumbing Board · (701) 328-9977 [1][9]

The license pathway in North Dakota

1. 1

   Apprentice plumber

   • First year $20 (less if you start later in the year); $30, $40, $50 and $75 in later years
   • Yearly; expires December 31

   You must be 18 and register within 30 days of starting work. In your first three years you work under the direct supervision of a master or journeyman plumber; after three years (5,700 hours) working for a master you may work by yourself. [1][2][3][8][9]

2. 2

   Journeyman plumber

   • 7,600 hours on the job
   • 4 years of experience
   • Yes: board exam, five parts in five hours (100 closed-book multiple-choice questions, a closed-book drain/waste/vent sizing problem, and open-book sections), 70% to pass
   • $50 application/exam + $100 license
   • Yearly; $100; 2 to 4 hours CE every two years

   Lets you install, alter and repair plumbing. You need four years and 7,600 hours as an apprentice under a licensed master plumber. In cities under 1,000 people and rural areas, a journeyman may run a plumbing business. [1][2][5][7][10]

3. 3

   Master plumber

   • 3,400 hours on the job
   • 2 years of experience
   • Yes: board exam, four parts in five hours (100 closed-book questions plus open-book sections), 80% to pass
   • $50 application/exam + $200 license
   • Yearly; $200; 2 to 4 hours CE every two years

   You must be 21 and have two years (3,400 hours) as a licensed journeyman. A plumbing business in a place with public water or sewer must have a licensed master plumber in charge of its work. [1][2][5][7]

Who needs a license in North Dakota

State law says no one may "engage in the business of a master plumber, journeyman plumber, or plumber's apprentice in any location of this state having a public system of waterworks or sewerage" without being registered and licensed by the board. The board's FAQ (frequently asked questions) puts it simply: "Any person performing plumbing in the state of North Dakota must be licensed."

Exceptions: homeowners working on the home they own and live in, full-time maintenance workers doing repairs where they work (unless a local ordinance forbids it), public water system employees on service lines and meters, and appliance dealers' employees doing incidental plumbing. The board says you don't need a plumbing license to rod out drain lines or hook up irrigation sprinklers, but you do for backflow preventers on the main water supply.

A state license is good anywhere in North Dakota, except in cities whose ordinances require a municipal license or registration as well. [1][3]

The license ladder: apprentice to master

• Apprentice: age 18, registered within 30 days, four years of at least 1,900 hours each (7,600 in total). One master or journeyman may supervise up to five apprentices on a project.
• Journeyman: four years and 7,600 hours as an apprentice under a licensed master plumber, then the exam. People who worked where no state license is required may qualify for a screening test with five years (9,500 hours) of experience and four affidavits.
• Master: age 21 and two years (3,400 hours) as a journeyman licensed in North Dakota or another state with a licensing law, then the master exam.

North Dakota also licenses sewer and water installers and contractors (an installer needs 2 years and 3,400 hours as a sewer and water apprentice) and water conditioning installers and contractors, through the same board.

See journeyman vs. master for the general difference. [2][3][4]

The exams

The board gives its own exams, every other month in Bismarck, plus a few dates in other cities. You need a current North Dakota license or a submitted application to test.

• Journeyman: five parts. Parts one and two are closed book: 100 multiple-choice questions and a drain, waste and vent pipe sizing problem. Parts three to five are open book: 40 completion questions, water pipe sizing, and drain, waste and vent with fixture units. Five hours; 70% to pass.
• Master: four parts (100 closed-book multiple-choice questions plus open-book sections); five hours; 80% to pass.
• What to bring: the board's page says the 2018 North Dakota Plumbing Code, a calculator and a photo ID. No cell phones.
• Retakes: six months after a failed master or journeyman exam.

As of October 2026, the board's remaining 2026 dates are October 12 and December 14 in Bismarck and October 27 in Fargo; see the exam schedule. [2][5][6]

Fees, renewal and continuing education

• Journeyman: $50 application/exam fee plus $100 license fee; $100 a year to renew.
• Master: $50 application/exam fee plus $200 license fee; $200 a year to renew.
• Apprentice: $20 for year one (prorated by quarter), then $30, $40, $50 and $75.

Licenses expire December 31 and must be renewed within 30 days; the late renewal fee is $50. A license expired a year or more may require a new exam.

Continuing education (CE): journeymen and masters need 2 to 4 credit hours every two years. The board's own CE session or correspondence course costs $40. Apprentices may attend a session free. [1][2][7][8][9][10]

Training routes in North Dakota

North Dakota's plumbing law doesn't require a formal apprenticeship program or set classroom hours: the apprenticeship is time worked under a licensed master. Formal routes that help:

• Open shop: ABC of Minnesota and North Dakota runs a registered apprenticeship in which a member contractor hires you; its older apprentice page posts a plumbing trade schedule, so ask ABC (Associated Builders and Contractors) whether plumbing is offered in North Dakota.
• College: the NDSCS Plumbing certificate in Wahpeton, which can earn up to 2,040 hours of apprenticeship credit.
• Finding openings: Job Service North Dakota and its workforce centers.

More: how to get an apprenticeship and union vs. non-union. [2][11][12][13][14]

If you're licensed in another state

The board has written agreements with South Dakota, Minnesota and Montana. Send the application with a Certificate of Endorsement from your state (a copy of your license isn't enough):

• South Dakota: a current journeyman license (if you live in South Dakota) goes to a North Dakota journeyman license; a South Dakota contractor license goes to a North Dakota master.
• Minnesota: a journeyman license held at least a year (if you live in Minnesota) goes to journeyman; a master license held a year goes to master.
• Montana: a current journeyman or master license goes to a North Dakota journeyman license.

From other states, you apply for the exam with a letter from your licensing board stating your license type, issue date, whether you got it by exam, and its expiration date. North Dakota's general licensing law also lets a board license someone without examination after two years of practice elsewhere, at the board's discretion. See the reciprocity guide. [1][3][7][15]

Steps to get licensed in North Dakota

1. Get hired and register as an apprentice

   Get hired by a plumbing business with a licensed master plumber. Within 30 days, send the apprentice application with your master's signature and fee to the board at ndplumb@nd.gov or by mail. [1][9][17]

2. Work four years and 7,600 hours

   Renew your registration each December 31. Work under direct supervision for three years; after 5,700 hours working for a master you may work alone in your fourth year. [1][2]

3. Apply for the journeyman exam

   Send the journeyman application with the $50 application/exam fee. Applications expire six months after approval if you don't take the exam. [2][7]

4. Pass the exam

   Bring the North Dakota plumbing code, a calculator and a photo ID. You need 70%; if you fail, you wait six months to retest or keep working under supervision. [2][5]

5. Pay for your license and keep it current

   Pay the $100 journeyman license fee after passing. Renew every year by December 31 and complete 2 to 4 hours of CE every two years. [1][7][10]

Where to get the hours

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

• Open shop

  ABC of Minnesota and North Dakota

  A participating contractor hires you and enrolls you in ABC's apprenticeship, which is registered with the U.S. Department of Labor in North Dakota. ABC's older apprentice page posts a plumbing trade schedule but doesn't list plumbing among its trades; ask ABC whether it trains plumbers in North Dakota. [11][12]

• School

  NDSCS Plumbing certificate

  A one-year plumbing program in Wahpeton; NDSCS says up to 2,040 schooling hours may be credited by the State Plumbing Board toward your apprenticeship. [13]

• State program

  Job Service North Dakota apprenticeship help

  North Dakota's workforce agency explains registered apprenticeship (union and non-union) and points job seekers to local workforce centers. [14]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask