How to become a licensed plumber in Oklahoma

Journeyman level 6,000 hours on the job + state exam What's a journeyman?

Licensing office Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (CIB), Plumbing · (405) 521-6550 [1][26]

The license pathway in Oklahoma

1. 1

   Apprentice Plumber

   • $25 first registration ($20 plus $5 application fee)
   • Yearly, $20 (application fee waived if you reregister within 30 days)

   Your entry registration. You work under the direct supervision of a licensed plumber employed by the same plumbing contractor, no more than three apprentices per licensed plumber. Only registered time counts toward a license. [2][3][4][15]

2. 2

   Residential Journeyman Plumber

   • 4,000 hours on the job
   • 2 years of experience
   • A 1,000-hour approved program plus 3,000 hours of work can qualify
   • Yes: residential plumbing and natural gas, 85 questions, 180 minutes, open book (PSI); 70% to pass from November 1, 2026
   • $75 ($25 application plus $50 license)
   • Yearly, $75; 6 hours CE every 36 months

   Limited to one- and two-family homes such as a single house or duplex. Under the law taking effect November 1, 2026, you need two years and 4,000 verified hours with a licensed plumbing contractor and must be at least 18. A residential journeyman works for a licensed plumbing contractor and can't contract work. [4][6][9]

3. 3

   Journeyman Plumber

   • 6,000 hours on the job
   • 3 years of experience
   • Approved programs can replace experience: 1,000 classroom hours = 2 years, 500 hours = 1 year (smaller programs count less)
   • Yes: plumbing and natural gas, 85 questions, 180 minutes, open book (PSI); 75% to pass until November 1, 2026, then 70%
   • $75 ($25 application plus $50 license)
   • Yearly, $75; 6 hours CE every 36 months

   The unlimited journeyman license. You need three years of plumbing experience while employed by a licensed plumbing contractor (or three years in the U.S. military) and must be at least 18. A journeyman works for a licensed plumbing contractor, can supervise up to three apprentices and can act as job foreman. [4][5][6][9][13]

4. 4

   Plumbing Contractor

   • 8,000 hours on the job
   • 4 years of experience
   • Same substitutions as journeyman
   • Yes: business/law and trade portions (PSI)
   • $330 ($30 application plus $300 license)
   • Yearly, $200; 6 hours CE every 36 months

   Lets you run a plumbing business. You meet the journeyman requirements plus one more year of plumbing experience, pass both exam portions and keep bond and insurance. A residential plumbing contractor license is also available (residential journeyman requirements plus one year). [1][4][6][11]

How to get your first job or apprenticeship in Oklahoma

The CIB tells newcomers to apply to work for a contractor in the trade, register as an apprentice once hired, and start earning. Formal education is optional, but approved programs can earn you credit toward a license.

Plumbing has the strictest helper rule of the Oklahoma trades: the CIB says "all plumbing helpers performing any plumbing work must be registered." The CIB won't count unregistered time toward a license, so register on your first day. See our helper jobs guide and how to get an apprenticeship. [2][4][7]

Who needs a license in Oklahoma

State rules say no one may engage or offer to engage in plumbing work without a valid license or registration from the Construction Industries Board. Only a licensed journeyman or contractor may act as foreman or supervisor over plumbing work. A journeyman must work for a licensed plumbing contractor and can't contract jobs on their own.

Licensed plumbers may also install, replace or repair gas piping, floor furnaces and wall heaters, and Oklahoma's journeyman exam covers natural gas. [4][8][9]

The license ladder: apprentice to contractor

Oklahoma's ladder has no master plumber license. The contractor license is the highest.

• Apprentice Plumber: registration at 16 or older; no exam.
• Journeyman Plumber: three years of experience with a licensed plumbing contractor (the rules count a year as 2,000 hours), age 18, plus an exam.
• Plumbing Contractor: journeyman requirements plus one more year, plus an exam with a business and law portion.

Residential license: law change November 1, 2026. The CIB's rules already provide residential journeyman and residential contractor licenses. A 2026 law (HB 3462), taking effect November 1, 2026, writes the residential journeyman requirements into state law: two years and 4,000 verified hours, or a 1,000-hour approved program plus 3,000 hours, or two years of military plumbing plus 3,000 hours. The law limits residential plumbers to one- and two-family homes and bars work on apartments, motels and multifamily townhomes. The CIB's rules, including the update the Governor approved in August 2026 for HB 3462, still describe residential plumbing as covering townhouses up to three stories, so confirm the scope with the CIB.

Approved school programs can substitute for experience: 1,000 classroom hours for two years, 500 hours for one year, and 375, 334 and 250 hours for nine, eight and six months. Compare states on the plumber hub. [4][5][6][10][11][12]

The journeyman exam

PSI runs the exam. After the CIB approves your application, schedule at PSI's Oklahoma page or call (855) 834-8750. The fee is $92 per exam portion.

The bulletin effective September 11, 2026 lists the journeyman plumbing and natural gas exam at 85 scored questions in 180 minutes, open book. The passing score is 75% until November 1, 2026, when it drops to 70% (60 correct answers) under HB 3462. The residential journeyman exam has the same format.

Until November 1, 2026, you wait 30 days after a first failure and 90 days after later failures; after that date the law sets 30 days for each retake. [1][9][13][14]

Fees, renewal and continuing education

CIB fees: apprentice $20 registration plus a $5 application fee; journeyman $25 application plus $50 initial license; contractor $30 application plus $300 initial license. Renewals are $75 a year for a journeyman and $200 for a contractor, with late fees of $25 and $100. PSI exam fees are separate.

Licenses expire on the last day of your birth month and renew yearly. Journeymen and contractors need six hours of approved CE within the 36 months before their license expires.

A 2026 law (SB 1732) raises fees starting July 1, 2028. The CIB's rule filing lists the apprentice fee going from $20 to $32, the initial journeyman license from $50 to $80 and journeyman renewal from $75 to $120. [1][4][12][15][16][17]

Union, open-shop and school routes

You can earn your hours with any licensed plumbing contractor. In Oklahoma City, the union route is UA Local 344, which trains apprentices with the Plumbers and Pipefitters Training Center of Oklahoma City.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) plumbing courses in Tulsa and many CareerTech technology center programs are on the CIB's approved list, so finishing one can cut your experience requirement. More: union vs. non-union and vocational school. [18][19][20]

If you're licensed in another state

The CIB's only published plumbing reciprocity agreement is with Arkansas, effective October 21, 2024. It's not automatic: you apply for an Oklahoma unlimited journeyman license, show you've held your Arkansas license at least a year and passed an Arkansas or Oklahoma exam, and skip the journeyman test.

From other states, a current out-of-state license in good standing can speed up processing if you meet the experience rules, and Board-approved "exam equivalency" can replace the Oklahoma exam. Oklahoma's Universal Licensing Recognition Act (2021) is for people who move to and live in Oklahoma, but it applies only where Oklahoma law gives no reciprocity authority for the trade. The CIB has that authority under its own law (59 O.S. 1000.5a), so the act doesn't add a separate route for plumbing licenses. See our reciprocity guide. [4][21][22][23][24]

City rules in Oklahoma

Cities issue plumbing permits and can add registration. In Oklahoma City, a plumbing contractor must hold the state license and register it with the city ($100 initially and each year). [25]

Steps to get licensed in Oklahoma

1. Get hired and register as an apprentice

   Find a job with a licensed plumbing contractor or enroll in a recognized school or training course, then mail the CIB's apprentice application with $25. [3][7][15]

2. Work under a licensed plumber and track your hours

   Keep your registration current every year. The CIB doesn't track your hours; your contractor must, and you should too. [1][16]

3. Apply for the journeyman exam

   After three years (or two years for the residential license from November 1, 2026), send the plumbing license application with proof of experience, any approved-school transcripts and the fees. [4][5][6]

4. Schedule and pass the PSI exam

   Once approved, schedule with PSI ($92 per exam portion). The exam is open book. [5][9]

5. Add a year for the contractor license

   With one more year of experience, apply for the plumbing contractor exam, which adds a business and law portion, then set up bond and insurance. [1][4][11]

Where to get the hours

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

• Union

  UA Local 344 (Plumbers and Pipefitters, Oklahoma City)

  The Oklahoma City local of the plumbers' and pipefitters' union. It works with the Plumbers and Pipefitters Training Center of Oklahoma City and describes a paid apprenticeship with classroom instruction; the UA runs five-year registered apprenticeship programs. Use its call-back form to ask about applying. [18][19]

• School

  CIB-approved plumbing schools (technology centers, ABC)

  The CIB's approved list includes plumbing programs at technology centers such as Tulsa Technology, Central Tech, Canadian Valley, Mid-Del and Mid-America, and Associated Builders and Contractors courses in Tulsa. Confirm the approval and substitution rate with the CIB Plumbing Division before you enroll. [20]

• State program

  Apprenticeship Oklahoma (Oklahoma CareerTech)

  CareerTech calls itself the state's hub for registered apprenticeships. Its apprentice page explains how to find openings through technology centers, employers and the federal finder. [27][28]

• Other

  Apprenticeship.gov Apprenticeship Finder

  The U.S. Department of Labor's search tool for open apprenticeship jobs, where you apply directly with the employer. [29]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask