How to get a plumber license in Rhode Island

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

Licensing office Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT), Professional Regulation, for the Board of Examiners of Plumbers · (401) 462-8580 [9][10]

The license pathway in Rhode Island

1. 1

   Registered apprentice plumber

   • 144 hours for each 2,000 hours of on-the-job learning

   You agree to work at least 8,000 hours under the direct supervision and instruction of a master or journeyperson plumber, and DLT registers you and issues a certificate you must carry at all times on the job. [3][5][18][19]

2. 2

   Journeyperson plumber

   • 8,000 hours on the job
   • 5 years of experience
   • 576 hours of related instruction
   • Yes, 50 multiple-choice questions on the 2018 International Plumbing Code; 70 to pass
   • $75 application; $72 license
   • Every 2 years; $72; 7 hours CE

   You must finish a Rhode Island registered apprenticeship and send DLT its Certificate of Completion. A journeyperson works as an employee of a licensed master; only a master may contract for plumbing work or employ others. [2][4][5][8][9][11][12]

3. 3

   Master plumber

   • 1 year of experience
   • Yes, master exam given by DLT; 70 to pass
   • $75 application; $240 license
   • Every 2 years; $240; 7 hours CE

   Lets you run a plumbing business, contract for work and employ journeypersons and apprentices. You need at least one year as a licensed journeyperson working for a licensed master; DLT's form also asks for five years of experience in the trade. [1][6][9][11][12][22]

Who needs a license in Rhode Island

Rhode Island requires a state credential at every level of plumbing. No one may work as an apprentice plumber without a DLT certificate of registration, or as a journeyperson without a journeyperson license, and both must be carried on the job. Running a plumbing business, contracting for plumbing work or employing journeypersons and apprentices takes a master plumber license.

The plumbing law doesn't apply to installing fire sprinkler systems or to employees of public utilities. [1][2][3][7]

The license ladder

• Registered apprentice. You work under the direct supervision of a master or journeyperson plumber in a DLT-registered apprenticeship, at least 8,000 hours.
• Journeyperson. 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and 576 hours of related instruction, then the exam. Since June 25, 2024, state law (R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20-25.1, added by P.L. 2024, ch. 330 and 331) says apprentices must complete a registered apprenticeship in Rhode Island to sit for a plumbing licensing exam.
• Master. At least one year as a licensed journeyperson employed by a master, then the master exam. You must be a U.S. citizen or legal resident.

The law and DLT's forms don't line up exactly on time: the apprentice-registration section describes at least five years, the journeyperson section asks for four years of registration and 8,000 hours within a five-year period, and DLT's application asks for five years of experience. Confirm with DLT. More on the levels: journeyman vs. master. [4][5][6][8][9]

The exam

DLT gives the plumbing exams. DLT's application says the exam has 50 multiple-choice questions based on the 2018 International Plumbing Code (IPC). A score of 70 or more passes, and DLT then invoices you for the license fee. Journeyperson applications must be filed at least 15 days before the exam date, and master applications at least 30 days before.

You can check your application status online. [4][6][9][10]

Fees and renewal

• Exam application: $75, non-refundable.
• Journeyperson license: $72 for two years.
• Master license: $240 for two years.

Licenses expire on your birthday every two years. To renew, masters and journeypersons complete seven hours of approved continuing education (CE) each two-year cycle. Licensees whose years of experience and age add up to 80 are exempt. A license not renewed within two years of expiring is forfeited, and you must take the exam again. [9][11][12]

Union and open-shop apprenticeships

DLT's Apprenticeship Office registers the programs. Routes (see union vs. non-union):

• Union. UA Local 51 in East Providence runs a five-year program with classes two nights a week, September to May. Its training department registers you as an apprentice in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
• Open shop. Non-union master plumbers register as sponsors and send apprentices to an approved school such as RICTA (affiliated with ABC Rhode Island), RIMPMA, RIPHCCA, NEIT or Roger Williams University.

All approved schools are on DLT's education provider list. More: how to get an apprenticeship. [13][14][15][16]

If you're licensed in another state

DLT does not publish plumbing reciprocity agreements. State law lets someone who holds a journeyperson license from another state, where the requirements are the same, apply for the Rhode Island journeyperson exam. DLT's form asks out-of-state applicants for proof of current licensure and a letter of good standing, with the $75 application fee. The Board's rule also says a plumber licensed by exam in another state may be issued a Rhode Island license if that state's requirements are the same, with a copy of the license, a statement of licensure status from that state and an affidavit of passing a written exam there; confirm with DLT. Military members and their spouses who move to Rhode Island on military orders, and who have held a license in another state for at least a year, can apply for a Rhode Island license under state law (R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 5-88); the board decides whether the other state's requirements are substantially equivalent. See license reciprocity. [4][9][12][17]

Steps to get licensed in Rhode Island

1. Get hired by a master plumber or apprenticeship sponsor

   Apply directly to plumbing contractors or to a program such as UA Local 51. DLT's Become an Apprentice page lists programs. [14][20]

2. Register as an apprentice with DLT

   Your sponsor submits your signed apprenticeship agreement, photo ID, ratio sheet and proof of course registration. Carry your registration card on every job. [3][18]

3. Complete the related instruction

   Take 144 hours of approved classes for each 2,000 hours of work, 576 hours in all, at a school on DLT's provider list. [4][16][19]

4. Log 8,000 hours of on-the-job training

   Keep your work record book with your master plumber; the hours and classes go with your exam application. [4][8][18]

5. Apply for the journeyperson exam

   Send the Apprentice Completion & Application for Examination form with the $75 fee and a copy of your ID at least 15 days before an exam date. [4][21]

6. Pass the exam and pay for your license

   The exam has 50 multiple-choice questions on the 2018 IPC. With a score of 70 or more, DLT invoices you for the $72 journeyperson license. [9]

Where to get the hours

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

• Union

  UA Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 51 Joint Apprentice Training Program

  A five-year union program in East Providence with 1,230 classroom hours and 10,000 on-the-job hours, in plumbing, pipefitting or refrigeration. Applications open only in early March. [14][24]

• Open shop

  Rhode Island Construction Training Academy (RICTA)

  A state-approved related-instruction school affiliated with Associated Builders and Contractors of Rhode Island, listed by DLT as a plumbing education provider. [15][16][25]

• Open shop

  Contractor-association schools (RIMPMA and RIPHCCA)

  The Rhode Island Master Plumbers & Mechanical Association and the Rhode Island Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors Association are on DLT's list of approved plumbing education providers. [16]

• State program

  DLT Apprenticeship Office

  Registers apprenticeship programs and apprentices and issues completion certificates. Apprenticeships are jobs: you apply directly to the employer or sponsor. [13][20]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask