How to become a licensed plumber in Tennessee

Licensing office Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (Department of Commerce and Insurance) · (615) 741-8307 [7][15]

The license pathway in Tennessee

1. 1

   Helper or apprentice plumber

   • No state fee; Nashville apprentice license $5
   • Nashville: $5

   The state issues no license at this level. In Nashville, an apprentice plumber must hold a Metro apprentice license, work for a registered Metro plumbing contractor under the direct supervision of a master or journeyman, and be enrolled in a registered or nationally accredited apprenticeship (at least 8,000 hours of practice and 600 classroom or shop hours). No written exam is required. [3]

2. 2

   Limited Licensed Plumber (LLP)

   • 1 year of experience
   • Yes, 40 questions, 2 hours, open book, 2021 IPC; Prov
   • $75 initial; exam $53 to Prov
   • Every 2 years; $50

   A state license for plumbing work under $25,000 per project where the Division of Fire Prevention handles permits or inspections. You need proof of one year of plumbing experience and a passing LLP exam score; holders of a local plumbing license with a year of experience there may be licensed without the exam. An LLP may not call itself a contractor. [1][9][10][11][12][14]

3. 3

   Journeyman plumber (city license)

   • 3 years of experience
   • Yes, local exam
   • Nashville: $50 exam, $25 license; Chattanooga: $55
   • Nashville: $25; Chattanooga: every 2 years

   Issued by cities. Nashville requires three years' experience in the next lower class and the board's exam, and you work for a registered Metro plumbing contractor under a master plumber. Chattanooga requires four years of plumbing work experience. [3][4]

4. 4

   Master plumber (city license)

   • 3 years of experience
   • Yes, local exam
   • Nashville: $50 exam, $100 license
   • Nashville: $100

   In Nashville, a master plumber needs three years as a journeyman (the next lower class) or a civil or mechanical engineering degree, plus the exam. A Metro plumbing contractor must keep a master plumber on staff full time. [3]

5. 5

   Plumbing contractor (CMC-A classification)

   • 3 years of experience
   • Yes, Business and Law (50 questions) plus CMC-A trade exam (100 questions); open book
   • $50 pre-approval; $250 application; $53 per exam
   • $200 renewal

   A state contractor license for plumbing work of $25,000 or more. Before the trade exam, the Board must pre-approve you with proof of at least three years of plumbing work experience (or a plumbing license from another agency, W-2s from a plumbing contractor, or an engineering degree). The business also needs a financial statement or surety bond, insurance and a reference letter. [2][10][14][15]

How to get your first plumbing job in Tennessee

The state doesn't license plumbing apprentices or helpers, so you can start by getting hired by a plumbing contractor or accepted into an apprenticeship. Check the city: Nashville's Metro Code says it's unlawful to do plumbing work as a master, journeyman or apprentice without a Metro license, and its apprentice license requires that you work for a registered Metro plumbing contractor and be enrolled in a registered or nationally accredited apprenticeship.

Apprenticeship routes include the union UA locals and the non-union ABC Greater Tennessee Construction Trades Academy, which asks for a high school diploma or GED, a driver's license and an age of at least 18. ABC says that if you enroll without a job you're a "trainee" until you're working in the trade. [3][5][6]

Who needs a license

The state Board for Licensing Contractors licenses plumbing contractors (CMC-A) and Limited Licensed Plumbers. A contractor license is needed for plumbing work of $25,000 or more, including subcontractors working for another contractor. The $25,000 is the job's total cost under state law: all labor, materials, equipment, subcontracted work, overhead and profit, no matter who pays (materials the owner buys count too) and whether the work is under one contract or several. The LLP covers work under $25,000, but the Board says it's "only required by plumbers performing work in a municipality utilizing the Division of Fire Prevention for permits or inspections". General maintenance under $500 is exempt.

The Board says to "Always first check with your local government" to see whether it accepts the LLP or has its own licensing. [1][2][7][8]

The Limited Licensed Plumber (LLP)

The LLP application says you "Must provide proof of one (1) year experience in order to obtain a license", citing state law (T.C.A. 62-6-406). You can prove it with the Board's experience pages or a copy of a local plumbing license, and you attach your LLP exam score. An LLP can't call itself a contractor.

State law (Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-6-406) adds these rules:

• The one year of experience must be satisfactory to the Board, and it can't be waived.
• The LLP isn't required in a city or county that issues its own plumbing licenses. Plumbing work you do there counts toward your one year.
• If you hold a city or county plumbing license and have one year of experience there, the Board can license you without its exam if it finds the local test satisfactory. That LLP isn't automatically valid in other places that issue their own licenses.
• Once you have at least two years of plumbing experience, the law says your LLP is valid in any city or county; you pay the local fees. Cities and counties may still adopt stricter testing or experience rules, so check locally.

Fees: the Board's fee page lists $75 for an initial license and $50 to renew. The Board's rule (0680-04-.03) lists the $75 initial license fee plus a $50 non-refundable application fee; confirm the total with the Board. The license expires every two years, and renewals more than 90 days late are treated as new applications. [9][10][11][12]

The exams

Since July 1, 2026, Prov gives the Board's exams. All are computer-based, open book, $53 each, and scored against a 73% passing standard.

• LLP: 40 questions in 2 hours, based on the 2021 International Plumbing Code (IPC) and 2021 International Fuel Gas Code.
• CMC-A plumbing contractor: 100 questions; the Board must pre-approve you first.
• Business and Law (all new contractors): 50 questions in 2.5 hours.

[13][14]

Nashville's plumber licenses

Metro Nashville's Board of Plumbing Examiners and Appeals licenses master, journeyman and apprentice plumbers (Metro Code chapter 6.52). Each applicant for an exam must show at least three years' experience in the next lower classification; a civil or mechanical engineering degree can replace the experience. The exam may be written, oral or both, and there's no written exam for apprentices. If you fail, you wait 30 days to retake.

Fees: journeyman $50 exam, $25 license, $25 renewal; master $50 exam, $100 license, $100 renewal; apprentice $5. Licenses renew every year (by January 1), and renewals are free for license holders over 65. A plumbing contractor must employ a master plumber full time and post a $40,000 permit bond. [3]

Chattanooga's journeyman plumber

Chattanooga requires a certificate of competency to work as a master or journeyman plumber, or registration as an apprentice plumber. A journeyman applicant must show "four (4) years' actual work experience in the plumbing trade" and pass an exam on plumbing and the city code. The certificate costs $55 per two-year cycle; you apply on the city's OpenGov portal. [4]

Plumbing contractor license (CMC-A)

To take the plumbing (CMC-A) or full mechanical (CMC) contractor exam, you first send the Board a notarized pre-approval request with verification of at least three years of plumbing work experience and a $50 fee. A past employer, contractor or permit office must sign the verification; W-2s from a plumbing contractor, a plumbing license from another agency, or a plumbing or mechanical engineering degree can stand in for it. State law sets the CMC-A rule as three years' experience as a plumber, or an engineering degree in plumbing or a mechanical field.

The business then needs a qualifying agent who passes the trade and Business and Law exams, a CPA-reviewed financial statement or (since July 1, 2026) a surety bond of at least half the requested limit, insurance, a reference letter and a $250 application fee. The bond must stay in force; if it lapses, the license is no longer valid. State law says no county or city may require a state-licensed contractor "or its employees" to pass a local test; local permits still apply, so ask the local codes office how this fits your job. [2][7][10][15][16]

If you're licensed in another state

The Board says you "cannot operate in Tennessee with a license from another state". For plumbing contractors, it waives the CMC-A trade exam for those licensed in Ohio or South Carolina (commercial), and the full mechanical (CMC) exam for mechanical contractors licensed in Louisiana, Mississippi or West Virginia. You still take the Business and Law exam, and there's no waiver for the LLP. A plumbing license from another agency can also serve as proof of experience for CMC-A pre-approval. State law also says residents of states that have no reciprocal agreement with Tennessee are not to be offered work over $2,500; ask the Board how this applies to you before you bid. [2][15][16][17]

Steps to get licensed in Tennessee

1. Check who licenses plumbers where you'll work

   The Board says to check first with your local government to see whether it accepts the LLP or has its own license. Nashville and Chattanooga license plumbers locally. [1][3][4]

2. Get hired or join an apprenticeship

   Start with a plumbing contractor or in a registered apprenticeship. In Nashville, get a Metro apprentice plumber license ($5) first. [3][5][6]

3. Earn a city journeyman license

   After three years as an apprentice in Nashville (four years' experience in Chattanooga), apply for the local journeyman exam. [3][4]

4. Or get the state LLP for smaller jobs

   With one year of documented experience, pass the LLP exam with Prov ($53) and apply online through the Department of Commerce and Insurance ($75). [1][9][14]

5. License a contracting business for jobs of $25,000 or more

   Send the Board's plumbing exam pre-approval request with proof of three years' experience ($50), then pass the CMC-A and Business and Law exams and apply for a contractor license ($250). [2][10][15]

Where to get the hours

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

• Union

  United Association (UA) plumber and pipefitter apprenticeships

  Union apprenticeships run by UA locals and their contractors, typically five years. [5]

• Open shop

  ABC Greater Tennessee Construction Trades Academy (plumbing)

  Non-union plumbing apprenticeship in Middle and East Tennessee: 4 years of night classes and 8,000 on-the-job hours. [6]

• State program

  Apprenticeship TN (Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development)

  The state's apprenticeship office; it helps job seekers find an employer and employers register programs. [18]

• Other

  U.S. Department of Labor Apprenticeship Job Finder

  Search registered plumber apprenticeships anywhere in Tennessee. [19]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask