Do I have to take the Hawaii journeyman plumber exam if I'm licensed in Florida?

Yes. Hawaii requires the trade exam on this path.

What does it cost to get a Hawaii journeyman plumber license from Florida?

Published fees on this path total $142, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.

Do my Florida work hours count in Hawaii?

Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Hawaii's eligibility requirements.

How long does the application take?

The board's published or typical processing time is about 90 days.

Does it work the other way, from Hawaii to Florida?

Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Hawaii to Florida, the mechanism is not applicable.

Florida to Hawaii: journeyman plumber license reciprocity

No credit· Start overVerified September 16, 2026· 9 sources

Florida does not issue a statewide journeyman plumber license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Hawaii's standard path for out-of-state applicants.

Your origin state does not issue a statewide license at this level, so there is no license to transfer. The destination's standard out-of-state path is shown; expect to meet it in full.

Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.

Out-of-state journeyman: experience credited, full Hawaii exam (all states)

Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.

Hawaii has no reciprocity or endorsement for journey worker plumbers from any state. An out-of-state journeyman applies for the PJ exam like a new candidate, documenting at least 10,000 hours (five years full-time) of UPC-compliant plumbing work as a journey worker's or master plumber's helper on notarized Experience Verification forms signed by each licensed plumber who supervised the work. If the state where the experience was gained licenses only contractors, the Board accepts a form signed by the licensed contractor together with verification of that contractor's license dates, and a self-employed plumbing contractor may self-attest with a copy of the contractor license that was valid during the period claimed. The applicant must also submit a License Verification form from every jurisdiction where a license has ever been held. The $40 application goes to the Board, which meets in even-numbered months and must approve the applicant before PSI will register them; examination eligibility lasts two years. On passing, the plumber license fee is $306 in the first year of the plumber triennium, $204 in the second, and $102 in the third (calendar years listed on the 06/2026 form; 2026 is a third year, so $102 if licensed between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027). A Hawaii contractor's license under HRS ch. 444 is separately required to contract for plumbing work.

Board meetings are usually in February, April, June, August, October and December with exams the following month, so allow roughly two to four months from filing to exam. The current PSI examination fee is not printed on the 06/2026 DCCA form; the Board's July 2018 FAQ listed $90 for plumbers ($95 for electricians). The Board page left plumber renewal dollar amounts blank; do not treat the 2018 $276 renewal figure as current. HAR §16-80-3 recognizes county-adopted UPC as the minimum plumbing standard and allows other licensed contractors to run exterior piping five feet or more outside the building line without a PJ/PM. Equivalent-experience language in HAR §16-80-3 is written for master plumbers, not for the PJ exam.

At a glance

Trade exam: Required
Law / code exam: Not required
Out-of-state hours: Count toward eligibility
Typical processing: About 90 days

What you must already have

You must document at least 10,000 hours of qualifying work experience.At least five years full-time or its equivalent, but not less than 10,000 hours, as a journey worker's or master plumber's helper (HRS §448E-5(b)(5)); the application form requires the work to be plumbing work in compliance with the UPC. Out-of-state hours count when verified by the supervising licensed plumber or, where that state licenses only contractors, the licensed contractor.
License Verification form completed by every jurisdiction in which the applicant has ever held a license, showing any discipline

What you'll do to get licensed in Hawaii

1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($40). Non-refundable application fee payable to Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
2Other. Notarized Experience Verification form(s) - Plumber Only, signed by each licensed plumber (or licensed contractor, where the origin state licenses only contractors) under whom the hours were earned.
3Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Hawaii Journey Worker Plumber examination administered by PSI Services, based on the Uniform Plumbing Code; Board approval required before registering.
4Exam fee. Pay the exam fee. Examination fee paid directly to PSI at registration (amount set in the PSI candidate bulletin; $90 in the Board's 2018 plumber FAQ).
5License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($102). Initial plumber license fee if licensed in the third year of the plumber triennium (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 per the 06/2026 application table: years 2017, 2020, 2023, 2026), including the compliance resolution fund fee; $306 in the first year of a triennium and $204 in the second. Do not send this fee with the initial application..
6Continuing education. Complete continuing education. For each triennial renewal of an Active PJ license (next June 30, 2027): proof of a University of Hawaii community college course on updates to the 2021 UPC, or a board-prescribed UPC-update exam (HRS §448E-8.5(b)). Waived for the first renewal if the license was issued within one year of the expiration date; not required while Inactive..

Published fees on this path total $142, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

What you'll need to buy or arrange

Exam preparation

Most boards contract PSI, Prov, or ICC for exams. Check which code edition the exam is written to before buying a prep course.

Trade exam
Exam fee

Continuing education

Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.

Continuing education

How Hawaii licenses journeyman plumbers

Hawaii journeyman plumber · “Journey Worker Plumber (PJ)”

Statewide license

Verified September 16, 2026· 5 sources

Issued by Hawaii Board of Electricians and Plumbers (DCCA Professional and Vocational Licensing Division)

Hawaii issues a statewide Journey Worker Plumber (PJ) license through the Board of Electricians and Plumbers in the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. HAR §16-80-4 requires anyone who performs, directs, or supervises plumbing work in or within five feet of buildings in the State to hold a PJ or Master Plumber (PM) license (unlicensed helpers may work only while a licensee is physically present on the project site). Eligibility under HRS §448E-5(b)(5) and the Board's application is five years full-time, and not less than 10,000 hours, of plumbing work in compliance with the Uniform Plumbing Code as a journey worker's or master plumber's helper, followed by the PSI-administered Hawaii written exam based on the UPC. The Board's application form states that Hawaii does not reciprocate with any jurisdiction: an out-of-state journeyman license is never exchanged for a Hawaii license and the exam is never waived, but out-of-state hours count in full when verified on notarized Experience Verification forms. Licenses run on a three-year cycle ending June 30 (next 2027, then 2030, 2033) and Active PJ licensees must complete a 2021 UPC update course (or a board-prescribed UPC-update exam) to renew. A Hawaii contractor's license under HRS ch. 444 is separately required to contract for plumbing work.

Moving to Hawaii Leaving Hawaii

Why Florida has nothing to transfer

Florida journeyman plumber · “Journeyman Plumber certificate of competency (county-issued)”

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 16, 2026· 5 sources

Issued by County and municipal licensing boards (no state journeyman license)

Florida has no state journeyman plumber license. The Construction Industry Licensing Board within DBPR certifies and registers plumbing contractors only (occupation codes CF/RF); s. 489.105 never defines 'journeyman', and the Board's plumbing application list has no journeyman credential. Hillsborough County states there is 'no State of Florida requirement for anyone to hold a Journeyman Certificate of Competency.' Section 489.1455, F.S., instead authorizes counties and municipalities to issue journeyman licenses in the plumbing (and pipe fitting, mechanical, or HVAC) trades to a person who scores at least 75 percent on a proctored journeyman exam, has completed a registered apprenticeship or 12,000 hours of on-the-job training, and completes Florida Building Commission coursework, and it requires every county and municipality to recognize a journeyman licensed by any other Florida county or municipality. Large urban counties run such programs (Hillsborough's Journeyman Plumber Certificate of Competency; Miami-Dade's Construction Trades Qualifying Board plumbing journeyman card). An out-of-state journeyman plumber license carries no state-level recognition, so an arriving plumber should expect to document experience and take the county exam in the first county that requires a card, after which that Florida county card is portable statewide under s. 489.1455(2).

How local licensing works in Florida

How local licensing works. DBPR's Construction Industry Licensing Board certifies (statewide) and registers (locally qualified) plumbing contractors and issues no personal license below contractor. Section 489.1455, F.S. lets counties and municipalities license journeymen in the plumbing, pipe fitting, mechanical and HVAC trades on three conditions: 75 percent on a proctored Block and Associates or other board-approved journeyman exam, a registered and state-approved apprenticeship or 12,000 hours of on-the-job training, and Florida Building Commission-approved coursework (within 6 months of certification). Subsection (2) makes every county and municipality recognize a journeyman licensed by any other Florida county or municipality. A journeyman card never authorizes contracting; the holder works under a certified or registered plumbing contractor.

Hillsborough County. Development Services issues a Journeyman Electrician or Plumber Certificate of Competency. Fees on the 2026-09-16 page: $50 nonrefundable initiation, $100 on acceptance, $70 one-time registration. The holder 'must always work under the supervision of a properly licensed Electrical/Plumbing Contractor.' Application is through HillsGovHub with apprenticeship completion (if any), an approved-agency exam score if already tested, and a verification-of-experience form. From the 2026-09-15 reading of the same hub: three years of proven field experience (up to one-half education equivalent), open-book exam at 75 percent or above, $240 fee; the county 'only reciprocates with Broward and Palm Beach County in specific trade categories' and only for journeymen who scored 75% or higher. The 2026-09-16 hub extract did not reprint those figures.

Pinellas County. The Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board journeyman application (read 2026-09-15 for HVAC/electrical FL; pinellas.gov and the PDF failed to extract on 2026-09-16) offered Plumbing, Electrical, Pipe Fitting, Air Conditioning and Sheet Metal Journeyman classifications: open-book independent-agency exam, about six hours, passing grade 70%, $75 non-refundable application fee, notarized employer experience certificates, six-year employment history and three character letters. No out-of-state reciprocity is printed on that form. Journeymen must be certified by PCCLB to work in the county.

Broward, Palm Beach, Orange and Duval. Broward County's Building Code Division Central Examining Boards use a contractor/journeyman packet (Chapter 9) that the HVAC and electrical FL files document for mechanical and electrical journeymen ($225 journeyman application / $120 renewal / $50 letter of reciprocity as of January 1, 2025; 75% GITS or ProV exam). Treat those as leads.

Out-of-state journeymen. None of the county programs reviewed publishes an out-of-state reciprocity rule. Expect to sit the first county's exam; a qualifying Florida county card is then recognized statewide under s. 489.1455(2).

Moving to Florida Leaving Florida

Common questions

Do I have to take the Hawaii journeyman plumber exam if I'm licensed in Florida?: Yes. Hawaii requires the trade exam on this path.
What does it cost to get a Hawaii journeyman plumber license from Florida?: Published fees on this path total $142, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my Florida work hours count in Hawaii?: Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Hawaii's eligibility requirements.
How long does the application take?: The board's published or typical processing time is about 90 days.
Does it work the other way, from Hawaii to Florida?: Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Hawaii to Florida, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

DCCA PVL - Requirements for Examination and License, Electricians and Plumbers (Forms EP-00 / EP-01, rev. 06/2026) · HRS ch. 448E; HAR ch. 16-80 · Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division · Form · verified September 16, 2026
DCCA PVL - Board of Electricians and Plumbers · Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
DCCA PVL - Electrician and Plumber Application Deadline and Examination Dates · Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
DCCA PVL - Frequently Asked Questions, Electricians and Plumbers (July 2018) · Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division · Faq · verified September 16, 2026
DCCA PVL - Plumber Continuing Competency Requirements · Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
Hawaii Administrative Rules Title 16, Chapter 80 - Electricians and Plumbers · HAR §§16-80-3, 16-80-4, 16-80-5, 16-80-6 · Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs · Admin Rule · verified September 16, 2026
HRS §448E-5 - Minimum requirements (electricians and plumbers) · HRS §448E-5(b)(5)-(6) · Hawaii State Legislature · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
HRS §448E-5.5 - Examination · HRS §448E-5.5 · Hawaii State Legislature · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
HRS §448E-8.5 - Continued competency; license renewals · HRS §448E-8.5(b)-(c) · Hawaii State Legislature · Statute · verified September 16, 2026

Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.

Report an error on this page