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

Yes. Oregon requires the trade exam on this path.

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

Published fees on this path total $100, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.

Do my Florida work hours count in Oregon?

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

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

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

Florida to Oregon: 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 Oregon'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.

Standard application with credit for out-of-state training and experience, then the Oregon journeyman exam (all states except Idaho and Montana)

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

A plumber licensed in any state other than Idaho or Montana applies for the Journeyman Plumber license on the standard Journeyman Plumber License Application (form 440-2571) with the $100 non-refundable fee; the out-of-state license itself does not waive anything, but the experience behind it counts. The applicant qualifies for the exam in one of three ways: proof of completing an out-of-state apprenticeship program that meets the Oregon four-year standard; official transcripts showing at least 576 hours of classroom training in the OAR 918-695-0030 subjects plus employer-verified 3,850 hours of residential and 3,850 hours of commercial on-the-job experience meeting the category minimums (sewerage 300/300, DWV 1,300/1,300, soldering and brazing 200/200, water supply 1,100/1,100, fixtures 700/700, miscellaneous 250/250); or, with no classroom proof, 7,700 residential and 7,700 commercial hours lawfully obtained while holding a license with a similar scope to an Oregon journeyman plumber. Only lawful work experience gained in compliance with the other jurisdiction's rules is accepted, the division counts at most 2,000 hours per year, and each employer completes a Plumbing Experience Verification Form (440-2571a); copies of all plumbing licenses ever held and proof of a high school diploma, GED or college degree are also required. Once approved, the applicant receives a Letter of Authorization, schedules the four-hour, 64-question open-book exam at one of ten Oregon testing locations within 60 days, and must score 75 percent or better; the license is mailed with passing results, and a failed exam may be retaken after 30 days with a reapplication form.

The Oregon journeyman exam is a single open-book exam that covers the Oregon Plumbing Specialty Code, administrative rules, calculations, drawings and safety; no separate law or business exam exists. No exam fee is published separately from the $100 application fee; the exam page says only that changing test locations after the Letter of Authorization requires paying the license fee again, and ORS 693.135 caps the journeyman application fee at $100. The three-year renewal fee is not published on a machine-readable official page; ORS 693.135 caps it at $50 per year. acceptsMunicipalOriginLicenses is set to true because Oregon's default path credits 'lawful work experience' from any jurisdiction (OAR 918-030-0010(6)) and form 2571's double-hours pathway asks only for 'a license with a similar scope of work'; it does not rest on a state-issued origin license. Municipal licenses never qualify for the reciprocity path, which is limited to states with signed agreements. No typical processing time is published for plumbing applications.

At a glance

Trade exam: Required
Law / code exam: Not required
Out-of-state hours: Count toward eligibility

What you must already have

Completion of an out-of-state plumbing apprenticeship program recognized by Oregon (a non-registered program is accepted only if it meets the Oregon four-year standard); OR at least 576 hours of verified classroom training in the OAR 918-695-0030(2)(a) subjects plus 3,850 residential and 3,850 commercial on-the-job hours meeting the category minimums; OR 7,700 residential and 7,700 commercial on-the-job hours lawfully obtained while holding a license with a scope similar to an Oregon journeyman plumber
All experience must be lawful work experience gained in compliance with the regulations of the jurisdiction where it was performed; the division counts no more than 2,000 hours per year and requires an employer-signed Plumbing Experience Verification Form (440-2571a) for each employer
Proof of a high school diploma, GED or equivalent (a college degree substitutes), a 2x2 passport-style photo, and copies of every individual or contractor plumbing license ever held in any state

What you'll do to get licensed in Oregon

1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($100). Journeyman Plumber License Application fee (form 440-2571), non-refundable; covers application review, exam authorization and issuance of the three-year license (ORS 693.135 caps this fee at $100).
2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Oregon Journeyman Plumber examination administered by the Building Codes Division at an Oregon testing location: 4 hours, 64 questions, open book, covering the Oregon Plumbing Specialty Code, administrative rules, calculations, drawings and safety; minimum score 75 percent; must be taken within 60 days of the Letter of Authorization; 30-day wait after a failure.
3Continuing education. Complete continuing education (if applicable). Not required to obtain the license; for each three-year renewal the licensee completes 24 hours of approved continuing education including 4 hours of code change and a 4-hour Oregon rule and law course (reduced for new licensees under OAR 918-030-0150).

Published fees on this path total $100, 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

Continuing education

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

Continuing education · if applicable

How Oregon licenses journeyman plumbers

Oregon journeyman plumber · “Journeyman Plumber (JP)”

Statewide license

Verified September 16, 2026· 7 sources

Issued by Oregon Building Codes Division (Department of Consumer and Business Services) / State Plumbing Board

Oregon issues a statewide Journeyman Plumber (JP) license through the Building Codes Division on behalf of the State Plumbing Board; under ORS 693.030 nobody may work in the trade of journeyman plumber without it, and commercial or industrial plumbing must be installed by a licensed journeyman or a registered apprentice working under one. A new applicant qualifies for the exam by completing a four-year Oregon plumbing apprenticeship, or by documenting 576 hours of classroom training plus 7,700 hours of on-the-job experience split 3,850 residential and 3,850 commercial across set work categories, or by documenting twice those hours (7,700 residential and 7,700 commercial) earned while holding a license with a journeyman-plumber scope. The application and license fee is $100 (non-refundable), and the applicant must pass the division's four-hour, 64-question open-book journeyman exam at an Oregon testing location with a score of 75 percent or better; there is no separate law exam and no national exam vendor. Oregon has signed journeyman plumber reciprocity agreements with Idaho and Montana only; qualifying holders of those licenses are licensed without examination for the same $100 fee. Every other out-of-state plumber applies on the standard form, receives credit for lawful out-of-state apprenticeship, classroom and on-the-job hours, and must pass the Oregon exam. Licenses run on a three-year cycle (all JP licenses next expire April 1, 2029) and renewal requires 24 hours of continuing education including 4 hours of code change and a 4-hour Oregon rule and law course.

Moving to Oregon Leaving Oregon

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 Oregon journeyman plumber exam if I'm licensed in Florida?: Yes. Oregon requires the trade exam on this path.
What does it cost to get a Oregon journeyman plumber license from Florida?: Published fees on this path total $100, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my Florida work hours count in Oregon?: Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Oregon's eligibility requirements.
Does it work the other way, from Oregon to Florida?: Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Oregon to Florida, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

Building Codes Division - License continuing education · Oregon Building Codes Division (DCBS) · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
Building Codes Division - License exams and locations (with Exam information PDF, exam-info-2016.pdf) · Oregon Building Codes Division (DCBS) · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
Journeyman Plumber License Application (form 440-2571) and Plumbing Experience Verification Form (440-2571a) · Oregon Building Codes Division (DCBS) · Form · verified September 16, 2026
Building Codes Division - Individual licenses table: Plumbing - Journeyman Plumber (JP) and Plumbing Business (PB) · Oregon Building Codes Division (DCBS) · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
Building Codes Division - Journeyman plumber license (how to apply) · Oregon Building Codes Division (DCBS) · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
Building Codes Division - Reciprocal licenses · Oregon Building Codes Division (DCBS) · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
OAR chapter 918, division 30 - General Licensing Requirements · OAR 918-030-0010, 918-030-0015, 918-030-0020, 918-030-0030, 918-030-0060, 918-030-0120, 918-030-0150, 918-030-0210, 918-030-0230 · Oregon Secretary of State · Admin Rule · verified September 16, 2026
OAR chapter 918, division 695 - Plumbing Licensing and Certification · OAR 918-695-0000, 918-695-0020, 918-695-0030, 918-695-0040, 918-695-0110 · Oregon Secretary of State · Admin Rule · verified September 16, 2026
ORS chapter 693 - Plumbers (2025 edition) · ORS 693.030, 693.040, 693.060, 693.095, 693.103, 693.120, 693.135 · Oregon 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.

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