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

No. The trade exam is waived on this path.

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

Published fees on this path total $255, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.

Do my Florida work hours count in South Dakota?

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

Does it work the other way, from South Dakota to Florida?

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

Florida to South Dakota: journeyman plumber license reciprocity

No credit· Start overVerified September 16, 2026· 8 sources

Florida does not issue a statewide journeyman plumber license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is South Dakota'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.

License by reciprocity for any state with substantially equivalent regulation (SDCL 36-25-21; ARSD 20:53:02:21)

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

South Dakota has a single, all-states rule rather than a list of partners. Under SDCL 36-25-21 the Commission 'may register, without examination upon the payment of the required initial application fee, examination fee, and license fee, a nonresident applicant who is registered in another state' whose regulation of plumbers it 'determines ... is substantially equivalent'. ARSD 20:53:02:21 sets the test: the applicant 'shall have been licensed by examination in the state from which he comes, the state shall have licensure laws similar to South Dakota's', and the origin state's plumbing code 'shall be equal to or exceed the South Dakota state plumbing code' (the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code); the Commission investigates and may require affidavits, and 'the normal examination fee shall accompany the application'. The Plumbing License Application's 'License by reciprocity' box requires proof of license by exam, a license verification from the origin board and proof of four hours of continuing education. The Commission's page warns that anyone who 'received your license by testing on the IPC or another code' is instead approved to take South Dakota's plumber exam on verification of the current license and the experience behind it, and applicants from jurisdictions that did not require a license must submit work-experience verification and proof that licensure was not required (ARSD 20:53:03:03). On approval the applicant pays the $105 license fee (a $50 temporary license valid three months is available while an application is pending).

examTradeRequired is false only when the Commission finds the origin state substantially equivalent - in practice a state that licenses plumbers by examination on the Uniform Plumbing Code. Applicants tested on the International Plumbing Code (the majority of states) fall to the ExperienceCredit route in ARSD 20:53:03:03 and 20:53:02:21's IPC caveat: same $50 application and $100 exam fee, three-part Commission exam at 70%, with out-of-state hours counted toward the four-year/1,900-hours-per-year requirement via the Plumbing Experience Verification Form signed by the supervising contractor 'or equivalent if from another state'. The Commission publishes no list of states it deems equivalent and no processing time. A city-issued origin license is not a license 'by examination in the state', so it does not qualify for the no-exam route, although the underlying hours can be credited. ARSD 20:53:02:21 (as amended July 2, 2025) and SDCL 36-25-21 (as amended 2025) both require the exam fee to be paid even when the exam is waived; the Commission's web page still quotes the older statute wording. The application form says an application expires 30 days from receipt if incomplete; exam approvals lapse after six months (ARSD 20:53:02:18). Whether SD requires the four CE hours to have been completed in the prior calendar year is not specified on the form.

At a glance

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

What you must already have

Your Florida license must have been obtained by examination, not by reciprocity or grandfathering.
Your Florida license must be active and in good standing.
You must have passed a licensing exam in Florida that the destination considers comparable.ARSD 20:53:02:21; Commission reciprocity page: 'If you received your license by testing on the IPC or another code, you need to ... take South Dakota's examination for the same license type.'
Origin state's plumber licensure laws must be similar to South Dakota's (substantially equivalent regulation, determined case by case by the Commission, which may require affidavits)
Proof of completion of four hours of plumbing continuing education submitted with the reciprocity application

What you'll do to get licensed in South Dakota

1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($50). Plumber license application fee, non-refundable (ARSD 20:53:12:01; Plumbing License Application Rev. 02/2026).
2Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($100). Plumber examination fee; 'the normal examination fee shall accompany the application' even for license by reciprocity (ARSD 20:53:02:21, 20:53:12:02; SDCL 36-25-21).
3Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam (if applicable). Waived when the Commission finds the origin state substantially equivalent. Otherwise: Commission-administered three-part Plumber exam on the South Dakota plumbing code (2024 UPC) - Part 1 open-book code questions (2 hours), Part 2 closed-book code questions (2 hours), Part 3 stack/waste/vent sizing drawings without the code (1 hour); 70% to pass; by appointment in Pierre or at Sioux Falls/Rapid City sessions; retake once every three months.
4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($105). Initial Plumber license fee (ARSD 20:53:12:03); expires December 31 and renews annually for $105 by January 31; reinstatement within one year waives the exam.
5Other. Optional temporary license while the application is pending; expires three months from issuance or on passing the exam (ARSD 20:53:12:03) ($50) (if applicable).
6Continuing education. Complete continuing education. Minimum four hours (50-minute hours) of Commission-approved continuing education each calendar year for renewal (ARSD 20:53:11:03, 20:53:11:05); licensees keep their own records and present them with the renewal.

Published fees on this path total $255, 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.

Exam fee · $100
Trade exam · if applicable

Continuing education

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

Continuing education

How South Dakota licenses journeyman plumbers

South Dakota journeyman plumber · “Plumber”

Statewide license

Verified September 16, 2026· 6 sources

Issued by South Dakota State Plumbing Commission (Department of Labor and Regulation)

South Dakota issues a statewide Plumber license through the State Plumbing Commission under SDCL chapter 36-25 and ARSD article 20:53; it has no 'journeyman' title, but the Plumber license is the journeyman-level credential (a person working under the direction of a plumbing contractor, SDCL 36-25-1(3)). A new applicant needs four years as an apprentice plumber at not less than 1,900 hours per year (7,600 hours), or three years and 5,700 hours with an accredited 9-month/1,020-hour trade-school program or 3-year association apprenticeship; military plumbing earns one year of credit per two years served (max five). The Commission itself administers a three-part exam on the South Dakota plumbing code (2024 Uniform Plumbing Code with state amendments) - open-book code questions, closed-book code questions and stack/waste/vent sizing drawings - passed at 70%, offered by appointment in Pierre and periodically in Sioux Falls and Rapid City; a retake is allowed once every three months. Fees are a $50 application fee, a $100 exam fee and a $105 license fee; licenses expire December 31 and renew annually for $105 with four hours of continuing education each calendar year. Out-of-state plumbers licensed by examination in a state with similar laws and a plumbing code equal to or exceeding South Dakota's may be licensed without examination under SDCL 36-25-21; those tested on the IPC or another code, or from non-licensing jurisdictions, are approved for the South Dakota exam on proof of equivalent experience.

Moving to South Dakota Leaving South Dakota

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 South Dakota journeyman plumber exam if I'm licensed in Florida?: No. The trade exam is waived on this path.
What does it cost to get a South Dakota journeyman plumber license from Florida?: Published fees on this path total $255, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my Florida work hours count in South Dakota?: Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward South Dakota's eligibility requirements.
Does it work the other way, from South Dakota to Florida?: Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from South Dakota to Florida, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

ARSD Article 20:53 - Plumbing Commission (licensing rules) · ARSD 20:53:02:18, 20:53:02:20, 20:53:02:21, 20:53:03:02, 20:53:03:03, 20:53:03:04, 20:53:03:07, 20:53:11:03, 20:53:11:05, 20:53:12:01, 20:53:12:02, 20:53:12:03 · South Dakota Legislative Research Council (State Plumbing Commission rules) · Admin Rule · verified September 16, 2026
South Dakota Plumbing Commission - Plumbing License Application (Rev. 02/2026) · South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, State Plumbing Commission · Form · verified September 16, 2026
South Dakota Plumbing Commission - Licensing Examinations · ARSD 20:53:12:02 · South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, State Plumbing Commission · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
South Dakota Plumbing Commission - Applications & Forms · South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, State Plumbing Commission · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
South Dakota Plumbing Commission - Licensing Requirements · ARSD 20:53:03:02 · South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, State Plumbing Commission · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
South Dakota Plumbing Commission - Reciprocity · SDCL 36-25-21; ARSD 20:53:02:21 · South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, State Plumbing Commission · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
SDCL 36-25-1 - Definition of terms (State Plumbing Commission) · SDCL 36-25-1(3), (4), (6) · South Dakota Legislative Research Council · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
SDCL 36-25-21 - Reciprocity--Determination by commission · SDCL 36-25-21 (SL 1970, ch 222, § 11; SL 2025, ch 163, § 3) · South Dakota Legislative Research Council · 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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