LicensebyState

Where a California journeyman plumber license transfers

California does not issue a statewide journeyman license, so other states have nothing to reciprocate with. Each row below is that state's standard out-of-state path, which you would meet in full.

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California journeyman plumber · “Journeyman plumber / certificate of competency (city-issued)

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 16, 2026· 2 sources

Issued by City and county building departments (no statewide journeyman plumber license)

California does not issue a statewide journeyman plumber or master plumber license. The only state plumbing credential is the C-36 Plumbing Contractor classification from the Contractors State License Board (CSLB), which is a contractor license qualified by a named individual, not a personal tradesperson card. Business and Professions Code §7053 takes wage employees outside the Contractors State License Law, so a plumber who works for a C-36 contractor needs no CSLB license; California's personal electrician certification (Labor Code §108) has no plumbing counterpart. Some cities and counties still examine and card journeyman plumbers (certificate of competency / journey-level plumber) for work in that jurisdiction. Those cards are not statewide, are not issued by CSLB, and an out-of-state journeyman plumber license is not recognized by any state board. An arriving journeyman should ask the building department where the job is whether a local plumber card is required and sit that city's exam; contracting independently requires a C-36 license, described at the master level.

How local licensing works in California

No state journeyman. CSLB's C-36 page and fee/reciprocity materials describe only contractor licensing. B&P §7053 leaves employed plumbers unlicensed at the state level. There is no DIR-style plumber certification.

How local cards work. Cities that still license individual plumbers typically issue a certificate of competency or journey-level plumber card after documented experience and a local exam. The card does not authorize contracting (that is C-36). Cards are not portable statewide; a Los Angeles card does not satisfy San Francisco, and vice versa. San Francisco DBI 'certificate-competency' redirected to the SF.gov Department of Building Inspection hub without the certificate list. City of San Diego /development-services/permits/contractor-licenses returned HTTP 404. Other cities and some counties may also card plumbers.

Every destination

No credit 33Not applicable 17
Every state's rule for a California license
StateMechanismNoteVerified
AlabamaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
AlaskaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
ArizonaNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
ArkansasNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
ColoradoNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
ConnecticutNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
DelawareNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
District of ColumbiaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
FloridaNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
GeorgiaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
HawaiiNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
IdahoNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
IllinoisNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
IndianaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
IowaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
KansasNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
KentuckyNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
LouisianaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
MaineNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
MarylandNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
MassachusettsNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
MichiganNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
MinnesotaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
MississippiNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
MissouriNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
MontanaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
NebraskaNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
NevadaNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
New HampshireNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
New JerseyNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
New MexicoNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
New YorkNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
North CarolinaNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
North DakotaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
OhioNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
OklahomaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
OregonNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
PennsylvaniaNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
Rhode IslandNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
South CarolinaNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
South DakotaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
TennesseeNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
TexasNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
UtahNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
VermontNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
VirginiaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
WashingtonNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
West VirginiaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
WisconsinNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
WyomingNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16

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