LicensebyState

Where a Tennessee journeyman plumber license transfers

Tennessee 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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Tennessee journeyman plumber · “Journeyman plumber (city or county card only)

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 16, 2026· 8 sources

Issued by Local code enforcement offices (Nashville/Davidson, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis/Shelby County and other exempt jurisdictions); no state journeyman plumber license

Tennessee has no statewide journeyman plumber license. The Board for Licensing Contractors licenses plumbing at two other levels only: the Limited Licensed Plumber (LLP), a personal license for projects under $25,000 in municipalities that use the Division of Fire Prevention for permits and inspections (T.C.A. § 62-6-403; photo ID, SSN, Prov LLP trade exam, $75 initial fee; general maintenance under $500 is exempt), and the contractor license with the CMC-A (plumbing) or CMC (full mechanical) classification, a business license required for plumbing work of $25,000 or more. The Board's LLP page tells applicants to check first whether the local government accepts the LLP or runs its own licensing. Journeyman plumber cards therefore exist only where a city or county examines plumbers itself. Metro Nashville's Mechanical, Plumbing, and Electrical Examiners and Appeals Board issues journeyman plumber (and apprentice plumber) certificates; Knoxville registers State Contractors, homeowners, or Unlicensed/State Limited License (LLE or LLP) holders to pull permits and does not publish a separate city journeyman plumber card on that page. An out-of-state journeyman plumber license has no state-level recognition in Tennessee: the Board's trade-exam-waiver form cannot be used for the LLP, and none of the city pages reviewed here publish a reciprocity or exam-waiver path for inbound journeymen.

How local licensing works in Tennessee

How local licensing works. T.C.A. Title 62, Chapter 6 gives the Board the CMC/CMC-A contractor license (business, $25,000 and up, accepted statewide for contracting) and the LLP (individual, under $25,000, only where the State Fire Marshal inspects). Cities and counties that run their own plumbing inspection programs may require a local journeyman or master plumber card instead of, or in addition to, the LLP. Each local card is valid only in that jurisdiction. The Board publishes no journeyman-to-journeyman reciprocity.

Nashville / Davidson County. The Mechanical, Plumbing, and Electrical Examiners and Appeals Board (Metro Code Chapter 2.76) examines applicants for master plumber, journeyman plumber and apprentice plumber certificates and issues those certificates (Codes and Building Safety, 800 President Ronald Reagan Way; 615-862-6500). Expect to sit Metro's exam unless Codes staff confirm otherwise.

Knoxville. Permits are pulled under a State Contractor registration, a Homeowner registration, or an Unlicensed / State Limited License (LLE or LLP) registration. The Plans Review & Inspections page does not describe a city-issued journeyman plumber license. No experience hours published. No out-of-state exam waiver. Accepted only where the Division of Fire Prevention inspects; many larger cities do not use that program.

Every destination

No credit 33Not applicable 17
Every state's rule for a Tennessee 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
CaliforniaNot applicableno state license at this level2026-09-16
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
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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