LicensebyState

Missouri to Montana: journeyman plumber license reciprocity

No credit· Start overVerified September 16, 2026· 11 sources

Missouri does not issue a statewide journeyman plumber license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Montana'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 application with experience credit, then the Montana journeyman examinations (all states except OR, ID, ND, SD)

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

A journeyman licensed anywhere other than Oregon, Idaho, North Dakota or South Dakota applies under the board's 'Out of State' method (ARM 24.180.604). The applicant submits copies of every plumbing license held plus a certified verification from the state or local licensing agency stating the date of licensure and the requirements for licensure; official verifications are also required from every jurisdiction where the applicant has ever held a professional license of any kind. If the origin state's qualifications are not equivalent to Montana's five-year standard, the applicant 'will receive credit for the years required by the original state' and documents the remaining years with Experience Verification Affidavits from employing masters or contractors (W-2s and pay records may supplement them). Applicants from states with no journeyman or master licensing instead provide notarized statements from qualified individuals with direct knowledge of five years of plumbing experience. The checklist states that applicants using the out-of-state method 'will be required to sit for all the required examinations': after board approval (about 30 days) the applicant schedules with IAPMO, pays IAPMO's fee, and passes both journeyman written examinations (100 code questions plus the diagram-based former practical, now also written) with 70% each. The application fee is $220 (fee schedule effective July 11, 2026) and an optional $100 temporary practice permit allows journeyman work for a Montana master plumber for 110 days while testing.

The Montana journeyman written exam covers the 2021 UPC together with Montana statutes, board rules and Building Codes amendments; there is no separate law exam, so examLawRequired is false. ARM 24.180.604 accepts verification from a 'state or local licensing agency', so a city-issued license is considered for experience credit. The 2023 checklist and packet still print a $400 out-of-state fee and $270 exam fee; ARM 24.180.401 as amended July 11, 2026 sets both at $220. IAPMO's exam fee amount is not published on any board page. Military members, spouses and relocating veterans are licensed under MCA 37-1-147 instead and may receive a temporary license while curing deficiencies.

At a glance

Trade exam
Required
Law / code exam
Not required
Out-of-state hours
Count toward eligibility
Typical processing
About 30 days

What you must already have

  • You must document at least 7,500 hours of qualifying work experience.Five years and 7,500 aggregate hours of legally obtained plumbing experience (MCA 37-69-304, checklist Option 1), or a registered apprenticeship completion certificate. Years credited from the origin state's licensing requirement count toward the five; the balance must be documented by Experience Verification Affidavits from licensed masters or plumbing contractors
  • Copy of each out-of-state plumbing license held plus a certified letter of verification from the state or local licensing agency stating the date of licensure and the requirements for licensure (ARM 24.180.604); verifications must be sent directly from every board where the applicant is or has ever been licensed
  • Applicants from states with no journeyman or master licensing must supply a notarized statement or letter from qualified individual(s) acceptable to the board with direct knowledge of plumbing experience equivalent to five years

What you'll do to get licensed in Montana

  1. 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($220). Out-of-state / journeyman application fee under ARM 24.180.401 as amended effective July 11, 2026 (previously $400 out-of-state, $270 by examination); nonrefundable; paid online at ebiz.mt.gov/pol or by check.
  2. 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Montana Journeyman Plumber examinations administered by IAPMO after board approval: first written exam of 100 multiple-choice questions on the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code as amended plus Montana statutes and board rules (open book, 3 hours), then the second written exam replacing the former practical (three virtual isometric diagrams, 2.5 hours); 70% required on each.
  3. 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee. Examination fee paid directly to IAPMO when scheduling at www.iapmo.org/mt-testing; set by the vendor and not published on board pages.
  4. 4Other. Optional temporary practice permit (provisional license fee, ARM 24.180.401) issued once the applicant is approved to test; valid 110 days and allows journeyman work only in the employment of a named Montana master plumber (ARM 24.180.607) ($100) (if applicable).

Published fees on this path total $220, 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

How Montana licenses journeyman plumbers

Montana journeyman plumber · “Journeyman Plumber”

Statewide license

Verified September 16, 2026· 8 sources

Issued by Montana Board of Plumbers (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division)

Montana issues a statewide Journeyman Plumber license through the Board of Plumbers in the Department of Labor & Industry; a journeyman may work only in the employment of a licensed master plumber. A new applicant qualifies under MCA 37-69-304 with five years and 7,500 hours of legally obtained plumbing experience verified by a licensed master or plumbing contractor, or a registered apprenticeship completion certificate (approved trade-school or engineering study counts for up to two of the five years), then passes the IAPMO-administered open-book exams on the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code with 70% on each part. Since April 11, 2026 both the written and the former practical exam are given in written format. The application fee is $220 under the fee schedule effective July 11, 2026 (the 2023 packets still print $270); IAPMO's exam fee is paid separately; a $100 temporary practice permit lets an approved exam candidate work for a Montana master for 110 days. Licenses expire every September 1, renew for $160 and require 4 hours of code-related continuing education a year. Out-of-state journeymen from Oregon, Idaho, North Dakota or South Dakota are licensed by reciprocity without the Montana exam; everyone else receives credit for the years their origin state required but must pass the Montana exams.

Moving to MontanaLeaving Montana

Why Missouri has nothing to transfer

Missouri journeyman plumber

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 16, 2026· 6 sources

Missouri has no statewide journeyman plumber license and no state plumbing board. RSMo chapter 341 instead authorizes cities over 15,000 population and first-classification counties to examine and certify plumbers through their own boards of examiners, and the Division of Professional Registration licenses no plumbing profession (the state's only statewide construction credential is the voluntary electrical contractor license). Journeyman plumbers are therefore licensed jurisdiction by jurisdiction: St. Louis County's Board of Plumbing Examiners, the City of St. Louis Plumbers and Drainlayers Board of Examiners, Kansas City's City Planning and Development contractor-licensing program, Springfield's Building Development Services, and other cities and counties that have adopted a plumbing code. There is no statewide reciprocity and no state mechanism to recognize an out-of-state license. Springfield admits an applicant licensed elsewhere on proof of experience plus an identical ICC (Pearson Vue), Prometric, Experior or Block exam score of 75% or better, and Kansas City may accept a comparable exam from another jurisdiction it deems equivalent; the St. Louis County and City of St.

How local licensing works in Missouri

How local licensing works. Missouri regulates plumbers only through local government. RSMo §§ 341.010-341.080 (cities over 15,000) require plumbers to hold a certificate issued after examination by a city board of examiners, and §§ 341.090-341.220 (first-classification counties) let a county create a department and board of plumbing and sewer inspection that licenses master plumbers, journeymen and drainlayers, sets fees and license terms (§ 341.180) and requires master plumber bonds (§ 341.200). Each board writes its own rules, so hours, exams, fees and the treatment of other jurisdictions' licenses differ from place to place, and a plumber must hold the license of each jurisdiction in which they work.

St. Louis County. The Department of Transportation and Public Works' Plumbing Licensing office (41 South Central Avenue, Clayton, 314-615-3741, [email protected]) licenses Journeyman, Master Plumber and Apprentice plumbers and certifies plumbing contractors under the county plumbing code. The Board of Plumbing Examiners normally meets the first Thursday of each month at 8:00 a.m., and renewal carries a PEU (professional education unit) requirement. The county's separate mechanical board exempts pipefitting and sprinkler-fitting journeymen 'licensed under the county plumbing code' from its own test, which shows how tightly the county's trade licenses are tied to its own code.

City of St. Louis. The Building Division's Plumbers and Drainlayers Board of Examiners 'reviews licensing matters, apprentice applications, complaints, and other business related to plumbing and drainlaying work in the City of St. Louis'. Certification requires an application with notarized references and a passing score from a recognized agency such as Prometric or ICC ($60 application, first four-year certificate free, $181 renewal every four years), and the city 'may accept comparable examinations from other jurisdictions if deemed equivalent or superior' to its approved exams. Whether Kansas City still issues a separately titled journeyman plumber license, its experience requirement and any named reciprocity (for example with Johnson County, Kansas) could not be confirmed because kcmo.gov, the proxy and the archive were all blocked on 2026-09-16.

Springfield. Building Development Services certifies Journeyman Plumbers. Eligibility is 4 years under the supervision of a master plumber or 6 years' experience in the trade, documented on signed, notarized Applicant Experience Forms for every employer (Schedule C or 1099s if self-employed). The packet goes to the board, which meets the first Thursday of each month at 5:00 p.m. in the Busch Building; approval to test is good for one year. The exam is the ICC plumbing exam through Pearson Vue (about $125 paid to Pearson Vue), 75% to pass; the city then issues the Trade Certification Card for $25, renewing at $25 per year. Out-of-state treatment: an applicant licensed in another jurisdiction applies under 'Reciprocity from another jurisdiction' by submitting the same experience documentation plus a copy of an exam score notification of 75% or better from Prometric, Experior, Block or ICC (Pearson Vue), 'the examination must be the identical exam as required by the City of Springfield'; the exam is then not repeated. A license backed by a different exam gives no advantage beyond documenting experience.

Columbia and others. Columbia, St.

Moving to MissouriLeaving Missouri

Common questions

Do I have to take the Montana journeyman plumber exam if I'm licensed in Missouri?
Yes. Montana requires the trade exam on this path.
What does it cost to get a Montana journeyman plumber license from Missouri?
Published fees on this path total $220, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my Missouri work hours count in Montana?
Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Montana's eligibility requirements.
How long does the application take?
The board's published or typical processing time is about 30 days.
Does it work the other way, from Montana to Missouri?
Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Montana to Missouri, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

  1. MCA 37-1-304 - Licensure by endorsement -- reciprocity · MCA 37-1-304; 37-1-147 · Montana Legislature · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
  2. MCA 37-69-304 - Qualifications of applicants for journeyman plumber's license -- restriction on authority · MCA 37-69-304 · Montana Legislature · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
  3. State of Montana Plumbing Licensing Information - 2021 UPC Examination Information Sheet (IAPMO; Rev. 01/09/2023) · ARM 24.180.404, 24.180.407 · Montana Board of Plumbers / IAPMO · Other · verified September 16, 2026
  4. Montana Board of Plumbers - FAQ · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Faq · verified September 16, 2026
  5. MAR Notice No. 2026-79.1 - Board of Plumbers Notice of Proposed Rulemaking amending ARM 24.180.401 Fee Schedule (May 8, 2026) · ARM 24.180.401 · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Board of Plumbers · Admin Rule · verified September 16, 2026
  6. Montana Board of Plumbers - Home · ARM 24.180.2102 · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
  7. Montana Board of Plumbers - Journeyman Plumber Application packet (checklist, general information, application, Experience Verification Affidavit, Verification of Licensure) · MCA 37-69-304(2); ARM 24.180.603, 24.180.604 · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Form · verified September 16, 2026
  8. Montana Board of Plumbers - Journeyman Plumber Licensing Requirements and Application Checklist (updated 02/09/2023) · MCA 37-69-304; ARM 24.180.504, 24.180.603, 24.180.604 · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Form · verified September 16, 2026
  9. Montana Board of Plumbers - Plumber Journeyman license information · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
  10. MAR Notice No. 2025-126.1 - Board of Plumbers Notice of Proposed Rulemaking amending ARM 24.180.407 and repealing ARM 24.180.603 Reciprocity (November 7, 2025) · ARM 24.180.407, 24.180.603; MCA 37-1-304(3) · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Board of Plumbers · Admin Rule · verified September 16, 2026
  11. Montana Substantial Equivalency Determinations (Business Standards Division, all boards) · MCA 37-1-304 · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · 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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