New York to Alabama: journeyman plumber license reciprocity
New York does not issue a statewide journeyman plumber license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Alabama'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 journeyman plumber: direct admission to the Alabama journeyman exam (all states)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
The Board 'does not currently have any active reciprocal agreements with any other states' at the journeyman level, so every out-of-state journeyman follows the same route: the origin license substitutes for Alabama's two-year apprenticeship and the applicant is admitted straight to the Alabama Journeyman Plumber examination. The Board's conditions are that the out-of-state license 'must have been issued based on successful completion of an exam with a minimum score of 70%', 'must be active and in good standing with no unresolved disciplinary issues', and that the origin licensing agency complete the bottom half of the Board's Request for Verification of License/Registration form (or supply the same information on agency letterhead). The applicant submits the Examination Packet for Out-of-State Applicants, sits the exam on the 2021 International Plumbing Code, and after passing has 90 days to file the journeyman pass packet and pay the certification fee. There is no business-law exam at the journeyman level. A plumber who also wants to do gas fitting must additionally register as at least an Apprentice Gas Fitter.
Fees are set in the Board's rules (Ala. Admin. Code r. 720-X-4-.01): $110 exam fee, $50 initial application processing fee and $75 initial journeyman certificate fee. The exam is open book, given by Prov, and requires 70%. The Examination Packet for Out-of-State Applicants is at https://pgfb.alabama.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Exam-App-Out-of-State-01-26.pdf; the Board's phone is (205) 945-4857.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Required
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- You must have held your New York license for at least 2 years.In-state qualifier is a minimum of two years as an Apprentice (or Board-approved apprentice training plus registered apprentice time equal to two years). Out-of-state journeymen skip this by sitting the exam on a verified origin license instead.
- Your New York license must be active and in good standing.
- You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.
- Your New York license must have been obtained by examination, not by reciprocity or grandfathering.
- Origin licensing agency completes the bottom half of the Board's Request for Verification of License/Registration form, or supplies the same information on its own form or letterhead
What you'll do to get licensed in Alabama
- 1Other. Examination Packet for Out-of-State Applicants (Exam-App-Out-of-State-01-26) with copy of the origin license and the completed verification form; submit by mail, e-mail or fax with a Credit Card or E-Check Authorization Form.
- 2Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($110). Non-refundable Journeyman Plumber examination fee, paid to the Board once you are approved to test; there is no separate fee to Prov..
- 3Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Alabama Journeyman Plumber examination on the 2021 International Plumbing Code, given by Prov as an open-book computer exam; a score of 70% is required..
- 4Application fee. Pay the application fee ($50). Initial application processing fee, paid with the Packet for Applicants who pass Journeyman exam within 90 days of passing.
- 5License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($75). Initial journeyman certificate fee, paid with the pass packet within 90 days of passing. Certificates are annual and renew October 1 - December 31 for $75..
- 6Continuing education. Complete continuing education. Four hours of continuing education from a Board-approved provider for each annual renewal, due before November 1 to avoid a deficiency plan and deficiency fee. Not required to renew a first certificate obtained through the out-of-state route in the same calendar year..
Published fees on this path total $235, 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 · $110
- Trade exam
Continuing education
Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.
- Continuing education
How Alabama licenses journeyman plumbers
Alabama journeyman plumber · “Journeyman Plumber (annual certificate)”
Statewide license
Issued by Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board
Alabama certifies Journeyman Plumbers statewide through the Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board in Homewood; under Ala. Code § 34-37-6(a) a Board certificate is required to engage in plumbing anywhere in the state, and the Board's pages describe no county or city plumber licensing. A new applicant must complete at least two years as a registered Apprentice Plumber (or a Board-approved apprentice training program plus registered apprentice time equal to two years, or two years of documented equivalent experience approved at a Board meeting), then pass the Board's journeyman plumber exam, which since January 1, 2023 tests the 2021 International Plumbing Code. After passing, the applicant has 90 days to pay the certification fees or must re-test. Certificates are issued for the calendar year and renew each October 1 - December 31, with continuing education due by November 1 to avoid a deficiency plan and fee. The Board has no journeyman reciprocity agreement with any state; an out-of-state journeyman may sit the Alabama exam directly if the origin license was earned by an exam passed at 70% or better, is active and in good standing, and is verified by the origin agency.
Why New York has nothing to transfer
New York journeyman plumber · “Journeyman Plumber (municipal; NYC registration / Westchester Journey-Level)”
Licensed by cities and counties
Issued by New York cities and counties (no statewide plumber license)
New York has no statewide plumber license at any level: the Department of State's Division of Licensing Services regulates 35 occupations and none of them is plumber, plumbing contractor, journeyman plumber or master plumber. Journeyman-level plumbing credentials therefore exist only where a city or county ordinance creates them, and they are not interchangeable. New York City's Department of Buildings issues a Journeyman Plumber / Fire Suppression Piping Installer registration (employees work under a licensed Master Plumber; the registration is not an independent contracting license). Westchester County issues a Journey-Level plumber license (exam application $25, license and renewal $75) that is required to work as a plumber anywhere in the county, including Yonkers. Rochester publishes a Plumbing Licensing program on its Licensed Trades page but does not list class names or fees on that page. An out-of-state journeyman plumber license has no state-level recognition in New York; the arriving worker must satisfy the city or county where the work will be done, and in New York City that typically means working under a licensed Master Plumber while holding (or obtaining) the city journeyman registration.
How local licensing works in New York
How local licensing works. No state agency licenses plumbers in New York. Each city or county that requires a license runs its own examining board under its own ordinance, so titles, exams and fees differ, and a license from one jurisdiction is not automatically valid in another. There is no defaultPath and no state-to-state agreement at this level.
New York City. DOB's license-types list includes 'Plumbing and Fire Suppression (Master and Journeyman)'. The master-plumbers page links Obtain a Journeyman Plumber / Fire Suppression Piping Installer Registration (and a separate Gas Work Qualification). The registration is person-held and is the city's journeyman-level credential; independent plumbing contracting in the five boroughs requires the Master Plumber license (see master level). New applications go through DOB NOW (since 7 September 2021). The master written (LIC41, $585) and practical (LIC42, $530) exam fees published on the master-plumbers page apply to the Master Plumber license, not to the journeyman registration.
Westchester County (including Yonkers). 'Plumbers and Electricians must obtain a trade license from Westchester County in order to work in the county. The first step is to apply to take the licensing examination.' Journey-Level exam application $25.00; Journey-Level license $75.00; Journey-Level renewal $75.00; vehicle decals $5.00 each. Exam and re-examination amounts are paid to the testing company and are not listed on the fee page. Yonkers does not appear to issue a separate city plumber license; county law requires the Westchester trade license to work in the county.
Rochester. The Licensed Trades page lists Plumbing Licensing alongside electrical and SE/RO and routes applications to the city's Infor portal (585-428-9339). Confirm the destination city or county before working; in NYC plan to work under a Master Plumber and obtain the city journeyman registration; in Westchester apply for the Journey-Level exam.
- New York City (Department of Buildings — Journeyman Plumber / Fire Suppression Piping Installer registration)
- Westchester County (Department of Consumer Protection — Journey-Level plumber)
- Yonkers (Westchester County Journey-Level / Master plumber license required to work in the county)
- Rochester (Licensed Trades — Plumbing Licensing)
- Syracuse (Division of Code Enforcement; plumber license unconfirmed on 2026 notice)
- Buffalo (plumbing landing page HTTP 404; journeyman plumber license unconfirmed)
- Albany (plumber examining board not verified this session)
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Alabama journeyman plumber exam if I'm licensed in New York?
- Yes. Alabama requires the trade exam on this path.
- How long do I need to have held my New York license?
- At least 2 years before applying.
- What does it cost to get a Alabama journeyman plumber license from New York?
- Published fees on this path total $235, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my New York work hours count in Alabama?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Alabama's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Alabama to New York?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Alabama to New York, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Ala. Admin. Code ch. 720-X, Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board rules (complete, Jan-26 compilation) · Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
- Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board - Continuing Education (with Licensee CE Q&A PDF) · Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- Examination Packet for Out-of-State Applicants (rev. 01/2026) · Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board · Form · verified September 23, 2026
- Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board - Exams (applications, packets, code edition, business law exam) · Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board - Home (renewal period and continuing education reminder) · Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board - How Do I Become Licensed (Apprentice, Journeyman Plumber, Master Plumber, companies) · Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
- Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board - Out-of-State Applicants (Applying for Certification in Alabama) · Ala. Code § 34-37-6(a)-(b); Ala. Admin. Code r. 720-X-17-.01 · Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board · 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.