Ohio to Alaska: journeyman plumber license reciprocity
Ohio does not issue a statewide journeyman plumber license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Alaska'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.
Reciprocal or provisional Plumber Journeyman certificate for any US jurisdiction with substantially similar requirements
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
Under 8 AAC 90.111 (effective August 8, 2025) Mechanical Inspection may reciprocate a plumbing certificate of fitness with any jurisdiction whose requirements are substantially similar to Alaska's, without a mutual agreement; it weighs the hours required, whether the jurisdiction tests, whether it requires registered-apprenticeship membership, and other factors, and 8 AAC 90.125 defines 'jurisdiction' to include a local government that licenses journeyman plumbers. The applicant must hold a current journeyman plumber licence held for a full year, files the Reciprocal/Provisional Application with a copy of the licence, and pays $50 plus $200 for a two-year Reciprocal Plumber Journeyman COF that renews as an ordinary journeyman certificate and allows trainee supervision; no Alaska exam is taken if the origin jurisdiction is found substantially similar. If the department decides the origin jurisdiction is not substantially similar it requests proof of hours and the applicant must pass the Alaska plumber journeyman exam (open book, 2018 UPC, 70%) before a certificate is issued (8 AAC 90.112(h)); legally performed out-of-state hours count toward the 8,000 under 8 AAC 90.890, and the applicant must supply the origin licence or a state letter confirming no licence was required. Alternatively a Provisional Plumber Journeyman COF ($50 plus $100, valid up to one year or until the origin licence expires, not renewable, no trainee supervision) lets an out-of-state plumber start work within about 7-10 business days and is upgraded to a reciprocal certificate unless the applicant opts out. Neither the reciprocal nor the provisional route covers fuel gas work: a provisional holder may not perform gas work (8 AAC 90.112(g)) because many states exclude gas from their plumber licence, and gas piping otherwise requires the Plumber Gas certificate or a full journeyman COF.
Mechanical Inspection publishes no list of which states' plumber licences it has found substantially similar; each application is decided case by case, so the exam waiver is not guaranteed. Whether a reciprocal (as opposed to provisional) Plumber Journeyman COF authorises fuel gas work is not stated; the regulation bars gas work only for provisional holders, and the full journeyman scope in 8 AAC 90.900(14) includes fuel gas piping. The exam path has no published exam fee; the department administers the exam itself and third-party proctoring is at the applicant's expense. AS 18.62.050(c) also lets an Alaska-based union verify a member's qualifications in lieu of the exam.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
- Typical processing
- About 10 days
What you must already have
- Your Ohio license must be active and in good standing.
- You must have held your Ohio license for at least 1 year.Must have held the origin licence for a full year before the application date (8 AAC 90.112(a)); attach a prior licence if the current card lacks the issue date
- Origin jurisdiction's requirements (hours, testing, registered apprenticeship, other factors) must be substantially similar to Alaska's as determined by Mechanical Inspection; otherwise proof of 8,000 legally obtained hours and the Alaska plumber journeyman exam are required (8 AAC 90.111, 8 AAC 90.112(h))
What you'll do to get licensed in Alaska
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($50). Nonrefundable certificate of fitness application fee (AS 18.62.030).
- 2License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($200). Two-year Reciprocal Plumber Journeyman certificate fee; a Provisional Plumber Journeyman certificate costs $100 instead, lasts up to one year and does not permit gas work.
- 3Other. Copy of the current out-of-state licence (and a prior licence if the issue date is missing) attached to the Reciprocal/Provisional Application for Electrical and Plumbing Certificates of Fitness, emailed to [email protected] or mailed to the Anchorage office.
- 4Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam (if applicable). Alaska Plumber Journeyman exam (open book, 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code, four hours, 70% to pass, 30-day wait to retake) - required only if Mechanical Inspection finds the origin jurisdiction not substantially similar; no department exam fee is published.
- 5Continuing education. Complete continuing education. For renewal of the two-year certificate: 16 hours of approved continuing education in the preceding 24 months, at least eight on significant changes to the Uniform Plumbing Code and no more than eight industry related (8 AAC 90.192(c)); renewal fee $200.
Published fees on this path total $250, 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 · if applicable
Continuing education
Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.
- Continuing education
How Alaska licenses journeyman plumbers
Alaska journeyman plumber · “Plumber Journeyman Certificate of Fitness”
Statewide license
Alaska issues a statewide Plumber Journeyman Certificate of Fitness (COF) through the Department of Labor and Workforce Development's Mechanical Inspection Section; under AS 18.62.070 anyone doing plumbing subject to the Uniform Plumbing Code (the 2018 UPC, adopted by 8 AAC 63.101) must hold the appropriate certificate, and the section enforces plumbing in communities of 2,500 or more people (Anchorage inspects under a memorandum of agreement). A new applicant must hold a Plumber Trainee COF (which requires indenture in a US DOL registered apprenticeship) while accumulating 8,000 hours of legally obtained plumbing installation work (up to 4,000 military/vocational, 1,000 classroom, 2,000 gas and 500 utility hours may count; maintenance hours do not), then pass the department's open-book exam on the 2018 UPC with at least 70% within a four-hour limit. The COF costs $50 to apply for plus $200 on issue, is valid two years and renews for $200 with 16 hours of continuing education (at least eight on UPC changes). Separate restricted certificates exist for Plumber Gas (fuel gas piping, 4,000 hours) and Plumber Restricted Utility (water, sewer and storm service lines, 1,000 hours). Since August 8, 2025 the department reciprocates plumber journeyman certificates with any US state or local jurisdiction whose requirements are substantially similar (8 AAC 90.111) and offers a one-year provisional certificate to any out-of-state journeyman plumber; unlike the electrical programme, it publishes no list of plumbing reciprocity partner states.
Why Ohio has nothing to transfer
Ohio journeyman plumber
Licensed by cities and counties
Issued by No state authority; Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board licenses plumbing contractors only
Ohio does not issue a journeyman plumber license. The Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB) licenses individual plumbing contractors for commercial work under R.C. Chapter 4740, and R.C. 4740.01 defines everyone else on the job as a 'tradesperson' employed by a contractor, with no state license or card. Where a personal journeyman plumber credential exists it comes from a city ordinance: Toledo's Division of Building Inspection examines and licenses Plumbing Journeymen and registers apprentices, and Hamilton County Public Health directs consumers to journeyman or master plumber licenses issued by 'surrounding cities such as City of Cincinnati, Middletown or Norwood' because Ohio counties are not permitted to license plumbers. An out-of-state journeyman plumber license therefore has no state-level recognition in Ohio; it is useful only as proof of experience where a city requires it, or as one of the documents OCILB accepts (an active journeyman's card) toward the five-year tradesperson requirement for the state plumbing contractor exam.
How local licensing works in Ohio
How local licensing works. Ohio's contractor licensing statute (R.C. Chapter 4740) covers only the individual plumbing contractor license issued by OCILB and does not license tradespersons; any journeyman requirement is local. Most jurisdictions require only that plumbing work be done by or under a state-licensed plumbing contractor who has registered locally.
Toledo. The Division of Building Inspection issues Plumbing Journeyman and Apprentice licenses (alongside Electrical, HVAC and Refrigeration journeyman licenses and Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical contractor licenses). New journeyman applicants file the Plumbing Journeyman Exam/Apprentice Application and sit a city exam; all licenses renew by December 31 each year, and a license that lapses past the deadline requires a new application, payment and exam. Toledo's HVAC application accepts a journeyman certificate obtained by testing in another city jurisdiction for its traveler registration; whether the plumbing application does the same was not confirmed.
- Toledo (Division of Building Inspection, Plumbing Journeyman and Apprentice licenses)
- Hamilton County Public Health (plumbing contractor registration only; OCILB license and $10,000 bond required)
- Cincinnati (journeyman/master plumber license per Hamilton County Public Health; city page not reviewed)
- Middletown (journeyman/master plumber license per Hamilton County Public Health; city page not reviewed)
- Norwood (journeyman/master plumber license per Hamilton County Public Health; city page not reviewed)
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Alaska journeyman plumber exam if I'm licensed in Ohio?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path.
- How long do I need to have held my Ohio license?
- At least 1 year before applying.
- What does it cost to get a Alaska journeyman plumber license from Ohio?
- Published fees on this path total $250, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Ohio work hours count in Alaska?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Alaska's eligibility requirements.
- How long does the application take?
- The board's published or typical processing time is about 10 days.
- Does it work the other way, from Alaska to Ohio?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Alaska to Ohio, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Alaska Certificate of Fitness Information Packet - AS 18.62 and 8 AAC 90 with FAQ (Version 20250715) · AS 18.62.010, AS 18.62.020, AS 18.62.030, AS 18.62.050(c), AS 18.62.070; 8 AAC 90.111, 8 AAC 90.112, 8 AAC 90.115, 8 AAC 90.125, 8 AAC 90.130, 8 AAC 90.192, 8 AAC 90.890, 8 AAC 90.900(14) · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Mechanical Inspection · Admin Rule · verified September 16, 2026
- Alaska DOLWD Mechanical Inspection - Frequently Asked Questions · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Mechanical Inspection · Faq · verified September 16, 2026
- Alaska DOLWD Mechanical Inspection - License Types and Requirements (Plumber certificates of fitness) · 8 AAC 90.111, 8 AAC 90.112, 8 AAC 90.130, 8 AAC 90.135, 8 AAC 90.137, 8 AAC 90.140 · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Mechanical Inspection · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
- Alaska DOLWD Mechanical Inspection - Home (jurisdiction, adopted codes, August 8, 2025 regulation change) · 8 AAC 63.101; AS 18.60.705 · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Mechanical Inspection · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
- Reciprocal/Provisional Application for Electrical and Plumbing Certificates of Fitness (v.20250828) · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Mechanical Inspection · Form · verified September 16, 2026
- Alaska DOLWD Mechanical Inspection - Testing Information · 8 AAC 90.115 · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Mechanical Inspection · 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.