South Dakota to Minnesota: journeyman plumber license reciprocity
Minnesota has a reciprocity agreement with South Dakota: a South Dakota journeyman plumber can get a Minnesota license without retaking the trade exam.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Reciprocity with South Dakota (journeyworker plumber)
A signed state-to-state agreement. The trade exam is waived; you apply, prove your history, and pay the fee.
DLI's plumbing reciprocity page lists South Dakota as a state whose journeyworker plumbers may obtain a Minnesota Journeyworker Plumber license without examination. The applicant must have obtained the South Dakota license by examination at the state level (not through a reciprocal agreement with a city or other political subdivision), must have held it for at least one year, and the license must be current and in good standing. The applicant must not have failed a Minnesota exam for the same or greater class of license and must not be under any Minnesota order to deny, suspend or revoke a plumber license. The Reciprocity Application is filed through iMS with a $50 application and examination fee; once approved the applicant has 180 days to pay the license fee, and the license is then subject to normal renewal and continuing-education requirements.
The reciprocity page does not distinguish journeyworker from master partners; both classes are covered for South Dakota.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Agreement
- Active
What you must already have
- Your South Dakota license must have been obtained by examination, not by reciprocity or grandfathering.
- You must have held your South Dakota license for at least 1 year.
- Your South Dakota license must be active and in good standing.
- Has not failed the same or greater class of Minnesota plumber license examination and is not under any order to deny, suspend or revoke any class of Minnesota plumber license
What you'll do to get licensed in Minnesota
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($50). Application and examination fee submitted with the Plumbing Reciprocity Application.
- 2License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee. Journeyworker plumber license fee, payable within 180 days of approval; amount not published on the reciprocity page.
Published fees on this path total $50, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
How Minnesota licenses journeyman plumbers
Minnesota journeyman plumber · “Journeyworker Plumber”
Statewide license
Issued by Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), Plumbing Board
Minnesota issues a statewide Journeyworker Plumber license through the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI); DLI's license-types page states the license 'authorizes the individual to work statewide', and no city-issued plumber licenses appear on DLI's pages (DLI also issues a Restricted Journeyworker license limited to towns under 5,000). A new applicant must first pass DLI's written journeyworker exam ($50 exam fee), and is eligible to sit it after a registered apprenticeship, four years (1,750 hours per year, 7,000 hours) of practical experience as a DLI-registered unlicensed plumber (Minn. Stat. 326B.47, subd. 2), two years under a Minnesota restricted license, or by holding a current plumber's license from another state that requires at least four years of experience and an exam. Journeyworker plumbers licensed by examination in North Dakota or South Dakota may be licensed without the Minnesota exam under DLI's reciprocity page. Licenses expire December 31 of odd-numbered years; renewal is $53 and requires 16 hours of continuing education, at least eight on the State Plumbing Code (2020 Minnesota Plumbing Code, Minn. R. ch. 4714).
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Minnesota journeyman plumber exam if I'm licensed in South Dakota?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path under the agreement with South Dakota.
- How long do I need to have held my South Dakota license?
- At least 1 year before applying.
- What does it cost to get a Minnesota journeyman plumber license from South Dakota?
- Published fees on this path total $50, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Sources
- Minnesota DLI - Plumbers (landing page for workers) · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
- Minnesota DLI - Plumbing license experience requirements · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
- Minnesota DLI - Plumbing license basics · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
- Minnesota DLI - Plumbing license types and credentials · Minn. Stat. 326B.46 · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
- Minnesota DLI - Plumbing reciprocity · Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
- Minnesota Statutes 326B.47 - Unlicensed individuals (registration; journeyworker exam eligibility) · Minn. Stat. 326B.47, subd. 2 · Minnesota Legislature, Office of the Revisor of Statutes · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.