LicensebyState

Moving to Alabama as a journeyman plumber: every state's rule

Alabama has reciprocity agreements with 0 states. Everyone else follows its standard out-of-state path: endorsement.

Alabama journeyman plumber · “Journeyman Plumber (annual certificate)”

Statewide license

Verified September 16, 2026· 4 sources

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.

Every origin state

Endorsement 32No credit 18
Every state's path into Alabama
StateMechanismNoteVerified
AlaskaEndorsement2026-09-16
ArizonaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
ArkansasEndorsement2026-09-16
CaliforniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
ColoradoEndorsement2026-09-16
ConnecticutEndorsement2026-09-16
DelawareNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
District of ColumbiaEndorsement2026-09-16
FloridaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
GeorgiaEndorsement2026-09-16
HawaiiEndorsement2026-09-16
IdahoEndorsement2026-09-16
IllinoisNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
IndianaEndorsement2026-09-16
IowaEndorsement2026-09-16
KansasNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
KentuckyEndorsement2026-09-16
LouisianaEndorsement2026-09-16
MaineEndorsement2026-09-16
MarylandEndorsement2026-09-16
MassachusettsEndorsement2026-09-16
MichiganEndorsement2026-09-16
MinnesotaEndorsement2026-09-16
MississippiNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
MissouriNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
MontanaEndorsement2026-09-16
NebraskaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
NevadaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
New HampshireEndorsement2026-09-16
New JerseyNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
New MexicoEndorsement2026-09-16
New YorkNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
North CarolinaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
North DakotaEndorsement2026-09-16
OhioNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
OklahomaEndorsement2026-09-16
OregonEndorsement2026-09-16
PennsylvaniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
Rhode IslandEndorsement2026-09-16
South CarolinaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
South DakotaEndorsement2026-09-16
TennesseeNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
TexasEndorsement2026-09-16
UtahEndorsement2026-09-16
VermontEndorsement2026-09-16
VirginiaEndorsement2026-09-16
WashingtonEndorsement2026-09-16
West VirginiaEndorsement2026-09-16
WisconsinEndorsement2026-09-16
WyomingNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16

Getting licensed in Alabama from scratch

No license yet, or nothing that transfers? This is how Alabama issues a journeyman plumber license to a first-time applicant.

Verified September 23, 2026· 8 sources

Journeyman Plumber certificate by examination

Alabama issues the Journeyman Plumber certificate to a registered Apprentice Plumber who has at least two years of current work experience as an apprentice and passes the Board's journeyman plumber exam. Apprentices register with the Board for $35 a year and must work for a company registered with the Board, under the direct supervision of a certified journeyman or master who stays on the job site. You file the exam application with the Board, which clears you to schedule with Prov; the computer-based exam is open book, covers the 2021 International Plumbing Code and Alabama plumbing law, and requires a score of 70%. After passing you have 90 calendar days to file the Initial Application for Certificate and pay the fees, or you must take the exam again. There is no separate law exam at the journeyman level.

The journeyman plumber exam has 75 questions with 2.92 hours allowed and covers general knowledge, plan reading, trade math, tools, sizing and design, fixtures, drain-waste-vent, roof drains, installation, water heaters, safety and Alabama plumbing and gas law; a Spanish version is offered. Permitted references include the 2021 International Plumbing Code, the 2021 International Fuel Gas Code, Mathematics for Plumbers and Pipefitters (8th ed.), Modern Plumbing (8th ed.), Ala. Code Title 34, Chapter 37 and the Board's rules. Exam eligibility lasts 30 days; if you fail or do not test in time, you file a retake form with a new $110 fee. The Board accepts documented military education, training or service toward qualification (rule 720-X-4-.06). A journeyman may not contract on his or her own and must work for a company with a Principal Master. Journeyman Gas Fitter and Medical Gas Pipe Fitter are separate Board certificates; a journeyman plumber who also does gas work must hold at least an apprentice gas fitter registration.

Trade exam
Required
Law / code exam
Not required
Exam given by
Prov
Exam format
Open book
Passing score
70%
Renewal
Every year
Continuing education
4 hours per cycle

Who can apply

  • You must document at least 2 years of qualifying work experience.Two years of current work experience as an Apprentice Plumber registered with the Board (Ala. Code § 34-37-6(e)(1); rule 720-X-4-.01(2)(b)). The two years count only while the apprentice registration is current.
  • Current Alabama apprentice registration when you apply: the journeyman exam application is for current Alabama certificate holders only

Other ways to qualify

Each of these replaces the requirements above. You only need one.

Board-approved apprentice training program

Completing an apprentice training program approved by the Board, combined with time as a registered apprentice that together equal two years, qualifies you for the same exam.

  • Complete a registered apprenticeship: Completion of a Board-approved apprentice training program, combined with registered apprentice time that together equal two years.

Two years of equivalent experience approved by the Board

Applicants who gained two years of apprentice-level experience some other way submit a Board Appearance Request form with verifiable documentation of that experience. The request is placed on the agenda of the next scheduled Board meeting.

  • Verifiable documentation of two years of apprentice-level plumbing experience gained outside Alabama apprentice registration, accepted by the Board after a Board Appearance Request

Steps to get licensed

  1. 1Other. Application for Examination - Journeyman (rev. 04/2026) and a signed Declaration of U.S. Citizenship or Lawful Presence of an Alien, submitted to the Board by mail, e-mail or fax.
  2. 2Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($110). Non-refundable journeyman examination fee, paid to the Board with the exam application; there is no separate fee to Prov. Missing a scheduled exam forfeits the fee..
  3. 3Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Alabama Journeyman Plumber exam given by Prov: 75 questions, open book, on the 2021 International Plumbing Code and Alabama plumbing and gas law; 70% required.
  4. 4Application fee. Pay the application fee ($50). Initial application processing fee, paid with the Initial Application for Certificate - Journeyman and your passing score sheet within 90 days of passing.
  5. 5License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($75). Initial journeyman certificate fee, paid with the same application.

Published fees on this path total $235, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

Keeping it active

Every year with 4 hours of continuing education per cycle and a $75 renewal fee.

Four hours each year from a Board-approved provider, reported before November 1; after that date renewal requires a deficiency plan and fee. If you hold both plumbing and gas fitting certificates, take 2 hours of each; business and law courses can count for all 4. No CE is needed to renew a first journeyman certificate issued in the same calendar year, and holders are exempt from the year after they turn 65.

All certificates expire December 31. Renewal runs October 1 - December 31, and a renewal received after December 31 carries a late penalty equal to the renewal fee.

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

Sources for this section

  1. 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
  2. Code of Alabama 1975, Title 34, Chapter 37 (Plumbers and Gas Fitters), Board compilation from the 2022 signed bill · Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
  3. 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
  4. Application for Examination - Journeyman Plumber or Journeyman Gas Fitter (rev. 04/2026), with Prov Candidate Information Bulletin · Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board / Prov, Inc. · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. Packet for Applicants who pass Journeyman exam (Initial Application for Certificate - Journeyman) · Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board · Form · verified September 23, 2026

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