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

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.