LicensebyState

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

Montana has reciprocity agreements with 4 states. Everyone else follows its standard out-of-state path: experience credit.

Montana journeyman plumber · “Journeyman Plumber”

Statewide license

Verified September 16, 2026· 8 sources

Issued by Montana Board of Plumbers (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division)

Montana issues a statewide Journeyman Plumber license through the Board of Plumbers in the Department of Labor & Industry; a journeyman may work only in the employment of a licensed master plumber. A new applicant qualifies under MCA 37-69-304 with five years and 7,500 hours of legally obtained plumbing experience verified by a licensed master or plumbing contractor, or a registered apprenticeship completion certificate (approved trade-school or engineering study counts for up to two of the five years), then passes the IAPMO-administered open-book exams on the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code with 70% on each part. Since April 11, 2026 both the written and the former practical exam are given in written format. The application fee is $220 under the fee schedule effective July 11, 2026 (the 2023 packets still print $270); IAPMO's exam fee is paid separately; a $100 temporary practice permit lets an approved exam candidate work for a Montana master for 110 days. Licenses expire every September 1, renew for $160 and require 4 hours of code-related continuing education a year. Out-of-state journeymen from Oregon, Idaho, North Dakota or South Dakota are licensed by reciprocity without the Montana exam; everyone else receives credit for the years their origin state required but must pass the Montana exams.

States Montana reciprocates with

Every origin state

Reciprocity 4Experience credit 28No credit 18
Every state's path into Montana
StateMechanismNoteVerified
AlabamaExperience credit2026-09-16
AlaskaExperience credit2026-09-16
ArizonaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
ArkansasExperience credit2026-09-16
CaliforniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
ColoradoExperience credit2026-09-16
ConnecticutExperience credit2026-09-16
DelawareNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
District of ColumbiaExperience credit2026-09-16
FloridaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
GeorgiaExperience credit2026-09-16
HawaiiExperience credit2026-09-16
IdahoReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-16
IllinoisNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
IndianaExperience credit2026-09-16
IowaExperience credit2026-09-16
KansasNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
KentuckyExperience credit2026-09-16
LouisianaExperience credit2026-09-16
MaineExperience credit2026-09-16
MarylandExperience credit2026-09-16
MassachusettsExperience credit2026-09-16
MichiganExperience credit2026-09-16
MinnesotaExperience credit2026-09-16
MississippiNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
MissouriNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
NebraskaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
NevadaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
New HampshireExperience credit2026-09-16
New JerseyNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
New MexicoExperience credit2026-09-16
New YorkNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
North CarolinaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
North DakotaReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-16
OhioNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
OklahomaExperience credit2026-09-16
OregonReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-16
PennsylvaniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
Rhode IslandExperience credit2026-09-16
South CarolinaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
South DakotaReciprocityexplicit agreement2026-09-16
TennesseeNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
TexasExperience credit2026-09-16
UtahExperience credit2026-09-16
VermontExperience credit2026-09-16
VirginiaExperience credit2026-09-16
WashingtonExperience credit2026-09-16
West VirginiaExperience credit2026-09-16
WisconsinExperience credit2026-09-16
WyomingNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16

Getting licensed in Montana from scratch

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

Verified September 23, 2026· 12 sources

Journeyman Plumber license by examination

The Montana Board of Plumbers issues the Journeyman Plumber license to an applicant who documents five years of plumbing experience and then passes the state journeyman examinations. The usual route is five years and at least 7,500 hours of legally obtained plumbing experience, verified by the licensed master plumbers or plumbing contractors you worked for; completing a registered plumbing apprenticeship qualifies instead. After the board approves the application you schedule two open-book written exams with IAPMO, a 100-question code exam and a diagram-based exam that replaced the former practical, and you must score at least 70% on each. The application fee is $220, and IAPMO's exam fee is paid separately.

Apply online at ebiz.mt.gov/pol or on the paper application, and have official verifications sent from every jurisdiction where you hold or have ever held a professional license of any kind. The board's admission letter lets you register with IAPMO, which offers the exams by online proctoring; you may bring an original Uniform Plumbing Code of the edition your exam is based on, the Montana amendments and a simple calculator. The first exam has 100 multiple-choice questions on the Uniform Plumbing Code as amended and the board's statutes and rules (3 hours), and it must be passed before the second, three diagrams in 2.5 hours; there is no separate law exam. The board's exam information sheet is written for the 2021 UPC, and Montana adopted the 2024 UPC effective September 26, 2026, so confirm the edition with IAPMO before you buy a code book. If you fail the written exam three times within the one-year life of an application, you must complete 20 hours of continuing education before a fourth attempt, and a fourth failure bars reapplying for a year. Once approved to test, you may buy a $100 temporary practice permit to work for a named Montana master plumber for 110 days. The application asks personal history questions about discipline and criminal convictions; a conviction is not an automatic bar. A journeyman may work only in the employment of a licensed master plumber. The medical gas endorsement is a separate credential.

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

Who can apply

  • You must document at least 7,500 hours of qualifying work experience.At least 7,500 aggregate hours of legally obtained plumbing experience over no less than five years, verified by time or pay records and an Experience Verification Affidavit from each licensed master plumber or plumbing contractor you worked for (MCA 37-69-304).

Other ways to qualify

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

Registered plumbing apprenticeship

Completing an apprenticeship program that meets the standards of Montana's registered apprenticeship program or the U.S. Department of Labor satisfies the five-year experience requirement. Submit the completion certificate showing the hours, time and trade completed in place of experience affidavits.

  • Complete a registered apprenticeship: Completion of a plumbing apprenticeship registered with the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship or a recognized state apprenticeship agency, such as Montana Registered Apprenticeship.

Approved schooling or related piping work plus three years of plumbing experience

The board credits up to two of the five years for approved schooling or related work: an engineering or engineering technology degree or partial curriculum, a technical institute program, a board-approved trade school (currently Wahpeton in North Dakota, Northern in Havre and Flathead Community College), or documented steam fitting, hydronics or industrial piping work. Credit from these sources is capped at two years, so at least three years of plumbing experience is still required.

  • Transcript or proof of an approved engineering or technology curriculum, technical institute program or board-approved plumbing trade school, or documentation of steam fitting, hydronics or industrial piping practice; credited as at most two years of the five
  • You must document at least 3 years of qualifying work experience.

Steps to get licensed

  1. 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($220). Journeyman application fee under ARM 24.180.401 as amended effective July 11, 2026 (the 2023 application packet still shows $270); nonrefundable.
  2. 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Montana Journeyman Plumber examinations administered by IAPMO: a 100-question open-book written exam on the Uniform Plumbing Code as amended and the board's statutes and rules (3 hours), then a second written exam of three diagrams (2.5 hours); 70% required on each.
  3. 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee. Examination fee paid directly to IAPMO when you register; the fee is set by IAPMO and is not published by the board. Ask the board office (406-444-6880) or IAPMO ([email protected], 708-995-3000) for the current amount..

Published fees on this path total $220, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

Keeping it active

Every year with 4 hours of continuing education per cycle and a $160 renewal fee.

Four hours of board-approved, code-related continuing education each license year. New licensees are exempt at their first renewal. Courses approved by reciprocal states and IAPMO code courses are accepted.

Licenses expire every September 1. The renewal fee for the 2026 renewal season was fully waived for on-time renewals; late fees still applied.

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
  • Exam fee

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. Montana Building Codes Bureau - Current Codes · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  2. IAPMO - Montana Plumbing License Testing · International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (exam vendor for the Montana Board of Plumbers) · Other · verified September 23, 2026
  3. MCA 37-69-304 - Qualifications of applicants for journeyman plumber's license -- restriction on authority · MCA 37-69-304 · Montana Legislature · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
  4. Montana Board of Plumbers - Continuing Education · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  5. Montana Board of Plumbers - Exam Information · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  6. State of Montana Plumbing Licensing Information - 2021 UPC Examination Information Sheet (IAPMO; Rev. 01/09/2023) · ARM 24.180.404, 24.180.407 · Montana Board of Plumbers / IAPMO · Other · verified September 23, 2026
  7. MAR Notice No. 2026-79.1 - Board of Plumbers Notice of Proposed Rulemaking amending ARM 24.180.401 Fee Schedule (May 8, 2026) · ARM 24.180.401 · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Board of Plumbers · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
  8. Montana Board of Plumbers - Home · ARM 24.180.2102 · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  9. Montana Board of Plumbers - Journeyman Plumber Application packet (checklist, general information, application, Experience Verification Affidavit, Verification of Licensure) · MCA 37-69-304(2); ARM 24.180.603, 24.180.604 · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  10. Montana Board of Plumbers - Journeyman Plumber Licensing Requirements and Application Checklist (updated 02/09/2023) · MCA 37-69-304; ARM 24.180.504, 24.180.603, 24.180.604 · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  11. Montana Board of Plumbers - Plumber Journeyman license information · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  12. MAR Notice No. 2025-126.1 - Board of Plumbers Notice of Proposed Rulemaking amending ARM 24.180.407 and repealing ARM 24.180.603 Reciprocity (November 7, 2025) · ARM 24.180.407, 24.180.603; MCA 37-1-304(3) · Montana Department of Labor & Industry, Board of Plumbers · Admin Rule · verified September 16, 2026

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