Moving to North Dakota as a journeyman plumber: every state's rule
North Dakota has reciprocity agreements with 3 states. Everyone else follows its standard out-of-state path: experience credit.
North Dakota journeyman plumber · “Journeyman Plumber”
Statewide license
Issued by North Dakota State Plumbing Board
North Dakota issues a statewide Journeyman Plumber certificate and license through the North Dakota State Plumbing Board under NDCC chapter 43-18 and NDAC chapter 62-02-01; a license is required wherever there is a public water or sewer system, and a journeyman may run a plumbing business only in cities under 1,000 population and rural areas. A new applicant must have served four years and 7,600 hours as a registered apprentice under a licensed master plumber (1,900 hours per year; accredited plumbing-school graduates earn credit by grade average), then pass the board-administered journeyman exam - five parts, two closed book and three open book, five hours, based on the 2018 North Dakota Plumbing Code - with 70%. Fees are a $50 application fee, a $50 exam fee and a $100 journeyman license fee; licenses expire every December 31 and renew for $100, with 2 to 4 hours of continuing education required in each two-year period ($40 board session). Exams are given every other month in Bismarck and Fargo and a failed exam carries a six-month wait. Journeymen from South Dakota, Minnesota and Montana may be licensed without examination under the Board's written reciprocity agreements; all other out-of-state journeymen apply for the North Dakota examination, with their origin license vouched for on the application.
States North Dakota reciprocates with
Every origin state
| State | Mechanism | Note | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Alaska | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Arizona | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| Arkansas | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| California | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| Colorado | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Connecticut | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Delaware | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| District of Columbia | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Florida | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| Georgia | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Hawaii | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Idaho | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Illinois | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| Indiana | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Iowa | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Kansas | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| Kentucky | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Louisiana | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Maine | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Maryland | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Massachusetts | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Michigan | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Minnesota | Reciprocity | explicit agreement | 2026-09-16 |
| Mississippi | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| Missouri | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| Montana | Reciprocity | explicit agreement | 2026-09-16 |
| Nebraska | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| Nevada | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| New Hampshire | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| New Jersey | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| New Mexico | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| New York | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| North Carolina | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| Ohio | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| Oklahoma | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Oregon | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Pennsylvania | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| Rhode Island | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| South Carolina | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| South Dakota | Reciprocity | explicit agreement | 2026-09-16 |
| Tennessee | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |
| Texas | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Utah | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Vermont | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Virginia | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Washington | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| West Virginia | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Wisconsin | Experience credit | 2026-09-16 | |
| Wyoming | No credit | no state license to transfer | 2026-09-16 |