LicensebyState

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

Rhode Island has reciprocity agreements with 0 states. Everyone else follows its standard out-of-state path: experience credit.

Rhode Island journeyman plumber · “Journeyperson Plumber”

Statewide license

Verified September 16, 2026· 6 sources

Issued by Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Division of Workforce Regulation and Safety, Professional Regulation (Board of Examiners of Plumbers)

Rhode Island issues a statewide Journeyperson Plumber license through the Department of Labor and Training (DLT) Board of Examiners of Plumbers (R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 5-20). Duties transferred to DLT under § 5-20-39; the Department of Business Regulation does not license plumbers. A Rhode Island-trained applicant is admitted to the DLT-administered journeyperson examination after holding a DLT apprentice-plumber registration for at least four years with 8,000 hours of on-the-job training in a five-year period and 576 hours of related instruction, or after specified college/associate-degree plus in-state apprenticeship paths, and paying a $75 nonrefundable application fee (§ 5-20-17). The same section admits an applicant who holds a journeyperson plumber certificate issued under the laws of another state if that state’s requirements are the same as Rhode Island’s — that is an exam-admission rule, not a waiver of the Rhode Island exam. Chapter 20 has no reciprocity or endorsement title, and DLT publishes no partner-state list. Cities issue plumbing permits under § 5-20-26 but do not replace the state license. Irrigator and water-filtration licenses under the same board are separate credentials.

Every origin state

Experience credit 32No credit 18
Every state's path into Rhode Island
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
IdahoExperience credit2026-09-16
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
MontanaExperience credit2026-09-16
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 DakotaExperience credit2026-09-16
OhioNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
OklahomaExperience credit2026-09-16
OregonExperience credit2026-09-16
PennsylvaniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
South CarolinaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
South DakotaExperience credit2026-09-16
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 Rhode Island from scratch

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

Verified September 23, 2026· 10 sources

Journeyperson Plumber by examination

Rhode Island issues the Journeyperson Plumber license to an applicant who passes the journeyperson exam written and given by the Department of Labor and Training (DLT). The normal route is a Rhode Island registered plumbing apprenticeship: hold a DLT apprentice-plumber registration for at least four years and work 8,000 hours of on-the-job training in Rhode Island within a five-year period under a licensed master or journeyperson plumber, while completing 576 hours of DLT-approved related instruction (144 hours for each 2,000 hours of work). When the apprenticeship is complete, your sponsor certifies it on the Apprentice Completion & Application for Examination form, which you mail to DLT with the $75 nonrefundable application fee and a copy of your photo ID at least 15 days before an exam date. The exam is 50 multiple-choice questions based on the 2018 International Plumbing Code, and a score of 70 or higher passes; the $72 two-year license fee is invoiced after you pass.

There is no separate law or business exam. DLT gives plumbing exams at least three times a year, seats are first come, first served, and DLT mails the exam date to the applicant; you can ask for the exam in a language other than English on the application. You may not work on an expired apprentice card, so if yours will expire before the test date, ask the DLT Apprenticeship Office for a testing card. An applicant who fails may retake the exam by paying the fee again, and may appeal to the board in writing within 30 days of being notified. DLT does not publish a processing time. Irrigator and water-filtration/treatment-system installer licenses are separate credentials issued by the same board.

Trade exam
Required
Law / code exam
Not required
Exam given by
Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training
Passing score
70%
Renewal
Every 2 years
Continuing education
7 hours per cycle

Who can apply

  • Complete a registered apprenticeship (4 years): Completion of a Rhode Island registered plumbing apprenticeship, with a DLT apprentice-plumber registration held for at least four years before applying.The apprenticeship agreement is for at least 8,000 hours over not less than five years (R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20-25), and DLT's application instructions ask journeyperson applicants to verify at least five years of experience in the trade. The DLT Apprenticeship Office issues the Certificate of Completion of Apprenticeship that must accompany the exam application.
  • You must document at least 8,000 hours of qualifying work experience.On-the-job training as a registered apprentice plumber in Rhode Island during a five-year period, documented by employer affidavits or work record books; the apprentice must be employed in Rhode Island for the whole 8,000 hours (R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20-17; 260-RICR-30-15-9 § 9.3(B)(2)).
  • Complete at least 576 hours of classroom or related instruction.Up to 144 hours of credit for classroom training in a career and technical education program authorized by the board of education, or up to 288 hours over two academic years at an accredited trade school approved by the Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner and the DLT apprenticeship council (R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20-25.2). Certified transcripts of the related instruction go with the application.

Other ways to qualify

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

Associate degree in plumbing plus a registered apprenticeship of at least two years

State law also accepts an associate degree in plumbing or sanitary engineering followed by at least two years registered with DLT as an apprentice plumber, employed throughout by a Rhode Island licensed master plumber. For licensing purposes, a plumbing apprenticeship paired with an associate degree in plumbing requires at least 4,000 hours of on-the-job learning instead of 8,000.

  • Associate degree in plumbing or sanitary engineering
  • Complete a registered apprenticeship (2 years): Registered with DLT as an apprentice plumber for at least two years, employed throughout by a Rhode Island licensed master plumber.
  • You must document at least 4,000 hours of qualifying work experience.Minimum on-the-job learning for a plumbing apprenticeship paired with an associate degree in plumbing (R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20-25.2(b)(1)).

Two academic years of plumbing or sanitary engineering study

R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20-17 also lists evidence that the applicant was a registered student at a recognized college, university or trade school and pursued a course in plumbing or sanitary engineering for at least two academic years. Since 2024, state law also requires apprentices to document a completed Rhode Island registered apprenticeship before a plumbing licensing exam, so confirm with DLT Professional Regulation at (401) 462-8580 how your schooling will be credited before relying on this route.

  • At least two academic years as a registered student in a plumbing or sanitary engineering course at a recognized college, university or trade school

Steps to get licensed

  1. 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($75). Nonrefundable application fee, paid by check or money order to the RI Department of Labor and Training and mailed with the Apprentice Completion & Application for Examination form and a copy of government-issued photo ID (R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20-17).
  2. 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Rhode Island Journeyperson Plumber examination written and given by DLT: 50 multiple-choice questions based on the 2018 International Plumbing Code; 70 or higher to pass.
  3. 3License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($72). Two-year Journeyperson Plumber license fee, invoiced after a passing score.

Published fees on this path total $147, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

Keeping it active

Every 2 years with 7 hours of continuing education per cycle and a $72 renewal fee.

Seven hours of approved continuing education with a board-approved provider during every two-year license cycle; keep your certificates of completion for two cycles in case of audit. Approved CE instructors, current Rhode Island plumbing inspectors and building officials, and licensees whose years licensed as a master or journeyperson plumber plus age total 80 are exempt.

The first renewal is due on or before your second birthday after the license is issued. Licenses expire on the licensee's birthday every two years, in odd years for those born in odd years and in even years for those born in even years. A lapsed license can be reinstated within two years by paying the renewal fee, any outstanding fees and a $12-per-month administrative assessment; after two years it is forfeited and a new exam is required.

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

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. Rhode Island DLT - Apprentice Completion & Application for Examination · Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  2. Rhode Island DLT - Trade License Exam Information · Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  3. Rhode Island DLT - Plumbers and Irrigators Application for Examination (with instructions and fee table) · Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Professional Regulation · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  4. Rhode Island DLT - Plumber CLE Agreement (Rev. 08/2025) · Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Professional Regulation · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  5. Rhode Island DLT - Professional Regulation Forms and Applications · Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  6. 260-RICR-30-15-9 - Licensing of Plumbers, Irrigators and Water System Installers · 260-RICR-30-15-9 · Rhode Island Department of State (Rhode Island Code of Regulations) · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
  7. R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20-17 - Qualifications of journeyperson — Application fee · R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20-17 · Rhode Island General Assembly · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
  8. R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20-23 - Expiration and renewal of licenses — Penalties for violation of section · R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20-23 · Rhode Island General Assembly · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
  9. R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20-25 - Registration of apprentices · R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20-25 · Rhode Island General Assembly · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
  10. R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20-25.2 - Credit for plumbing license exam · R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-20-25.2 · Rhode Island General Assembly · Statute · verified September 23, 2026

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