Moving to Tennessee as a journeyman plumber: every state's rule
Tennessee does not issue a statewide journeyman plumber license, so there is no reciprocity to speak of. Here is what that means in practice.
Tennessee journeyman plumber · “Journeyman plumber (city or county card only)”
Licensed by cities and counties
Tennessee has no statewide journeyman plumber license. The Board for Licensing Contractors licenses plumbing at two other levels only: the Limited Licensed Plumber (LLP), a personal license for projects under $25,000 in municipalities that use the Division of Fire Prevention for permits and inspections (T.C.A. § 62-6-403; photo ID, SSN, Prov LLP trade exam, $75 initial fee; general maintenance under $500 is exempt), and the contractor license with the CMC-A (plumbing) or CMC (full mechanical) classification, a business license required for plumbing work of $25,000 or more. The Board's LLP page tells applicants to check first whether the local government accepts the LLP or runs its own licensing. Journeyman plumber cards therefore exist only where a city or county examines plumbers itself. Metro Nashville's Mechanical, Plumbing, and Electrical Examiners and Appeals Board issues journeyman plumber (and apprentice plumber) certificates; Knoxville registers State Contractors, homeowners, or Unlicensed/State Limited License (LLE or LLP) holders to pull permits and does not publish a separate city journeyman plumber card on that page. An out-of-state journeyman plumber license has no state-level recognition in Tennessee: the Board's trade-exam-waiver form cannot be used for the LLP, and none of the city pages reviewed here publish a reciprocity or exam-waiver path for inbound journeymen.
How local licensing works in Tennessee
How local licensing works. T.C.A. Title 62, Chapter 6 gives the Board the CMC/CMC-A contractor license (business, $25,000 and up, accepted statewide for contracting) and the LLP (individual, under $25,000, only where the State Fire Marshal inspects). Cities and counties that run their own plumbing inspection programs may require a local journeyman or master plumber card instead of, or in addition to, the LLP. Each local card is valid only in that jurisdiction. The Board publishes no journeyman-to-journeyman reciprocity.
Nashville / Davidson County. The Mechanical, Plumbing, and Electrical Examiners and Appeals Board (Metro Code Chapter 2.76) examines applicants for master plumber, journeyman plumber and apprentice plumber certificates and issues those certificates (Codes and Building Safety, 800 President Ronald Reagan Way; 615-862-6500). Expect to sit Metro's exam unless Codes staff confirm otherwise.
Knoxville. Permits are pulled under a State Contractor registration, a Homeowner registration, or an Unlicensed / State Limited License (LLE or LLP) registration. The Plans Review & Inspections page does not describe a city-issued journeyman plumber license. No experience hours published. No out-of-state exam waiver. Accepted only where the Division of Fire Prevention inspects; many larger cities do not use that program.
- Nashville / Davidson County (Codes and Building Safety)
- Knoxville (Plans Review & Inspections)
- Chattanooga (Land Development Office)
- Memphis / Shelby County (Office of Construction Code Enforcement)