Minnesota to Alaska: master plumber license reciprocity
Alaska has no reciprocity agreement with Minnesota. A Minnesota master plumber applies by endorsement.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Mechanical Administrator licence by credentials (all states)
The board reviews your out-of-state credentials case by case. Some exam is usually still required, often only a law or code exam.
Alaska publishes no state-by-state reciprocity list for mechanical administrators; every out-of-state applicant uses licensure by credentials under AS 08.40.270(b) and 12 AAC 39.022 (form 08-4904, also filed online through MY LICENSE). The department must waive the examination when the applicant holds a current, active mechanical administrator or equivalent licence in another state (verification sent directly by every jurisdiction where the applicant is or was licensed), has that state verify on form 08-4904a, with the exam content outline, that the applicant passed an examination equivalent to Alaska's, and meets the experience qualifications for the plumbing category applied for (12 AAC 39.202 for Unlimited Commercial and Industrial Plumbing or 12 AAC 39.302 for Residential Plumbing and Hydronic Heating). CBPL warns that passing an exam in another state does not guarantee qualification, and transcripts must come directly from the school if education is used to qualify. The fee is $150 (nonrefundable application) plus $200 (licence), $350 in total, and paper applications take several weeks. An applicant who cannot document an equivalent exam applies by examination instead (form 08-4903) and must score at least 70% on the PSI mechanical administrator exam within the 12 months before licensure (no more than three attempts in 12 months); a licensee may later add a category under 12 AAC 39.025 by passing that category's exam. A master plumber licence from another state counts as journeyman experience under 12 AAC 39.992(4) but is only an 'equivalent' administrator licence if it carries a comparable supervisory role and exam, which the division judges case by case.
The division does not publish which states' master plumber, plumbing contractor or mechanical administrator exams it accepts as equivalent; each is reviewed against the exam content outline, and a business-issued plumbing contractor licence (rather than a personal one) is not addressed on any official page. The PSI examination fee for the by-examination route is not published on the application form or the program page.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- Your Minnesota license must be active and in good standing.
- You must have passed a licensing exam in Minnesota that the destination considers comparable.
- Meets the category qualifications: UCIP (12 AAC 39.202) - journeyman plumber and/or plumbing field-superintendent experience for four of the last six years, or an ME degree or Alaska PE registration plus one of the last three years; RPHH (12 AAC 39.302) - journeyman experience in residential plumbing and hydronic heating for two of the last four years; a year of experience is at least 1,500 hours in 12 consecutive months (12 AAC 39.950)
- You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.
What you'll do to get licensed in Alaska
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($150). Nonrefundable application fee (12 AAC 02.245).
- 2License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($200). Biennial licence fee; licences expire December 31 of odd-numbered years regardless of issue date (12 AAC 02.245).
- 3Other. Verification of licensure from every jurisdiction where the applicant holds or has held a mechanical administrator licence, sent directly to the division; verification of the equivalent examination on form 08-4904a; official transcripts sent by the school if education is used to qualify; detailed experience narrative for the category.
- 4Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam (if applicable). PSI mechanical administrator examination for the plumbing category (70% within 12 months before application; results valid one year; maximum three attempts in 12 months) - required only if no equivalent out-of-state exam can be verified (form 08-4903); PSI fee not published.
- 5Contractor license. Hold or obtain a contractor license (if applicable). The administrator must be assigned to one registered mechanical contractor (AS 08.18) or held unassigned; the contractor registration is a separate CBPL business licence and is required to contract for plumbing work.
- 6Continuing education. Complete continuing education. For renewal: one eight-hour Uniform Plumbing Code workshop (UCIP) or UPC/Uniform Mechanical Code workshop (RPHH) per category each biennium, or a code-based licensing exam passed in the period (12 AAC 39.410); renewal fee $200 ($100 for licences first issued on or after January 1, 2025).
Published fees on this path total $350, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.
What you'll need to buy or arrange
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 · if applicable
Business registration
If you plan to contract in your own name, budget for a business license or entity registration on top of the trade license.
- Contractor license · if applicable
Continuing education
Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.
- Continuing education
How Alaska licenses master plumbers
Alaska master plumber · “Mechanical Administrator (Unlimited Commercial and Industrial Plumbing or Residential Plumbing and Hydronic Heating category)”
Statewide license
Alaska has no master plumber licence; Mechanical Inspection's FAQ answers 'Does Alaska issue a Master license for the plumbing or electrical trades? No.' The highest person-held plumbing credential is the Mechanical Administrator licence issued under AS 08.40.210-08.40.490 by the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing (CBPL), which is treated here as the master level. It is a supervisory licence: a person may not act as a mechanical administrator without it, every registered mechanical contractor doing plumbing must hold or employ one, the administrator is responsible for all mechanical work done under the contractor's licence and may qualify only one contractor (AS 08.40.260, 08.40.280; 12 AAC 39.902), and it does not by itself authorise hands-on code work, which still requires a DOLWD certificate of fitness (a person may hold both, which the FAQ says 'allows the holder to function like how a master trades license works in many other states'). The plumbing categories are Unlimited Commercial and Industrial Plumbing (UCIP: journeyman plumber or plumbing field-superintendent experience for four of the last six years, or an ME degree or PE registration plus one of the last three years, where a year is at least 1,500 hours) and Residential Plumbing and Hydronic Heating (RPHH: two of the last four years as a journeyman in residential plumbing and hydronic heating; single-family and duplex dwellings only). Qualification is by a PSI-administered examination passed at 70% within the prior 12 months, or by credentials for administrators licensed in another state. Fees are $150 to apply plus $200 for the licence ($350); the licence is biennial, expires December 31 of odd-numbered years, and renews for $200 with an eight-hour Uniform Plumbing Code workshop per category. The mechanical contractor registration itself is a separate business licence under AS 08.18 from the same division.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Alaska master plumber exam if I'm licensed in Minnesota?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Alaska master plumber license from Minnesota?
- Published fees on this path total $350, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Minnesota work hours count in Alaska?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Alaska's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from Alaska to Minnesota?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Alaska to Minnesota, the mechanism is experience credit.
Sources
- Form 08-4904 - Mechanical Administrator License by Credentials Application (new 08/30/2024) · 12 AAC 39.022; 12 AAC 02.245 · Alaska DCCED - Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing · Form · verified September 16, 2026
- Form 08-4903 - Mechanical Administrator License by Examination Application (new 08/30/2024) · 12 AAC 39.012; 12 AAC 02.245 · Alaska DCCED - Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing · Form · verified September 16, 2026
- Alaska CBPL - Mechanical Administrators program page · Alaska DCCED - Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
- Form 08-4296 - Mechanical Administrator License Renewal, January 1, 2026 - December 31, 2027 (rev. 10/23/2025) · 12 AAC 39.027; 12 AAC 39.410 · Alaska DCCED - Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing · Form · verified September 16, 2026
- Statutes and Regulations - Mechanical Administrators (AS 08.40.210-08.40.490 and 12 AAC 39), April 2023 · AS 08.40.260, AS 08.40.270, AS 08.40.280, AS 08.40.290; 12 AAC 39.012, 12 AAC 39.022, 12 AAC 39.025, 12 AAC 39.027, 12 AAC 39.033, 12 AAC 39.202, 12 AAC 39.212, 12 AAC 39.302, 12 AAC 39.312, 12 AAC 39.410, 12 AAC 39.950, 12 AAC 39.992 · Alaska DCCED - Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
- Alaska DOLWD Mechanical Inspection - Frequently Asked Questions · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Mechanical Inspection · Faq · verified September 16, 2026
- Alaska DOLWD Mechanical Inspection - Home (jurisdiction, adopted codes, August 8, 2025 regulation change) · 8 AAC 63.101; AS 18.60.705 · Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Mechanical Inspection · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.