Nebraska to Illinois: master plumber license reciprocity

Chicago. Section 16 of the Plumbing License Law lets a municipality of 500,000 or more (only Chicago qualifies) adopt an ordinance 'substantially the same' as the Act with equivalent education or experience requirements and run its own board of plumbing examiners; within Chicago the state Act then does not apply except as the Act provides. The City of Chicago Department of Buildings issues that plumber licence. Section 16(2) provides that 'any person licensed as a plumber pursuant to such ordinance, or licensed by the Department under this Act, may engage in plumbing anywhere in this State', so an IDPH licence is valid in Chicago and a Chicago licence is valid in the rest of Illinois; Section 13.1(9) also accepts a Chicago plumber licence for state Plumbing Contractor registration. IDPH separately publishes a 'Plumber's License: Application for Reciprocity for the City of Chicago Licensees' for Chicago plumbers who want the state card as well. Local governments may adopt a plumbing code at least as stringent as the State code, require permits, and employ licensed plumbers as inspectors (Sections 18, 36, 37), but they cannot require a separate individual plumber licence.

How local licensing works. There is no state plumbing board. The Contractor Registration Act requires every contracting business to register with the Department of Labor ($40 per year from August 1, 2026, workers' compensation certificate if there are employees), but the master plumber license that lets someone pull permits and run a plumbing business comes from each city's ordinance and examining board.

Omaha. The Master Plumber license is issued by the Plumbing Board under Omaha Municipal Code chapter 49. To sit the master exam (Sec. 49-231) an applicant shows one of: four consecutive years of experience installing plumbing systems while holding a journeyman license issued by the city; 'evidence of qualifying as a master plumber in a city of equivalent size that requires similar qualification criteria'; or, where the applicant's community requires no instruction for a license, a properly issued license or 12 consecutive years of experience (300+ hours each year, 21,000 hours total) at the Board's discretion. Applications are due by 9:00 AM on the 15th of March, June, September and December for exams in May, August, November and February; the master test fee is $81.00, and copies of all current or expired licenses plus notarized proof of employment hours are required. The master license costs $100.00 + $8.00 technology fee ('Exam Required') and renews for $75.00 + $6.00 with 8 continuing-education hours; before working as a contractor the master files a surety bond of at least $10,000.00 and liability insurance of at least $1,000,000.00 with [email protected]. Out-of-state treatment: an out-of-state or other-city master license can satisfy the eligibility requirement to test, but the Omaha exam is not waived and no reciprocity path is published for plumbers (Omaha's reciprocal-license process covers Building Contractor licenses only).

Lincoln. A Plumbing Master certificate requires holding a valid City of Lincoln Plumbing Journeyman certificate for at least one year, or a mechanical engineering degree from an accredited college plus two years of practical experience planning, laying out, supervising and installing plumbing equipment, or registration as a professional mechanical engineer in Nebraska, and passing the city exam (third Thursday of February, May, August and November; copper practical project plus a five-hour written exam on the 2018 UPC with Lincoln amendments and the Lincoln Gas Piping Code). Master exam filing fee $208. Annual registration: Plumbing Master Contractor $250 or non-contracting Master $75, renewed March 1-May 31 with 10 CEU hours; a lapse beyond 60 days revokes the license and requires retesting. A plumbing contractor also files a general liability certificate of at least $500,000 per occurrence naming the City of Lincoln as additional insured and listing the master plumber by name as an insured; a $5,000 bond is needed only for work in the city right-of-way. Out-of-state treatment: 'An applicant holding a valid Journeyman or Contractor/Master Plumbing License or Certificate, received by examination from another state or Municipal Governmental agency, shall be entitled to take the equivalent respective City of Lincoln Journeyman or Master examination without submitting any additional qualifications.' The one-year Lincoln journeyman prerequisite is bypassed; the exam is not.

Grand Island. Plumbing contracting companies must be licensed with the Building Services Division, and the individuals doing the work must hold a city master or journeyman license or apprentice registration and work under a licensed company. Exam and reciprocity applications are filed through the CitizenServe portal; the city publishes no thresholds, fees or accepted jurisdictions online, so contact Building Services at (308) 385-5444.

Bellevue and other cities license master plumbers and plumbing contractors under their own ordinances; Bellevue's Permits and Inspections documents page posts contractor testing information for plumbing contractors, but its requirements were not verified in this pass.