Pennsylvania to District of Columbia: master plumber license reciprocity
Pennsylvania does not issue a statewide master plumber license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is District of Columbia's standard path for out-of-state applicants.
Your origin state does not issue a statewide license at this level, so there is no license to transfer. The destination's standard out-of-state path is shown; expect to meet it in full.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
Out-of-state master plumber from a state other than Maryland
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
The Board of Industrial Trades publishes a plumber-specific reciprocity bulletin only for Maryland. A master plumber from any other state applies through the DLCP online portal as a new applicant with a passport-style photo, government ID, certificate of completion and/or employment verification letter, and the $65 application fee, must document a valid journeyman plumber or gasfitter license (or the journeyman subsection (b) experience) plus at least 4 years of work as a journeyman plumber or gasfitter, schedules the master exam with PSI, and pays the $120 license fee. D.C. Code § 47-2853.12(b) directs boards to waive the exam for an applicant licensed in good standing in a state whose standards were at least as high as the District's and which admits DC licensees in a like manner, and § 47-2853.08(2) lets the Board find another state's standards substantially equivalent and license by reciprocity or endorsement; an applicant may ask the Board to apply those provisions, but the board page describes no such process beyond the Maryland plumbing bulletin. The national-certificate substitute in § 47-2853.122(b-1) is written for the journeyman designation only. No District-law exam is published for master plumbers. A master who will serve as the designated master for a plumbing contractor must also satisfy the contractor bond requirement, which is a separate license.
PSI exam fee is referred to 17 DCMR § 3500.3 and was not stated on the board page. Whether journeyman years worked under an out-of-state license count toward the 4-year journeyman requirement, the plumbing-and-gasfitting contractor bond amount, and 17 DCMR plumbing chapter text were not confirmed.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Required
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- Valid license as a journeyman plumber or gasfitter, or has met the journeyman requirements of D.C. Code § 47-2853.122(b)
- Worked as a journeyman plumber or journeyman gasfitter for at least 4 years (D.C. Code § 47-2853.122(c))
What you'll do to get licensed in District of Columbia
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($65). Application fee (non-refundable under D.C. Code § 47-2853.10), paid online with the DLCP application.
- 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. DC Master Plumber/Gasfitter examination administered by PSI (schedule at psiexams.com or 855-557-0616 after Board processing).
- 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee. PSI examination fee, amount set by 17 DCMR § 3500.3 (not stated on the Board page).
- 4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($120). Master (all types) license fee, up to 2 years; plumber and gasfitter licenses expire March 31 of even-numbered years (renewal $155).
- 5Other. Certificate of completion and/or employment verification letter, 2x2 passport-style photo, and government-issued ID, uploaded with the online application.
- 6Contractor license. Hold or obtain a contractor license (if applicable). Separate Plumbing Contractor license ($120 initial / $180 renewal) naming a designated DC-licensed master, with a Plumbing and Gasfitting Bond; not required to hold the person-held master license.
Published fees on this path total $185, 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
- Exam fee
How District of Columbia licenses master plumbers
District of Columbia master plumber · “Master Plumber/Gasfitter”
Statewide license
Issued by DC Board of Industrial Trades (Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection)
The District's highest person-held plumbing credential is the Master Plumber/Gasfitter license issued by the Board of Industrial Trades (DLCP); a Master Gasfitter specialty also exists. A Plumbing Contractor license is a separate business credential that must name a designated DC-licensed master and post a plumbing and gasfitting bond. Under D.C. Code § 47-2853.122(c) a master applicant must hold a valid journeyman plumber or gasfitter license, or have met the journeyman subsection (b) requirements, and have worked as a journeyman plumber or journeyman gasfitter for at least 4 years, then pass the PSI-administered master exam. Fees are a $65 application fee and a $120 master license fee for a term of up to 2 years ($155 on renewal); licenses expire March 31 of even-numbered years. The Board publishes a Maryland plumbing-professionals reciprocity bulletin; no Virginia plumber reciprocity is named on the board page.
Why Pennsylvania has nothing to transfer
Pennsylvania master plumber · “Master Plumber (city-issued; no state licence)”
Licensed by cities and counties
Pennsylvania issues no statewide master plumber or plumbing-contractor licence; none of the Department of State's 29 boards covers the trade, so the master-level credential exists only in cities that have chosen to license it. Allentown posts a 2026 Master Plumber Exam Application and requires a separate business licence to contract. Harrisburg posts a plumbing licence application whose master-versus-journeyman split was not verified. Pittsburgh's plumbing trade-licence page 404'd. There is no state-level recognition of an out-of-state master plumber licence and no municipal programme verified here that waives the plumbing trade exam. An arriving master should expect to apply city by city, document local experience thresholds, and sit each city's exam (ICC or city-written) unless that city later publishes an exam-waiver rule.
How local licensing works in Pennsylvania
How local licensing works. With no state plumbing board, each Pennsylvania city that licenses master plumbers does so under its own ordinance. The journeyman card, where it exists, does not authorise pulling permits or running a shop; the master (or master-contractor) licence does. A master licence is valid only in the issuing city. The journeyman page states that a journeyman works 'under a licensed master plumber' and may not operate a business, which implies the master licence is the contracting credential. Other PLI trade licences are issued to individuals, expire 365 days from issue, and (for electrical and mechanical) accept ICC master exams for any code year plus a stated experience total; whether plumbing follows that pattern is unverified. 2025 plumbing licence fee unknown.
Allentown. 2026 Master Plumber Exam Application is posted under Professional Trades Licensing. Contracting requires the trades licence and a city business licence. Reciprocity not mentioned on the landing page. Electrical Option B on that same form (eight years in lieu of exam) must not be assumed to apply to plumbing.
Inbound master. No Pennsylvania state licence and no verified exam-waiver reciprocity. Plan on a new application in each city where permits will be pulled. Philadelphia is the most fully documented shop: obtain the Master Plumber's License after (typically) holding or qualifying beyond the journeyman ICC path; confirm current master fees and exam on the master service page before applying. Allentown requires its master plumber exam application plus a business licence. Scranton uses the 2021 master contractor packet. Statewide reciprocity: none.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the District of Columbia master plumber exam if I'm licensed in Pennsylvania?
- Yes. District of Columbia requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a District of Columbia master plumber license from Pennsylvania?
- Published fees on this path total $185, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Pennsylvania work hours count in District of Columbia?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward District of Columbia's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from District of Columbia to Pennsylvania?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from District of Columbia to Pennsylvania, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- D.C. Code § 47-2853.08 - Powers of the boards (reciprocity and endorsement) · D.C. Code § 47-2853.08(2) · Council of the District of Columbia · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
- D.C. Code § 47-2853.12 - License, certification, and registration criteria; waiver · D.C. Code § 47-2853.12(b)-(d), (l) · Council of the District of Columbia · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
- D.C. Code § 47-2853.121 - Scope of practice for plumbers or gasfitters · D.C. Code § 47-2853.121 · Council of the District of Columbia · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
- D.C. Code § 47-2853.122 - Plumbers or gasfitters: eligibility requirements · D.C. Code § 47-2853.122 · Council of the District of Columbia · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
- DC DLCP - Board of Industrial Trades (plumbers/gasfitters: apply, exams, fees, reciprocity notices) · District of Columbia Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) · Agency Page · verified September 16, 2026
- DC DLCP - Plumbing/Gasfitting license application instructions (linked from Board of Industrial Trades) · District of Columbia Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, Occupational and Professional Licensing · Form · verified September 16, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.