Pennsylvania to New Mexico: master plumber license reciprocity
Pennsylvania does not issue a statewide master plumber license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is New Mexico'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 or plumbing contractor (all states)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
An out-of-state master plumber or plumbing contractor receives no exam waiver in New Mexico. The individual files the notarized Qualifying Party application and work-experience affidavits with PSI ($36) showing four years of plumbing experience within the ten years before application (out-of-state experience is accepted on the same affidavits), is pre-approved, then must pass the 100-question open-book MM-1 Plumbing exam ($68.88, 75% to pass) and the Contractor's Business and Law exam ($68.88) or complete an approved business and law course in its place; passing scores are valid for one year. The business then applies to PSI for the MM-1 (or MM-98) contractor's license with a $36 application fee, the license fee ($50 per year or $100 for two years for MM-1; $100 per year or $200 for two years for MM-98), a $10,000 license bond, a New Mexico tax registration certificate and proof of workers' compensation coverage. Because New Mexico has no master plumber certificate, an out-of-state master who only wants to work with the tools applies for the JP journeyman certificate under the journeyman path instead.
Neither the RLD page, 14.6.3/14.6.4 NMAC nor the PSI contractor bulletin describes any substantial-equivalence review for contractors or qualifying parties from another state; the statutory reciprocity authority in NMSA 60-13-14(C) has not been exercised for mechanical or plumbing classifications as far as any official page shows. The only statutory experience waiver (60-13-14(B)(8)(b)) applies to a qualifying party previously certified in New Mexico in the same classification. Fee conflict: 14.5.5.8 NMAC sets the contractor license application fee at $30 while the RLD page lists $36 for both the QP application and the company license application; the RLD/PSI figure is used here. An MM-98 candidate takes the individual MM-1 through MM-4 exams; no combined MM-98 exam is listed.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Required
- Law / code exam
- Required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
What you must already have
- Four years of practical or related trade experience in the MM-1 plumbing classification within the ten years immediately before application (NMSA 60-13-14(B)(8); 14.6.6.11(B)(1) NMAC), verified on notarized work-experience affidavits
What you'll do to get licensed in New Mexico
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($36). Qualifying Party application and work-experience affidavit fee paid to PSI (notarized; submitted by hand or mail to the PSI Albuquerque office).
- 2Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. MM-1 Plumbing exam by PSI: 100 questions, 250 minutes, open book (2021 Uniform Plumbing Code, 2015 NM Plumbing Code 14.8.2 NMAC, 2021 Uniform Mechanical Code), 75% (75 points) to pass.
- 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($68.88). PSI fee for the MM-1 trade exam, first attempt or retake.
- 4Law / code exam. Pass a law, rules, or code exam. Contractor's Business and Law exam (required of all new candidates) or a commission-approved Business and Law course taken with an approved vendor in its place.
- 5Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($68.88). PSI fee for the Business and Law exam.
- 6Other. Certificate of qualification issuance fee (14.5.5.14(A) NMAC) ($6).
- 7Contractor license. Hold or obtain a contractor license ($36). MM-1 or MM-98 contractor's license application fee paid to PSI by the business (RLD page; 14.5.5.8 NMAC still reads $30), with tax registration certificate and the qualifying party's certificate or scores.
- 8License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($100). MM-1 contractor's license fee, $50 per year or $100 for the two-year term; MM-98 is $100 per year or $200 for two years (14.5.5.8 NMAC).
- 9Surety bond. Post a surety bond ($10,000). $10,000 contractor's license bond from a corporate surety authorized in New Mexico (NMSA 60-13-49), filed with the company license application.
- 10Insurance. Carry the required insurance. Workers' compensation coverage is required of all licensees by the Workers' Compensation Administration.
Published fees on this path total $273.76, 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 · $68.88
- Law / code exam
- Exam fee · $68.88
Surety bond
A license or contractor bond is bought from a surety, not the state. Price is a small percentage of the bond amount and depends on your credit.
- Surety bond · $10,000
Liability insurance
Some states require proof of general liability or workers' compensation coverage at licensing time.
- Insurance
How New Mexico licenses master plumbers
New Mexico master plumber · “MM-1 Plumbing contractor qualifying party (certificate of qualification); MM-98 Mechanical covers MM-1 through MM-4”
Statewide license
New Mexico has no 'master plumber' title. The credential above journeyman is the MM-1 Plumbing contractor classification (install, alter, repair, service and maintain plumbing, fixtures and piping, hot-water heating up to 30 psi or 400,000 BTU/hour, fuel and solar piping, pools, septic and sewer lines, controls at 24 volts or less; natural gas piping requires MM-2), or the MM-98 Mechanical classification that bundles MM-1 through MM-4 and four mechanical specialties. CID issues the contractor's license to the business and a personal, non-transferable certificate of qualification to the qualifying party, the individual who documented four years of experience in the classification within the past ten years and passed the MM-1 trade exam and the Contractor's Business and Law exam, so this site maps the MM-1 qualifying party to the master level. Even with an MM-1 license, hands-on plumbing must be done by or under a certified JP journeyman. CID publishes reciprocity only for EE-98J electrical journeymen; no reciprocity, endorsement or exam waiver is published for plumbing qualifying parties or contractors, although NMSA 60-13-14(C) allows the division to enter into reciprocal agreements with states having equivalent requirements.
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 New Mexico master plumber exam if I'm licensed in Pennsylvania?
- Yes. New Mexico requires the trade exam on this path, plus a law or code exam.
- What does it cost to get a New Mexico master plumber license from Pennsylvania?
- Published fees on this path total $273.76, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Pennsylvania work hours count in New Mexico?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward New Mexico's eligibility requirements.
- Does it work the other way, from New Mexico to Pennsylvania?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from New Mexico to Pennsylvania, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- Construction Industries Licensing Act, NMSA 1978 Chapter 60, Article 13 (RLD compilation as of July 1, 2021) · NMSA 1978 §§ 60-13-14, 60-13-38, 60-13-49 · New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department · Statute · verified September 16, 2026
- 14.5.5 NMAC - Construction Industries General Provisions: Fees · 14.5.5.8, 14.5.5.9 and 14.5.5.14 NMAC · New Mexico Commission of Public Records, State Records Center and Archives · Admin Rule · verified September 16, 2026
- 14.6.6 NMAC - Construction Industries Licensing: Classifications and Scopes (mechanical and plumbing) · 14.6.6.11 NMAC · New Mexico Commission of Public Records, State Records Center and Archives · Admin Rule · verified September 16, 2026
- State of New Mexico Contractor (Qualifying Party) Examinations Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI) · PSI Services for the NM Construction Industries Division · Other · verified September 16, 2026
- NM Regulation and Licensing Department - Apply for a Construction Industries License · New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Construction Industries Division · 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.