LicensebyState

Moving to Oklahoma as a master plumber: every state's rule

Oklahoma has reciprocity agreements with 0 states. Everyone else follows its standard out-of-state path: endorsement.

Oklahoma master plumber · “Plumbing Contractor (Unlimited)”

Statewide license

Verified September 16, 2026· 6 sources

Issued by Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (CIB), Plumbing Division

Oklahoma has no 'master plumber' title; its highest person-held plumbing credential is the Plumbing Contractor license, which CIB describes as 'the highest ranking plumbing license' and issues to an individual who passes the two-part contractor exam (technical trade and Plumbing Business and Law, 75% on each part, PSI, $92 per portion). This site maps the Unlimited Plumbing Contractor license to the master level. An applicant needs the journeyman qualifications plus one additional year, so four years (about 8,000 hours) of verifiable plumbing experience, and pays $330 ($30 application plus $300 initial license). After passing, the license is inactive until the contractor files a $5,000 corporate surety bond (or $5,000 cash or certificate of deposit) and a $50,000 commercial general liability certificate with CIB; only a licensed contractor may contract for plumbing work, and the licensee may operate as an individual, firm, LLC or corporation. CIB's Arkansas agreement covers journeymen only, so no state has contractor reciprocity with Oklahoma; out-of-state masters and contractors use exam equivalency where available or sit the full exam. Licenses renew annually ($200) with six hours of continuing education every 36 months.

Every origin state

Endorsement 38No credit 12
Every state's path into Oklahoma
StateMechanismNoteVerified
AlabamaEndorsement2026-09-16
AlaskaEndorsement2026-09-16
ArizonaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
ArkansasEndorsementexplicit agreement2026-09-16
CaliforniaEndorsement2026-09-16
ColoradoEndorsement2026-09-16
ConnecticutEndorsement2026-09-16
DelawareEndorsement2026-09-16
District of ColumbiaEndorsement2026-09-16
FloridaEndorsement2026-09-16
GeorgiaEndorsement2026-09-16
HawaiiEndorsement2026-09-16
IdahoEndorsement2026-09-16
IllinoisEndorsement2026-09-16
IndianaEndorsement2026-09-16
IowaEndorsement2026-09-16
KansasNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
KentuckyEndorsement2026-09-16
LouisianaEndorsement2026-09-16
MaineEndorsement2026-09-16
MarylandEndorsement2026-09-16
MassachusettsEndorsement2026-09-16
MichiganEndorsement2026-09-16
MinnesotaEndorsement2026-09-16
MississippiNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
MissouriNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
MontanaEndorsement2026-09-16
NebraskaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
NevadaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
New HampshireEndorsement2026-09-16
New JerseyEndorsement2026-09-16
New MexicoEndorsement2026-09-16
New YorkNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
North CarolinaEndorsement2026-09-16
North DakotaEndorsement2026-09-16
OhioEndorsement2026-09-16
OregonNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
PennsylvaniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
Rhode IslandEndorsement2026-09-16
South CarolinaEndorsement2026-09-16
South DakotaEndorsement2026-09-16
TennesseeNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
TexasEndorsement2026-09-16
UtahEndorsement2026-09-16
VermontEndorsement2026-09-16
VirginiaEndorsement2026-09-16
WashingtonNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
West VirginiaEndorsement2026-09-16
WisconsinEndorsement2026-09-16
WyomingNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16

Getting licensed in Oklahoma from scratch

No license yet, or nothing that transfers? This is how Oklahoma issues a master plumber license to a first-time applicant.

Verified September 23, 2026· 8 sources

Unlimited Plumbing Contractor by examination

Oklahoma has no master plumber license; its highest plumbing credential is the Plumbing Contractor license, which is issued to an individual and which this site treats as the master level. You do not need to hold an Oklahoma journeyman license first: you qualify with the journeyman requirements plus one more year, so four years of verifiable plumbing experience while employed by a licensed plumbing contractor, and a Committee-approved education program can replace up to two of those years. You file the notarized Application for Plumbing Examination with experience affidavits and $330, then pass both portions of the PSI contractor exam, the Plumbing Contractor and Natural Gas trade exam and the Plumbing Business and Law exam, each open book with 75% required. After you pass, the license stays inactive until CIB receives a $5,000 surety bond in your name and a certificate for at least $50,000 of general liability insurance naming CIB as certificate holder. An active contractor may contract for plumbing work as an individual or through a firm, partnership, LLC or corporation.

The trade exam has 85 questions in 180 minutes on the 2018 International Plumbing Code and International Fuel Gas Code with Oklahoma revisions, Mathematics for Plumbers and Pipefitters and OSHA 29 CFR 1926; either the 2018 or the 2024 code editions may be used from October 8, 2026 through January 8, 2027, and only the 2024 editions from January 9, 2027. The Business and Law exam has 50 questions in 120 minutes, with references including the CIB rules and study aids book, the Plumbing License Law of 1955, OAC 158:30, the CIB fine schedule, the Oklahoma lien law, the NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management and the Workers' Compensation Act. If you pass only one portion, you retake just the other within three years of being approved to test; after that you must retake both. A passing trade score can also be used on a journeyman application filed within one year. After a first failure you must wait 30 days to retest, and 90 days after each later failure. Contractor applicants must be able to read English without assistance or ask the Committee for an accommodation hearing. The bond may be replaced by $5,000 in cash or a certificate of deposit held for bonding. If you work only on property owned by the corporation, partnership or public body that employs you, the employer can file an affidavit taking financial responsibility in place of the bond and insurance. Without bond and insurance the license is inactive and you may work only as a journeyman. CIB also issues a Residential Plumbing Contractor license (residential journeyman requirements plus one year), limited to one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses, which is a separate credential.

Trade exam
Required
Law / code exam
Required
Exam given by
PSI
Exam format
Open book
Passing score
75%
Renewal
Every year

Who can apply

  • You must document at least 4 years of qualifying work experience.The journeyman requirement of three years plus one additional year of plumbing experience while employed by a licensed plumbing contractor (OAC 158:30-5-1(c) and 158:30-9-1(l)); CIB treats one year of full-time work as about 2,000 hours. Oklahoma experience gained before licensure counts only while registered as an apprentice.
  • Be at least 18 years old.

Other ways to qualify

Each of these replaces the requirements above. You only need one.

Approved plumbing education plus experience

The same Committee-approved education credits that apply to the journeyman exam apply to the contractor exam: 1,000 classroom hours replaces two years of experience, 500 hours one year, with smaller programs worth six to nine months. Hours must be actual classroom hours shown on an official transcript.

  • Complete at least 1,000 hours of classroom or related instruction.Associate degree or vocational diploma from a Committee-approved formal plumbing program (OAC 158:30-9-1(n)(1)).
  • You must document at least 2 years of qualifying work experience.The remaining two years of plumbing experience while employed by a licensed plumbing contractor.
  • Be at least 18 years old.

Steps to get licensed

  1. 1Application fee. Pay the application fee ($30). Contractor application processing fee, submitted with the application and forfeited if you do not meet the exam qualifications (OAC 158:30-9-2(b)).
  2. 2License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($300). Initial contractor license fee, submitted with the application.
  3. 3Other. Notarized Application for Plumbing Examination with a notarized affidavit of lawful presence (56 O.S. § 71), a notarized experience affidavit signed by each licensed plumbing contractor who verifies your work, and official transcripts and a diploma or certificate of completion for any plumbing education you are claiming.
  4. 4Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Oklahoma Plumbing Contractor and Natural Gas exam administered by PSI: 85 questions, 180 minutes, open book, 75% to pass.
  5. 5Law / code exam. Pass a law, rules, or code exam. Oklahoma Plumbing Business and Law exam administered by PSI: 50 questions, 120 minutes, open book, 75% to pass.
  6. 6Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($184). PSI fee of $92 per exam portion (two portions); not refundable, and each retake is another $92.
  7. 7Surety bond. Post a surety bond ($5,000). Continuous $5,000 corporate surety bond payable to the Construction Industries Board, in the license holder's name with 30 days' cancellation notice, or $5,000 cash or certificate of deposit held for bonding; required to activate the license (OAC 158:30-5-2).
  8. 8Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($50,000). Commercial general liability insurance of at least $50,000 in the license holder's name, with CIB listed as certificate holder; required to activate the license.

Published fees on this path total $514, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

Keeping it active

Every year and a $200 renewal fee.

Six hours of Committee-approved continuing education in the 36 months before the license expires, not every year. Courses cover the codes adopted by the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission or other approved trade topics such as the Plumbing License Law, the CIB rules and safety; approved correspondence and online courses count. You are exempt for three years from the date you passed your current licensing exam. Courses approved by another agency count only if a CIB Industry Committee has also approved them.

Active and inactive contractor licenses both renew every year and expire on the last day of your birth month. Renewing more than 30 days after expiration adds a $100 late fee. An active contractor must keep the bond and insurance in force; if either lapses, the license becomes inactive.

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
  • Law / code exam
  • Exam fee · $184

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 · $5,000

Liability insurance

Some states require proof of general liability or workers' compensation coverage at licensing time.

  • Insurance · $50,000

Sources for this section

  1. Oklahoma CIB - 2026 Building Code Updates and Examination Transition Period · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  2. Oklahoma CIB - Continuing Education Information · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  3. Oklahoma CIB - Plumbing Industry · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  4. Oklahoma CIB - Plumbing Application Information and Application for Plumbing Examination (Contractor and Journeyman, revised August 2024) · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  5. Oklahoma CIB - Plumbing Contractor · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  6. OAC Title 158, Chapter 30 - Plumbing Industry Regulations (permanent rules effective 10/1/2024) · OAC 158:30-1-2, 158:30-5-1, 158:30-5-2, 158:30-5-4, 158:30-9-1, 158:30-9-1.4, 158:30-9-2, 158:30-9-4 · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
  7. Oklahoma Plumbing License Law of 1955, 59 O.S. §§ 1000.1 et seq. · 59 O.S. § 1000.5A · Oklahoma Construction Industries Board · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
  8. State of Oklahoma Electrical, Mechanical, Roofing and Plumbing Examinations Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI) · PSI Services for the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board · Form · verified September 23, 2026

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