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

Texas licenses Master Plumbers statewide through the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners (TSBPE). An applicant may sit the Master Plumber Examination after holding a Journeyman Plumber license in Texas or another state for at least two years, or for one year plus completion of a US DOL Office of Apprenticeship program (Occ. Code §1301.002(5)); a master licensed in another state qualifies by showing the same prior journeyman history. The applicant pays a $25 exam processing fee to TSBPE and a $128.50 exam fee to Pearson VUE, submits fingerprints, passes the exam and pays a $75 initial license fee; the license renews annually for $75 with six hours of continuing professional education. A master plumber works under a Responsible Master Plumber unless he or she registers as an RMP, which requires a $300,000 commercial general liability certificate and allows contracting, permitting and supervising a plumbing company's work. TSBPE's published reciprocity agreement, with Louisiana, covers journeymen only, but out-of-state journeyman experience counts directly toward master exam eligibility.