Requirements, license levels, and the issuing authority, sourced from Texas's official board.
TSBPE licenses individuals and registers apprentices, drain cleaners and residential utilities installers; the Responsible Master Plumber is the license that lets a business hold plumbing permits. The written examinations are administered by Pearson VUE under contract to the board and the practical examinations are administered by the board itself, in Austin and Waco only, which is a real scheduling constraint for candidates outside central Texas. Fees and hour thresholds above are taken from the board's own license-type pages and its Candidate Handbook; the earlier note that hour totals were unverifiable from the license-types index page is superseded.
| Requirements | Texas builds the plumbing ladder on registered apprentice hours; hours worked before the apprentice registration is issued do not count. PLUMBER'S APPRENTICE (registration): at least 16 years old and a US citizen or national or an alien or non-immigrant eligible for licensure in Texas. Fee $15, renewal $15. TRADESMAN PLUMBER-LIMITED: registered as a Texas plumber's apprentice (or hold an out-of-state journeyman or master plumber license), at least 4,000 hours of verifiable experience in the plumbing trade in Texas or out of state, completion of a 24-hour TSBPE-approved training course (or enrolment in or completion of a US Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship program; waived for out-of-state journeyman or master holders), and approved fingerprints. Scope: may construct, install, repair, service or renovate plumbing in one- and two-family dwellings under a Responsible Master Plumber, and may directly supervise apprentices on such work; on other building types the tradesman needs direct on-site supervision by a journeyman or master. Examination application fee $36; initial license fee $35. JOURNEYMAN PLUMBER: US citizen or national or an alien or non-immigrant eligible for licensure; currently a registered Texas apprentice, a licensed Texas Tradesman Plumber-Limited, or a journeyman or master plumber licensed in another state; at least 8,000 hours in the plumbing trade; completion of a 48-hour TSBPE-approved training course (waived if the applicant holds an out-of-state journeyman or master plumber license); and approved fingerprints. Examination application fee $40; initial license fee $40. MASTER PLUMBER, one of four routes: licensed as a journeyman plumber in Texas or another state and held for at least two years; held a journeyman license for at least one year and completed a US Department of Labor approved apprenticeship program; previously licensed as a master plumber in another state with at least two years of prior journeyman experience; or previously licensed as a master elsewhere with one year of journeyman experience plus an approved apprenticeship. Examination processing fee to TSBPE $25; initial license fee $75. Every examination requires the applicant to submit fingerprints, and applicants with a felony conviction file a Supplemental Criminal History Information Form; the Employer Certification Form documents the hours. Application steps in order: apply and pay TSBPE through the State of Texas Online Licensing System (or by paper form) -> TSBPE approves eligibility and Pearson VUE emails an Authorization to Test -> the candidate reserves and pays for the written computer-based examination -> TSBPE receives the score from Pearson VUE within about 48 hours -> for the Tradesman and Journeyman a second Authorization to Test is issued for the practical, held only at the TSBPE facilities in Austin or Waco -> on passing both portions the candidate pays the initial license fee and the certificate and pocket card issue. EXAMINATION. Written portions are delivered by Pearson VUE under contract to the board; they are CLOSED BOOK - no books, notes, reference materials or scratch paper are permitted in the testing room. Passing score is 70%, and where an examination has a practical portion it is not an overall pass until both the written and practical portions are passed. Exam structure and fees, from the board's Candidate Handbook: Tradesman Plumber-Limited, written 85 items in 120 minutes for $68.50 plus practical 6 items in 240 minutes for $36.00, initial license $35.00; Journeyman Plumber, written 100 items in 120 minutes for $68.50 plus practical 6 items in 240 minutes for $40.00, initial license $40.00; Master Plumber, written only, 308 items in 360 minutes plus a 30-minute pause-the-clock break, $128.50, initial license $75.00; Journeyman Medical Gas Piping Installation Endorsement, written 150 items in 180 minutes ($68.50) plus practical 2 items in 120 minutes ($27.00), initial $14.00; Master Medical Gas endorsement, written 150 items in 180 minutes ($68.50) plus practical 2 items in 120 minutes ($80.00), initial $55.00; Inspector Medical Gas endorsement, written only 150 items in 180 minutes, $68.50, initial $27.50; Water Supply Protection Specialist endorsement, written only 100 items in 120 minutes, $68.50, initial $14.00 journeyman / $55.00 master / $27.50 inspector; the three Multipurpose Residential Fire Protection Sprinkler Specialist endorsements are each written only, 130 items in 180 minutes, $68.50, and are marked 'coming soon' in the handbook. The practical is hands-on and the board furnishes all materials; short trousers and open-toed shoes are barred from the examination area with no exceptions. The examination is written against the Plumbing License Law and board rules together with either the 2018 International Plumbing Code and 2018 International Fuel Gas Code or the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code, and covers one- and two-family dwellings as well as commercial installations. An initial examination authorization is good for up to five attempts at the written portion, all within one year of the original TSBPE authorization; the candidate must wait 30 days after a first failure, 60 days after a second and 90 days after each failure thereafter, and must not reapply to TSBPE for a further authorization until the five attempts are exhausted. The written portion must be passed before the practical is scheduled. |
| Reciprocity | Yes, with two states. The Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners states that Texas currently reciprocates plumbing licenses with Louisiana and Arkansas. A Louisiana journeyman or master plumber who also holds a Louisiana journeyman or master natural gas fitter license, in good standing, is eligible for the equivalent Texas license with no examination; the Louisiana agreement took effect January 11, 2022. An Arkansas applicant must have held an Arkansas journeyman or master plumber license for at least 4 years. Every other out-of-state applicant uses the Out-of-State Examination route instead: currently licensed as a journeyman or master plumber in another state, having held that license at least 2 years, with proof of lawful work authorisation and fingerprinting, paying a non-refundable processing fee of $40 for journeyman or $25 for master plus the Pearson VUE examination fee, the examination is required, and the journeyman examination includes a practical component. Note a conflict between two TDLR-family documents: TDLR's agency-wide flyer 'Removing Barriers for Out-of-State Licensees at a Glance' (FORM-019, September 2023) lists reciprocity-agreement programs as air conditioning and refrigeration, auctioneers and electricians only and does not list plumbing, while TSBPE's own current plumbing forms affirmatively describe the Louisiana and Arkansas reciprocity; the plumbing-specific and more recent TSBPE forms are the narrower authority. |
| Renewal | Annual. Licenses renew every year; the first expiration date is assigned at random 6 to 18 months after the licensure examination is passed. All licensees must complete 6 hours of continuing professional education each year to be eligible to renew. Endorsements renew every 3 years. Plumbing Inspector licenses renew in January. Renewal fees, which match the initial license fees: Plumber's Apprentice $15; Tradesman Plumber-Limited $35; Journeyman Plumber $40; Master Plumber $75. Late renewal is charged on top of the renewal fee - half the license fee if expired less than 90 days, the full license fee if expired more than 90 days: Tradesman $17.50 then $35; Journeyman $20 then $40; Master $37.50 then $75. |
| Notes | TSBPE licenses individuals and registers apprentices, drain cleaners and residential utilities installers; the Responsible Master Plumber is the license that lets a business hold plumbing permits. The written examinations are administered by Pearson VUE under contract to the board and the practical examinations are administered by the board itself, in Austin and Waco only, which is a real scheduling constraint for candidates outside central Texas. Fees and hour thresholds above are taken from the board's own license-type pages and its Candidate Handbook; the earlier note that hour totals were unverifiable from the license-types index page is superseded. |
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Sources: tsbpe.texas.gov, tsbpe.texas.gov, tsbpe.texas.gov, tsbpe.texas.gov. Always confirm current requirements with the issuing authority.
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