The Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners is the state agency responsible for licensing plumbers in Texas and has the authority to issues licenses, endorsements, and registrations. Below is general information about licensing. You can click on the name of the license, endorsement, or registration you are interested in to get more detailed information.
Licenses
There are four types of plumbing licenses: Tradesman Plumber-Limited, Journeyman, Master, and Plumbing Inspector. To obtain a license, you must meet all eligibility requirements, take and pass an examination, and pay a fee. Licenses renew annually. When you are issued your license for the first time, you will be assigned a random expiration date anywhere from 6-18 months from the date you passed your licensure exam…unless you are a Plumbing Inspector. All licensees must complete six hours of continuing professional education to be eligible to renew.
You may hold both a Journeyman and a Master Plumber License at the same time. When you receive your Master License, it is automatically assigned an expiration date that matches the expiration date of your Journeyman License. When you renew your licenses, you only have to pay the renewal fee for the Master License. You may also hold a Plumbing Inspector License in addition to your Journeyman or Master Plumber License, or both. However, your Plumbing Inspector License will renew in January instead of syncing up with the expiration date of your other license(s). If you hold all three licenses, and you are an unaffiliated Plumbing Inspector, you have to pay the renewal fee for both the Master and Plumbing Inspector Licenses. If you hold all three licenses, and you are an affiliated Plumbing Inspector, you only have to pay the renewal fee for the Plumbing Inspector License.
IMPORTANT: You cannot renew a license, registration, or endorsement that has been expired for more than two years. Instead, you must reinstate it. When your license or registration goes into reinstate, it is like you never held that license or registration at all. Therefore, reinstating your license requires registering as a Plumber’s Apprentice and applying for and passing all applicable exams. To take an exam, you must meet all CURRENT eligibility requirements even if those requirements were not in effect the first time you obtained your license. For example, if you received your Journeyman Plumber License prior to February 1, 2010, and did not complete an Apprenticeship program, you would be required to take the 48-hour training program in order to be eligible to take the Journeyman Plumber Examination.
Endorsements
There are three types of endorsements: Medical Gas Piping Installation, Multipurpose Residential Fire Protection Sprinkler Specialist, and Water Supply Protection Specialist. An endorsement is a certification that you can add to a Journeyman, Master, or Plumbing Inspector License. To obtain an endorsement, you must meet all eligibility requirements, take and pass an examination, and pay a fee. Endorsements renew once every three years. When you obtain an endorsement for the first time, it is automatically assigned an expiration date that matches the expiration date of the license you added the endorsement to.
Individuals who hold the Medical Gas Piping Installation Endorsement must complete at least two hours of continuing professional education to be eligible to renew.
Registrations
There are four types of registrations: Plumber’s Apprentice, Drain Cleaner-Restricted, Drain Cleaner, and Residential Utilities Installer. The Drain Cleaner-Restricted, Drain Cleaner, and Residential Utilities Installer Registrations function just like an endorsement because they are certifications that you can add to a Plumber’s Apprentice Registration. To obtain a registration, you must meet all eligibility requirements, fill out an application, and pay a fee. Registrations renew annually. When you are issued your Apprentice Registration for the first time, you will be assigned a random expiration date anywhere from 6-18 months from the date your application was approved. When you obtain an additional registration for the first time, it is automatically assigned an expiration date that matches the expiration date of your Apprentice Registration. Individuals who hold the Drain Cleaner-Restricted, Drain Cleaner, or Residential Utilities Installer Registration must complete six hours of continuing education to be eligible to renew.