How Do You Get a Plumbing License in Connecticut?

Yes.

Connecticut licenses plumbing work statewide through the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) and its Plumbing and Piping Work Board.

A P-2 Unlimited Journeyperson Plumber may do all plumbing and piping work only while in the employ of a contractor licensed for such work, and the P-1 Unlimited Plumbing Contractor is that contractor license.

Around the unlimited pair, DCP issues limited classes for sewer, storm and water piping, gasoline tanks, well pumps, lawn sprinklers, and spas and pools.

Connecticut's unlimited plumbing ladder runs from the P-2 Unlimited Journeyperson Plumber to the P-1 Unlimited Plumbing Contractor.

The P-2 covers all plumbing and piping work, but only while its holder is employed by a contractor licensed for such work — so a P-2 holder cannot contract for plumbing work on their own.

The P-1 is the top individual license: Connecticut issues a contractor license rather than a master plumber title.

The limited classes cover narrower scopes: P-6 and P-7 for sewer, storm and water; P-8 and P-9 for gasoline tanks; the J-classes for well pumps and lawn sprinklers; and SP-1 and SP-2 for spas and pools.

P-2 eligibility is completion of a registered apprenticeship or equivalent experience and training.

Connecticut trade apprenticeships run through the Connecticut Department of Labor's Apprenticeship Division, and DCP has a dedicated application route for journeyperson candidates who completed a CT DOL apprenticeship.

For the P-1, two years as an unlimited licensed journeyperson — or equivalent experience and training — is what qualifies you for the exam.

Every Connecticut trade license applicant must pass an exam, with exam fees paid separately to the exam vendor; DCP's application fee is $90 for journeypersons and $150 for contractors, and the contractor application fee is non-refundable.

Our research did not find the hour totals DCP accepts as equivalent experience and training for the P-2, so ask DCP what documentation it accepts before you apply as an equivalency candidate.

DCP requires an exam of every Connecticut trade license applicant, and you pay the exam fee separately to the exam vendor when you register, on top of DCP's application fee.

The DCP pages we read do not name the exam vendor, and our research does not describe a content outline for the P-2 or P-1 exams; treat any vendor or syllabus claim you see elsewhere as unconfirmed and get the current candidate information from DCP before you book.

All Connecticut plumbing and pipefitting licenses expire annually on October 31, and renewal costs $150 for contractors and $120 for journeypersons.

Continuing education runs on a two-year cycle: unlimited and limited plumbing contractors and unlimited journeypersons need 5 credit hours, limited journeypersons need 3, and P-6, P-7, PP-1 and PP-2 holders currently have no CE requirement.

CE must be finished three months before the renewal deadline — by July 31 of the cycle year — it is not required before your first renewal, and records must be kept for 4 years for audit.

Older sources still quote a higher yearly continuing-education figure; that rule is outdated, and DCP's current page gives the two-year, 5-or-3-hour cycle above.

Our research has no verified fact on a reciprocity or endorsement path for out-of-state plumbing licenses in Connecticut — a gap in our research, not a statement that no path exists.

What we did see, on a DCP trade-license application page that is not specific to plumbing, is a licensure by "equivalent out of state license" route — unconfirmed for plumbing.

If you hold a journeyperson or contractor license in another state, ask DCP directly what it requires from out-of-state holders before you take Connecticut work.

Connecticut trade licenses are verified on the state's eLicense lookup at elicense.ct.gov — the "Lookup/Verify a License" link on DCP's licensing page.

Use it to confirm that a P-2 or P-1 plumber is currently licensed before you take a job with them or hire them.