How Do You Get a Plumbing License in Delaware?
Yes: you need a Delaware plumbing license to provide plumbing services, and the Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) issues one level of plumbing license: Master Plumber.
There is no state journeyman license; apprentices and journeymen work unlicensed under the supervision of a master plumber who employs them or works full time for the same business.
Qualifying takes a federally approved apprenticeship journeyman certificate plus 2 years under a master plumber, or 7 years under a master plus the apprenticeship equivalency test, then the ProV master exam.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
Yes.
Delaware licenses plumbing statewide: only a licensed master plumber may provide plumbing services.
The Delaware Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners, under the Division of Professional Regulation.
Master Plumber only.
There is no state journeyman license; apprentices and journeymen work unlicensed under the supervision of a master plumber.
A journeyman certificate from an apprenticeship meeting federal standards plus 2 years under a master plumber, or 7 years under a master plus the apprenticeship equivalency test — then the master exam.
ProV gives the master exam in Wilmington, Newark and Dover, or remotely via ExamRoom; the apprenticeship by-pass exam is administered by ABC Delaware.
Biennially, with 5 CE hours owed on each renewal after the first (more if dual-licensed; first-renewal hours prorated).
The Board pages we read describe no reciprocity agreement for plumbers, and we did not capture the statute's answer on reciprocity; out-of-state supervision counts toward the 7-year path, which still ends in Delaware's tests.
DELPROS, at delpros.delaware.gov/OH_VerifyLicense; our research recorded the Board's link to it but did not verify the lookup page itself.
The Delaware plumbing license ladder
- Master PlumberMaster
The only plumbing license the Board issues: holding it is what lets you provide plumbing services.
A business has no separate contractor license from the Board; its workers operate under a master it employs.
Does Delaware require a state plumbing license?
Yes.
Delaware licenses plumbing work statewide, at the top of the trade: only a licensed master plumber may provide plumbing services.
Licenses are issued by the Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation).
You can work without holding the license yourself as an apprentice, journeyman, mechanic or other person providing services under the supervision of a master plumber who is your employer or who is employed full time by the same business entity.
Providing plumbing services outside that rule carries fines of $1,500 to $3,000 for a first offense and $3,000 to $6,000 for later offenses.
“The penalty for a violation of this section is, for a first offense, a fine of not less than $1,500 nor more than $3,000”
What are the Delaware plumbing license levels, and what can each legally do?
Delaware's ladder has one rung: the Master Plumber.
The Board issues only master-level licenses, and it issues no state journeyman plumber license.
A Master Plumber may provide plumbing services.
There is no separate plumbing contractor license from the Board: the master license is the practice license, and a business's workers operate under a master employed by the business.
In the state's scheme, apprentice and journeyman are working statuses, not licenses — apprentices and journeymen may work unlicensed, but only under the supervision of a master plumber who employs them or works full time for the same business.
“The Board issues master plumber, master HVACR and master restricted HVACR licenses. Restricted licenses limit practice to a specialty such as air conditioning.”
What does each level require: experience, exam eligibility and fees?
Delaware sets two paths to Master Plumber eligibility.
The first: a journeyman certificate from an apprenticeship program that meets federal standards, plus 2 years under a master plumber.
The second: 7 years performing plumbing services under the supervision of a master plumber — or of a plumber holding a similar level of licensure in another state — plus passing the apprenticeship equivalency test at a Delaware vocational-technical school.
Either way, you then pass the master exam.
On money: the application fee is $173 for a Master Plumber, a temporary license costs $40, and renewing late adds a fee of 50% of the renewal fee.
“or has performed plumbing services for 7 years under the supervision of a master plumber or a plumber holding a similar level of licensure in another state and, thereafter, successfully completed the apprenticeship equivalency test”
Who gives the Delaware plumbing exam, and what is on it?
The Board uses ProV as its external testing vendor for all required licensure examinations for the Plumbing & HVACR trade.
ProV offers the master exam in person in Wilmington, Newark and Dover, or remotely through its ExamRoom platform.
The apprenticeship equivalency test is a separate exam: the statute describes completing it at a Delaware vocational-technical school, while the Board's examinations page names ABC Delaware (Associated Builders and Contractors Delaware) as the vendor for the Apprenticeship-By-pass examination.
Neither source we read describes what the master plumber exam covers, so ask the Board or ProV for the current candidate information when you apply.
“utilizes the external testing vendor, ProV Exam (ProV), to facilitate all the required licensure examinations for the Plumbing & HVACR trade”
How do you renew, and how many CE hours does Delaware require?
State statute: master licenses renew biennially, in a manner determined by the Division, with proof of any continuing education the Board requires.
The Board's continuing-education rule is 5 hours for every renewal after your first; licensees with dual licenses owe more, and the hours for a first renewal are prorated.
Renewing late adds a late fee of 50% of the renewal fee.
The Board pages we read state the late fee as a percentage and do not list the renewal fee amount itself, so check the Board's fee schedule for the current figure before you renew.
“For all subsequent renewals, you will owe 5 hours, unless you have dual licenses.”
Does Delaware accept plumbing licenses from other states?
The Board pages we read describe no reciprocity agreement for plumbers, and we did not capture the statute's answer on reciprocity either, so do not assume an out-of-state plumbing license carries over; ask the Board directly.
What Delaware's statute does accept is out-of-state experience: on the 7-year path, the years can have been performed under the supervision of a master plumber or of a plumber holding a similar level of licensure in another state.
That path still ends in Delaware's own requirements — the apprenticeship equivalency test and the master exam.
How do you look up a Delaware plumbing license?
Delaware licenses can be checked on DELPROS, at delpros.delaware.gov/OH_VerifyLicense — the link we recorded from the Board's site, though we did not verify the lookup page itself.
If the address has moved, start from the Board's site at dpr.delaware.gov/boards/plumbers/ and follow its verification link.
Search before you hire anyone who claims to be a licensed Delaware master plumber, and after you apply, to confirm your own license has been issued.
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Delaware board pages, statutes, rules and other sources listed below, as read for this state-by-state plumbing licensing series, current as of September 2026.
It is not a substitute for the instructions the Delaware Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation) publishes.
For the rest of the picture in Delaware, see HVAC licensing in Delaware, plumbing apprenticeships in Delaware, plumbing contractor licensing in Delaware, and plumber pay in Delaware.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a journeyman plumber license in Delaware?
No. The Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners issues only master-level licenses, and Master Plumber is the only one for plumbing.
Apprentices and journeymen work unlicensed under the supervision of a master plumber who employs them or works full time for the same business.
The journeyman certificate from an apprenticeship meeting federal standards is a credential on the path to the master license, not a Delaware plumbing license.
How much does a Delaware plumbing license cost?
The application fee is $173 for a Master Plumber, and a temporary license is $40.
Renewing late adds a fee of 50% of the renewal fee.
The Board pages we read do not list the renewal fee amount itself, so check the Board's fee schedule at dpr.delaware.gov for the current figure before you apply or renew.
How long does it take to get a Delaware plumbing license?
Two routes.
With a journeyman certificate from an apprenticeship that meets federal standards, you need 2 more years under a master plumber.
Without one, you need 7 years under a master plumber plus the apprenticeship equivalency test at a Delaware vocational-technical school.
Both routes end with the master exam, which ProV administers.
What is the Delaware apprenticeship equivalency test?
It is the alternative route into master eligibility for plumbers with 7 years under a master but no journeyman certificate from an apprenticeship that meets federal standards.
Delaware requires passing the apprenticeship equivalency test — the statute places it at a Delaware vocational-technical school — before that path qualifies you for the master exam.
The Board's examinations page names ABC Delaware as its vendor for the Apprenticeship-By-pass examination.
The sources we read do not describe the test's content, so ask the Board what it covers.
Can you do plumbing work in Delaware without a license?
Only under a licensed master plumber.
Apprentices, journeymen and mechanics may work without their own license when supervised by a master plumber who is their employer or works full time for the same business entity.
Providing plumbing services outside that supervision is a violation: fines run $1,500 to $3,000 for a first offense and $3,000 to $6,000 for later offenses.
More Delaware Resources
Sources
- Delaware Code Title 24, Chapter 18, Subchapter II (plumbing) (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Delaware Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Board examinations (ProV; ABC Delaware by-pass exam) (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Board fee schedule (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Board continuing-education and audit information (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- DELPROS license verification (retrieved 2026-09-29)
Sourced from the documents listed above.
Verified September 2026.
This is career information, not legal advice.
Confirm current rules with the Delaware Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners (Division of Professional Regulation).