How Do You Get a Plumbing License in District of Columbia?
Yes — Washington, DC licenses plumbing work District-wide through the DLCP Board of Industrial Trades.
The board offers licenses for plumbing, gasfitting and a combination of both, at apprentice, journeyman and master levels.
Journeyman exam eligibility is 4 years/8,000 work hours; master exam eligibility is 8 years/16,000 hours, and a nationally certified apprenticeship waives the journeyman exam.
Exams are open book, and licenses expire March 31 of even-numbered years.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
Yes.
Plumbing is licensed District-wide by the DLCP Board of Industrial Trades, at apprentice, journeyman and master levels.
The DLCP Board of Industrial Trades.
Apprentice, journeyman and master levels, in plumbing, gasfitting or a combined plumbing/gasfitting license.
Contractor companies add a separate contractor license built on a designated DC-licensed master.
Journeyman exam eligibility: 4 years/8,000 work hours.
Master: 8 years/16,000 hours.
A nationally certified apprenticeship waives the journeyman exam.
Open book.
Study references named: the International Plumbing Code (2012) and the International Fuel Gas Code (2012).
No testing vendor named in our research — ask the board.
Licenses expire March 31 of even-numbered years regardless of when obtained.
CE hours: not established in our research — ask the board.
Maryland journeyman and master plumbers/gasfitters licensed by examination can obtain DC licenses by reciprocity without an exam.
DLCP's occupational/professional license portal (govservices.dcra.dc.gov/oplaportal) — recorded from DLCP's site navigation, not confirmed by opening the portal.
The District of Columbia plumbing license ladder
- Apprentice Plumber and/or GasfitterEntry level
The entry rung of the plumbing/gasfitting ladder; the sources we read did not spell out its requirements, so check the board's instructions before applying.
- Journeyman Plumber and/or GasfitterJourneyman
The qualified-trade rung: exam eligibility is 4 years/8,000 work hours, and the exam is waived with proof of completing a nationally certified apprenticeship.
- Master Plumber and/or GasfitterMaster
The highest of the three levels: 8 years/16,000 hours of exam eligibility, and the credential a DC plumbing/gasfitting contractor company must designate as its qualifier.
Does District of Columbia require a state plumbing license?
Yes.
The District of Columbia licenses plumbing work District-wide: the DLCP Board of Industrial Trades offers licenses for plumbing, gasfitting and a combination of both plumbing/gasfitting, at apprentice, journeyman and master levels.
Licenses expire March 31 of even-numbered years regardless of when they are obtained.
What are the District of Columbia plumbing license levels, and what can each legally do?
The District's ladder runs apprentice, journeyman and master, in plumbing, gasfitting or a combined plumbing/gasfitting license, so one license can cover both trades.
The board's plumbing instruction sheet lists exam eligibility: 4 years/8,000 work hours to sit the journeyman exam, 8 years/16,000 hours for the master exam, with the journeyman exam waived for graduates of a nationally certified apprenticeship.
The master license also anchors the business layer: a DC plumbing/gasfitting contractor company must designate a DC-licensed master as its qualifier, and the contractor license itself requires no exam.
What the sources we read list are the levels, their eligibility numbers and the expiry date, not a rung-by-rung scope of practice.
Ask the board what each license allows before you rely on it.
What are the requirements for each level: hours, training, exam and fees?
The numbers the board publishes are exam-eligibility numbers.
To sit the journeyman plumber/gasfitter exam, the instruction sheet lists 4 years/8,000 work hours; the master exam lists 8 years/16,000 hours, paired with tax records and an employment verification letter as documentation.
Proof of completing a nationally certified apprenticeship waives the journeyman exam.
On cost, a District bulletin that also describes Maryland reciprocity listed $175 for a Journeymen Plumber and/or Gasfitter license and $185 for a Master Plumber and/or Gasfitter license; the bulletin is undated in our records and points to a March 31 even-year expiry, so confirm current fees with the board before you apply.
Our research did not confirm the apprentice-level requirements for plumbing.
“The cost for licenses is $175 for Journeymen Plumber and/or Gasfitter and $185 for Master Plumber and/or Gasfitter.”
Who gives the District of Columbia plumbing exam, and what is on it?
The board's own instruction sheet is the exam document our research rests on: it lists the exams with their eligibility rules and describes them as open book.
The study references it names are the International Plumbing Code (2012) and the International Fuel Gas Code (2012) — named as exam references, not as a statement of which construction codes the District has adopted.
Our research did not find a named testing vendor or a content outline for the journeyman and master exams, so confirm scheduling and content with the DLCP Board of Industrial Trades before you book.
“International Plumbing Code (2012) and International Fuel Gas Code (2012). The exam is open book.”
How do you renew, and how many CE hours does District of Columbia require?
The renewal clock is fixed: plumbing and gasfitting licenses expire March 31 of even-numbered years regardless of when they were obtained.
Our research did not confirm a continuing-education requirement for DC plumbing licenses, and it did not turn up renewal fees either — the board's renewal instructions are the place to check both before your license expires.
“Regardless of when they are obtained, licenses expire March 31 on even-numbered years.”
Does District of Columbia accept plumbing licenses from other states?
Maryland is the agreement our research confirmed: Maryland journeyman and master plumbers and gasfitters who were licensed by examination can obtain DC licenses by reciprocity without taking the DC exam.
Our research found no reciprocity beyond Maryland; if you are licensed in another state, plan to qualify through DC's own requirements and ask the board what it will accept.
How do you look up a District of Columbia plumbing license?
The lookup address our research recorded is DLCP's occupational/professional license portal at govservices.dcra.dc.gov/oplaportal, which the DLCP site lists as the way to verify District occupational licenses, including the trades.
We saw the link in DLCP's site navigation but did not capture the portal page itself, so treat the address as unconfirmed: if it does not load, reach it from dlcp.dc.gov.
If a portal search does not settle a license question, confirm it directly with the Board of Industrial Trades.
Is gasfitting a separate license in Washington DC?
Gasfitting does not have to be a separate license: the board offers licenses for plumbing, for gasfitting, and for a combination of both plumbing/gasfitting, at the apprentice, journeyman and master levels.
The gas side shows up in the exam references too, with the International Fuel Gas Code (2012) named alongside the International Plumbing Code (2012).
Our research did not cover a separate backflow certification for DC; if the work you want involves backflow prevention devices, ask the board what it requires.
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the District of Columbia 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 DLCP Board of Industrial Trades publishes.
For the rest of the picture in District of Columbia, see HVAC licensing in District of Columbia, plumbing apprenticeships in District of Columbia, plumbing contractor licensing in District of Columbia, and plumber pay in District of Columbia.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a plumbing license in Washington, DC?
Yes.
The DLCP Board of Industrial Trades licenses plumbing work District-wide, offering plumber, gasfitter and combined plumber/gasfitter licenses at apprentice, journeyman and master levels.
To sit the journeyman exam you need 4 years/8,000 work hours; master exam eligibility is 8 years/16,000 hours.
Proof of completing a nationally certified apprenticeship waives the journeyman exam.
Licenses expire March 31 of even-numbered years.
How many hours do you need for a DC journeyman plumber license?
The board's instruction sheet lists 4 years/8,000 work hours as journeyman exam eligibility, and 8 years/16,000 hours for the master exam.
The journeyman exam is waived if you prove completion of a nationally certified apprenticeship.
The sheet pairs the master exam's 8 years/16,000 hours with tax records and an employment verification letter as documentation, so start assembling those records early, and confirm the current rules with the DLCP Board of Industrial Trades before you apply.
Is the Washington DC plumbing exam open book?
Yes.
The board's instruction sheet describes the plumbing and gasfitting exams as open book and lists the International Plumbing Code (2012) and the International Fuel Gas Code (2012) as references.
The codes are named as exam references, not as a statement of which construction codes the District has adopted.
Our research did not find a named testing vendor or a content outline, so confirm scheduling and content with the board before you book.
Does DC accept a Maryland plumbing license?
Maryland journeyman and master plumbers and gasfitters who were licensed by examination can obtain DC licenses by reciprocity without taking the DC exam.
The bulletin describing the arrangement also cited $175 for a Journeymen Plumber and/or Gasfitter license and $185 for a Master Plumber and/or Gasfitter license; those figures may have changed, so confirm current fees with the board.
Our research found no reciprocity beyond Maryland, so licensees of other states should plan to qualify through DC's own requirements.
How often do DC plumbing licenses renew?
Plumbing and gasfitting licenses expire March 31 of even-numbered years no matter when they were issued.
The bulletin citing DC license costs also pointed to a March 31 even-year expiry, so its $175 journeyman and $185 master figures may have changed for the current two-year cycle.
Our research did not confirm a continuing-education requirement for DC plumbing licenses — ask the board.
More District of Columbia Resources
Sources
- DLCP Board of Industrial Trades — Plumbing and Gasfitting license instructions (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- DLCP Board of Industrial Trades — Trade Contractor license instructions (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- DC bulletin — plumbing and gasfitting license costs and Maryland reciprocity (GovDelivery) (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 DLCP Board of Industrial Trades.