How Do You Get a Plumbing License in Hawaii?

Yes.

Hawaii licenses plumbers statewide through the Board of Electricians and Plumbers, under HRS chapter 448E and Hawaii Administrative Rules chapter 16-80.

The board issues two individual plumber licenses: Journey Worker Plumber (PJ) and Master Plumber (PM).

The board also draws one boundary worth knowing up front: a plumber license does not allow you to contract for plumbing work.

Contracting is licensed separately, as a C-37 contractor license under HRS chapter 444.

Hawaii's individual plumber licenses are the Journey Worker Plumber (PJ) and the Master Plumber (PM).

Apprentice is a defined status rather than one of the board's licenses: a plumbing apprentice is someone registered under the state apprenticeship law, HRS chapter 372, who performs plumbing work under a licensed journey worker or master plumber.

Above the individual licenses sits contracting.

Hawaii licenses plumbing contractors as specialty class C-37 Plumbing contractor, with sub-classes C-37a sewer and drain line, C-37b irrigation and lawn sprinkler, C-37c vacuum and air, C-37d water chlorination, C-37e treatment and pumping and C-37f fuel dispensing.

The Journey Worker Plumber qualification is 5 years but not less than 10,000 hours of plumbing work in compliance with the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC).

A Master Plumber must have been registered as a licensed journey worker plumber, in this or another state, for at least 2 years.

Out-of-state experience counts toward these requirements: where the other state licenses only contractors, the board accepts a notarized Experience Verification form signed by the licensed contractor.

The license fee is $306 when issued in the first year of the triennium (for example July 2024–June 2025) and is prorated later in the cycle, so check the current board form for the amount in the year you apply.

The Hawaii plumber exam is based on the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) and is administered by Prometric.

That is what the board's application form states; the pages we read do not describe the exam's content outline or state a passing score.

Ask the board for its current candidate information when you apply, so you know which UPC edition to study and what the exam covers.

All plumber licenses, regardless of issuance date, are subject to renewal on or before June 30 every three years.

At renewal a plumber must show continued competency by attending a course on Uniform Plumbing Code updates; Honolulu Community College is an approved provider.

Hawaii states the requirement as attendance at a UPC-update course rather than as a CE hour total, and the sources we read do not state a separate renewal fee — the fee table prices the license by year of the triennium — so confirm both on the board's current renewal form.

No. The board's application form states it in one line: Hawaii does not reciprocate with any jurisdiction, for plumber and electrician licenses alike.

Experience is a different matter.

Out-of-state plumbing experience counts toward Hawaii's journey worker requirement, the master license's 2 years as a journey worker can have been registered in this or another state, and where the other state licenses only contractors, the board accepts a notarized Experience Verification form signed by the licensed contractor.

The DCCA Professional and Vocational Licensing (PVL) site at cca.hawaii.gov/pvl is the official source for Hawaii plumbing license information; our research did not find a separate public license-lookup URL captured as a verified source, so start there and follow its license links.

If you cannot find a license record, confirm it with the board through PVL.

Search before you rely on anyone's claim to be a licensed Hawaii journey worker or master plumber, and after you apply, to confirm your own license has been issued.