How Do You Get a Plumbing License in Louisiana?

Yes.

The State Plumbing Board of Louisiana licenses plumbing work statewide, and its registration rule reaches the trade's first day: all persons performing the art of plumbing or gas fitting in Louisiana must first register as an apprentice, be in the employ of a master company and perform all work under the direct, on-the-job supervision of a journeyman or master.

Louisiana issues no separate SPBLA plumbing contractor license for the business side — a plumbing company operates as an employing entity under a designated master, which our plumbing contractor license by state guide covers in employer terms.

Fees and forms change, so check the board's current instructions before you apply.

SPBLA's ladder runs apprentice registration, then the Residential Plumber and Journeyman Plumber licenses side by side, with Master Plumber above them.

The Residential Plumber license is a real, limited-scope license, not a step every journeyman passes through: its holders repair existing plumbing in one- and two-family dwellings under a licensed master — a repairs-only scope.

The Master Plumber license is also what a business is built on, because Louisiana has no separate SPBLA plumbing contractor license: a plumbing company operates as an employing entity with one designated Responsible Active Master Plumber, and a master plumber may designate no more than one employing entity at a time.

When a plumbing project exceeds $10,000 including labor and materials, a second layer applies: the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors' Plumbing classification, which is credential-based — the qualifier holds a Louisiana Master Plumber license instead of taking the contractor board's trade exam.

Everything starts with apprentice registration: it costs $20 by check or money order, renews every year by December 31, and needs no continuing education.

Hours count on two tracks, and plumbing apprentices — including those in LWC-approved programs — must be registered with SPBLA either way: an apprentice indentured in a Louisiana Workforce Commission-approved program needs fewer hours than an unindentured registered apprentice.

The Residential Plumber license requires 3,000 hours (indentured) or 4,000 hours (unindentured) of plumbing work under a licensed master; its exam application is $135 and the initial license $40.

The Journeyman Plumber exam requires 7,000 hours (indentured) or 8,000 hours (unindentured) under the direct supervision of a licensed journeyman or master — the board estimates 3.5 years full time (indentured) or 4 years (unindentured); the application is $135 ($125 exam plus $10 processing) and the initial license $50.

Sitting the Master Plumber exam requires a current Louisiana journeyman plumber license — or a licensed professional engineer's credential; the application is $110 and the master license costs $190 active (tied to a company) or $40 inactive.

SPBLA gives its own exams rather than using PSI; the test sites our research found are in Baton Rouge and Shreveport.

The Residential Plumber exam is a one-part, 80-question, 3-hour written exam on the 2021 International Residential Code plus a 1-hour, 3-part hands-on practical.

The Journeyman Plumber exam is an 80-question, 3-hour written exam on the 2021 International Plumbing Code and the 2021 International Residential Code plus a 1-hour practical.

The Master Plumber exam is three written parts: Part I repeats the 80-question, 3-hour format on the 2021 IPC and IRC; Part II (25 questions, 2 hours) covers Part XIII of the Louisiana Sanitary Code, the state's sewage disposal rules; Part III (40 questions, 2 hours) is business and law, built on the NASCLA Louisiana Master Plumbers and Master Natural Gas Fitters Guide, 2nd edition.

Louisiana's plumbing licenses and registrations renew every year by December 31: master, journeyman and residential licenses, and apprentice registrations.

Before renewing, an active master plumber completes 5 hours of continuing professional education a year, and journeymen and residential plumbers complete 3.5 hours; apprentices need none.

The master license itself costs $190 active — tied to a company — or $40 inactive.

Because these licenses share the same December 31 date, confirm your CPE record and renewal with SPBLA well before the end of the year.

Only at journeyman and natural gas level, and only with two states, as SPBLA states it: the board reciprocates journeyman plumber and natural gas licenses with Arkansas and Texas.

Master licenses are not reciprocated — the board's own words.

Mind the direction of the paperwork here: this is SPBLA's statement, and the Texas board's own materials our research read do not confirm the agreement, so check with both boards before you rely on it.

A plumber licensed anywhere else is not shut out: an out-of-state license obtained with at least 8,000 hours can qualify you to sit the Louisiana journeyman exam.

SPBLA publishes a public roster where you can find a licensed plumber: public.spbla.com.

Search it before you take a job with a company that says a master plumber's license covers your work, and before you hire anyone under your own license once you hold one.

We keep a separate plumbing license lookup guide for reading rosters like this one.

SPBLA licenses gas fitting on its own track.

A Natural Gas Fitter needs 3,000 hours (indentured) or 4,000 hours (unindentured) of gas-fitting work and passes an 80-question, 3-hour written exam on the 2021 International Fuel Gas Code plus a 30-minute practical; a Master Natural Gas Fitter may employ apprentices and fitters.

Licensed journeyman and master plumbers can add the Water Supply Protection Specialist (WSPS) backflow endorsement by completing a 40-hour tester certification — SPBLA accepts ASSE or ABPA tester certifications, renewed every three years — and licensed landscape irrigators qualify for it too.

Medical gas work has its own installer and verifier licenses, which must be recertified each NFPA 99 code cycle under the ASSE 6000-series standards: 6010 for installers, 6030 for verifiers.