How Do You Get a Plumbing License in Massachusetts?
Yes: Massachusetts requires a state plumbing license, issued by the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters.
The ladder runs apprentice plumber, journeyman plumber, master plumber.
The journeyman exam takes at least 6,800 clock hours as a licensed apprentice plus 550 hours of plumbing and gasfitting theory spread over at least four years; PSI gives the exams; plumbers renew with 12 continuing-education hours every two-year cycle.
Out-of-state plumbers sit the Massachusetts exam unless a reciprocity agreement applies.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
Yes.
Massachusetts licenses apprentice, journeyman and master plumbers statewide through the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters.
The Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters, which also licenses apprentice, journeyman and master gas fitters and LP installers.
Apprentice Plumber, Journeyman Plumber and Master Plumber, plus the board's separate plumbing business license.
Journeyman exam: at least 6,800 clock hours as a licensed apprentice under a master (or a journeyman employed by a master) plus 550 hours of theory over at least four years.
Master exam: at least one year and 1,700 hours as a journeyman plus the 110-hour Tier Five course (unless completed as an apprentice).
PSI gives the exams; the board's application fee is $31, and the license fee ($52 journeyman, $78 master) is paid at the test center after passing.
12 clock hours of approved continuing education every two-year license cycle for plumbers; gas fitters and LP installers owe 6 hours, and apprentices are exempt.
Out-of-state applicants pass the Massachusetts exam unless Massachusetts has a reciprocity agreement with their jurisdiction; our research did not find a published list of agreement states.
Mass.gov's 'Check an occupational board license' page — the license check our research lists for the state's occupational boards; we did not verify its coverage, so confirm it with the board.
The Massachusetts plumbing license ladder
- Apprentice PlumberEntry level
The board's entry license: practical hours logged as a licensed apprentice under a Massachusetts master plumber, or under a journeyman employed by a master, are what count toward the journeyman exam.
- Journeyman PlumberJourneyman
The worker license, earned by passing the PSI exam after at least 6,800 apprentice hours and 550 hours of theory; a licensed journeyman's hours are the qualifying experience for the master exam.
- Master PlumberMaster
The top individual license: at least one year and 1,700 clock hours as a Massachusetts journeyman plus the 110-hour Tier Five course (unless completed as an apprentice) qualify you for the master exam.
- Plumbing Business LicenseContractor
The employer-side license: a corporation's articles must list the master plumber of record as an officer, an LLC's must list the master plumber of record as a manager, every partner of a partnership must be a licensed master plumber, and each listed master passes a CORI check.
Does Massachusetts require a state plumbing license?
Yes.
Massachusetts licenses apprentice, journeyman and master plumbers statewide through the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters, along with apprentice, journeyman and master gas fitters and LP (liquefied petroleum) installers.
The rules the board enforces are Massachusetts' own: the Uniform State Plumbing Code, 248 CMR 10.00, whose latest changes took effect December 8, 2023.
What are the Massachusetts plumbing license levels, and what can each legally do?
The board issues three individual licenses: Apprentice Plumber, Journeyman Plumber and Master Plumber.
An apprentice logs practical hours under a Massachusetts master plumber, or under a journeyman employed by a master; a licensed journeyman is the rung whose hours and time-in-grade qualify you for the master exam; and the master license is the one the plumbing business license leans on.
To hold that business license, a corporation's articles must list the master plumber of record as an officer, an LLC's must list the master plumber of record as a manager, and all partners of a partnership must be licensed master plumbers; each master plumber listed as an officer, manager or partner must also pass a CORI (criminal record) check.
The employer-side rules sit with the plumbing business license ($225), which our plumbing contractor license by state guide introduces.
What does each level require: hours, education and fees?
To sit the journeyman plumber exam, a licensed apprentice needs at least 6,800 clock hours of practical work under a Massachusetts master, or under a journeyman employed by a master; 550 clock hours of plumbing and gasfitting theory completed over no less than four years, with a maximum of 165 hours credited per year; and a high school diploma or equivalent.
One boundary matters before you log hours: installing HVAC components for heating systems, steam piping and hydronic heat piping does not count as qualifying experience toward the journeyman plumber license.
For the master exam, a licensed journeyman needs at least one year and 1,700 clock hours as a Massachusetts journeyman plumber plus the 110-hour Tier Five course, unless it was completed as an apprentice.
The board charges a $31 application fee, and the license fee is paid at the test center after you pass: $52 for the journeyman license, $78 for the master.
A failed exam can be retaken within 12 months.
The apprentice plumber license's own requirements were not captured in our research because the board's apprentice how-to page was unavailable when we checked, so confirm apprentice requirements and fees with the board directly.
“Experience installing HVAC components for the installation of heating systems, steam piping and hydronic heat piping shall not be considered qualifying experience.”
Who gives the Massachusetts plumbing exam, and what is on it?
PSI administers the board's plumbing exams.
You apply to the board first; once the board approves your application, PSI Exams notifies you and you register online to take the exam.
A failed exam can be retaken within 12 months.
Our research does not describe what the journeyman or master exams cover, so ask for the candidate information you are pointed to when you register.
“If approved, you'll be notified by PSI Exams and can register online to take the exam.”
How do you renew, and how many CE hours does Massachusetts require?
Massachusetts plumbers must complete 12 clock hours of approved continuing education courses with an approved provider during every two-year license cycle.
Gas fitters and LP installers owe 6 clock hours, and apprentices are not required to complete continuing education.
PHCC of Massachusetts lists continuing education for plumbers and gas fitters in live, virtual and at-home formats — the association's own description, not a board endorsement — so confirm with the board that a course counts as approved before you pay for it.
The renewal fee was not in the pages our research read, so ask the board before you renew.
Does Massachusetts accept plumbing licenses from other states?
Not automatically.
Unless Massachusetts has a reciprocity agreement with the relevant jurisdiction, all out-of-state applicants must pass the relevant examination for the license being sought.
Applicants may petition for their out-of-state experience or education to be credited.
Our research did not find a published list of the jurisdictions Massachusetts has agreements with, so ask the board whether your state has an agreement before you count on skipping the exam.
“Unless Massachusetts has a reciprocity agreement with the relevant jurisdiction, all applicants will be required to pass the relevant examination for the license being sought.”
How do you look up a Massachusetts plumbing license?
The state license check our research lists for Massachusetts is the mass.gov 'Check an occupational board license' page for the state's occupational boards.
Our research did not find a verified fact recording that link, so treat it as a pointer: if it has moved, search mass.gov for the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters or ask the board directly.
Either way, check a Massachusetts plumbing license before you rely on it — yours, or a contractor's before you hire.
What about gas fitter and LP installer licenses?
Gas fitting sits under the same roof as plumbing in Massachusetts: the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters licenses apprentice, journeyman and master gas fitters, plus LP (liquefied petroleum) installers, alongside its plumber licenses.
The CE rule follows the same split: gas fitters and LP installers complete 6 clock hours per two-year cycle where plumbers complete 12.
Backflow credentials in Massachusetts were not covered by our research, so ask the board what it requires for backflow work.
Has the Massachusetts plumbing code changed recently?
The Uniform State Plumbing Code, 248 CMR 10.00, took its latest changes effective December 8, 2023; Massachusetts runs its own code rather than a national model code adopted by name.
The exam-eligibility hours and the CE requirement sit in the board's rules at 248 CMR 11.00; fees are published on the board's application pages on mass.gov.
Rules move, so confirm the current text with the board before you rely on any figure on this page.
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Massachusetts 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 Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters publishes.
For the rest of the picture in Massachusetts, see HVAC licensing in Massachusetts, plumbing apprenticeships in Massachusetts, plumbing contractor licensing in Massachusetts, and plumber pay in Massachusetts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a license to do plumbing work in Massachusetts?
Yes.
Massachusetts licenses apprentice, journeyman and master plumbers statewide through the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters.
Entry is the apprentice plumber license; from there you log at least 6,800 clock hours under a master, or under a journeyman employed by a master, with 550 hours of theory, then sit the PSI journeyman exam.
The same board licenses gas fitters and LP installers.
The apprentice how-to page was unavailable at our check, so confirm apprentice requirements with the board.
How long does it take to become a journeyman plumber in Massachusetts?
The hours floor is 6,800 clock hours as a licensed apprentice, and the education floor is 550 clock hours of plumbing and gasfitting theory, with at most 165 hours credited per year.
The theory hours must be spread over no less than four years, so the education requirement alone takes at least four years; you then need to pass the PSI exam after the board approves your application.
How much does a plumbing license cost in Massachusetts?
The board charges a $31 application fee for the journeyman and master exams, and the license fee is paid at the test center after you pass: $52 for the journeyman license and $78 for the master.
The apprentice license fee was not captured in our research, and neither was the renewal fee, so confirm both with the board before you apply or renew.
Does Massachusetts have plumbing license reciprocity?
Massachusetts requires out-of-state applicants to pass the relevant exam unless Massachusetts has a reciprocity agreement with their jurisdiction.
Our research did not find a published list of agreement states, so check with the board whether your state has one.
Out-of-state applicants may also petition for their experience or education to be credited toward Massachusetts' requirements.
Does HVAC experience count toward a Massachusetts plumbing license?
No. The board's rules state that experience installing HVAC components for heating systems, steam piping and hydronic heat piping does not count as qualifying experience toward the journeyman plumber license.
If you are moving from HVAC into plumbing, the hours that count start with the work you log as a licensed apprentice under a Massachusetts master, or under a journeyman employed by a master.
More Massachusetts Resources
Sources
- Mass.gov: Apply for a plumber, gas fitter or liquefied petroleum installer license (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- 248 CMR 11.00 — Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters rules (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Mass.gov: Apply for a journeyman plumber license (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters: FAQ for new regulations (248 CMR 10.00) (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Mass.gov: Apply for a plumbing business license (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- PHCC of Massachusetts: Education (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 Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters.