How Do You Get a Plumbing License in Mississippi?

Not for the plumber: our research found no statewide Mississippi license for individual plumbers, and we treat that absence as unconfirmed rather than settled — the licenses we verified are contractor classifications.

The state regulator our research found is the Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC), whose classification list shows contractor classifications only; the Mississippi State Plumbing Board that some sites describe issuing apprentice, journeyman and master plumber licenses is not backed by any government source our research found.

What Mississippi does require is a license for the business: all contractors and subcontractors on commercial jobs over $50,000, including equipment installation, need an MSBOC commercial license, and subcontractors performing residential plumbing work on a residential construction or residential improvement project must be licensed by MSBOC.

Cities may license plumbers as well — our research could not verify municipal rules — so check where the work is done.

MSBOC's classifications are the levels, and each is held by a contractor business.

On the commercial side, the Plumbing specialty covers sanitary and storm drainage, venting, water supply, septic tanks, medical gas and related piping — but not fuel gas or boiler systems — while the Mechanical major class covers heating, cooling, refrigeration, ductwork and plumbing.

On the residential side, a subcontractor doing residential plumbing work on a residential construction or improvement project must hold Residential Plumbing, or Residential Mechanical, which covers both mechanical trades.

An MSBOC qualifying party must be an owner, officer or responsible managing employee, and one person can qualify at most 3 companies at once, though a 4th needs the Board's special approval; a company may also have different qualifiers for different classifications.

There is no journeyman or master rung on this ladder: MSBOC's classification list shows contractor classifications only, and the guide sites that advertise a Mississippi journeyman or master plumber license and state exam are not supported by MSBOC's own list.

Because the state credential belongs to the business, the requirements on the MSBOC pages we read are financial and exam-based: our research found no worker-level hour total or training rule attached to any Mississippi plumbing credential.

A commercial application costs $400 and a residential application $50.

Commercial applicants need a CPA-reviewed financial statement showing net worth of at least $50,000 for a major classification or $20,000 for a specialty, and general liability insurance of at least $300,000 per occurrence or $600,000 aggregate; residential applicants show proof of coverage, for which MSBOC sets no minimum amount.

An MSBOC qualifying party must be an owner, officer or responsible managing employee.

Confirm the current fees and paperwork with MSBOC before you apply.

PSI administers all MSBOC exams — including the plumbing trade exams and the Law and Business Management exam — and they are open book.

Every MSBOC applicant must pass the Mississippi Law and Business Management exam plus any required trade exam, so an applicant for a test-required classification such as the commercial Plumbing specialty or Residential Plumbing sits both.

MSBOC's NASCLA exam acceptance covers commercial general building and master electrical only — not the plumbing trade exams.

What the plumbing trade exam itself covers, our research does not describe; MSBOC's exam information and PSI candidate materials are the place to check before you book.

MSBOC licenses renew on a one-year cycle: residential licenses and commercial certificates of responsibility must be renewed every 12 months.

A late renewal is possible up to 180 days after expiry; after that, a new application is required.

Continuing education reaches the qualifier, not every worker: each qualifying party for a residential license must complete 2 credit hours of continuing education from a board-approved provider, under Miss.

Code Ann. §73-59-11.

Our research found no CE requirement for commercial licenses, and MSBOC's pages do not state whether the residential CE runs per year or per renewal, so confirm with the board.

Only as exam waivers.

MSBOC reciprocity waives trade exams only, and the Mississippi Business and Law exam is always required.

For the mechanical and plumbing trades, MSBOC's reciprocity page lists Tennessee, whose license waives Mississippi's Mechanical and Plumbing exams, and Ohio, which can waive HVAC, plumbing and refrigeration; Alabama, through its general contractor board, and Louisiana exam scores can waive the HVAC exam.

A worker-side license does not transfer, because our research found no statewide Mississippi plumber license to transfer.

If you hold a plumbing license from another state, ask MSBOC which of your exams, if any, it will waive before you apply.

MSBOC links to a consolidated license search at search.msboc.us from its home page, under Check A License.

Our research did not verify the search itself, so if a lookup does not return the record you expect, contact the board through msboc.us.

Check a license before you hire a contractor — or before you go to work for one — because the license belongs to the business, not to the workers on it.

Our research did not verify city-level plumbing licensing in Mississippi, including in Jackson and Gulfport, so treat it as an open question rather than a cleared one: the municipal licenses we saw appeared in secondary sources only.

If a city or county does require its own plumbing license or registration, you would need to meet that as well.

Check with the building or plumbing department where the work will be done before you bid.

The commercial Plumbing specialty's scope excludes fuel gas and boiler systems, even though that classification covers septic tanks and medical gas piping.

The Mechanical major class covers heating, cooling, refrigeration, ductwork and plumbing, but our research did not establish which Mississippi credential MSBOC expects for fuel-gas piping or boiler work.

We also did not research a state backflow certification; ask MSBOC which classification fits the work before you bid it.