Does Nebraska Require a Plumbing License? Who Licenses Plumbers Instead

No state license exists: Nebraska issues no plumbing credential at the state level.

The trade is not unregulated, though.

State law requires anyone who installs or repairs sanitary plumbing to be a master plumber licensed by the city or village nearest the construction site, with the employees who perform the installation or repair licensed as journeymen by that same city or village.

The state's statutes also exempt the full-time in-house employees of a single employer.

So the first question to answer is which city or village's rules apply to your job.

The ladder runs apprentice, journeyman and master, issued city by city.

The master plumber is the statutory keystone: Nebraska law ties plumbing contracting to a master plumber licensed by the city or village nearest the construction site, and the state issues no plumbing contractor license — contracting in Omaha runs under the Master Plumber license, in Lincoln under the Master Plumber Contractor registration.

Journeymen are the employees who perform installation or repair, and the statute requires them to be licensed by that same city or village.

Apprentices register locally: Omaha issues its Apprentice Plumber license only with plumbing-board approval, and Omaha's apprenticeship sponsors must be on the city's approved-program list.

Lincoln registers Master Contractor, Master, Journeyman and Apprentice plumbers every year, and also licenses gas fitters and water-conditioning contractors and installers.

An Omaha Master Plumber must additionally carry a minimum $10,000 bond and $1,000,000 insurance.

The verified hour paths are Omaha's.

Qualifying for the journeyman plumber exam takes one of: a city-certified apprenticeship of four consecutive years; equivalent instruction plus on-the-job training; 7 consecutive years with at least 300 hours each, totaling 7,000 hours; a journeyman license from an equivalent-size city; or 8 years and 14,000 hours where no instruction was required.

The master exam takes 4 consecutive years while holding an Omaha journeyman license, an equivalent master license from a similar-size city, or 12 years and 21,000 hours without instruction.

Omaha's board may also grant an apprentice up to one year of credit for previous experience, if apprentice and sponsor appear and document the prior on-the-job and classroom training.

Fees differ by city: Omaha's exams cost $54 for journeyman and $81 for master, the Master Plumber license starts at $100 plus an $8 tech fee, the journeyman license at $1 plus a $19.50 ID badge and $1.64 tech fee, and the Apprentice Plumber license at $20 plus $1.60.

Lincoln's yearly registrations run $250 for a Master Contractor, $75 for a Master, $50 for a Journeyman and $25 for an Apprentice.

Lincoln's experience requirements were not covered by our research — ask the city.

The city plumbing board, not the state, tests plumbers.

In Omaha, the Plumbing Board writes and administers the exams itself, and each exam has plans, written and practical parts: passing takes 80% on each part for the master exam and 75% on each part for the journeyman exam.

Exams run in February, May, August and November; the exam fees are $54 for journeyman and $81 for master.

Our research did not capture Lincoln's plumbing exam arrangements, or what villages without their own boards require, so ask the Lincoln plumbing program — or the nearest city office — for current candidate information before you schedule anything.

State statute sets the frame: original and renewal plumbing licenses are good for one year or two years from issuance, as the local plumbing board determines.

Omaha builds continuing education into renewal: the Master Plumber renewal is $75 plus a $6 tech fee with 8 CE hours, and the journeyman credential also carries 8 CE hours alongside the same fee line — $1 plus a $19.50 ID badge and $1.64 tech fee.

In Lincoln, plumbing renewals run March 1 to May 31, and renewal takes 10 CE hours for a Master Plumber Contractor or Master Plumber and 6 hours for a Journeyman Plumber; the yearly registrations cost $250 for a Master Contractor, $75 for a Master, $50 for a Journeyman and $25 for an Apprentice.

CE hours come from each city's board, not the state, so confirm the current cycle with the board that issued your license.

Our research found no reciprocity agreement covering Nebraska plumbing — and there is no state license for another state to reciprocate with.

What Omaha does offer is a qualification path: a journeyman license from an equivalent-size city is one of the ways to qualify for Omaha's journeyman exam, and an equivalent master license from a similar-size city is one of the ways to qualify for its master exam.

That gets you into the exam room, not an Omaha license — you still sit the board's plans, written and practical parts.

If you hold an out-of-state credential, ask the city board where you want to work what it accepts before you assume it transfers.

Start from the city that issued the credential.

Omaha publishes its plumbing license fees, bond and insurance requirements on the city's licensing pages, and Lincoln's plumbing program page lists its registrations, renewal window and CE hours.

There is no statewide plumber lookup, because there is no statewide license.

The state keeps one registry, but it is not a plumber list: the Nebraska Department of Labor's contractor-registration search covers contractors registered under the Contractor Registration Act — all contractors and subcontractors doing business in Nebraska — not city-licensed plumbers.

To verify an individual, contact the plumbing board of the city or village nearest the job.

Nebraska's statute builds the system from the bottom up: cities of the metropolitan class — Omaha — must have a plumbing board, and primary-class cities like Lincoln, first- and second-class cities and villages may have boards; these boards examine and license the city's plumbers.

The city or village nearest the job site licenses the work, so its board sets the requirements that bind you.

Outside city limits the rule shifts again: sanitary plumbing in buildings other than single-family homes and farm or ranch structures needs a permit from the nearest city or village, and where that city has no plumbing ordinance, the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code applies.

Because each board runs its own program — the Omaha and Lincoln fee schedules we verified already differ — confirm with the building or plumbing department where the work will be done.

It depends on the city.

Lincoln issues separate gas fitter registrations — $50 for a Master, $25 for a Journeyman and $15 for an Apprentice — alongside its plumbing levels, and it also licenses water-conditioning contractors and installers.

Our research did not verify a statewide medical-gas or backflow credential in Nebraska, and it did not capture how Omaha handles gas fitting or backflow testing, so ask the plumbing board where the work will be done what a gas or backflow job requires.