Does Nevada Require a Plumbing License? Who Licenses Plumbers Instead

No. Nevada issues no state journeyman or master plumber license.

The state-level requirement that does cover plumbing work falls on the business: the Nevada State Contractors Board (NSCB) licenses plumbing contractors under classification C-1, Plumbing and Heating, whose plumbing-only subclassification is C-1d.

Size does not create an exemption either: Nevada's exemption for repair and maintenance work under $1,000 does not cover work of the type plumbing contractors perform, so that work needs a licensed contractor regardless of job size.

Worker credentials are local — Clark County and Reno require cards issued through the Nevada Board of Plumbing Examiners (NBOPE), covered in the local licensing section below.

The worker rungs are NBOPE's certificates.

In Clark County, the journeyman certificate is the minimum level for working without supervision, and a journeyman may supervise any number of workers but must remain on site while unlicensed or uncertified workers are working.

The master certificate sits above it.

NBOPE is not a state agency: it says it was founded in 2002 by trade organizations and certifies in partnership with Clark County, and its card is the one Reno uses — it is not a Nevada state license.

(Clark County's own guide calls it the Nevada State Board of Plumbing Examiners; the board describes itself as industry-founded.)

The contractor rung is different in kind: the NSCB licenses plumbing contractors statewide under classification C-1, Plumbing and Heating, with subclassifications from C-1a Boilers through C-1k Industrial piping, and C-1d is the plumbing-only one.

Journeyman: 4 years in a state registered, accredited apprenticeship or 8,000 hours of substantiated plumbing experience, documented on NBOPE's Affidavit of Experience.

Master: hold an NBOPE Nevada Journeyman Plumber certificate in good standing for at least 1 year or 2,000 hours.

NITC processes NBOPE applications and exams, and processing takes up to 4 weeks before you can schedule.

The pages our research read do not state fee amounts — NBOPE puts its application and exam fees on the application form, so get the current amounts there.

In Reno, apprentices doing plumbing work must carry a card from an approved apprenticeship program.

There is no state exam for the worker cards: the journeyman and master exams belong to NBOPE, the industry board, and NITC processes the applications and scheduling.

The exam is based on the currently adopted Uniform Plumbing Code and has two parts: 50 open-book questions in 2 hours and 100 closed-book sizing questions in 2 hours.

Passing takes a minimum score of 75% or 113 cumulative points.

Reno, for its part, describes the journeyman certificate it accepts as issued through NBOPE to the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code by open-book exam.

NBOPE journeyman and master plumber certificates renew every 3 years, and there is no grace period — certifications expire on the date printed on the identification card.

Each cycle you renew either by completing 8 hours of NBOPE-approved continuing education or by passing a 40-question open-book online exam with 75%.

Recertification is to the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code for any certification expiring after January 1, 2019.

There is no separate state CE number, because there is no state journeyman or master plumber license to renew: the 3-year cycle and the 8 hours are NBOPE's rules, and Clark County and Reno require the card.

There is no state journeyman or master plumber license to transfer, so there is no statewide reciprocity path for worker credentials.

What the research confirms is local: Reno lets contractors holding reciprocal licenses from another city, county, state or country work without the Reno plumbing journeyman card for 12 months — after 12 months within the city limits they must obtain it.

Confirm the arrangement with the City of Reno before you count on it.

At the contractor rung, the NSCB offers licensure by endorsement, and its State Equivalency Chart matches Nevada C-1 to Arizona CR-77 and California C-36 plus C-4 (with 4 years of active licensure), while Florida CF Plumbing Contractor holders still take the Nevada trade exam — confirm the current rows on the NSCB's live chart before you rely on a match; the business-side rules belong to our plumbing contractor license by state coverage.

There is no single statewide lookup for a plumber's worker credential, because there is no state journeyman or master plumber license.

For the worker card, nbope.org is the certifying board's own site — confirm a certificate with NBOPE, or ask to see the ID card Clark County requires plumbing workers to carry.

For the business, the Nevada State Contractors Board's site carries a public license search; our research could not confirm the exact search-page URL, so start at nvcontractorsboard.com and search the company before you sign a contract or take a job with it.

Clark County (Las Vegas area): its building guide requires all individuals engaged in the craft of plumbing to carry an ID issued through NBOPE, and the journeyman certificate is the minimum for working without supervision.

The City of Reno: plumbing work must be done by a holder of a journeyman certificate, and apprentices must carry a card from an approved apprenticeship program; Reno requires journeyman certificates for electrical and plumbing work only.

Our research did not check Henderson, North Las Vegas or Carson City, so ask the building department where the work will be done what it requires.

Not for workers, as far as our research found.

The gas and medical gas scope sits inside the contractor classification: C-1d Plumbing includes medical gas piping — pipes for compressed air, vacuums and gases for medical use — and permanent gas supply, alongside hydronic heating systems up to 200,000 BTU, landscape irrigation and water heating including solar.

Our research found no separate state medical-gas or gas-fitter license for workers in Nevada's contractor statute and rules.

One adjacent body our research did not reach: a separate Nevada LP Gas board regulates LP-gas, so check with it for LP-gas work.