How Do You Get a Plumbing License in Texas?

Yes.

Texas licenses plumbers statewide through the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners (TSBPE) — a separate agency from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), whose program list does not include plumbing.

TSBPE issues four licenses: Tradesman Plumber-Limited, Journeyman Plumber, Master Plumber and Plumbing Inspector.

The starting point is the Plumber's Apprentice registration, because Texas counts plumbing hours toward the Tradesman or Journeyman exams only after a worker registers with TSBPE as an apprentice.

The four TSBPE licenses are Tradesman Plumber-Limited, Journeyman Plumber, Master Plumber and Plumbing Inspector, with the Plumber's Apprentice registration underneath them all.

A registered apprentice may perform plumbing only under direct supervision, meaning a TSBPE licensee is on the job site at all times.

A Tradesman Plumber-Limited may construct, install, repair, service, or renovate plumbing for one- and two-family dwellings under the supervision of a Responsible Master Plumber; for Journeyman and Master, TSBPE's pages state exam requirements rather than a scope-of-work sentence.

Texas has no separate plumbing-contractor license: a business that offers plumbing must secure a Responsible Master Plumber — a Master Plumber whose license may be used by one plumbing company only.

Journeyman, Master and Inspector licensees can add TSBPE's endorsements, and the board also registers Drain Cleaner-Restricted, Drain Cleaner and Residential Utilities Installer workers outside the license ladder ($18 each; the installer registration takes 2,000 apprentice hours).

Every Texas plumbing path starts with the Plumber's Apprentice registration: at least 16 years old, $15 to apply and $15 a year to renew, and no hour counts toward a license until you hold it.

The Tradesman Plumber-Limited exam takes 4,000 hours of plumbing experience plus a TSBPE-approved 24-hour course — or enrollment in, or completion of, a DOL Office of Apprenticeship program, which replaces the course.

Its fees: $36 exam, $35 initial license, $35 renewal.

The Journeyman exam takes 8,000 hours plus the 48-hour course or the apprenticeship route; fees are $40 exam, $40 initial license, $40 renewal.

The Master exam takes a journeyman license — Texas or another state — held at least 2 years, or 1 year plus a completed DOL program; fees are a $25 processing fee to TSBPE, a $128.50 exam fee to Pearson VUE, then $75 for the initial license and $75 a year to renew.

All applicants and examinees submit fingerprints once, and HB 3214, which relates to master plumber eligibility, took effect Sept 1, 2025.

TSBPE's written exams are delivered by Pearson VUE.

Tradesman and Journeyman candidates coming from the apprentice route — and Medical Gas endorsement candidates — also pass a hands-on practical exam at TSBPE's Austin or Waco exam centers.

An exam authorization allows up to five attempts within one year, with a 30-day wait after the first failure, 60 days after the second and 90 days after each failure after that.

Our research does not describe what the written exams cover; TSBPE's exam pages are the place to check the current content outline.

Texas plumbing licenses renew annually, and every licensee must complete 6 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) to renew.

Endorsements renew every three years, and Medical Gas endorsement holders must complete at least 2 hours of CPE to renew that endorsement.

A license, registration or endorsement that has been expired for more than two years can no longer be renewed — TSBPE says you must reinstate it instead, which means starting over as a registered Plumber's Apprentice and re-passing the exams.

Our research did not find a license-for-license reciprocity agreement between TSBPE and other states, and we could not fully verify that absence — check with the board in case an agreement now exists.

What TSBPE's pages do show: out-of-state journeyman and master licensees may sit the Texas exams without the 24- or 48-hour course, and Master plumber eligibility explicitly counts a journeyman license held in another state — held at least 2 years, or 1 year plus a completed DOL apprenticeship.

Confirm an out-of-state license with TSBPE before you rely on it.

TSBPE's public look-up, Find a License / Registration, is linked from the board's site at tsbpe.texas.gov/find-a-licenseregistration.

Search it before you accept work arranged under someone else's license, and to confirm your own registration shows up once you hold it.

Texas adds this work to a plumbing license through TSBPE endorsements.

Journeyman, Master and Inspector licensees can hold any of three: Medical Gas Piping Installation, Multipurpose Residential Fire Protection Sprinkler Specialist, and Water Supply Protection Specialist (WSPS).

The WSPS endorsement is the backflow-adjacent one — its holder may perform customer service inspection certifications for public drinking water systems under 30 TAC Chapter 290.

The Medical Gas endorsement requires 24 hours of classroom training on NFPA 99, including at least 4 hours of shop work on assembly, purging and brazing, and at least 2 hours of CPE to renew.

Endorsement exam fees: $80 at the Master level, $27 for a Journeyman and $40 for an Inspector.