In most cases, no — a plumbing license does not transfer automatically when you move.
There is no national plumbing license: a state board licenses plumbers — or cities, counties or an industry board in the seven states with no state license.
What a moving plumber uses is plumbing license reciprocity by state — trade-exam waivers, endorsement rules and, in Arizona, a universal-recognition law.
Here is how the mechanisms differ and what to confirm before you move.
Is there a national plumbing license?
No. There is no national plumbing license: plumbers are licensed by a state board — or, in the seven states with no state license, by cities, counties or an industry board.
Below that top line, the rungs of the ladder, the experience hours and the reciprocity rules are set jurisdiction by jurisdiction; our research found no federal source that defines any of them, which is why every rule on this page is attributed to a specific board.
In every reciprocity and endorsement rule cited on this page, the new state still issues its own license after an application — none lets you simply work on your old license.
Moving means applying under the new jurisdiction's rules; reciprocity or endorsement changes only what that application involves.
For the ladder itself — the classic apprentice–journeyman–master structure, the states without a journeyman rung, and the states that license locally — start with our plumbing license requirements guide.
This page picks up where it leaves off: at the state line.
How plumbing license reciprocity agreements work
Reciprocity is a deal between two licensing boards, and what it waives varies.
The cross-state pattern our research found is blunt: plumbing and HVAC reciprocity between states is usually a trade-exam waiver, not a license swap — state contractor boards in Tennessee, Mississippi, California and North Carolina, for example, waive only the trade exam and still require their own business-and-law exam or application.
License-for-license reciprocity — where the new state honors the old license itself — is rarer, and for journeymen it clusters in the Northwest and Plains.
Montana has journeyman-only plumbing reciprocity with Oregon, Idaho, North Dakota and South Dakota; there is no master reciprocity, and a reciprocal licensee still has to apply for a Montana license before working.
Oregon's journeyman agreements cover Idaho and Montana only.
Washington's journey-level reciprocity covers Idaho only.
North Dakota lists written plumbing agreements with South Dakota, Minnesota and Montana — though Minnesota's own pages show no license-for-license reciprocity (see the caution below).
Contractor reciprocity is a separate arrangement: Ohio's Construction Industry Licensing Board lists plumbing contractor reciprocity with Arkansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia — with the business-and-law exam still required in Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee.
And some boards offer nothing: Hawaii does not reciprocate plumber licenses with any other jurisdiction, and Indiana offers no reciprocity for journeyman or contractor plumbers — an out-of-state plumber there applies, is reviewed by the board and must pass the Indiana exam.
One caution our cross-state research flagged: agreements are not always mutual, or even real on both ends.
North Dakota says it has a written plumbing agreement with Minnesota, but Minnesota's own pages show no license-for-license reciprocity — out-of-state licensees there may only sit the exam.
Oklahoma reported a 2024 plumbing agreement with Arkansas that Arkansas's plumbing pages do not mention.
Treat a reciprocity claim as belonging to the board that makes it, and confirm with both boards before you rely on it.
Every agreement above is one board's rule, as that board publishes it
Universal recognition laws
A step beyond reciprocity is a universal-recognition law: a state statute that obliges the state to license arriving licensees from anywhere, with no bilateral agreement needed.
Arizona's is the law our research verified: Arizona must license people who establish residence there and have held a license in good standing in another state for at least one year, at the same practice level, having passed any exam that state required.
The edges matter, so here are ours: the statute's exceptions and how the law applies to contractor licenses go beyond what our research confirmed, and this page does not map which other states have similar universal-recognition laws.
Do not assume your new state has one because Arizona does.
Ask the board — and in Arizona, the licensing agency for your license class (for contractor licenses, the Registrar of Contractors).
What transfers — and what starts over
The license itself does not transfer: with no national license, there is nothing for a new state to automatically honor.
What moves is you, your record, and whatever mechanism the new state offers for recognizing it.
The mechanism to ask about first is licensure by endorsement — the new state reviews your existing license for equivalence instead of relying on a bilateral agreement.
Colorado endorses out-of-state state-licensed plumbers with substantially equivalent credentials, a comparable state exam and a state license held at least six months — and a city or county license does not qualify.
Utah endorses holders of equivalent out-of-state licenses, mapped by Utah's Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL).
Vermont's statute is mandatory: it must issue a plumbing license by endorsement to anyone licensed in good standing in another U.S. jurisdiction for at least three years.
Even your exam knowledge only partly carries: plumbing codes are adopted state by state — the Uniform Plumbing Code / International Plumbing Code split — so the book your old exam tested may not be the book the new state tests.
And the one multi-state exam contractors talk about does not help plumbers.
The NASCLA accredited examination is for Commercial General Building contractors, plus electrical — it is not a plumbing trade exam; Arizona, Louisiana, Nevada and New Mexico accept it only for general building (and electrical) classes.
NASCLA has been developing an accredited plumbing examination, but none is in use yet, so a state plumbing exam is still a state exam.
Practically, the moving plumber's checklist is short: before you move, ask both boards whether they reciprocate with your state, whether you qualify for endorsement, and which exam parts — if any — they waive.
Keep your license history, exam records and verification letters handy; these processes start with proving what you hold.
Then line up the work: see open plumber jobs in the state you are headed to.
Whichever path applies — reciprocity, endorsement or a fresh application — the rule is the same: the new jurisdiction's board decides, and its current rules are the ones that count.
Start with the state board, or the city or county office where licensing is local.
Career information, not legal advice. Reciprocity agreements and licensing rules change; confirm the current requirements with the licensing board in both states — or the city or county office where licensing is local — before you move or take work.