The statutes we verified — Arizona, Texas, Ohio and Florida — each treat a felony differently.
Texas says a conviction is not an automatic bar outside its three denial grounds; Arizona allows denial only in some cases; Ohio runs an ask-first procedure with a CQE override; Florida limits when its contractor licences can be denied.
Here is what each says and how to use it.
Do plumbing boards check records?
At the boards where our research read the application paperwork, yes — and the check sometimes follows you past the entry-level card.
Maine requires a $21 criminal background check for the journeyman and master plumber licences, on top of the licence fee.
Massachusetts requires each master plumber listed as an officer, manager or partner of a plumbing business to pass a CORI (criminal record) check, so the screen reaches the business level too.
In North Carolina, the State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors requires applicants to submit a nationwide criminal background report from Disahealthcare.com with the application — and the board's site says processing currently averages about six weeks.
A check is not the same as a denial.
What decides eligibility is how your state's licensing law treats the conviction, and that is exactly what the fair-chance statutes in the next section answer.
The full licence ladder — and where each state's rules live — is laid out in our plumbing license requirements guide.
The licence is also only the first screen.
Employment adds its own: where an employer runs a criminal-record check, EEOC guidance says a targeted screen should consider at least the nature of the crime, the time elapsed and the nature of the job, followed by an individualized assessment.
That guidance covers hiring, not licensing — but it is worth knowing when a contractor asks about your record.
Fair-chance licensing laws
Four states we verified spell the rules out in statute.
Arizona, Texas and Ohio give you a way to ask the licensing authority where you stand — Ohio's law covers any state board or local licensing authority — while Florida's law instead limits when a contractor licence can be denied at all.
Each still allows denial in some cases.
| State | What the law gives you | The clock |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Petition the agency for a determination of whether your record disqualifies you — at any time, even before obtaining any required education or experience, taking any exam or paying any fee | Written determination within 90 days |
| Texas | Request a criminal history evaluation letter if you are enrolled in or planning to enroll in an educational program, or planning to take the licensing exam | Answer within 90 days |
| Ohio | Ask any state board or local licensing authority whether a conviction disqualifies you — at any time | Answer within 30 days; fee capped at $25 |
| Florida | Apply for an air-conditioning, mechanical, plumbing or sheet metal contractor license before release from confinement or supervision | A conviction more than 5 years before the application may not be grounds for denial |
Arizona runs the pre-application model.
Its law, A.R.S.
41-1093.04, lets a person with a criminal record petition the agency at any time, and the agency must issue a written determination within 90 days.
The same statute lists what the agency may not count against you: nonconviction information (a deferred adjudication, participation in a diversion program, an arrest that was not followed by a conviction), a conviction that has been sealed, dismissed, expunged or pardoned, a juvenile adjudication, and a nonviolent misdemeanor.
An agency can still disqualify on a felony in some cases.
The statute's tests include a conviction within three years before the petition — excluding any time the person was imprisoned — that has not been set aside or sealed, or at any time for specified dangerous or serious offenses, plus a finding by clear and convincing evidence that the offense substantially relates to the occupation.
The statute carries more conditions than this summary; read A.R.S. 41-1093.04 before you rely on any part of it.
Texas works through the criminal history evaluation letter.
Under Occupations Code Chapter 53, a person who is enrolled in or planning to enroll in an educational program that prepares for an initial license — or who is planning to take the examination for one — can ask the licensing authority whether a felony or misdemeanor conviction, or a deferred adjudication, makes them ineligible.
The authority must answer within 90 days, and for plumbing that authority is the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners (TSBPE).
The same chapter limits when a license can be denied at all: a licensing authority may suspend or revoke a license, disqualify a person from receiving one, or deny the opportunity to take the licensing examination on the grounds that the person has been convicted of an offense that directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the licensed occupation, of offenses listed in Article 42A.054 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, or of sexually violent offenses.
Outside those grounds, a conviction is not an automatic disqualifier.
Ohio writes its rule so it reaches any state board or local licensing authority.
Under R.C.
9.78, an individual with a criminal conviction may ask any of them, at any time, whether that conviction disqualifies them from a license.
The authority may charge up to $25 and must answer within 30 days.
The same law requires licensing authorities to post their list of disqualifying offenses online and to state that a Certificate of Qualification for Employment (CQE) can overcome a disqualification.
Florida covers the contractor licenses — air-conditioning, mechanical, plumbing and sheet metal.
Under s.
455.213(3), Florida Statutes, a conviction, or any other adjudication, for a crime more than 5 years before the application is received by the board may not be grounds for denial, except for certain listed serious crimes that relate to the profession.
The board can still weigh criminal history in the good-moral-character review, so the statute is a limit on denial grounds, not a guarantee.
The same Florida section lets a person apply before lawful release from confinement or supervision, bars an additional fee for being confined or under supervision, and says the board may not deny an application solely on the basis of the applicant's current confinement or supervision.
Beyond these four, we will not guess: our research verified statute text in Arizona, Texas, Ohio and Florida, and we have no verified state-by-state list beyond them.
Your state plumbing board — or the city or county office, if licensing is local where you live — is the place to ask what your record means before you pay for a program or an exam.
The same question comes up for HVAC licenses, under their own boards and rules.
Rules change — confirm with your board
Re-entry apprenticeship routes
The useful pattern in all four statutes is the order of operations: each one can be engaged before the training years are spent.
Arizona's petition works before you obtain any required education or experience, take any exam or pay any fee.
Texas's evaluation letter exists precisely for people who are enrolled in or planning to enroll in a program.
Ohio's request is available at any time.
Florida lets you file a contractor application before you are even released.
So the re-entry sequence is: ask first, then pick the route.
Ask the board before you enroll
Arizona and Texas answer in writing within 90 days, so the written answer can land before tuition is spent; Ohio's authorities must answer within 30 days and may charge up to $25.Read the disqualifying-offense list
Ohio requires its licensing authorities to publish their list of disqualifying offenses online and to say that a Certificate of Qualification for Employment can overcome a disqualification. Look for your own state's list before you assume anything.Use time inside
Florida lets a person apply for an air-conditioning, mechanical, plumbing or sheet metal contractor license before lawful release from confinement or supervision — and the board may not deny the application solely because the applicant is currently confined or supervised.Confirm screening with the program sponsor
Our research did not verify how individual apprenticeship programs, trade schools or employers screen applicants — entry screening is set program by program. Ask the sponsor or admissions office directly, in writing, before you commit.Take the board's answer with you
Whatever the determination says, keep it in writing and compare programs and employers with it in hand. If an employer asks about your record, EEOC guidance says a targeted criminal-record screen should include an individualized assessment.
When you are ready to work while you train, the plumber jobs board lists open positions at HVAC and plumbing contractors.
Career information, not legal advice. Licensing and criminal-history rules are state law and they change; confirm your situation with your state plumbing board — or the city or county office where licensing is local — before you apply, enroll or pay for an exam.