Plumbing Apprenticeships in Nevada: Programs, Requirements and How to Apply

Plumbing apprenticeships in Nevada are run by sponsors — union JATCs and merit-shop chapters — and the programs our research confirmed are registered programs.

Nevada is a State Apprenticeship Agency state: registered programs are registered either by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship or by a recognized State Apprenticeship Agency acting for DOL, and in Nevada that agency is the Nevada State Apprenticeship Council, within the Office of the Labor Commissioner.

On the Labor Commissioner's published program list, the plumbing-side sponsors our research confirmed include Plumbers Local 525 JATC (Las Vegas), Plumbers Local 350 JATC (Sparks), PHCC of Nevada (Clark County) and the ABC Nevada Chapter (a plumber apprenticeship in Reno).

We did not compile every registered program in the state — the Labor Commissioner's published list (ours is dated May 26, 2026) and apprenticeship.gov are the places to check.

Two different registrations come up, and they are not the same.

The apprenticeship itself is the registration: a program registers with a recognized State Apprenticeship Agency or, where none exists, DOL's Office of Apprenticeship — in Nevada, the Nevada State Apprenticeship Council — so ask your sponsor who registered its program.

A trade license is separate: Nevada has no state-issued journeyman or master plumber licence, and our research found no state requirement for plumbing apprentices to register with a licensing board — an absence inferred from our research rather than documented, so confirm with the Council.

What exists is local.

Clark County requires everyone working the craft of plumbing to carry an ID issued through the Nevada Board of Plumbing Examiners, and journeyman is the minimum level for working without supervision; NBOPE is an industry-founded board, created in 2002 by trade organizations, that certifies in partnership with Clark County — not a state agency.

Clark County journeyman plumbers may supervise any number of workers but must remain on site while unlicensed or uncertified people are working.

In Reno, plumbing work requires a journeyman certificate, and apprentices must carry a card from an approved apprenticeship program.

The union programs our research confirmed are the two UA plumbers locals' JATCs.

Plumbers Local 525 JATC in Las Vegas (750 Legion Way) — the UA local covering Clark and other southern Nevada counties — runs NSAC-registered plumber/pipefitter apprenticeships under program NV001450001, alongside a separate registered HVAC program for refrigeration unit repairer.

Plumbers Local 350 JATC in Sparks (1150 Greg Street) runs registered pipe fitter, plumber and refrigeration unit repairer apprenticeships for northern Nevada under program NV002450004.

Both locals' own websites were unreachable when we researched, so their entry requirements, application windows and start dates were not captured — contact the JATC directly, and check the program on the Labor Commissioner's published list before you commit.

Yes for merit shop — our research confirmed no employer-sponsored plumbing program.

Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors of Nevada (PHCC, based in Henderson) sponsors a registered plumber apprenticeship (program NV001910003) in Clark County.

The ABC Nevada Chapter runs a registered Plumber apprenticeship in Reno (program NV002950001); the chapter also runs a registered sheet metal apprenticeship in Las Vegas on the HVAC side, which our HVAC apprenticeship page covers.

Whichever program you approach, test it against registration: a program is a registered apprenticeship when the apprenticeship agency has registered it, so ask which agency registered the program, and check the Labor Commissioner's published list and apprenticeship.gov before you sign anything.

Registered apprenticeship pairs on-the-job learning with related technical instruction — the classroom side.

DOL recommends a minimum of 144 hours of related instruction per year of apprenticeship; that is a recommendation, not a federal requirement, and each program's registered standards set what it actually asks, with terms that may be time-based (at least 2,000 hours of on-the-job learning), competency-based or a hybrid.

Our research did not name the Nevada schools, colleges or training centers that provide the classroom hours for these plumbing programs — ask each sponsor where its apprentices take class and how the hours are documented before you sign.

Where the hours do map onto credentials in Nevada: NBOPE journeyman certification counts four years in a state-registered, accredited apprenticeship or 8,000 hours of documented plumbing experience, and training at an accredited college or university — or Board-accepted training such as apprenticeship certificates — can satisfy up to 3 of the 4 full years of experience a Nevada contractor qualifier needs within the last 15 years.

Choose your route first.

Union means the JATCs: Plumbers Local 525 at 750 Legion Way in Las Vegas for southern Nevada, or Plumbers Local 350 at 1150 Greg Street in Sparks for the north.

Merit shop means PHCC of Nevada in Henderson or the ABC Nevada Chapter's plumber program in Reno.

Apply directly to the sponsor, and confirm the program's registration on the Labor Commissioner's published list first.

Federal floors set the basics: a registered apprentice must be at least 16 years old unless a higher minimum age is fixed by law, and there is no federal maximum age.

Sponsors can add their own entry requirements on top, and the minimum ages, deadlines and fees for these programs were not captured in our research — ask each one.

If you are accepted, expect a probationary period no longer than 25 percent of the program length or 1 year, whichever is shorter, a progressively increasing wage schedule with no federally set percentage steps, and a completion certificate from the registration agency at the end.

Our guide to how to get a plumbing apprenticeship walks the application step by step.