Plumbing Contractor License in Massachusetts: Requirements, Qualifier, Bond and Exams
Massachusetts issues a plumbing business license for $225, from the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters, with a parallel gas fitting business license alongside.
A corporation, LLC or partnership applying must show the qualifier in its organizing documents: the corporation's articles must list the master plumber of record as an officer, the LLC must list the master plumber of record as a manager, and all partners of a partnership must be licensed master plumbers.
Each master plumber listed must complete and pass a CORI check.
Our research captured no bond or insurance requirement.
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At a glance
Yes.
The Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters issues the plumbing business license statewide, with a parallel gas fitting business license for gas fitting firms.
The Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters, which also licenses apprentice, journeyman and master plumbers and gas fitters, plus LP installers.
On the business side: the plumbing business license and a separate gas fitting business license.
Our research did not find job-value classes on the business license itself.
The master plumber of record: a corporation's articles must list the master plumber of record as an officer, an LLC must list the master plumber of record as a manager, and all partners of a partnership must be licensed master plumbers.
The business application our research captured names no exam for the business itself; the exam gate sits on the individual plumber licenses, and PSI administers those exams ($31 application fee charged by the board).
Not established in our research — the application requirements we captured (organizing documents, the $225 fee, CORI checks) include no bond or insurance minimum.
Ask the board.
$225 for the plumbing business license.
No renewal cycle for the business license was captured in our research; individual plumbers must complete 12 clock hours of approved continuing education per two-year license cycle.
Out-of-state plumbing applicants pass the relevant Massachusetts exam unless Massachusetts has a reciprocity agreement with their jurisdiction; our research found no published list of agreement states.
The Massachusetts plumbing license ladder
- Master PlumberMaster
The license the qualifier rule names: a licensed journeyman with at least one year and 1,700 clock hours as a Massachusetts journeyman plumber plus the 110-hour Tier Five course (unless completed as an apprentice) can sit the master exam.
- Plumbing Business LicenseContractor
The board's business-side plumbing license: the organizing documents must list the master plumber of record as an officer (corporation) or manager (LLC), and all partners of a partnership must be licensed master plumbers.
- Gas Fitting Business LicenseContractor
A parallel gas fitting business license exists on the same board; our research captured the plumbing business license's requirements, not this one's.
Does Massachusetts license plumbing contractors statewide, or only locally?
Statewide.
The Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters issues the business-side plumbing business license ($225), and it is the same board that licenses apprentice, journeyman and master plumbers, apprentice, journeyman and master gas fitters, and LP (liquefied petroleum) installers.
A parallel gas fitting business license exists for gas fitting firms.
The plumbing business license is a state credential issued by one board.
Which agency issues the license, and what are the classes?
The Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters issues the plumbing business license, and the fee schedule lists it at $225 each.
The business-side classes our research captured are two: the plumbing business license for plumbing contractors and a separate gas fitting business license.
Underneath the business licenses, the same board's individual classes run apprentice, journeyman and master plumber, apprentice, journeyman and master gas fitter, and LP (liquefied petroleum) installer licenses.
Our research did not find job-value or dollar thresholds that split the business license into classes.
Who can be the qualifier, and what experience do they need?
Massachusetts puts the qualifier requirement in the company's organizing documents, in the state's own terms: the master plumber of record.
A corporation's Articles of Organization must specify plumbing and/or gas fitting as the purpose and list the master plumber of record as an officer; an LLC must list the master plumber of record as a manager; and all partners of a partnership must be licensed master plumbers.
Each master plumber listed as an officer, manager or partner must also complete and pass a CORI (criminal record) check.
The credential underneath is the master plumber license: a licensed journeyman needs at least one year and 1,700 clock hours as a Massachusetts journeyman plumber plus the 110-hour Tier Five course (unless completed as an apprentice) to sit the master exam.
The journeyman exam's own eligibility floor includes at least 6,800 clock hours as a licensed apprentice under a Massachusetts master (or a journeyman employed by a master) and 550 clock hours of plumbing and gasfitting theory completed over no less than four years.
“Submit Articles of Organization specifying plumbing and/or gas fitting as the purpose and listing the master plumber of record as an officer.”
Which exams must you pass: trade, and business and law?
The application requirements our research captured for the plumbing business license — organizing documents naming the master plumber of record, the $225 fee and the CORI checks — include no exam for the business itself.
The exam gate sits on the individual licenses your qualifier holds: PSI administers the board's plumbing exams, the board charges a $31 application fee, and a failed exam can be retaken within 12 months.
A separate business-and-law exam is not something our research found for Massachusetts plumbing contractors, so treat that as unconfirmed and ask the board what it currently requires of the business application.
What bond and insurance does Massachusetts require?
Our research did not find a bond or insurance requirement for the Massachusetts plumbing business license: the requirements we captured are the organizing documents, the $225 fee and the CORI checks, with no bond or insurance amount.
Treat that as a research gap rather than a confirmed no-requirement, and ask the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters what it currently requires before you bid work.
What does it cost, and how often is it renewed?
The plumbing business license fee is $225.
Our research did not capture a renewal cycle or renewal fee for the business license, so we cannot tell you how often it renews; the board's licensing pages are the place to confirm both.
What we did capture is the individual layer your qualifier maintains: plumbers complete 12 clock hours of approved continuing education during every two-year license cycle (gas fitters and LP installers owe 6 hours, and apprentices are exempt), the individual application fee is $31, and license fees of $52 for a journeyman and $78 for a master are paid at the test center after passing.
Does Massachusetts have reciprocity with other states?
Not automatically.
Out-of-state plumbing applicants must pass the relevant examination for the license being sought unless Massachusetts has a reciprocity agreement with the relevant jurisdiction, and they may petition for their experience or education to be credited.
Our research did not find a published list of the jurisdictions Massachusetts holds agreements with, and we did not find reciprocity terms specific to the business license; if your qualifier is licensed in another state, ask the board how that license is treated before you count on skipping the Massachusetts exam.
“Unless Massachusetts has a reciprocity agreement with the relevant jurisdiction, all applicants will be required to pass the relevant examination for the license being sought.”
What happens if your qualifier leaves?
Our research did not find a rule, or a deadline, for replacing a departing master plumber of record, so put the question to the board before you need the answer.
What the captured rules do establish is the application side: a corporation's articles must list the master plumber of record as an officer, an LLC must list the master plumber of record as a manager, all partners of a partnership must be licensed master plumbers, and each master plumber listed must complete and pass a CORI check.
Whether a mid-license change of master follows those same steps, and on what timeline, our research did not say, so confirm with the board.
“Each master plumber listed as an officer, manager, or partner must complete and pass a CORI check.”
Has anything in Massachusetts plumbing rules changed recently?
The code your crews work under is Massachusetts' own Uniform State Plumbing Code, 248 CMR 10.00, with the latest changes effective December 8, 2023; the state runs its own code rather than adopting a national model code by name.
The exam-eligibility floors, the continuing-education requirement and the reciprocity rule for the individual plumber licenses sit alongside it in the board's regulations at 248 CMR 11.00.
Rules move, so confirm the current text of both with the board before you rely on any figure here.
What This Page Does, and Doesn’t, Cover
This page summarizes the Massachusetts board pages, statutes, rules and other sources listed below, as read for this state-by-state plumbing contractor licensing series, current as of September 2026.
It is not a substitute for the instructions the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters publishes.
For the rest of the picture in Massachusetts, see HVAC contractor licensing in Massachusetts and plumbing licensing in Massachusetts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Massachusetts require a license to run a plumbing business?
Massachusetts issues a plumbing business license for $225 through the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters.
A corporation, LLC or partnership applying must show the qualifier in its organizing documents: a corporation's articles must list the master plumber of record as an officer, an LLC must list the master plumber of record as a manager, and all partners of a partnership must be licensed master plumbers.
Each master plumber listed as an officer, manager or partner must also pass a CORI check.
Our research captured the corporation, LLC and partnership requirements; confirm any other business form with the board.
Who can be the master plumber of record in Massachusetts?
A licensed master plumber: the business documents must name the master plumber of record, and in a partnership all partners must be licensed master plumbers.
The master license behind that credential takes at least one year and 1,700 clock hours as a Massachusetts journeyman plumber plus the 110-hour Tier Five course, unless it was completed as an apprentice.
Every master plumber listed as an officer, manager or partner of the business must also complete and pass a CORI check.
Our research captured no further eligibility rules for the master of record, so confirm any others with the board.
How much does a Massachusetts plumbing business license cost?
The license fee is $225.
Beyond it, the individual layer your qualifier maintains has its own costs: a $31 application fee for the board's exams, and license fees of $52 for a journeyman and $78 for a master paid at the test center after passing.
Our research did not capture a renewal fee for the business license, so confirm the current fee schedule with the board.
Is there a bond requirement for Massachusetts plumbing contractors?
Our research did not find one: the application requirements we captured for the plumbing business license are the organizing documents, the $225 fee and the CORI checks, with no bond or insurance amount.
That is a research gap, not a confirmed no-requirement, so ask the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters what it currently requires before you bid work.
Does Massachusetts accept out-of-state plumbing licenses for contractors?
Not automatically.
Unless Massachusetts has a reciprocity agreement with the relevant jurisdiction, out-of-state applicants must pass the relevant exam for the license being sought, though they may petition for their experience or education to be credited.
Our research found no published list of agreement states and no reciprocity terms specific to the business license, so confirm with the board how an out-of-state license is treated.
More Massachusetts Resources
Sources
- Mass.gov: Apply for a plumbing business license (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Mass.gov: Apply for a plumber, gas fitter or liquefied petroleum installer license (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- 248 CMR 11.00 — Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters rules (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Mass.gov: Apply for a journeyman plumber license (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters: FAQ for new regulations (248 CMR 10.00) (retrieved 2026-09-29)
Sourced from the documents listed above.
Verified September 2026.
This is career information, not legal advice.
Confirm current rules with the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters.