Alaska · plumber licensing · verified July 2026

Alaska plumber license requirements

Do you need a license to work as a plumber in Alaska?

Alaska licenses plumbers statewide, so one credential is valid across the whole state.

Fees per AS 18.62.030: $50 nonrefundable application fee, $200 certificate/renewal (trainee or journeyman, prorated if under 2 years), $25 duplicate. As of August 8, 2025, Alaska accepts reciprocal applications for Plumber Journeyman COFs from any US state or jurisdiction without a mutual agreement; provisional certificates do not permit fuel gas work. Alaska issues NO master plumber license, supervision/sign-off functions are covered by the Mechanical Administrator license issued by the Dept. of Commerce (DCCED), which is also where contractor licensing occurs. Exam retake allowed 30 days after a failure.

What licenses does Alaska issue?

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Labor Standards and Safety Division - Mechanical Inspection Section issues the credentials below for this trade. Boards often list further classes for specialties and business licenses; these are the ones this page covers.

Hours are what each class asks for on its own terms. Where a senior class shows fewer than a journeyman, the board is counting time served after the earlier license rather than from the start; the prerequisite column says which.

Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Labor Standards and Safety Division - Mechanical Inspection Section (labor.alaska.gov). Verified July 2026.

Plumber Journeyman Certificate of Fitness: 8,000 hours of qualifying supervised plumbing work (see substitution caps)

Plumber Restricted PU (Utility) Certificate of Fitness: 1,000 hours installing water, sewer, or storm lines

How many hours do you need in Alaska?

Alaska requires 8,000 hours of on-the-job experience for a Plumber Journeyman Certificate of Fitness license. At a 40-hour week the on-the-job portion is roughly 4 years of full-time work.

What exam does Alaska require?

Plumber Journeyman Examination (minimum passing score 70%; also required for PG/PU restricted certificates). Administered by Alaska DOLWD Mechanical Inspection Section (division offices in Juneau, Anchorage, Fairbanks; approved third-party facilities/proctors at applicant's expense).

How much does an Alaska plumber license cost?

Getting a Plumber Journeyman Certificate of Fitness license in Alaska costs $250 in board fees, before any training. That is the application fee and the initial license fee charged once, with renewal charged separately below. No board publishes this total, so it is added up here from the schedule it does publish. An exam is required and its fee is not in that figure, because no amount for it appears in the board material this page is built from. Check the board's current fee schedule before budgeting.

• Application fee$50
• Initial license fee$200
• Renewal fee (recurring)$200

How often do you renew, and what continuing education is required?

Renewal period: 2 years for journeyman-level certificates; 6 years for trainee certificates (AS 18.62.020)

Continuing education: 16 hours per 24-month renewal cycle for Plumber Journeyman: at least 8 hours on significant changes/updates to the Uniform Plumbing Code, no more than 8 hours industry-related (8 AAC 90.192(c)).

How does the apprenticeship route work?

Trainee COF requires indenture in a USDOL-registered apprenticeship; hours worked under the trainee COF (tracked on Experience Verification Forms) count toward the 8,000 hours required for journeyman. Classroom hours from a registered apprenticeship or accredited program may substitute for up to 1,000 of the 8,000 hours.

Which states does Alaska have license reciprocity with?

No published agreement for this trade names Alaska. That is not the same as a closed door: states without a published list usually take out-of-state applicants through an endorsement or equivalency review instead, decided case by case on the requirements set out above.

How does Alaska compare nationally?

21 states publish an explicit hour figure for this trade, and they range from 4,000 to 12,000 hours. Alaska's 8,000 hours is what 9 of them ask, making it the standard rather than an outlier; 9 states ask less and 3 ask more. The full comparison is on the hours by state table.

Sources and verification

Other states with published requirements for this trade: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia.

Price the whole path with the license cost estimator, or weigh earning against paying for school with the apprenticeship comparison. Back to plumbers overview.

Licensing requirements change between our verification sweeps. This page is informational only, so confirm current requirements with Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Labor Standards and Safety Division - Mechanical Inspection Section before making decisions. Not legal advice.