Maryland · plumber licensing · verified July 2026

Maryland plumber license requirements

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

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

Geographic carve-out: state plumbing licenses are not required in Baltimore County or areas served by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (Montgomery and Prince George's counties), which issue their own licenses under their own plumbing codes, functionally a state system with two local-licensing exceptions. The Board also issues Journey/Master Natural Gas Fitter licenses (journey gas: 3,750 apprentice hours over 2+ years; original fees $68.50/$150.50) and propane gas fitter certificates. No continuing education requirement is stated on the Board's official renewal page. Reciprocity is handled case-by-case by the Board (per the PSI bulletin); no formal reciprocity states are named on official pages. Exam facts extracted directly from the Board's PSI candidate bulletin PDF hosted on labor.maryland.gov.

What licenses does Maryland issue?

The Maryland State Board of Plumbing, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, Maryland Department of Labor 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: Maryland State Board of Plumbing, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, Maryland Department of Labor (labor.maryland.gov). Verified July 2026.

Journey Plumber/Gas Fitter: 4 years as a licensed apprentice with 7,500 hours under a licensed master plumber + 32-hour backflow prevention course

Master Plumber/Gas Fitter: Journey license held at least 2 years + 3,750 hours in the plumbing trade after journey licensure (11,250 total hours)

How many hours do you need in Maryland?

Maryland requires 7,500 hours of on-the-job experience for a Journey Plumber/Gas Fitter license. At a 40-hour week the on-the-job portion is roughly 3.8 years of full-time work.

What exam does Maryland require?

Journey Plumber/Gas Fitter examination (100 questions, 70% minimum passing score, 240 minutes, open book). Administered by PSI Services LLC (all testing for the Maryland State Board of Plumbing). Exam fee $65.

Master Plumber/Gas Fitter examination (100 questions, 70% minimum passing score, 240 minutes, open book). Administered by PSI Services LLC. Exam fee $65.

Source: examination page (labor.maryland.gov). Verified July 2026.

How much does a Maryland plumber license cost?

Getting a Journey Plumber/Gas Fitter license in Maryland costs $109 in board fees, before any training. That is the exam 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.

• Exam fee$65
• Initial license fee$43.5
• Renewal fee (recurring)$43.5

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

Renewal period: 2 years from date of issue (all Board licenses and certificates); lapse beyond 4 years requires new application and re-examination

Source: renewal requirements (dllr.state.md.us). Verified July 2026.

How does the apprenticeship route work?

The apprentice license is the mandatory pathway: 4 years and 7,500 supervised hours as a licensed apprentice under a Maryland master plumber qualify an applicant for the journey exam; up to 1,500 hours of certified approved school study can substitute toward the 7,500 hours. Only hours worked while licensed as an apprentice count, and hours under a Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council agreement count only if the individual is also licensed with the Board.

Which states does Maryland have license reciprocity with?

No published agreement for this trade names Maryland. 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 Maryland compare to neighboring states?

Requirements stop at the state line, which matters if you live near one or expect to move. Here is what the neighboring states ask of the same trade.

Source: state licensing boards. Verified July 2026.

How does Maryland compare nationally?

21 states publish an explicit hour figure for this trade, and they range from 4,000 to 12,000 hours. Maryland's 7,500 hours is what 2 of them ask, making it the standard rather than an outlier; 5 states ask less and 14 ask more. The full comparison is on the hours by state table.

Sources and verification

Other states with published requirements for this trade: Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi.

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 Maryland State Board of Plumbing, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, Maryland Department of Labor before making decisions. Not legal advice.