Virginia · plumber licensing · verified July 2026
Virginia plumber license requirements
The short answer
As of July 2026, Virginia licenses plumbers statewide as individual 'tradesmen' through the Board for Contractors at the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR). Journeyman licensure uses a sliding scale of practical experience plus formal vocational training (from 4 years + 240 hours down to 8 years experience-only), and master licensure requires 1 year as a licensed journeyman, 9 years of practical experience, or 3 years as a Virginia residential plumber tradesman, each followed by a PSI-administered exam. Licenses renew on a 2-year cycle with 3 hours of board-approved continuing education.
Do you need a license to work as a plumber in Virginia?
Virginia licenses plumbers statewide, so one credential is valid across the whole state.
Application fee on the current form (A501-2710EXLIC v8, eff. 07/01/2026) is $171.75 for the examination, reciprocity, and apprenticeship methods and $131.75 for card exchange; per the form this includes a technology fee of $7.25 per year mandated by 2026 House Bill 30. The former qualification regulation 18VAC50-30-40 was repealed eff. 4/1/2025 and replaced by 18VAC50-30-39, which now lists a 9-year (not 10-year) experience-only master path. Virginia's only plumbing-specific exam agreement is with the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC, a Maryland utility commission) for journeyman and master plumbers/gas fitters, no state-to-state plumber reciprocity is listed (the DPOR reciprocal agreements list covers electrical/HVAC for other states).
What licenses does Virginia issue?
The Virginia Board for Contractors (Tradesmen program), Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) 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.
| License | On-the-job hours | Classroom hours | Exam |
|---|---|---|---|
| Journeyman Plumber (Tradesman license, PLB designation) | not published | 240 | Yes |
| Master Plumber (Tradesman license, PLB designation) | not published | not published | Yes |
Source: Virginia Board for Contractors (Tradesmen program), Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) (law.lis.virginia.gov). Verified July 2026.
Journeyman Plumber (Tradesman license, PLB designation): 4 years practical experience with 240 hours vocational training (most common path); alternatives range to 8 years experience with no formal training
What exam does Virginia require?
Virginia Journeyman Plumbing examination (trade + statutory/regulatory portions). Administered by PSI (under contract to DPOR); board pre-approval required to sit. Exam fee $100.
Virginia Master Plumbing examination (trade + statutory/regulatory portions). Administered by PSI (under contract to DPOR); board pre-approval required to sit. Exam fee $125.
How much does a Virginia plumber license cost?
Getting a Journeyman Plumber (Tradesman license, PLB designation) license in Virginia costs $272 in board fees, before any training. That is the application fee and the exam fee charged once. No board publishes this total, so it is added up here from the schedule it does publish.
- Application fee$171.75
- Exam fee$100
How often do you renew, and what continuing education is required?
Renewal period: 2 years
Continuing education: 3 hours of board-approved continuing education per 2-year renewal cycle for plumbers
How does the apprenticeship route work?
Completion of a Virginia registered apprenticeship program is a stand-alone qualification path to the journeyman exam (application question 12); some Virginia apprenticeship sponsors have been granted exam exemptions, which DPOR verifies. Out-of-state apprenticeship completion is also accepted with documentation from the other state's apprenticeship agency.
Which states does Virginia have license reciprocity with?
No published agreement for this trade names Virginia. 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.
Source: reciprocity agreement (dpor.virginia.gov). Verified July 2026.
How does Virginia 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.
| State | Journeyman hours | Licensing model |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia | not published | Statewide |
| Kentucky | not published | Statewide |
| Maryland | 7,500 | Statewide |
| North Carolina | not published | Statewide |
| Tennessee | not published | Contractor level only |
| West Virginia | not published | Statewide |
Source: state licensing boards. Verified July 2026.
Sources and verification
Every fact on this page traces to one of these
- DPOR - Tradesmen (Board for Contractors)
- 18VAC50-30-39, Qualifications for examination approval (Virginia Administrative Code)
- DPOR Tradesman Exam & License Application (A501-2710EXLIC)
- Virginia Board for Contractors reciprocal licensing/examination agreements
Last verified July 2026. Found an error? Report it and it will be corrected and logged on the corrections page.
Other states with published requirements for this trade: Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
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 Virginia Board for Contractors (Tradesmen program), Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) before making decisions. Not legal advice.