State ladder: apprentice → journeyman → master
Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board runs plumbing licensing in Alabama. Below: the exact ladder, the transfer doors into Alabama from all 50 states, the renewal and lapse lines, and the master-of-record rule for opening a company — every figure from the board's own publications, checked October 22, 2026.
State ladder: apprentice → journeyman → master Primary sources Checked October 22, 2026
| The ladder | Alabama |
|---|---|
| Journeyman credential | Journeyman Plumber |
| Total hours required | not published |
| Classroom hours | not published |
| Apprentice registration | Required — hours count only while registered |
| Exam | Prov (independent examining agency selected by the Board) · $110 — Examination fee $110 (not returned by the Board) per Admin. Code ch. 720-X-4 (revised 10/13/25). After passing, certification must be obtained within 90 calendar days or the candidate must re-test (Board exams page). |
| License fee | $75 |
| Renewal | Every 1 year |
| Continuing education | 4 hours per year |
| Master credential | Master Plumber |
Registration, in the board’s terms: Board registers apprentice plumbers/gas fitters on application and payment of prescribed fees (Ala. Code 34-37-6). Annual apprentice registration fee $35 per Admin. Code 720-X-4. The statute measures journeyman eligibility in years of experience, not in a published hour total, so hoursTotal is null.
Master Plumber: At least 1 year of CURRENT work experience as a journeyman plumber (Ala. Code 34-37-6; Board exams page), plus the master written examination and, effective January 1, 2026, an additional Business Law examination (Board exams page).
Written exam fee $160 plus Business Law exam $100 per Admin. Code ch. 720-X-4; initial certificate fee $175 and annual renewal $175 at master level.
Master exam fee: $160
Certificates expire annually on December 31. A late annual renewal penalty applies ($75 at journeyman level, $175 at master level, per Admin. Code ch. 720-X-4). The Board also offers a waiver-of-fees/penalties form for delinquent certificate holders who were not actively engaged in plumbing/gas fitting in Alabama.
Reinstatement: Late renewal with the penalty in Admin. Code ch. 720-X-4; no fixed reinstatement window in months was stated on the Board/statute pages reviewed on 2026-10-22.
Past the line: No primary-source rule fixing a lapse period after which re-examination is required for renewal was confirmed in this pass. Separately, a candidate who passes the initial exam but does not certify within 90 days must re-test.
Alabama endorses journeyman licenses from: none. Reciprocal certification under Ala. Code 34-37-11 is available only with a state with which the Board has a valid, current reciprocity agreement, and requires passing the Business Law examination (Admin. Code 720-X-4 filing). No partner states were named on the primary pages reviewed on 2026-10-22, so accepts is empty and the route is case-by-case review.
| Licensed in | Door into Alabama | |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Arizona | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Arkansas | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| California | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Colorado | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Connecticut | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Delaware | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| District of Columbia | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Florida | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Georgia | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Hawaii | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Idaho | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Illinois | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Indiana | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Iowa | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Kansas | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Kentucky | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Louisiana | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Maine | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Maryland | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Massachusetts | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Michigan | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Minnesota | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Mississippi | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Missouri | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Montana | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Nebraska | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Nevada | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| New Hampshire | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| New Jersey | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| New Mexico | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| New York | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| North Carolina | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| North Dakota | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Ohio | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Oklahoma | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Oregon | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Pennsylvania | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Rhode Island | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| South Carolina | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| South Dakota | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Tennessee | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Texas | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Utah | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Vermont | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Virginia | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Washington | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| West Virginia | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Wisconsin | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Wyoming | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
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The seat: Principal Master. Every company performing plumbing or gas fitting work must register with the Board before bidding or performing work and must have a Principal Master designee actively and continuously connected with the business; at least one active employee must be a certified master plumber/gas fitter registered as the principal (Board, 'How Do I Become Licensed?'). Journeyman and apprentice employees must also be certified/registered with the Board.
Statewide Board certification; no separate city/county journeyman licensing system was identified on the Board's pages.
Run the owner gate for your situation →
Rules as published by Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board and the statutes it administers, checked October 22, 2026. Board: https://pgfb.alabama.gov
