State ladder: apprentice → journeyman → master

Connecticut plumber license: requirements, reciprocity & renewal

Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection — Plumbing and Piping Work Examining Board runs plumbing licensing in Connecticut. Below: the exact ladder, the transfer doors into Connecticut 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 ladderConnecticut
Journeyman credentialP-2 Unlimited Journeyperson Plumber
Total hours required8,000
Classroom hours576
Apprentice registrationRequired — hours count only while registered
ExamState examination vendor (DCP: separate fees are due to the exam vendor at exam registration) — DCP does not publish the vendor's exam fee on the licensing pages reviewed; the DCP application fee for a journeyperson license is $90 — the fee is not returned by the Department. License fee field below is that DCP application fee.
License fee$90
RenewalEvery 1 year — all plumbing and pipefitting licenses expire annually on October 31
Continuing education5 credit hours every two years (unlimited journeyperson), per DCP Plumber Continuing Education page
Master credentialP-1 Unlimited Plumbing Contractor (Connecticut has no 'master plumber' title)

How you qualify in Connecticut

Registration, in the board’s terms: The standard route is completion of a registered apprenticeship program (Connecticut Department of Labor Apprenticeship Division). DCP requires proof of BOTH the on-the-job hours and the classroom hours; classroom hours must match the Exhibit A curriculum, and work experience will not be accepted in lieu of the classroom requirement (DCP, Equivalent Experience and Training).

Run my Connecticut numbers in the eligibility checker

The master license in Connecticut

P-1 Unlimited Plumbing Contractor (Connecticut has no 'master plumber' title): Two years as an unlimited licensed journeyperson (P-2) or equivalent experience and training, and passage of the P-1 contractor examination (DCP, Plumbing Licenses and Scope of Work). For the equivalent out-of-state contractor route, DCP's chart requires 12,000 OJT hours (8,000 plus two years / 4,000) and 576 classroom hours.

DCP application fee for a contractor license is $150 — the fee is not returned by the Department; contractor renewal fee is $150 (journeyperson renewal $120). Only individuals can apply — company applications are not accepted (DCP licensing page).

Renewal & lapse in Connecticut

All plumbing and pipefitting licenses expire annually on October 31 (renewal: contractor $150, journeyperson $120). DCP publishes reapplication information for lapsed licenses, but no fixed reinstatement window in months was stated on the DCP pages reviewed on 2026-10-22.

Reinstatement: Reapplication information is published by DCP; the exact post-expiry reinstatement period was not stated on the primary pages reviewed in this pass.

Past the line: Not stated on the primary pages reviewed in this pass.

Expired? Run the renewal checker with your month count →

Plumbing license reciprocity into Connecticut

Connecticut endorses journeyman licenses from: none. DCP states verbatim: 'Connecticut does not have reciprocal agreements with any other jurisdiction.' An out-of-state licensee may still apply through the equivalent out-of-state license route, which requires proof the home license required the same classroom hours, curriculum, and OJT hours as the Connecticut license sought — a case-by-case equivalency review, not reciprocity.

Licensed inDoor into Connecticut
AlabamaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
AlaskaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
ArizonaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
ArkansasEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
CaliforniaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
ColoradoEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
DelawareEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
District of ColumbiaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
FloridaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
GeorgiaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
HawaiiEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
IdahoEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
IllinoisEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
IndianaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
IowaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
KansasEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
KentuckyEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
LouisianaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
MaineEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
MarylandEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
MassachusettsEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
MichiganEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
MinnesotaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
MississippiEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
MissouriEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
MontanaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
NebraskaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
NevadaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
New HampshireEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
New JerseyEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
New MexicoEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
New YorkEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
North CarolinaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
North DakotaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
OhioEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
OklahomaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
OregonEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
PennsylvaniaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
Rhode IslandEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
South CarolinaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
South DakotaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
TennesseeEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
TexasEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
UtahEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
VermontEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
VirginiaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
WashingtonEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
West VirginiaEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
WisconsinEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →
WyomingEndorsement by review — not guaranteedRun the pair →

Check your exact pair

Moving to Connecticut? The Kit builds your transfer packet

Included in the $49 PlumberLicenseCheck Kit

  • The verification-letter packet a destination board asks your home board for — written for you to send
  • The document checklist in filing order, so the application is not sent back for a missing record
  • Hour-documentation templates that match how boards audit experience claims

See what's inside the Kit

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Opening a plumbing company in Connecticut

The seat: P-1 Unlimited Plumbing Contractor (individual licensee). A P-2 journeyperson may do plumbing and piping work only while in the employ of a contractor licensed for such work (DCP scope of work). Contractor licenses are issued only to individuals — DCP does not accept company applications — so a plumbing business operates through an individually licensed P-1 contractor who has held the P-2 for more than two years.

Statewide DCP licensing; no separate city/county journeyman system replaces the P-2/P-1 ladder.

Run the owner gate for your situation →

Sources

Rules as published by Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection — Plumbing and Piping Work Examining Board and the statutes it administers, checked October 22, 2026. Board: https://portal.ct.gov/dcp/license-services-division/all-license-applications/plumbing-and-pipefitting-licensing