State ladder: apprentice → journeyman → master
Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board, Department of Inspections, Appeals & Licensing (DIAL) runs plumbing licensing in Iowa. Below: the exact ladder, the transfer doors into Iowa 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 Checked in part Checked October 22, 2026
Checked in part. Fees, renewal/lapse ladder, CE, and the South Dakota reciprocity form are from DIAL primary pages, and the ladder from Iowa Code 105.18. Two items could not be fully confirmed on primary pages retrieved 2026-10-22: the bond/insurance minimums for the PMSB contractor license (not stated on the DIAL pages retrieved, so insuranceMin is null), and the 2-year journeyperson-experience element of the master requirement, which appears in board minimum-requirements guidance while the Code section itself requires only prior journeyperson/master licensure.
| The ladder | Iowa |
|---|---|
| Journeyman credential | Journeyperson Plumber |
| Total hours required | not published |
| Classroom hours | not published |
| Apprentice registration | Required — hours count only while registered |
| Exam | Kirkwood Community College (examination administrator for the Board) · $35 — The $35 figure is DIAL's exam approval application fee, charged per exam application for the July 1, 2026–June 30, 2029 licensing period; the examination itself is administered through Kirkwood Community College. |
| License fee | $180 |
| Renewal | Every 3 years (all licenses expire June 30 of the third year; new-license fees are prorated within the period) |
| Continuing education | 8 hours per individual license per 3-year period (14 hours for holders of multiple mechanical licenses) |
| Master credential | Master Plumber |
Registration, in the board’s terms: Apprentice license required ($50 per 3-year period): the apprentice must be enrolled in an apprenticeship program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship and work under a licensed journeyperson or master (Iowa Code 105.18).
Master Plumber: Have previously been a licensed journeyperson or master in the plumbing discipline and pass the state master licensing examination (Iowa Code 105.18(1)(c)). Board minimum requirements also call for 2 years of experience as a journeyperson; that duration does not appear in the Code section itself. Master license fee $240 per 3-year period (DIAL).
Exam approval application $35 per exam (DIAL fee schedule, 2026–2029 period).
Master exam fee: $35
DIAL publishes a graduated late-renewal ladder; a license expired more than 1 year must be formally reinstated.
Reinstatement: Grace period: renew by July 31 with no late fee and keep working. August: $60 late fee, may keep working. September 1–June 30: $100 late fee, may NOT work. Expired more than 1 year: reinstatement requires continuing-education units for each missed licensing period (DIAL's table runs to 9–12 years out = 4 periods) or retaking the examination, plus the full license fee with no proration.
Past the line: No outer reinstatement deadline is published — DIAL's own reinstatement table covers licenses expired up to 9–12 years, handled by CEUs for the missed periods or by re-examination rather than by repeating the apprenticeship.
Iowa endorses journeyman licenses from: South Dakota. Iowa Code 105.21 authorises licensure without examination where the other state has similar requirements and grants Iowans the same privilege. The only reciprocity application form DIAL publishes is for South Dakota: an SD journeyperson or master license obtained by written examination, plus a certificate of good standing. Iowa's only actual reciprocity partner is South Dakota.
| Licensed in | Door into Iowa | |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Alaska | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Arizona | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Arkansas | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| California | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Colorado | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Connecticut | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Delaware | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| District of Columbia | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Florida | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Georgia | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Hawaii | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Idaho | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Illinois | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Indiana | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Kansas | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Kentucky | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Louisiana | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Maine | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Maryland | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Massachusetts | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Michigan | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Minnesota | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Mississippi | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Missouri | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Montana | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Nebraska | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Nevada | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| New Hampshire | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| New Jersey | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| New Mexico | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| New York | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| North Carolina | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| North Dakota | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Ohio | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Oklahoma | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Oregon | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Pennsylvania | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Rhode Island | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| South Carolina | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| South Dakota | Endorsement available | Run the pair → |
| Tennessee | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Texas | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Utah | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Vermont | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Virginia | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Washington | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| West Virginia | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Wisconsin | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Wyoming | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
Included in the $49 PlumberLicenseCheck Kit
One payment. Yours to keep. The checkers above stay free either way.
The seat: Master Plumber, with a separate PMSB Contractor license for the business. Operating a plumbing business requires a separate Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board contractor license ($400 per 3-year period: $250 license + $150 registration) in addition to the individual apprentice/journeyperson/master licenses, plus contractor registration with Iowa Workforce Development. Bond/insurance minimums for the contractor license were not stated on the DIAL pages retrieved.
Run the owner gate for your situation →
Rules as published by Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board, Department of Inspections, Appeals & Licensing (DIAL) and the statutes it administers, checked October 22, 2026. Board: https://dial.iowa.gov/licenses/building/plumbing-mechanical/plumbing-licensure/licensing-period-fees
