State ladder: apprentice → journeyman → master
New Hampshire Mechanical Safety and Licensing Board, Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC) — RSA 153:27-38; rules at Saf-Mec 300-500 (cited as Mec 300-500) runs plumbing licensing in New Hampshire. Below: the exact ladder, the transfer doors into New Hampshire 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. Journeyman/master eligibility, hours, education and exam pass marks are confirmed in the current text of Saf-Mec 305.01 (current through Register No. 26, June 26, 2025) on 2026-10-22, and the renewal structure in Saf-Mec 403.01. Current license/exam fee amounts are set in Plc 1002.25, which was not fetched in this batch, so all fee fields are null; the lapse figures in the lapse section come from Board guidance as reported by the Board's exam/CE providers and should be re-checked against Plc/Mec rules before publication.
| The ladder | New Hampshire |
|---|---|
| Journeyman credential | Journeyman Plumber |
| Total hours required | 8,000 |
| Classroom hours | 600 |
| Apprentice registration | Required — hours count only while registered |
| Exam | Board-approved examination providers (Prov and NH Gasfitters are the providers named in Board application materials) — Journeyman pass mark is 70%; the master pass mark is higher — 75% (Mec 305.01(a)(4) vs (b)(4)(c)). Exam fee is set by the chosen provider / Plc 1002.25 and was not confirmed on a primary page in this batch, so fee is null. |
| License fee | Not published |
| Renewal | Every 2 years — individual licenses expire on the last day of the licensee's birth month; business entity licenses expire every 2 years on January 31 |
| Continuing education | 3 hours of code-update continuing education per year (6 hours per 2-year renewal cycle) |
| Master credential | Master Plumber |
Registration, in the board’s terms: Plumbing apprentices are licensed/registered with the Board and must remain enrolled in the educational program (proof of continued enrollment is required at renewal, Saf-Mec 403.01). The standard journeyman route requires an apprenticeship completion certificate issued by the U.S. Department of Labor or by the sponsoring plumber who sponsored the apprenticeship, plus the 600 hours of education and 8,000 on-the-job hours in Saf-Mec 305.01(b). NOTE: older guides citing 6,000 hours / 3 years are stale against the current rule.
Master Plumber: Hold a New Hampshire journeyman plumber license for at least 6 months, be a journeyman without consumer complaints resulting in disciplinary sanctions within the past year, and pass the master plumber examination with at least 75% of questions correct (Mec 305.01(a)). No additional hour total beyond the 6 months as a NH journeyman is imposed by the rule — the common claim of years of extra journeyman time is wrong for New Hampshire.
Master exam fee not confirmed on a primary source in this batch (see partialNote).
Board guidance for mechanical licensing: there is a 30-day grace period on late fees after expiration (the license is still expired and mechanical/plumbing work may not be performed until renewed); after the grace period a late fee of $25 per month accrues. Missing renewal by 365 days triggers re-examination.
Reinstatement: Less than 1 year expired: renew with the renewal fee, accrued late fees ($25/month after the 30-day grace period) and proof of the required code-update courses; a $350 reinstatement fee applies on the reinstatement path described in Board guidance.
Past the line: Expired 365 days or more: the licensee must take and pass the licensing examination again (plus code-update courses) to get the license back — treat the license as restart-by-exam, not a paperwork renewal.
New Hampshire endorses journeyman licenses from: none. New Hampshire's rule (Mec 305.01(b)(4)) gives out-of-state journeymen a defined route — prove prior journeyman licensure in any other state or jurisdiction, then take and pass the NH journeyman examination at 70%. It is not exam-free endorsement from any named state, so accepts lists no states. New Hampshire's general OPLC reciprocity for 'substantially similar' licenses does not waive the plumbing examination requirement in the Mec rules.
| Licensed in | Door into New Hampshire | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 → |
| Iowa | 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 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 | No endorsement — exam route | 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 / licensed Business Entity. Plumbing businesses operate under a Board business-entity license (business entity licenses renew every 2 years on January 31, and the entity's work is performed under a licensed master plumber); a journeyman may work independently as an individual but cannot sponsor apprentices or run the contracting business — that requires the master license and the entity license.
Plumbing licensing sits inside New Hampshire's combined mechanical licensing scheme (RSA 153:27-38) alongside fuel gas fitting — the same board, renewal and CE machinery covers master/journeyman plumbers, fuel gas fitters, trainees and plumbing apprentices. The state plumbing code is administered under chapter 1 of the state plumbing code as referenced throughout Mec 305.
Run the owner gate for your situation →
Rules as published by New Hampshire Mechanical Safety and Licensing Board, Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC) — RSA 153:27-38; rules at Saf-Mec 300-500 (cited as Mec 300-500) and the statutes it administers, checked October 22, 2026. Board: https://www.oplc.nh.gov/
