State ladder: apprentice → journeyman → master
State Board of Examiners of Master Plumbers (Division of Consumer Affairs) runs plumbing licensing in New Jersey. Below: the exact ladder, the transfer doors into New Jersey 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. Core ladder confirmed on the Board FAQ (accessed 2026-10-22). Not confirmed on a primary source: journeyman registration fee, PSI exam fees for the master exam, and any lapse/reinstatement window for an expired master license — those fields are null rather than filled from secondary guides.
| The ladder | New Jersey |
|---|---|
| Journeyman credential | Journeyman Plumber (registration, not a license) |
| Total hours required | not published |
| Classroom hours | not published |
| Apprentice registration | Required — hours count only while registered |
| Exam | No journeyman examination — There is no journeyman exam in New Jersey; examination begins at the master level. Journeyman registration fee was not stated on the Board FAQ checked 2026-10-22, so no fee is recorded here. |
| License fee | Not published |
| Renewal | Every Not a license; renewal cycle for the registration was not stated on the Board FAQ checked 2026-10-22 |
| Continuing education | No CE requirement stated for journeyman registration on the Board FAQ checked 2026-10-22; the 5-credit biennial CE duty applies to licensed master plumbers |
| Master credential | Licensed Master Plumber |
Registration, in the board’s terms: New Jersey licenses only the Master Plumber. Apprentice and journeyman are registration steps, not licenses. Apprenticeship must be a U.S. Department of Labor-approved program sponsored by the employer; the Board accepts no other apprenticeship. Journeyman status follows the 4-year apprenticeship (or an accredited bachelor's in mechanical, plumbing or sanitary engineering).
Licensed Master Plumber: Age 21 or older plus either (1) a completed 4-year U.S. Department of Labor-approved apprenticeship including propane-services education, followed by 1 year as a journeyman in New Jersey of at least 1,200 hours, or (2) an accredited bachelor's in mechanical, plumbing or sanitary engineering including propane-services education, followed by the same 1 year / 1,200-hour journeyman period (Board FAQ, accessed 2026-10-22). Application fee $100 (Board FAQ). $3,000 surety bond under N.J.S.A. 45:14C-26 after passing. Initial license fee $160 if paid in the first year of the biennial period, $80 in the second year (N.J.A.C. 13:32-5.1 fee schedule). License expires biennially on June 30 of odd-numbered years; renewal $160 with 5 credits of Board-approved continuing education per biennial period.
Three-part master examination (trade, practical, business and law). The per-part PSI exam fees were not stated on a primary source checked 2026-10-22, so examFee is null; secondary guides list separate part fees that conflict and were not used.
Master licenses expire June 30 of odd-numbered years (Board FAQ). A reinstatement window for an expired master license was not stated on the primary sources checked 2026-10-22.
Reinstatement: Not confirmed on a primary source checked 2026-10-22 — do not rely on secondary-guide lapse claims for New Jersey.
Past the line: Not confirmed on a primary source checked 2026-10-22.
New Jersey endorses journeyman licenses from: none. Applies at the master level, not journeyman. Board FAQ (accessed 2026-10-22): an out-of-state licensee may apply through reciprocity only if that state's standards are equal to or comparable to New Jersey's under N.J.A.C. 45:14C-19 and that state reciprocates with New Jersey. The Board maintains a list of previously reviewed states; no state is recorded as accepted here because the reviewed-states list itself was not fetched from a primary page in this pass.
| Licensed in | Door into New Jersey | |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| 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 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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One payment. Yours to keep. The checkers above stay free either way.
The seat: Bona fide representative — Licensed Master Plumber. A plumbing contracting business must register a bona fide representative: a licensed master plumber holding not less than 10% of the business (N.J.S.A. 45:14C-2 and Board FAQ, accessed 2026-10-22). Plumbing may only be performed by a master plumber, an authorized plumbing contractor, or W-2 employees working under a master plumber's supervision.
Insurance minimum: $3,000 surety bond required of the licensed master plumber (N.J.S.A. 45:14C-26); no state general-liability minimum was stated on the primary sources checked 2026-10-22
Licensing is statewide through the Board; municipalities issue permits but do not issue a separate local plumber license in the state system described on the Board FAQ checked 2026-10-22.
Run the owner gate for your situation →
Rules as published by State Board of Examiners of Master Plumbers (Division of Consumer Affairs) and the statutes it administers, checked October 22, 2026. Board: https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/plu/Pages/FAQ.aspx
