Contractor-license state (no state journeyman license)
State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors runs plumbing licensing in North Carolina. Below: the exact ladder, the transfer doors into North Carolina 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.
Contractor-license state (no state journeyman license) Primary sources Checked October 22, 2026
| The ladder | North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Journeyman credential | Plumbing Technician (worker credential — North Carolina has no journeyman or master title) |
| Total hours required | 3,000 |
| Classroom hours | not published |
| Apprentice registration | No state registration system |
| Exam | Board examinations at seven North Carolina testing centers (scheduling through the Board's exam provider after approval) — Contractor applicants must pass both the business-and-law part and the technical part; the exam must be taken within 90 days of the Board's eligibility notice, and a passing applicant must submit the License Activation Form and fee within 45 days of passing or retest (Board, accessed 2026-10-22). Current fee amounts were not printed on the Board pages fetched, so fee is null. |
| License fee | Not published |
| Renewal | Every 1 year — all Board licenses expire December 31 |
| Continuing education | No mandatory continuing education amount is stated in the Board's applicant/renewal material checked 2026-10-22 |
| Master credential | Plumbing Contractor, Class I (P-I) / Class II (P-II) — there is no master license |
Registration, in the board’s terms: North Carolina does not license journeymen or master plumbers and does not register apprentices. The worker-level state credential is the Plumbing Technician license, for technicians employed by licensed contractors or firms: Class I requires 18 months / 3,000 hours of on-site full-time experience in installation, maintenance, service or repair of plumbing systems; Class II requires 15 months / 2,500 hours (Board applicant information, accessed 2026-10-22). hoursTotal records the Class I figure. Unlicensed helpers may work under a licensed contractor, but only licensees may contract.
Plumbing Contractor, Class I (P-I) / Class II (P-II) — there is no master license: 2 years / 4,000 hours of on-site full-time experience in the installation, maintenance, service or repair of plumbing systems, whether or not a license was required for the work; up to one-half (2,000 hours, equal to 45 quarter hours or 30 semester hours) may be academic or technical training directly related to plumbing (Board applicant information, accessed 2026-10-22). P-I covers plumbing in all building types; P-II is limited to single-family detached dwellings. A separate Restricted Limited Plumbing Contractor license requires 9 months / 1,500 hours. Passing both the technical and business-and-law examinations is required.
G.S. 87-22 caps the annual plumbing/heating license fee at $150 (a cap, not the charged fee), so no exact license or exam fee is recorded here.
All licenses expire December 31 each year. An expired license may be renewed for up to 3 years after expiration on payment of back fees and late fees; the January late-renewal increase is $25 under G.S. 87-22 (Board FAQ and renewal page, accessed 2026-10-22).
Reinstatement: Renewable up to 3 years after expiration with back fees and late fees paid (Board FAQ, accessed 2026-10-22).
Past the line: If a license remains expired for more than 3 years it cannot be renewed; the licensee must take and pass the required examinations again to reinstate (Board FAQ, accessed 2026-10-22).
North Carolina endorses journeyman licenses from: none. The Board states there are no license reciprocity agreements with any other state and everyone must meet North Carolina's requirements and pass the applicable examinations (Board applicant information, accessed 2026-10-22). Two contractor-level exceptions, not journeyman/technician endorsement: a Technical Examination Waiver Agreement with South Carolina for plumbing and HVAC contractors (the North Carolina business-law exam is still required), and the Neighbor State License Recognition Act for current North Carolina permanent residents holding licenses in GA, SC, TN, VA or WV.
| Licensed in | Door into North Carolina | |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Alaska | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Arizona | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Arkansas | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| California | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Colorado | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Connecticut | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Delaware | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| District of Columbia | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Florida | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Georgia | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Hawaii | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Idaho | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Illinois | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Indiana | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Iowa | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Kansas | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Kentucky | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Louisiana | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Maine | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Maryland | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Massachusetts | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Michigan | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Minnesota | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Mississippi | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Missouri | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Montana | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Nebraska | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Nevada | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| New Hampshire | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| New Jersey | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| New Mexico | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| New York | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| North Dakota | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Ohio | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Oklahoma | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Oregon | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Pennsylvania | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Rhode Island | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| South Carolina | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| South Dakota | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Tennessee | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Texas | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Utah | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Vermont | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Virginia | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Washington | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| West Virginia | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Wisconsin | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Wyoming | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
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The seat: Licensee qualifier for the firm. Contracting may only be done under a Board licensee who qualifies the firm. Board FAQ (accessed 2026-10-22): if the firm's license holder is unable to perform the duties of a licensee for any reason — illness, injury, death, termination, resignation, active military duty — all contracting activity, including quoting, bidding, contracting, obtaining permits and performing work in progress, must cease until another licensee is put in place as the firm's qualifier.
State Board licensing controls plumbing contracting statewide; cities and counties issue permits and inspections but the contractor/technician credential itself is the state Board's.
Run the owner gate for your situation →
Rules as published by State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors and the statutes it administers, checked October 22, 2026. Board: https://nclicensing.org/applicant-information/
