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How to become a plumber in Arizona

The Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) licenses plumbing businesses in Arizona. Whether you need a license of your own depends on the city or county where you work.

See your steps Find an apprenticeship

Your license

I'll work in

To work as a plumber, the City of Phoenix Planning & Development Department issues the Journeyman (Plumbing) license.

Exam
Journeyman examination, $100
License
$50
Renewal
Every 3 years, for $40
Go to the Phoenix office

To run a business, the business needs its own license. What the business needs

Each city or county sets its own rules.

Your steps

  1. Step 1, Start here

    Start as an apprentice

    An apprenticeship is a paid job with training. You work for an employer and you learn the trade on the job. Arizona has 18 registered plumber apprenticeship programs. The median starting wage is $21.41 an hour.

    The programs with the most active apprentices

    See all 18 programs

  2. Step 2,

    Find the office that licenses plumbers where you will work

    Only some cities and counties license plumbers, and each one sets its own rules. Ask the building department in the city or county where you will work.

  3. Step 3,

    Check what that license requires

    Each office sets the experience you need and the exam you must pass.

    Journeyman (Plumbing)

    The City of Phoenix Planning & Development Department issues the Journeyman (Plumbing) license.

    You need at least 4 years of experience related to the exam you ask for. You prove the experience with a United Association journeyman union card or a notarized statement on company letterhead.

    The Journeyman (Plumbing) license costs $50.

    You must pass the Journeyman examination. The exam costs $100.

    You renew the Journeyman (Plumbing) license every 3 years. The renewal costs $40.

  4. Step 4,

    Apply to that office

    Apply to the office that issues the license, and pay its fees when you apply.

To run a plumbing business

These are the licenses for running a plumbing business.

C-37 Plumbing

Exam
$127
Fee
$100

The qualifying party needs 4 years of practical or management experience in the trade, and at least 2 of the 4 years must be in the last 10 years. The qualifying party is the person who qualifies for the license on behalf of the business. Accredited technical training can count for up to 2 of the 4 years. The Arizona Registrar of Contractors waives the experience documents for a qualifying party who has held the same classification in Arizona before.

The application fee is $100. The C-37 Plumbing license costs $480.

You must pass the AZ Statutes and Rules Training Course and Exam (SRE), plus the trade examination for this classification. The exam costs $127.

You renew the C-37 Plumbing license every 2 years. The renewal costs $480.

The $127 covers 2 exams: $61 for the statutes and rules exam and $66 for the trade exam. You pay the testing companies and not the Arizona Registrar of Contractors.

CR-37 Plumbing

Exam
$127
Fee
$100

The qualifying party needs 4 years of practical or management experience in the trade, and at least 2 of the 4 years must be in the last 10 years. The qualifying party is the person who qualifies for the license on behalf of the business. Accredited technical training can count for up to 2 of the 4 years. The Arizona Registrar of Contractors waives the experience documents for a qualifying party who has held the same classification in Arizona before.

The application fee is $100. The CR-37 Plumbing license costs $380.

You must pass the AZ Statutes and Rules Training Course and Exam (SRE), plus the trade examination for this classification. The exam costs $127.

You renew the CR-37 Plumbing license every 2 years. The renewal costs $650.

The $127 covers 2 exams: $61 for the statutes and rules exam and $66 for the trade exam. You pay the testing companies and not the Arizona Registrar of Contractors.

Take the exam

LicenseExam
C-37 PlumbingAZ Statutes and Rules Training Course and Exam (SRE), plus the trade examination for this classificationGmetrix gives the statutes and rules exam, and PSI gives the trade exam.
CR-37 PlumbingAZ Statutes and Rules Training Course and Exam (SRE), plus the trade examination for this classificationGmetrix gives the statutes and rules exam, and PSI gives the trade exam.
Journeyman (Plumbing)Journeyman examinationArizona Sheet Metal JATC in Phoenix gives the exam to union and non-union members. P.I.P.E. in Tempe gives the exam to union members only.

You take the exam for the license you apply for.

What plumbers earn in Arizona

$29.84an hour

$62,070 a year, full time

Half of the plumbers on a payroll in Arizona earn more than $29.84 an hour, and half earn less. The federal wage survey puts the yearly figure at $62,070.

These figures cover everyone on a payroll as a plumber in Arizona, from apprentices to people with decades in the trade, so they aren't a starting wage. The survey counts 11,810 jobs. The figures don't include self-employed plumbers.

The yearly figure is for full-time work all year, which is 2,080 hours.

Use a license from another state

If you hold a license from another state, ask the office that issues the license where you will work whether it recognizes your license.

These states recognize a license from Arizona.

Arizona licenseRecognized by
C-37 Plumbing licenseCalifornia

Questions

Can you become a plumber with no experience?

Yes. You can start as an apprentice and learn the trade on the job.

Arizona plumber apprenticeships

How much do most plumbers earn in Arizona?

Half of the plumbers on a payroll in Arizona earn between $23.84 and $38.27 an hour. These figures don't include overtime pay.

Can a plumber earn $100,000 a year in Arizona?

Yes. The highest-paid 10% of plumbers on a payroll in Arizona earn more than $100,120 a year before overtime.

Contact the licensing office

Arizona Registrar of Contractorsroc.az.gov/license-classifications

Words to know

Apprentice
Someone who learns the trade on the job, working under a licensed worker.
Journeyman
The license level after apprentice. Some states write journeyperson, journeyworker or journey level.
JATC
A Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, an apprenticeship program run together by a union and contractors.
Reciprocity
An agreement that lets you use a license from one state to get a license in another.
PSI
A company that runs licensing exams for state and city offices.
Notarized
Signed in front of a notary public, who checks your ID and stamps the form.
Median
The middle figure. Half of the workers earn more, and half earn less.

Sources

13
  1. Arizona State Legislature, A.R.S. § 32-1122(E)(1)
  2. Arizona Registrar of Contractors, plumber licensing, the licensing office and license names
  3. Arizona State Legislature, A.R.S. § 32-1151
  4. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  5. Arizona State Legislature, A.R.S. § 32-1101.01
  6. Arizona Registrar of Contractors, plumber licenses, exam
  7. Arizona Registrar of Contractors, plumber licenses, exam and fees
  8. Arizona State Legislature, A.R.S. § 32-1123.01(B)
  9. Contractors State License Board, C-37 Plumbing, licenses from other states
  10. City of Phoenix Planning & Development Department, Journeyman (Plumbing), fees
  11. City of Phoenix Planning & Development Department, Journeyman (Plumbing), experience, exam and renewal
  12. City of Phoenix Planning & Development Department, Journeyman (Plumbing), exam and fees
  13. U.S. Department of Labor national apprenticeship data, extract of August 17, 2026

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