To work as a plumber in Illinois, you need your own license from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). The license belongs to you and not to your employer.
Dates if you start in Nov 2026 and work 40 hours a week.
First: start as an apprentice.
Dates are estimates, worked out from the hours on the job each license requires and the hours a week you pick.
Steps for: New to the trade. The dates follow your ladder. Change where you are, your start month or your hours a week at the top of the page.
Step 1, Start here
An apprenticeship is a paid job with training. You work for an employer and you learn the trade on the job. Illinois has 36 registered plumber apprenticeship programs. The median wage is $19.90 an hour at the start and $52.80 an hour at the end.
The programs with the most active apprentices
Step 2,
Apply to IDPH for the Apprentice Plumber license.
The Apprentice Plumber license costs $100.
You renew the Apprentice Plumber license every year.
Apprentice Plumber“Be at least 16 years of age.”
Step 3,
To qualify for the Licensed Plumber license, you need 5,600 hours on the job and 2,800 classroom hours.
Step 4,
Apply to IDPH for the Licensed Plumber license. You must pass an exam. IDPH gives the exam.
The Licensed Plumber license requires 5,600 hours on the job. You also need 2,800 classroom hours.
The Licensed Plumber license costs $150.
You must pass an exam. IDPH gives the exam. The exam costs $175.
You renew the Licensed Plumber license every year. You need 4 hours of continuing education for each renewal.
After your first renewal, you need 4 hours of continuing education each year.
Licensed Plumber“Applicants must have been employed as a licensed apprentice plumber for a minimum of 4 years, and have successfully completed at least 2 years of high school or equivalent in addition to completing an approved course instruction through a college, university or trade school.”
Step 5,
You renew the Licensed Plumber license every year.
Step 1, Start here
For the Licensed Plumber license, you need 5,600 hours on the job and 2,800 classroom hours.
Step 2,
Apply to IDPH for the Licensed Plumber license. You must pass an exam. IDPH gives the exam.
This is the license for running a plumbing business.
The Plumbing Contractor Registration costs $150.
You renew the Plumbing Contractor Registration every year.
Plumbing Contractor Registration“At least one member of every firm, association or partnership engaged in plumbing work, and at least one corporate officer of every corporation engaged in plumbing work, as the case may be, shall be a licensed plumber.”
$48.05an hour
$99,950 a year, full time
Half of the plumbers on a payroll in Illinois earn more than $48.05 an hour, and half earn less. The federal wage survey puts the yearly figure at $99,950.
These figures cover everyone on a payroll as a plumber in Illinois, from apprentices to people with decades in the trade, so they aren't a starting wage. The survey counts 16,750 jobs. The figures don't include self-employed plumbers.
The yearly figure is for full-time work all year, which is 2,080 hours.
If you hold a license from another state, ask IDPH whether it recognizes your license.
Yes. You can start as an apprentice and learn the trade on the job.
Half of the plumbers on a payroll in Illinois earn between $34.65 and $57.72 an hour. These figures don't include overtime pay.
Yes. The highest-paid 10% of plumbers on a payroll in Illinois earn more than $126,430 a year before overtime.
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Alerts for: Plumber in Illinois
