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How to become a plumber in Louisiana

To work as a plumber in Louisiana, you need your own license from the State Plumbing Board of Louisiana (SPBLA). The license belongs to you and not to your employer.

See your steps Find an apprenticeship

Your ladder

Dates if you start in Nov 2026 and work 40 hours a week.

  1. Apprentice RegistrationStart here
  2. Journeyman Plumber7,000 hours on the job
  3. Master PlumberRun your own business

First: start as an apprentice.

Find an apprenticeship

Dates are estimates, worked out from the hours on the job each license requires and the hours a week you pick.

Your steps

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.

  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. Louisiana has 18 registered plumber apprenticeship programs. The median wage is $17.00 an hour at the start and $22.00 an hour at the end.

    The programs with the most active apprentices

    See all 18 programs

  2. Step 2,

    Get your Apprentice Registration

    Apply to SPBLA for the Apprentice Registration.

    What this license lets you do: “You may do both plumbing and natural gas work, but only under the direct, constant, on-the-job supervision of a licensed plumber or gas fitter.”

    How to apply: “Mail or bring the notarized Apprentice Registration Application with a $20 check or money order to the board; walk-ins get same-day processing.”

    The application fee is $10. The Apprentice Registration costs $10.

    You renew the Apprentice Registration every year. The renewal costs $20. You don't need continuing education to renew.

    The $10 is SPBLA's processing charge. With the $10 registration fee, you pay $20 in all.

    The official wording of the requirement
    Apprentice Registration“You register with the board, work for a company that employs a licensed master plumber, and do all your work under the direct, on-the-job supervision of a licensed journeyman or master. If you are enrolled in an apprenticeship program approved by Louisiana Works (the state apprenticeship office, which the board’s pages still call the Louisiana Workforce Commission) you register as indentured; otherwise you register as unindentured.”

  3. Step 3,

    Complete 7,000 hours on the job

    To qualify for the Journeyman Plumber license, you need 7,000 hours on the job.

  4. Step 4,

    Apply for your Journeyman Plumber license

    Apply to SPBLA for the Journeyman Plumber license. You must pass the Journeyman Plumber examination. SPBLA gives the exam.

    Hours on the job
    7,000
    Exam
    $125
    Fee
    $10

    The Journeyman Plumber license requires 7,000 hours on the job.

    What this license lets you do: “You can install, repair and maintain new and existing plumbing systems, working for a company that employs a master plumber and under a master plumber's supervision. A journeyman may supervise apprentices.”

    How to apply: “Send the notarized Journeyman Plumber Application, with payroll records or W-2s for your hours and a $135 check or money order, to the board at least 30 days before an exam date.”

    About the exam: “The Journeyman Plumber exam consists of one (1) part, 80 questions, 3-hour written exam and a 1-hour practical (hands-on) portion.”

    The application fee is $10. The Journeyman Plumber license costs $50.

    You must pass the Journeyman Plumber examination. The exam costs $125.

    You renew the Journeyman Plumber license every year. The renewal costs $50. You need 3.5 hours of continuing education for each renewal.

    The 7,000 hours are for an apprentice in a program approved by Louisiana Works. If you aren't in an approved program, you need 8,000 hours. A new state law sets 2,500 hours once plumbing licensing moves to LSLBC.

    The $10 is the processing charge you pay with the exam application, on top of the $125 exam fee.

    The $50 is SPBLA's $40 license fee plus its $10 processing charge.

    The official wording of the requirement
    Journeyman Plumber“You need a current apprentice registration and 7,000 hours of plumbing work as an indentured apprentice (enrolled in an apprenticeship program approved by Louisiana Works), or 8,000 hours as an unindentured apprentice, under the direct, constant supervision of a licensed journeyman or master. You prove the hours with official payroll records or W-2s. A plumbing license from another state can also qualify you for the exam if it took at least 8,000 hours to earn.”

  5. Step 5,

    Renew your license

    You renew the Journeyman Plumber license every year.

Other plumber licenses

Residential Plumber Limited

Hours on the job
3,000
Exam
$125
Fee
$10

The Residential Plumber Limited license requires 3,000 hours on the job.

What this license lets you do: “You can work independently on plumbing in one- and two-family homes, at the direction of and employed by a licensed master plumber, without a journeyman supervising you. You may not do journeyman work.”

About the exam: “The Residential exam consists of a one (1) part, 80 question, 3-hour written exam and a 1-hour, 3 part practical (hands-on) portion.”

The application fee is $10. The Residential Plumber Limited license costs $40.

You must pass the Residential Plumber Limited examination. The exam costs $125.

You renew the Residential Plumber Limited license every year. You need 3.5 hours of continuing education for each renewal.

The 3,000 hours are for an apprentice in a program approved by Louisiana Works. If you aren't in an approved program, you need 4,000 hours.

The $10 is the processing charge you pay with the exam application.

The $40 is SPBLA's $30 license fee plus its $10 processing charge.

Plumbing licenses will move from SPBLA to LSLBC under a new state law. That law ends the Residential Plumber Limited license.

The official wording of the requirement
Residential Plumber Limited“You need a current apprentice registration and 3,000 hours of plumbing work as an indentured apprentice (enrolled in an apprenticeship program approved by Louisiana Works), or 4,000 hours as an unindentured apprentice, working for a licensed master plumber's company. You prove the hours with official payroll records or W-2s; an employer's letter is not accepted.”

To run a plumbing business

These are the licenses for running a plumbing business.

Master Plumber

Exam
$100
Fee
$10

What this license lets you do: “You can lay out, install, repair and maintain plumbing systems and employ registered apprentices and licensed journeymen. Each plumbing company names one responsible active master, who keeps the company's insurance on file with the board. You may work as a journeyman only if you hold or have held a journeyman license.”

How to apply: “Send the notarized Master Plumber Application, with a copy of your journeyman (or engineering) license and a $110 check or money order, to the board at least 30 days before an exam date.”

About the exam: “Three written parts: Part I, 3 hours and 80 questions on the 2021 International Plumbing Code and International Residential Code; Part II, 2 hours and 25 questions on the Louisiana Sanitary Code, Part XIII (sewage disposal); Part III, 2 hours and 40 questions on business, law and project management.”

The application fee is $10. The Master Plumber license costs $190.

You must pass the Master Plumber examination. The exam costs $100.

The renewal for the Master Plumber license depends on who holds it.

Every year
$190For Active master plumbers. You need 5 hours of continuing education for each renewal.
Every year
$40For Inactive master plumbers not working in the trade, who file the CPE exemption form. You don't need continuing education to renew.
Every year
$40For Inactive master plumbers working as journeymen under a master company. You need 3.5 hours of continuing education for each renewal.

The $10 is the processing charge you pay with the exam application, on top of the $100 exam fee.

The $190 is for an active license: SPBLA's $180 license fee plus its $10 processing charge. An inactive license costs $40.

Plumbing licenses will move from SPBLA to LSLBC under a new state law. That law adds time you must work as a licensed journeyman plumber before this license.

The official wording of the requirement
Master Plumber“You need a current Louisiana journeyman plumber license. A Louisiana-licensed professional engineer with five years of plumbing experience can also sit the exam.”

Plumbing (major classification 7)

LSLBC issues the Plumbing (major classification 7) license.

What this license lets you do: “Your company needs this classification to bid or do plumbing work worth $10,000 or more, counting labor and materials, in addition to its master plumber.”

You must pass the Louisiana Business and Law course exam. The exam costs $150.

Ask LSLBC what the Plumbing (major classification 7) license costs.

The renewal for the Plumbing (major classification 7) license depends on who holds it.

Every year
For any license holder. You don't need continuing education to renew.
Every 2 years
For any license holder. You don't need continuing education to renew.
Every 3 years
For any license holder. You don't need continuing education to renew.

The $150 is LSLBC's price for its Business and Law course, which ends in the exam. LSLBC also charges a $150 exam waiver fee, because a master plumber doesn't take a trade exam.

The official wording of the requirement
Plumbing (major classification 7)“The classification is a "credential" classification: the qualifying party holds a State Plumbing Board master plumber license, which exempts them from LSLBC's trade exam. They complete LSLBC's online Business and Law course, and the company files a financial statement showing a net worth of at least $50,000.”

Take the exam

LicenseExam
Residential Plumber LimitedResidential Plumber Limited examinationSPBLA gives the exam.
Journeyman PlumberJourneyman Plumber examinationSPBLA gives the exam.
Master PlumberMaster Plumber examinationSPBLA gives the exam.
Plumbing (major classification 7)Louisiana Business and Law course examLSLBC gives the exam.

You take the exam for the license you apply for.

What plumbers earn in Louisiana

$30.62an hour

$63,680 a year, full time

Half of the plumbers on a payroll in Louisiana earn more than $30.62 an hour, and half earn less. The federal wage survey puts the yearly figure at $63,680.

These figures cover everyone on a payroll as a plumber in Louisiana, from apprentices to people with decades in the trade, so they aren't a starting wage. The survey counts 8,360 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 one of the states listed for a license, you may be able to use your license to qualify in Louisiana.

Louisiana licenseRecognized from
Journeyman Plumber licenseArkansas and Texas

SPBLA doesn't recognize a license from another state for the Master Plumber license.

If you have held a Texas or Arkansas journeyman plumber license for at least 2 years, you can get the Louisiana Journeyman Plumber license without the exam. You also get a natural gas fitter license. The 2 licenses cost $100 in all.

Questions

Can you become a plumber with no experience?

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

Louisiana plumber apprenticeships

How much do most plumbers earn in Louisiana?

Half of the plumbers on a payroll in Louisiana earn between $24.40 and $35.99 an hour. These figures don't include overtime pay.

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

The highest-paid 10% of plumbers on a payroll in Louisiana earn more than $79,540 a year before overtime, so most plumbers earn less than $100,000 a year from regular hours.

Can you take the classroom hours online?

LSLBC says this about the Plumbing (major classification 7) license: "Business and Law is an online, (1) hour course, with an Exam on the course’s contents at its conclusion."

Contact the licensing office

State Plumbing Board of Louisianaspbla.com/licenses
Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractorslslbc.gov/exams-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.
Master
A higher license level, for a worker with more years in the trade. It often lets you supervise others.
Continuing education
Classes you take to keep your license.
Reciprocity
An agreement that lets you use a license from one state to get a license in another.
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

21
  1. State Plumbing Board of Louisiana, plumber licenses, experience, exam, fees, renewal and licenses from other states
  2. State Plumbing Board of Louisiana, plumber licensing, the licensing office
  3. Louisiana State Legislature, La. R.S. 37:1361(A), "State Plumbing Board; appointments; qualifications; legislative intent; authority"
  4. Louisiana State Legislature, La. R.S. 37:1367(A)(2), "License required; residential, journeyman, and master plumber; ..."
  5. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  6. Louisiana State Legislature, La. R.S. 37:1377(C)(1), "Definitions; exceptions"
  7. State Plumbing Board of Louisiana, Apprentice Registration, fees
  8. Louisiana State Legislature, La. R.S. 37:1368(A)(1), "Issuance of residential, journeyman, and master plumber's license; ..."
  9. State Plumbing Board of Louisiana, Residential Plumber Limited, exam and fees
  10. Louisiana Division of Administration, La. Admin. Code tit. 46, pt. LV, §310.B, "Renewals"
  11. State Plumbing Board of Louisiana, Journeyman Plumber, exam and fees
  12. State Plumbing Board of Louisiana, Master Plumber, fees
  13. Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, Plumbing (major classification 7), experience
  14. Louisiana State Legislature, La. R.S. 37:2156.1(A), "Requirements for issuance of a license"
  15. Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, Plumbing (major classification 7), exam, fees and online classes
  16. Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, Plumbing (major classification 7), renewal
  17. State Plumbing Board of Louisiana, plumber licensing
  18. State Plumbing Board of Louisiana, plumber licensing (second page)
  19. Louisiana State Legislature, La. R.S. 37:1380(A)-(B), "Insurance requirements for master plumbers and master natural gas fitters"
  20. Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, plumber licensing
  21. U.S. Department of Labor national apprenticeship data, extract of August 17, 2026

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