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How to become a plumber in Massachusetts

To work as a plumber in Massachusetts, you need your own license from the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters. 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.

You
Apprentice PlumberStart here · $14, no exam
Journeyman Plumber6,800 hours on the job
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. Massachusetts has 53 registered plumber apprenticeship programs. At Plumbers Local 12 in Boston, the median starting wage is $21.62 an hour.
The programs with the most active apprentices
See all 53 programs
Step 2,
Get your Apprentice Plumber license
Apply to the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters for the Apprentice Plumber license.
You don't need hours on the job to qualify for the Apprentice Plumber license.
How to apply: “Apprentice Plumber License Applications must be completed online. Applications mailed to the board will be returned.”
The application fee is $14.
You don't need to take an exam for the Apprentice Plumber license.
You renew the Apprentice Plumber license every 2 years. The renewal costs $40. You don't need continuing education to renew.
The $14 fee is one charge. The Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters calls it the application fee, and the Massachusetts fee rule calls it the certificate fee.
The official wording of the requirement
Apprentice Plumber“A person may be employed as an apprentice plumber by a master plumber only. ... To complete an application, enter all required information and upload the following documents: Statement of Employing Master Form Notarized CORI Authorization Form 2x2 Passport-Style Photo”
Step 3,
Complete 6,800 hours on the job
To qualify for the Journeyman Plumber license, you need 6,800 hours on the job and 550 classroom hours.
Step 4,
Apply for your Journeyman Plumber license
Apply to the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters for the Journeyman Plumber license. You must pass the exam named "Journeyman Plumber". PSI Services LLC gives the exam.
Hours on the job
6,800
Exam
$80
Fee
$31
The Journeyman Plumber license requires 6,800 hours on the job. You also need 550 classroom hours.
What this license lets you do: “a person who himself does any work in plumbing and gas fitting, subject to inspection under any law, rule or regulation. ... Any person so licensed as a master plumber or a journeyman plumber may carry on the work of a gas fitter throughout the commonwealth”
How to apply: “Journeyman Plumber License Applications must be completed online. Applications mailed to the board will be returned.”
About the exam: “Examinations are CLOSED BOOK, computer generated and two parts. ... JOURNEYMAN PLUMBER (PART I - WRITTEN): 80 questions, 70% required to pass, 160 minutes. ... JOURNEYMAN PLUMBER (PART II - PRACTICAL): 40 questions, 70% required to pass, 160 minutes.”
The application fee is $31. The Journeyman Plumber license costs $52.
You must pass the exam named "Journeyman Plumber". The exam costs $80.
You renew the Journeyman Plumber license every 2 years. The renewal costs $52. You need 12 hours of continuing education for each renewal.
The official wording of the requirement
Journeyman Plumber“An applicant who is a licensed apprentice plumber in accordance with M.G.L. c. 142, § 3A shall be required to fill out a Board approved application and complete the following education and experience criteria to be eligible for admission to the journeyman plumber examination: 1. Experience. The applicant shall furnish documentary proof satisfactory to the Board of having completed practical work experience that totals no less than 6,800 clock hours as a licensed apprentice ... 2. Education. a. The applicant shall furnish documentary proof of having received a high school diploma or the equivalent; and b. The applicant shall furnish documentary proof of having successfully completed 550 clock hours of plumbing and gas fitting theory”
Step 5,
Renew your license
You renew the Journeyman Plumber license every 2 years.

To run a plumbing business

These are the licenses for running a plumbing business.

Master Plumber

Hours on the job: 1,700
Exam: $80
Fee: $31

The Master Plumber license requires 1,700 hours on the job. You also need 110 classroom hours.

What this license lets you do: “a plumber having a regular place of business and who, by himself or journeyman plumbers in his employ, performs plumbing and gas fitting work, subject to inspection and in compliance with any law, rule, or regulation pertaining to same. ... Each holder of a master plumber's or a master gas fitter's certificate or license shall register his name and business address with said inspector of buildings if he has such control, otherwise with the board of health, in the town wherein he desires to engage in business as a master plumber or a master gas fitter.”

How to apply: “Master Plumber License Applications must be completed online. Applications mailed to the board will be returned.”

About the exam: “Examinations are CLOSED BOOK, computer generated and two parts. ... MASTER PLUMBER (PART I - WRITTEN): 80 questions, 70% required to pass, 160 minutes. ... MASTER PLUMBER (PART II - PRACTICAL): 40 questions, 70% required to pass, 160 minutes.”

The application fee is $31. The Master Plumber license costs $78.

You must pass the exam named "Master Plumber". The exam costs $80.

You renew the Master Plumber license every 2 years. The renewal costs $78. You need 12 hours of continuing education for each renewal.

The official wording of the requirement

Master Plumber“The applicant shall furnish documentation satisfactory to the Board demonstrating completion of no less than one year practical experience totaling a minimum of 1,700 clock hours of experience as the holder of a Commonwealth of Massachusetts journeyman plumber license ... The applicant shall furnish documentation satisfactory to the Board of having completed the 110 hour tier five of the five tier Plumber Educational Program as approved by the Board and described in 248 CMR 11.06. Individuals who completed this education as an apprentice shall not be required to complete any additional education.”

Plumbing business license

How to apply: “To complete a business application through the eLIPSE portal, submit the following:”

The Plumbing business license costs $225.

You renew the Plumbing business license every 2 years. The renewal costs $225.

The official wording of the requirement

Plumbing business license“A person duly licensed in the commonwealth as a master plumber or as a master gas fitter may apply to the examiners for a certificate of a plumbing corporation ... provided, that all partners in a plumbing partnership are master plumbers”

Take the exam

License	Exam
Journeyman Plumber	Journeyman PlumberPSI Services LLC gives the exam.
Master Plumber	Master PlumberPSI Services LLC gives the exam.

You take the exam for the license you apply for.

What plumbers earn in Massachusetts

$45.14an hour

$93,880 a year, full time

Half of the plumbers on a payroll in Massachusetts earn more than $45.14 an hour, and half earn less. The federal wage survey puts the yearly figure at $93,880.

These figures cover everyone on a payroll as a plumber in Massachusetts, from apprentices to people with decades in the trade, so they aren't a starting wage. The survey counts 13,460 jobs. The figures don't include self-employed plumbers.

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

Median$25.01Lowest 10%$29.74Lowest 25%$52.13Highest 25%$64.94Highest 10%

Use a license from another state

If you're licensed in another state, you can ask for the same license in Massachusetts. Apply to the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters. Send your application and the fee. Also send papers about your state's rules for getting and keeping the license. The papers must show those rules are close to the Massachusetts rules. If Massachusetts has no reciprocity agreement with your state, you must also pass the exam for the license.

If you hold a license from another state, ask the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters whether it recognizes your license.

Questions

Can you become a plumber with no experience?

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

Massachusetts plumber apprenticeships

How much do most plumbers earn in Massachusetts?

Half of the plumbers on a payroll in Massachusetts earn between $29.74 and $52.13 an hour. These figures don't include overtime pay.

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

Yes. The highest-paid 10% of plumbers on a payroll in Massachusetts earn more than $135,080 a year before overtime.

Contact the licensing office

Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fittersmass.gov/orgs/board-of-state-examiners-of-plumbers-and-gas-fitters

Check a licenseLook up a license

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.
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

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