Requirements, license levels, and the issuing authority, sourced from District of Columbia's official board.
The District issues plumbing, gasfitting and combined plumbing/gasfitting credentials as three parallel tracks at every tier, so what a person may legally perform depends on which track they hold. As with electricians, the individual license and the Plumber Contractor business license are separate applications. DC is a single jurisdiction, so there is no state-versus-local split.
| Requirements | Apprentice requires no experience, only employment verification or school enrollment, and works only under the direct personal supervision of a licensed master. Journeyman by examination requires 4 years / 8,000 work hours plus tax records and an employment verification letter; proof of completion of a nationally certified apprenticeship waives the journeyman exam. Master by examination requires 8 years / 16,000 hours with the same documents. The exam is open book. The DC Code also recognizes a mechanical engineering degree plus at least 2 years of practical experience, or a certificate from a national certifying organization, as journeyman routes, and states the master route as a journeyman license plus 4 years worked as a journeyman; confirm which standard the board is applying before filing. |
| Reciprocity | Not specified on the official pages reviewed. The board's plumbing and gasfitting application instructions contain no reciprocity provision, unlike the electrician instructions, and the Board of Industrial Trades page names only electricians as reciprocity-eligible. |
| Renewal | Every 2 years. Regardless of when they were issued, all plumbing licenses expire March 31 of even-numbered years. No continuing education requirement is stated on the official pages reviewed. |
| Notes | The District issues plumbing, gasfitting and combined plumbing/gasfitting credentials as three parallel tracks at every tier, so what a person may legally perform depends on which track they hold. As with electricians, the individual license and the Plumber Contractor business license are separate applications. DC is a single jurisdiction, so there is no state-versus-local split. |
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Sources: dlcp.dc.gov, dlcp.dc.gov. Always confirm current requirements with the issuing authority.
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