Requirements, license levels, and the issuing authority, sourced from Illinois's official board.
The six-year apprentice ceiling is the fact to plan around, and it is unusual: most states let an apprenticeship run indefinitely. In Illinois an apprentice who has not passed the examination by year six loses the apprentice license itself, so the examination date should be booked well before the deadline rather than when it feels comfortable. Note also that Chicago applicants pay the out-of-state examination fee of $225.
| Requirements | ILLINOIS LICENSES PLUMBERS AT STATE LEVEL, and unusually it is the Department of PUBLIC HEALTH that does it rather than a construction or professional-regulation agency, plumbing is regulated here as a public health matter, which is why the program sits in Environmental Health Protection. APPRENTICE PLUMBER. At least 16 years old, a completed Apprentice Plumber's License Application, and proof of SPONSORSHIP by an Illinois licensed plumber or by an approved apprenticeship program. Application fee $100. The apprenticeship has a hard ceiling: after a MAXIMUM OF SIX YEARS, an apprentice who has not applied for the licensing examination, or who has failed it, is no longer eligible to renew the apprentice license. The clock is real and it runs out. LICENSED PLUMBER. Employment as a LICENSED APPRENTICE for a minimum of four years, in practice a 48 to 72 month window, which is the same six-year ceiling seen from the other side, plus at least two years of high school or the equivalent AND completion of an approved course of instruction through a college, university or trade school. Then pass the state licensing examination. EXAMINATION. The application must be filed 30 DAYS BEFORE the examination date. The fee is $175 for in-state applicants and $225 for Chicago and out-of-state applicants. A retake requires the retake form and a further $175. PLUMBING CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION is separate from the individual license and is filed with the same program. |
| Reciprocity | IDPH publishes no standing plumbing reciprocity list, and the higher examination fee charged to out-of-state applicants indicates they are expected to sit the Illinois examination rather than be exempted from it. Confirm current policy with the Plumbing Program before applying. |
| Renewal | Licenses are renewed by 30 APRIL following the date of issuance, through the department's online renewal page. As a condition of EVERY renewal AFTER THE FIRST, a licensed plumber must show completion of FOUR hours of continuing education; no continuing education is required for the year in which the license was first issued. |
| Notes | The six-year apprentice ceiling is the fact to plan around, and it is unusual: most states let an apprenticeship run indefinitely. In Illinois an apprentice who has not passed the examination by year six loses the apprentice license itself, so the examination date should be booked well before the deadline rather than when it feels comfortable. Note also that Chicago applicants pay the out-of-state examination fee of $225. |
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Sources: dph.illinois.gov, dph.illinois.gov, www.ilga.gov, idfpr.illinois.gov. Always confirm current requirements with the issuing authority.
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