Requirements, license levels, and the issuing authority, sourced from Louisiana's official board.
Work out which of the two boards applies before starting an application, the most common Louisiana mistake is applying to the contractors' board for what is an individual plumber license, or assuming the individual license permits contracting above the threshold. Frequently the answer is both.
| Requirements | LOUISIANA SPLITS THIS BETWEEN TWO BODIES, and both may apply to the same person. The STATE PLUMBING BOARD licenses the individual plumber. The LOUISIANA STATE LICENSING BOARD FOR CONTRACTORS licenses the contracting business above a monetary threshold. A self-employed plumber commonly needs both. APPRENTICE. Registered apprentices may engage in the art of plumbing ONLY when under the DIRECT, CONSTANT, ON-THE-JOB SUPERVISION of a licensed plumber. The board's wording is deliberately strict, 'direct, constant' rules out the loose supervision some states tolerate, and it is the standard an inspector applies. MASTER PLUMBER. An applicant for the master plumber examination must EITHER hold a current journeyman plumber license issued by the board, OR hold a current license from the State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors certifying them as a professional engineer. That second route is unusual and genuinely useful to engineers moving into contracting. The board's rules are published in Title 46 of the Louisiana Administrative Code, Professional and Occupational Standards. |
| Reciprocity | The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors publishes a reciprocity page covering CONTRACTOR licensing with other states. Individual plumber licensing runs through the State Plumbing Board separately, and an incoming plumber should apply to that board and confirm its current position rather than relying on the contractors' board arrangement. |
| Renewal | Individual plumber licenses renew with the State Plumbing Board on its published cycle; contractor licenses renew with the LSLBC on its own. Louisiana's contractor license is recognised in Georgia's and North Carolina's published electrical reciprocity arrangements, so the contractor credential travels reasonably well in the southeast. |
| Notes | Work out which of the two boards applies before starting an application, the most common Louisiana mistake is applying to the contractors' board for what is an individual plumber license, or assuming the individual license permits contracting above the threshold. Frequently the answer is both. |
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Sources: wwwcfprd.doa.louisiana.gov, wwwcfprd.doa.louisiana.gov, lslbc.louisiana.gov, www.lslbc.louisiana.gov. Always confirm current requirements with the issuing authority.
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