Requirements, license levels, and the issuing authority, sourced from Montana's official board.
Montana licenses individual plumbers statewide through the Board of Plumbers, so the journeyman credential is not municipal. The board issues only Plumber Journeyman, Plumber Master and the Medical Gas Endorsement; contracting is handled separately through the Department's Construction Contractor Registration.
| Requirements | Journeyman Plumber (37-69-304, MCA; ARM 24.180.504) requires one of three routes: written affirmation from a licensed master plumber or plumbing contractor verifying a minimum of 7,500 aggregate hours of plumbing experience over not less than five years, which may be met by five years in a major phase of the plumbing business verified by time or pay records, by a department- or US DOL-approved apprenticeship, or partly by approved trade school time; an apprenticeship completion certificate from US DOL or a recognized state apprenticeship agency; or an approved engineering or engineering technology degree, or documented steam fitting, hydronics and industrial piping practice, credited up to a maximum of two of the five years. After approval the applicant must pass the board's written examination and, if required, a practical examination, at 70 percent or better. Applicants must submit license verification from every jurisdiction where they hold or have held a professional license. Application fee $270; temporary work permit $100. |
| Reciprocity | Montana has journeyman-only reciprocal agreements with Oregon, Idaho, North Dakota and South Dakota, requiring an active license in good standing (ARM 24.180.603). Where the other state does not require a practical examination at 70 percent or better, the applicant must pass the Montana practical exam. Separately, under ARM 24.180.604, out-of-state applicants may submit license verification; where the original state's qualifications fall short of Montana's, credit is given for the years that state required and the applicant must document the difference, then sit all required examinations. |
| Renewal | Annual. All Board of Plumbers licenses expire September 1, with renewal opening 60 days prior. Continuing education is 4 board-approved, code-related hours per renewal cycle (ARM 24.180.2102). |
| Notes | Montana licenses individual plumbers statewide through the Board of Plumbers, so the journeyman credential is not municipal. The board issues only Plumber Journeyman, Plumber Master and the Medical Gas Endorsement; contracting is handled separately through the Department's Construction Contractor Registration. |
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Sources: boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov, boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov, boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov. Always confirm current requirements with the issuing authority.
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