Get plumbing leads in the US

Guide last checked September 14, 2026.

• Alabama

  The plumbing and gas fitters board tells homeowners to check whether licensing is required by their city, county and state, and then to check that the contractor actually holds those licences. It also says to verify the company is insured against workers' compensation, property damage and personal liability claims, to get written bids from several contractors, and to be cautious about paying for work or materials before the job begins.

  Sources: Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board – Hiring a plumbing or gas fitting contractor

• Alaska

  Plumbing, gas and fuel piping work is inspected against the Uniform Plumbing Code, and with limited exceptions a certificate of fitness is required to do work subject to the state's plumbing, electrical safety and high voltage standards. Certificates are issued as separate credentials for electrical and plumbing, so check that the one you are shown matches the trade.

  Sources: Alaska Mechanical Inspection – Plumbing and electrical · Alaska Mechanical Inspection – Forms and certificate of fitness applications

• Arizona

  Plumbing, electrical and other trade work is carried out under the specialty contracting classifications rather than a separate trade board, so the check is the same one: confirm the firm holds a licence and that its classification covers the specialised work. If the work is done badly, a written complaint to the Registrar can lead to a citation, though the Registrar must normally give the contractor a chance to inspect the work within fifteen days of written notice first.

  Sources: Arizona Revised Statutes 32-1102 – Classification of licences · Arizona Revised Statutes 32-1155 – Filing and resolution of a complaint

• Arkansas

  Plumbing is not with the labor department in Arkansas: plumbers, gas fitters and plumbing inspectors are licensed by the Department of Health, which also administers the Arkansas Plumbing and Fuel Gas Codes as the minimum standards for installation, alteration and repair. Licences are renewed annually, so check the current year.

  Sources: Arkansas Department of Health – Plumbing and Natural Gas

• Colorado

  Plumbers are licensed by the State Plumbing Board on the same pattern, and the same rule applies: anyone other than the homeowner who is not a registered plumbing contractor may not install a plumbing project on your property. Active plumbers must complete continuing education every year of their licence period.

  Sources: Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations – State Plumbing Board · Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations – Electrical and plumbing permits

• Connecticut

  Plumbing and heating, piping and cooling are separately licensed trades in Connecticut, each with its own state licence. Ask which licence your plumber or heating contractor holds and check it on eLicense, because the home improvement registration you were shown is a different credential.

  Sources: CT Department of Consumer Protection – What other licence or registration does my contractor need · CT Department of Consumer Protection – Verify a licence

• Delaware

  A person may not provide plumbing services in Delaware, or hold themselves out as a licensed master plumber, without the licence — though the statute exempts apprentices, journeymen and mechanics working under a master plumber's supervision, and a homeowner doing plumbing other than gas piping in their own home where a permit has been filed.

  Sources: Delaware Title 24 chapter 18 subchapter II – Plumbing and HVACR licences

• District of Columbia

  Plumbing follows the same ladder — apprentice, journeyman, master and plumber contractor, with combined plumber and gasfitter certifications at each level. The Homeowner's Center is explicit that plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits require licensed and bonded master trade professionals and cannot be applied for by the homeowner.

  Sources: DC DLCP – Occupational and professional licence categories · DC Department of Buildings – Homeowner's Center

• Hawaii

  The same split applies to plumbing: plumbing contractors must employ licensed plumbers to do the actual plumbing work. Licences renew on a three-year cycle, and a licence not renewed by its expiration date is no longer valid, so check the expiry date and not just the number.

  Sources: Hawaii Board of Electricians and Plumbers

• Idaho

  Plumbing work needs a certificate of competency, with exceptions the statute lists — including an owner or contract purchaser doing plumbing work in their own single or duplex dwelling, who must still meet the minimum plumbing standards and rules. A holder of a current HVAC licence may install gas piping and piping for hydronic systems.

  Sources: Idaho Code 54-2602 – Plumbing exceptions

• Illinois

  Plumbing is licensed at state level: the plumber must hold an Illinois licence, and a plumbing contractor working for others must also register with the state and pay an annual fee.

  Sources: Illinois Department of Public Health – Plumbing licensing

• Indiana

  A plumber working in Indiana holds a state licence from the Plumbing Commission, so ask for the licence number and check it with the commission rather than with the building code agency. The commission publishes the statutes and administrative rules it works from on its own page if you need to look up a requirement.

  Sources: Indiana Professional Licensing Agency – Plumbing

• Iowa

  A business providing plumbing, mechanical, HVAC, refrigeration, sheet metal or hydronic services must hold a licence from the Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board, and files a joint application for the licence and the three-year contractor registration rather than registering separately. A volunteer may work on an owner's principal residence without a licence, but local permit and inspection rules still apply.

  Sources: Iowa DIAL – Plumbing and mechanical systems licensure · Iowa DIAL – Contractor registration

• Kansas

  Topeka requires the designated master or journeyman behind a trade contractor licence to complete continuing education every year, with part of it earned in their own trade. Ask whose master or journeyman credential the company's licence is held under, because that is the person whose qualification is actually being checked.

  Sources: Topeka – Contractor information

• Kentucky

  All plumbing work other than work a homeowner does under their own permit must be installed by a licensed journeyman plumber under the supervision of a licensed master plumber. Plumbing permits are issued to licensed master plumbers, or to homeowners for plumbing in their own personal residence, so ask which of those applies to your job.

  Sources: Kentucky Division of Plumbing

• Louisiana

  Plumbing is licensed separately from contracting, by the State Plumbing Board of Louisiana, which also licenses natural gas fitters and medical gas installers and verifiers. Check the plumber on the board's free public roster before work starts; a contractor licence from the contractors board is not a plumbing licence.

  Sources: State Plumbing Board of Louisiana

• Maine

  Plumbers are licensed as master, journeyman, journeyman-in-training or trainee, and the trainee and journeyman-in-training grades work under direct supervision. A limited licence covers only a specific type of plumbing equipment or installation, so ask what the licence actually allows.

  Sources: Maine Plumbers' Examining Board

• Maryland

  A plumber or gas fitter needs the right category of state licence to work in Maryland, but there are two large exceptions: Baltimore County and the areas served by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, covering Prince George's and Montgomery Counties, run their own licences and their own plumbing codes. If you live in one of those, check with the county rather than the state board.

  Sources: Maryland Board of Plumbing

• Massachusetts

  No one may work as a master or journeyman plumber, or as a gas fitter, unless lawfully registered or licensed by the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters.

  Sources: Massachusetts General Laws c.142 §3 – Plumbers and gas fitters must be licensed

• Michigan

  Plumbers are registered as apprentices and licensed as journey or master plumbers, and firms hold plumbing contractor licences, all through the same bureau. A journey plumber licence takes at least three years and thousands of hours of supervised installation work as a registered apprentice, plus both a written and a hands-on practical examination. Ask which grade of licence the person doing your work actually holds.

  Sources: Michigan LARA – Plumbing examination, licensing and registration information

• Minnesota

  Any business contracting to provide plumbing services must hold a plumbing contractor licence, backed by a surety bond and liability insurance. HVAC work carries a separate mechanical contractor bond requirement rather than the plumbing licence, so ask which credential a company doing both actually holds.

  Sources: Minnesota DLI – Plumbing and mechanical contractors

• Missouri

  Plumbing is not on the state's list of licensing boards, so plumbers are certified locally. Springfield issues trade certifications for the plumbing, gas and mechanical industries, and St. Louis takes a separate plumbing permit application alongside the building permit. Ask for the local certification, not a state one.

  Sources: Springfield – Building Development Services · St. Louis – Apply for a building permit

• Montana

  Plumbers and medical gas endorsees are licensed by the Board of Plumbers, which will answer scope-of-practice questions about what a particular licence permits. Montana works to the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code as amended by its administrative rules.

  Sources: Montana Board of Plumbers · Montana Building Codes Program – Current codes

• Nebraska

  Plumbing credentials are checked at city level. In Lincoln, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits may only be issued to a licensed contractor or to a homeowner working on their own primary residence, so ask which city licence your plumber holds before the permit is applied for.

  Sources: Lincoln – Homeowner building permits

• Nevada

  Nevada's exemptions are narrow. Repair or maintenance work below a value the statute sets is exempt only while no building permit is required and the other statutory conditions are met, and splitting a job up does not help. An owner building or improving a home for their own occupancy, not for sale or lease, may qualify but has to apply for the exemption.

  Sources: Nevada State Contractors Board – Handyman exemptions (NRS 624.031)

• New Hampshire

  Plumbing is licensed through the Mechanical Licensing Board at journeyman and master level, not through a separate plumbers' board — the old plumbing chapters in the statutes were repealed. Ask which licence the plumber holds and who issued it.

  Sources: NH RSA 153:27-a – Mechanical Licensing Board · NH RSA chapter 153 – Contents, including mechanical licensing

• New Mexico

  A plumbing or mechanical permit is required in Albuquerque to install or alter bathroom or kitchen piping, to install equipment or ductwork, to install or alter a house sewer or water service outside the structure, and to install a water heater. The city states that the ductwork, equipment and water heater work may only be completed by a licensed contractor.

  Sources: Albuquerque – Building Safety Division permits

• North Carolina

  Plumbing, heating and fuel piping contractors are licensed by their own state board, in separate classes for plumbing and for each heating group. Each place of business of a licensed firm must have at least one listed qualified individual on active duty to supervise and direct all licensed work.

  Sources: NC Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors – Applicant information

• North Dakota

  Plumbing, sewer and water, water conditioning and backflow testing are separate licence types from the State Plumbing Board. Ask which one your contractor holds — a water conditioning installer's licence is not a plumber's licence.

  Sources: North Dakota State Plumbing Board

• Ohio

  Plumbing and hydronics are two of the five trades the state board licenses, and they share one of the board's four sections. For residential plumbing the rule is set locally, so ask your building or health department whether it requires the state commercial licence for work on a house.

  Sources: Ohio Department of Commerce – Construction Industry Licensing Board · Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board

• Oklahoma

  Plumbing is licensed under the Plumbing License Law of 1955 and the plumbing industry regulations, on the same apprentice, journeyman and contractor ladder. The board must be listed as a certificate holder on the contractor's insurance, and failing to keep insurance current makes the licence inactive, so a lapsed policy is also a lapsed licence.

  Sources: Oklahoma Construction Industries Board – Plumbing

• Oregon

  Plumbing follows the same two-licence rule — a CCB licence plus the Building Codes Division plumbing contractor's licence. If a plumber turns out to be unlicensed, the Division takes complaints about unlicensed work through its enforcement staff.

  Sources: Oregon Building Codes Division – Getting licensed work

• Pennsylvania

  Philadelphia issues plumbing licences at apprentice, journeyman and master level, and a plumber must hold the city licence to work there. A firm that only works on existing one- or two-family homes and does no electrical, plumbing, fire suppression or complete demolition work does not need the Philadelphia contractor licence, but it must register with the state as a home improvement contractor instead.

  Sources: Philadelphia – Get a contractor licence · Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections – Trade licences

• Rhode Island

  Plumbers, irrigators and water system installers are licensed under their own chapter, with master, journeyperson and apprentice grades and an examining board. Ask which grade your plumber holds, and remember that an apprentice works under supervision.

  Sources: RI General Laws chapter 5-20 – Plumbers, irrigators and water system installers

• South Carolina

  Residential plumber and HVAC installer and repairer are also licensed specialty trades under the Residential Builders Commission. Larger mechanical work falls to the Contractor's Licensing Board instead, so on a bigger job confirm which of the two boards licensed the firm.

  Sources: South Carolina Residential Builders Commission · South Carolina Contractor's Licensing Board

• South Dakota

  Plumbing licences are split by the kind of work. The Plumbing Commission licenses plumbers separately from sewer and water installers, appliance installers, manufactured and mobile home installers, underground irrigation installers, water conditioning installers and on-site wastewater system installers. Ask which category covers your job.

  Sources: South Dakota Plumbing Commission

• Tennessee

  The Limited Licensed Plumber works the same way: it covers work under a per-project value the Board sets, and applies where the municipality uses the Division of Fire Prevention for permits or inspections. General maintenance work below a small value the Board sets is exempt from the licence entirely.

  Sources: Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors – Limited Licensed Plumber

• Texas

  Plumbing is not a TDLR programme: plumbers are licensed by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, which tells consumers to always hire a licensed plumber. Check the plumber's licence with that board, not with TDLR.

  Sources: Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners

• Utah

  A plumbing contractor licence must have a master plumber as its qualifier, on the same pattern as electrical. Plumber candidates must send a verification of plumbing experience form directly to the exam provider when they register for the licensing exam.

  Sources: Utah DOPL – General contractor licence requirements · Utah DOPL – Plumbing licensing

• Vermont

  All plumbing and specialty work performed in Vermont must be done by someone licensed under the plumbing chapter, apart from its listed exemptions. A specialist licence covers only its field — water heaters, hydronic heating or water treatment — so check that it matches your job.

  Sources: Vermont 26 V.S.A. chapter 39 – Plumbers and plumbing

• Washington

  Only L&I-certified plumbers can legally perform plumbing work on someone else's property. Property owners may do their own plumbing work on property they own.

  Sources: Washington L&I – Plumbing

• West Virginia

  Plumbing has been certified separately since January 1, 2009: no plumber may perform or offer to perform plumbing work in West Virginia without a plumber certification from the Division of Labor. Certification comes in three levels — master plumber, journeyman plumber and plumber in training — and a plumber in training is not competent to work alone.

  Sources: West Virginia Division of Labor – Plumber certification

• Wisconsin

  State statute says no person may engage in or work at plumbing in Wisconsin unless licensed to do so by the department. A licensed Master Plumber who is responsible for an installation or modification must use appropriately credentialed people to carry it out, so ask whose master plumber licence the job sits under.

  Sources: Wisconsin DSPS – Master Plumber

• Wyoming

  Plumbing and mechanical contractors are licensed by the city too. Casper issues plumbing, mechanical and individual contractor licences, and the same department that issues the licence issues the permit and does the inspection, so it is one conversation rather than two.

  Sources: Casper – Contractor licensing · Casper – Permit requirements

• Roofing leads
• HVAC leads
• Electrician leads
• General contractor leads
• Kitchen renovation leads
• Bathroom renovation leads
• Basement renovation leads
• Basement waterproofing leads
• Window and door leads
• Flooring leads
• Concrete leads
• Painting leads
• Carpentry leads
• Landscaping leads
• Pool leads
• Insulation leads
• Handyman leads
• House cleaning leads
• Appliance repair leads
• Home security leads
• Moving leads