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United States · Licensing exam

North Carolina plumbing license requirements

North Carolina's board licenses plumbing contractors and plumbing technicians. The North Carolina plumbing license requirements for a plumbing contractor are 4,000 hours of hands-on experience, up to half of it from approved schooling, then an open-book exam with PSI.

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Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

What are the North Carolina plumbing license requirements?

Education counts only if it's part of a certificate, diploma or degree program at a college or technical school and related to the license. Each approved semester hour is worth 66.66 hours of experience.

LicenseExperience needed
Plumbing contractor, Class I or Class II4,000 hours (2 years), up to half from approved education
Plumbing technician, Class I3,000 hours (18 months)
Plumbing technician, Class II2,500 hours (15 months)
Restricted limited plumbing contractor1,500 hours (9 months), up to 750 from training
Plumbing contractor licenses in other states →

Applying

  1. Order a nationwide criminal background report from Disahealthcare and print it.
  2. Fill in the application and an experience form for each qualification, signed by the licensees who supervised you.
  3. Mail it with $150 per exam, by check or money order. The fee isn't refundable, and processing can take 4-6 weeks.
  4. Once approved, book with PSI and test within 90 days.

The exam is open book

You bring your own copies of the books on the board's reference list. For plumbing that means the 2018 North Carolina codes, the board's laws and rules, and a business and project management book. Only permanently attached commercial tabs are allowed. Pencils, scratch paper and calculators are provided.

The 2024 state codes aren't used yet. On June 1, 2026 the board said they can't take effect before May 1, 2027 at the earliest, and until then exams stay on the 2018 codes.

Exams run daily in Asheville, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Fayetteville, Greenville and Wilmington, and you get your result before you leave. After a fail you wait 90 days and send a re-examination application.

After you pass

Send the license activation form and fee within 45 days, or you have to test again. Licenses expire at the end of December each year.

Renewal rules →
Sources: NC Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors · NC Board and 3 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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