Contractor-license state (no state journeyman license)
Contractors State License Board (CSLB) runs plumbing licensing in California. Below: the exact ladder, the transfer doors into California from all 50 states, the renewal and lapse lines, and the master-of-record rule for opening a company — every figure from the board's own publications, checked October 22, 2026.
Contractor-license state (no state journeyman license) Checked in part Checked October 22, 2026
Checked in part. The contractor-only model, the C-36 scope (16 CCR 832.36), and the four-year journey-level experience rule with up-to-three-years education credit were confirmed on cslb.ca.gov on 2026-10-22, and the $25,000 bond and <$1,000 minor-work exemption (AB 2622, eff. 2025-01-01) are the figures supplied from Board/statute sources for this batch. The current CSLB fee schedule amounts (application/initial/renewal) and the delinquent-renewal time limit were NOT re-fetched from the CSLB fee schedule page in this pass, so fee fields are null.
| The ladder | California |
|---|---|
| Journeyman credential | No state journeyman license |
| Total hours required | not published |
| Classroom hours | not published |
| Apprentice registration | No state registration system |
| Exam | Contractors State License Board (CSLB) — The qualifier must pass two CSLB examinations: Law and Business and the C-36 trade exam. Exam/application fee amounts are on the CSLB fee schedule, which was not re-fetched in this pass — see partialNote. |
| License fee | Not published |
| Renewal | Every 2 years (active); 4 years (inactive) |
| Continuing education | None published |
| Master credential | C-36 Plumbing Contractor — Qualifying Individual (Qualifier / RME / RMO) |
Registration, in the board’s terms: CSLB issues no journeyman or apprentice plumber license. 'Journeyman' in California is an experience level used to qualify a contractor applicant — a fully qualified, experienced worker able to perform the trade without supervision, or a person who has completed an apprenticeship program (CSLB, Qualifying Experience). Apprenticeship programs themselves run through the Division of Apprenticeship Standards and employers, not through a CSLB worker license.
C-36 Plumbing Contractor — Qualifying Individual (Qualifier / RME / RMO): Four years of journey-level experience in the last ten years (CSLB), passage of the Law and Business and C-36 trade examinations, fingerprinting/background check, and filing of a $25,000 contractor license bond (Bus. & Prof. Code 7071.6). Scope is 16 CCR 832.36.
A Responsible Managing Employee (RME) qualifier must work at least 32 hours per week (or 80% of the business's operating hours) for the licensee and may qualify only one active license at a time. Minor-work exemption: no license is required for work under $1,000 in combined labor and materials (AB 2622, effective January 1, 2025), provided no building permit is required and no employees are used.
Active licenses renew every two years and inactive licenses every four years. Delinquent (expired) renewal terms and the outer limit after which a license cannot be renewed were not re-confirmed on a primary CSLB page in this pass.
Reinstatement: Not confirmed on a primary source as of 2026-10-22 — see partialNote.
Past the line: Not confirmed on a primary source as of 2026-10-22.
California endorses journeyman licenses from: none. California has no reciprocal contractor license. Out-of-state journey-level experience may be documented and verified toward the four-year requirement on the Certification of Work Experience form (CSLB), but the qualifier must still qualify and examine in California, subject to any exam-waiver provisions for persons already qualifying a California license.
| Licensed in | Door into California | |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Alaska | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Arizona | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Arkansas | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Colorado | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Connecticut | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Delaware | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| District of Columbia | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Florida | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Georgia | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Hawaii | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Idaho | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Illinois | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Indiana | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Iowa | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Kansas | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Kentucky | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Louisiana | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Maine | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Maryland | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Massachusetts | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Michigan | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Minnesota | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Mississippi | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Missouri | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Montana | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Nebraska | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Nevada | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| New Hampshire | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| New Jersey | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| New Mexico | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| New York | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| North Carolina | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| North Dakota | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Ohio | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Oklahoma | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Oregon | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Pennsylvania | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Rhode Island | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| South Carolina | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| South Dakota | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Tennessee | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Texas | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Utah | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Vermont | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Virginia | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Washington | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| West Virginia | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Wisconsin | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
| Wyoming | No endorsement — experience credit toward the contractor route | Run the pair → |
Included in the $49 PlumberLicenseCheck Kit
One payment. Yours to keep. The checkers above stay free either way.
The seat: Qualifying Individual (RMO/RME). The C-36 license is held by the business entity or sole owner and must be qualified by an individual with the four years of journey-level experience who passes both exams. An RME qualifier must be a bona fide employee working at least 32 hours per week and may qualify only one active license at a time; an owner-qualifier (RMO) must hold the required ownership interest.
Statewide CSLB contractor licensing is the operative layer; cities/counties issue business licenses and permits but no local journeyman plumber license replaces the C-36.
Run the owner gate for your situation →
Rules as published by Contractors State License Board (CSLB) and the statutes it administers, checked October 22, 2026. Board: https://www.cslb.ca.gov/about_us/library/licensing_classifications/Licensing_Classifications_Detail.aspx?Class=C36
