State ladder: apprentice → journeyman → master
Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Plumbing Program — Illinois Plumbing License Law, 225 ILCS 320; rules at 68 Ill. Adm. Code 750 runs plumbing licensing in Illinois. Below: the exact ladder, the transfer doors into Illinois 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.
State ladder: apprentice → journeyman → master Checked in part Checked October 22, 2026
Checked in part. The ladder, 5,600-hour figure, exam/license fees, and the 5-year reinstatement/restoration rules are from primary texts (68 Ill. Adm. Code 750 and 225 ILCS 320) retrieved 2026-10-22. The $20,000 bond is stated in 225 ILCS 320/13; the specific liability-insurance certificate minimums quoted by secondary sources for the IDPH contractor registration form ($100,000 general liability / $300,000 bodily injury / $50,000 property damage / $500,000 workers' compensation) were not re-verified line-by-line in the statute text retrieved, so insuranceMin carries only the statutory bond figure.
| The ladder | Illinois |
|---|---|
| Journeyman credential | Licensed Plumber (Illinois has no state journeyman or master title — the Licensed Plumber is the terminal individual license) |
| Total hours required | 5,600 |
| Classroom hours | not published |
| Apprentice registration | Required — hours count only while registered |
| Exam | Illinois Department of Public Health (state-administered examination) · $175 — Exam fee $175 for Illinois apprentice applicants; $225 for applicants registered or licensed in another state or in the City of Chicago (68 Ill. Adm. Code 750.1100). |
| License fee | $150 |
| Renewal | Every 1 year (licenses expire April 30 and are renewed for one year from May 1, with CE evidence) |
| Continuing education | 4 hours per year |
| Master credential | Plumbing Contractor Registration (no state Master Plumber title exists) |
Registration, in the board’s terms: Apprentices must be licensed (fee $100) and sponsored by an Illinois licensed plumber or a plumbing contractor employing one; minimum age 16. An apprentice has a maximum of 6 years to pass the plumber's examination or the apprentice license is void (68 Ill. Adm. Code 750.300, 750.1100).
Plumbing Contractor Registration (no state Master Plumber title exists): There is no master examination or master license in Illinois. A plumbing business instead registers as a plumbing contractor with IDPH under 225 ILCS 320/13 (see ownerGate).
Contractor registration fee $150 per year; the business must file insurance certificates and a $20,000 indemnification bond or letter of credit.
225 ILCS 320/14 splits lapsed licenses at 5 years: reinstatement before the line, restoration (with re-examination) after it.
Reinstatement: Expired less than 5 years: reinstatement on payment of all lapsed renewal fees plus a reinstatement fee ($100 per 68 Ill. Adm. Code 750.1100).
Past the line: Expired more than 5 years: restoration requires the restoration fee ($175, which includes the first examination fee) and passing the licensing examination again — the experience requirement does not have to be repeated.
Illinois endorses journeyman licenses from: none. Illinois has no statewide reciprocity for plumbers. A plumber licensed in another state (or in Chicago) may use that license to qualify to sit the Illinois examination — at the $225 exam-fee tier — but must still pass it. The City of Chicago separately offers a reciprocal application for its own local journeyman license.
| Licensed in | Door into Illinois | |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Alaska | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Arizona | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Arkansas | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| California | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Colorado | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Connecticut | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Delaware | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| District of Columbia | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Florida | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Georgia | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Hawaii | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Idaho | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Indiana | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Iowa | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Kansas | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Kentucky | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Louisiana | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Maine | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Maryland | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Massachusetts | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Michigan | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Minnesota | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Mississippi | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Missouri | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Montana | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Nebraska | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Nevada | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| New Hampshire | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| New Jersey | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| New Mexico | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| New York | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| North Carolina | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| North Dakota | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Ohio | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Oklahoma | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Oregon | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Pennsylvania | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Rhode Island | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| South Carolina | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| South Dakota | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Tennessee | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Texas | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Utah | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Vermont | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Virginia | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Washington | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| West Virginia | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Wisconsin | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Wyoming | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
Included in the $49 PlumberLicenseCheck Kit
One payment. Yours to keep. The checkers above stay free either way.
The seat: Licensed Plumber (owner, partner, member, or officer of the business — or employed by it). Under 225 ILCS 320/13, a plumbing contractor registration issues only where an Illinois licensed plumber is the applicant/owner, a partner, member, or officer of the entity, or is employed by it; the business must file the required insurance certificates and an indemnification bond of $20,000 or a letter of credit, and renew registration annually ($150).
Insurance minimum: $20,000 indemnification bond or letter of credit (225 ILCS 320/13); liability and workers' compensation insurance certificates also required — see partialNote
The City of Chicago licenses its own Journeyman Plumbers locally, in parallel with the state Licensed Plumber system. Elsewhere in Illinois, individual licensing is state-level through IDPH.
Run the owner gate for your situation →
Rules as published by Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Plumbing Program — Illinois Plumbing License Law, 225 ILCS 320; rules at 68 Ill. Adm. Code 750 and the statutes it administers, checked October 22, 2026. Board: https://www.ilga.gov/agencies/JCAR/EntirePart?titlepart=06800750
