Contractor-license state (no state journeyman license)
Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) runs plumbing licensing in Mississippi. Below: the exact ladder, the transfer doors into Mississippi 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. Contractor-only model, the qualifying-party rule and the 180-day late-renewal rule are confirmed on MSBOC primary pages/rules on 2026-10-22. MSBOC's fee schedule and project-value thresholds are stated in its FAQ and application materials, which did not render in full when fetched for this batch, so licenseFee and exam fee are null and the thresholds in localNote should be re-checked against the live MSBOC FAQ before publication. Mississippi issues NO state journeyman or master plumber license.
| The ladder | Mississippi |
|---|---|
| Journeyman credential | No state journeyman plumber license |
| Total hours required | not published |
| Classroom hours | not published |
| Apprentice registration | No state registration system |
| Exam | PSI (MSBOC trade + Mississippi Law and Business Management examinations) — For the contractor license the qualifying party must pass the plumbing trade exam and the Mississippi Law and Business Management exam. Exam fee not confirmed on a primary page in this batch, so fee is null. |
| License fee | Not published |
| Renewal | Every 1 year from date of issuance (MSBOC) |
| Continuing education | No CE for commercial plumbing contractor licenses; MSBOC requires 2 credit hours of CE only for residential license qualifying parties (MSBOC continuing education page) |
| Master credential | Plumbing Contractor — Certificate of Responsibility (qualifying party model) |
Registration, in the board’s terms: Mississippi has no state apprentice, journeyman or master plumber licensing. Individual journeyman/master credentials, where required, are issued by cities and counties. The state credential is the MSBOC contractor license (Certificate of Responsibility), taken through a qualifying party — see master.
Plumbing Contractor — Certificate of Responsibility (qualifying party model): No state master plumber license exists. To contract, the business needs an MSBOC Certificate of Responsibility with a qualifying party who is the owner, a responsible managing employee, a responsible managing officer, or a member of the executive staff, is regularly employed by and actively engaged in the classification for the certificate holder, and takes/passes the required examinations on the company's behalf (MSBOC laws and rules). If the qualifying party leaves, MSBOC must be notified in writing immediately and another party must qualify within 90 days or the certificate is subject to suspension or revocation.
A qualifying party may serve no more than three entities without appearing before the Board for special permission.
MSBOC licenses are valid 1 year. A commercial or residential license can be processed as a late renewal for up to 180 days after the expiration date printed on the certificate; after that it cannot be renewed at all (MSBOC renewal / license-problems pages).
Reinstatement: Up to 180 days (about 6 months) after expiration: late renewal is available.
Past the line: Expired more than 180 days: the license cannot be renewed — a new application for licensure is required (MSBOC).
Mississippi endorses journeyman licenses from: Ohio. Contractor-level exam waiver only — there is no journeyman license to endorse. MSBOC's reciprocity page lists the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board as waiving the Plumbing trade exam for applicants who hold a current Ohio license, took the Ohio exam, and have had no disciplinary action in the last year. MSBOC's other listed agreements cover other classifications (e.g. South Carolina Residential Builders Commission — residential plumbing; Louisiana scores are still recognised for trade-exam waiver even though the formal LA agreement ended). Every applicant, including reciprocity applicants, must still take the Mississippi Law and Business Management exam.
| Licensed in | Door into Mississippi | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 → |
| California | 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 → |
| 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 Party. The Certificate of Responsibility holder must at all times have a qualifying party (owner, responsible managing employee/officer, or executive staff member) who holds the exam scores, is regularly employed by the certificate holder, and is actively engaged in the classification of work. Loss of the qualifying party must be reported immediately and a replacement must qualify within 90 days.
State license is threshold-based: MSBOC licensing is required for commercial work of $50,000 or more and for residential new construction over $50,000 / residential remodeling over $10,000, and MSBOC states that residential electrical, plumbing and HVAC subcontractors must be licensed regardless of project value — verify the current thresholds on the MSBOC FAQ before relying on them (see partialNote). Below the thresholds, licensing is local: cities/counties issue the journeyman and master plumber licenses and permits.
Run the owner gate for your situation →
Rules as published by Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC) and the statutes it administers, checked October 22, 2026. Board: https://www.msboc.us/general-info/about-msboc/
