State ladder: apprentice → journeyman → master
Department of Labor and Training, Division of Professional Regulation runs plumbing licensing in Rhode Island. Below: the exact ladder, the transfer doors into Rhode Island 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 Primary sources Checked October 22, 2026
| The ladder | Rhode Island |
|---|---|
| Journeyman credential | Journeyperson Plumber |
| Total hours required | 8,000 |
| Classroom hours | 576 |
| Apprentice registration | Required — hours count only while registered |
| Exam | Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training · $75 — The $75 is the application fee, which is not returned, and it that must accompany the application before the applicant may take the journeyperson examination (R.I. Gen. Laws 5-20-17(1), accessed 2026-10-22). Biennial renewal fee for a journeyperson license is $72 (5-20-23 / 260-RICR-30-15-9). |
| License fee | Not published |
| Renewal | Every 2 years — licenses expire on the licensee's birthday in odd years if born in an odd year, and in even years if born in an even year |
| Continuing education | 260-RICR-30-15-9 imposes mandatory continuing education requirements in its Section F; the specific hour total was not captured in the primary text fetched 2026-10-22, so no hour figure is asserted here |
| Master credential | Master Plumber |
Registration, in the board’s terms: The applicant must have held a certificate of registration as a registered apprentice plumber from the Department of Labor and Training under R.I. Gen. Laws 28-45-13 for at least 4 years before filing, and the whole 8,000 hours of on-the-job training must be worked as an apprentice plumber in Rhode Island, employed by a licensed master plumber (5-20-17; 260-RICR-30-15-9, accessed 2026-10-22). Up to 144 hours of the 576 classroom hours may be credited from an approved vocational school.
Master Plumber: Have completed 1 year of experience as a licensed journeyperson, employed by a master plumber (or master irrigator / master water-filtration installer) licensed in Rhode Island, and pass a written examination approved by the Director (260-RICR-30-15-9, applying R.I. Gen. Laws 5-20, accessed 2026-10-22). Biennial renewal fee for a master license is $240 (5-20-23).
A separate master application/exam fee amount was not stated in the primary texts fetched 2026-10-22, so examFee is null.
A license that is not renewed may be reinstated for 2 years after the renewal date on payment of the current biennial renewal fee ($240 master / $72 journeyperson) plus outstanding license fees and a $12-per-month administrative assessment for the delinquent period (R.I. Gen. Laws 5-20-23; 260-RICR-30-15-9, accessed 2026-10-22).
Reinstatement: Reinstatement is available for 2 years after expiration with the current biennial renewal fee, outstanding fees, and $12 per month for the delinquency period.
Past the line: A license not renewed within 2 years of its expiration date is deemed forfeited and may only be reinstated by taking a test for a new license (260-RICR-30-15-9, accessed 2026-10-22).
Rhode Island endorses journeyman licenses from: none. Endorsement/reciprocity terms were not stated in R.I. Gen. Laws 5-20-17, 5-20-23 or 260-RICR-30-15-9 as checked 2026-10-22; the statute's journeyperson routes are written around Rhode Island apprenticeship and Rhode Island employment, so no out-of-state license is recorded as accepted here.
| Licensed in | Door into Rhode Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Alaska | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Arizona | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Arkansas | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| California | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Colorado | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Connecticut | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Delaware | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| District of Columbia | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Florida | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Georgia | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Hawaii | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Idaho | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Illinois | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Indiana | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Iowa | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Kansas | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Kentucky | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Louisiana | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Maine | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Maryland | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Massachusetts | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Michigan | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Minnesota | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Mississippi | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Missouri | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Montana | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Nebraska | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Nevada | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| New Hampshire | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| New Jersey | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| New Mexico | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| New York | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| North Carolina | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| North Dakota | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Ohio | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Oklahoma | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Oregon | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Pennsylvania | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| South Carolina | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| South Dakota | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Tennessee | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Texas | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Utah | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Vermont | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Virginia | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Washington | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| West Virginia | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Wisconsin | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Wyoming | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
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One payment. Yours to keep. The checkers above stay free either way.
The seat: Licensed Master Plumber. The master is the contracting tier: a journeyperson qualifies for the master examination only after a year employed by a Rhode Island-licensed master, and plumbing contracting businesses in Rhode Island must operate under a licensed master plumber; businesses must additionally hold a separate Rhode Island contractor registration, which is a registration, not the plumber license itself (R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 5-20; 260-RICR-30-15-9, accessed 2026-10-22).
Licensing is statewide through the Department of Labor and Training; no separate city plumber license system was identified in the primary sources checked 2026-10-22.
Run the owner gate for your situation →
Rules as published by Department of Labor and Training, Division of Professional Regulation and the statutes it administers, checked October 22, 2026. Board: https://rules.sos.ri.gov/Regulations/part/260-30-15-9?reg_id=9538
