Contractor-license state (no state journeyman license)
South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation — Contractor's Licensing Board / Residential Builders Commission runs plumbing licensing in South Carolina. Below: the exact ladder, the transfer doors into South Carolina 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. Checked 2026-10-22 against LLR primary pages. SC has NO state journeyman or apprentice license: the worker-level state credential is the Residential Plumber license (Residential Builders Commission) and the business-level credential is the Mechanical Contractor — Plumbing classification (Contractor's Licensing Board). PSI exam fees are paid to PSI and are not published on the LLR pages fetched, so exam.fee is null. Residential renewal cycle was not stated on the page fetched (Mechanical Contractor licenses expire Oct 31 in odd-numbered years, a 2-year cycle), so journeyman.renewalCycle is null.
| The ladder | South Carolina |
|---|---|
| Journeyman credential | Residential Plumber (RBP) — no state journeyman license |
| Total hours required | not published |
| Classroom hours | not published |
| Apprentice registration | Not required by the state |
| Exam | PSI — All examination fees are paid directly to PSI; LLR does not publish the amount on the pages fetched 2026-10-22. An Examination Eligibility Letter from the Commission is required before scheduling. |
| License fee | $220 |
| Renewal | Every cycle not published |
| Continuing education | No CE requirement stated on the LLR Residential Plumber page checked 2026-10-22 |
| Master credential | Mechanical Contractor — Plumbing classification (Primary Qualifying Party) |
Registration, in the board’s terms: South Carolina does not register plumbing apprentices at state level and does not issue a state journeyman license. Journeyman/Master certifications historically issued by examination through the Municipal Association of SC (MASC) — from Jan 1, 2026 through Carolinas AGC (CAGC) — are certifications used for exam waiver, not state licenses.
Mechanical Contractor — Plumbing classification (Primary Qualifying Party): At least 2 years of work experience performed within the past 5 years for the classification; pass the PSI technical exam for Plumbing and the SC Business Management and Law for Commercial Contractors exam; the business must designate a Primary Qualifying Party (PQP) who has passed those exams, submit financial statement or surety bond for its group limit, and pay the $350 licensure fee. Licenses expire Oct 31 in odd-numbered years.
PSI exam fees are not published on the LLR licensure page fetched; licensure (entity) fee is $350. Exam waiver/reciprocity and MASC (pre-2026) / CAGC (from Jan 1, 2026) Master Plumber certification are alternate qualifying routes.
Residential Plumber: a license lapsed less than 3 years may be reinstated (reinstatement fee $480 on the LLR fee table); after 3 years it cannot be reinstated.
Reinstatement: Lapsed less than 3 years: apply for reinstatement with the Residential Builders Commission and pay the $480 reinstatement fee (LLR Residential Plumber fee table, checked 2026-10-22).
Past the line: Lapsed more than 3 years: apply as a new applicant, which requires reexamination.
South Carolina endorses journeyman licenses from: North Carolina, Mississippi. At the worker level this is the Residential Plumber technical-exam waiver list on LLR: Mississippi and North Carolina licenses obtained by examination and held 1 year or longer. Business Management and Law exam and work-experience requirements still apply. Grandfathered licenses do not qualify. This is an exam waiver, not recognition of the out-of-state license itself.
| Licensed in | Door into South Carolina | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 → |
| 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 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: Primary Qualifying Party (PQP) — Mechanical Contractor, Plumbing. A plumbing business doing commercial work over $10,000 needs a Mechanical Contractor license with a Plumbing classification from the Contractor's Licensing Board. The entity must designate a PQP — an individual who has passed the technical and business law exams and is principally responsible for directing or reviewing the plumbing work. Group bid/job limits are set by the entity's financial statement or surety bond (Mechanical Group 1 $35,000 up to Group 5 unlimited).
Insurance minimum: $100,000 general liability certificate on file for contractor license renewal (per LLR Contractor's Licensing Board renewal page)
Residential plumbing work over $500 requires the Residential Plumber license; commercial plumbing over $10,000 requires the Mechanical Contractor license. Cities and counties may also require local business licenses/permits.
Run the owner gate for your situation →
Rules as published by South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation — Contractor's Licensing Board / Residential Builders Commission and the statutes it administers, checked October 22, 2026. Board: https://llr.sc.gov/clb/
