State ladder: apprentice → journeyman → master
West Virginia Division of Labor — Plumbing Licensing runs plumbing licensing in West Virginia. Below: the exact ladder, the transfer doors into West Virginia 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. Checked 2026-10-22. The hour definitions are primary in statute (W. Va. Code §21-14-2: journeyman 8,000 hours, master 12,000 hours, plumber in training under 8,000) and the fees are primary in rule (W. Va. Code R. §42-32-9: $75/year journeyman and master, $25/year plumber in training, $25 late fee after 15 days). The exam vendor is ProV in secondary/exam-bulletin sources and its exam fee, any CE rule, a reinstatement window beyond the 15-day late fee, and any named reciprocity states were NOT confirmed on a primary source, so those fields are null/empty.
| The ladder | West Virginia |
|---|---|
| Journeyman credential | Journeyman Plumber |
| Total hours required | 8,000 |
| Classroom hours | not published |
| Apprentice registration | Required — hours count only while registered |
| Exam | ProV — Exam fee not confirmed from a primary source — see partialNote. License fee itself is $75/year under §42-32-9. |
| License fee | $75 |
| Renewal | Every 1 year |
| Continuing education | No CE requirement stated in §42-32 or §21-14 as checked 2026-10-22 |
| Master credential | Master Plumber |
Registration, in the board’s terms: Entry level is the licensed 'Plumber in Training' — a person with fewer than 8,000 hours who is not yet capable of performing plumbing work alone and must be supervised. Plumber-in-training license fee is $25/year (§42-32-9).
Master Plumber: At least 12,000 hours of plumbing work experience and competence to design plumbing systems and to instruct and supervise journeyman plumbers and plumbers in training (§21-14-2(c)), and pass the master examination. Master license fee is also $75/year (§42-32-9) — the same as journeyman.
Contracting as a business is separate: a plumbing contractor license from the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board is required in addition to the Division of Labor master/journeyman license.
The only lapse rule confirmed from a primary source is the late fee: a renewal received or postmarked more than 15 days after expiration pays a $25 late fee on top of the $75 annual fee (§42-32-9.3).
Reinstatement: Renewal more than 15 days late: $75 annual fee + $25 late fee (§42-32-9). A longer reinstatement window was not confirmed from a primary source checked 2026-10-22.
Past the line: Not confirmed from a primary source checked 2026-10-22.
West Virginia endorses journeyman licenses from: none. No named reciprocity states were confirmed from a primary source checked 2026-10-22, so accepts is an empty list. Secondary sources claiming Ohio/Tennessee agreements could not be verified against Division of Labor or code sources in this pass.
| Licensed in | Door into West Virginia | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 → |
| Rhode Island | 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 → |
| Wisconsin | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
| Wyoming | Endorsement by review — not guaranteed | Run the pair → |
Included in the $49 PlumberLicenseCheck Kit
One payment. Yours to keep. The checkers above stay free either way.
The seat: Master Plumber / Plumbing Contractor (Contractor Licensing Board). The Division of Labor license qualifies the individual; engaging in plumbing contracting as a business requires a separate plumbing contractor license through the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board, with the licensed master plumber as the qualifying tradesperson for the business.
West Virginia's plumbing license law is W. Va. Code Article 21-14 — a comparatively recent statewide regime administered by the Commissioner of Labor, which is why many national guides still describe West Virginia plumbing as local-only or unlicensed. It is not: journeyman and master licenses have been required under Article 14's 8,000 / 12,000-hour definitions.
Run the owner gate for your situation →
Rules as published by West Virginia Division of Labor — Plumbing Licensing and the statutes it administers, checked October 22, 2026. Board: https://labor.wv.gov/Licensing/Plumbers/Pages/default.aspx
