Oregon · Plumbing licensing · official-source guide
Oregon licenses plumbing twice. The Building Codes Division, which staffs the State Plumbing Board, licenses the individual journeyman plumber and issues the plumbing contractor license required by ORS 447.040. The Construction Contractors Board licenses the business, and rule 918-030-0015 makes the CCB license a condition of the division license. A journeyman needs 7,700 hours or an apprenticeship.
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Oregon Building Codes Division, Department of Consumer and Business Services (State Plumbing Board)State-level license
Yes
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Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-09-12. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Oregon splits plumbing regulation between two state bodies, and a contractor who holds only one of the two is not legally in business. The Building Codes Division, part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, staffs the State Plumbing Board and issues the trade licenses. Its office is at 1535 Edgewater Street NW, Salem, OR 97304, with a mailing address at P.O. Box 14470, Salem, OR 97309-0404, and a main line at 503-378-4133. The division describes its own scope as issuing electrical, plumbing, boiler, elevator and manufactured dwelling licenses for individuals and businesses. The Construction Contractors Board licenses the construction business. The rule that binds them together is Oregon Administrative Rule 918-030-0015. It applies to contractor licenses issued by the division for boiler, electrical, elevator and plumbing contractors, and it says those contractors must possess or maintain a Construction Contractors Board license under ORS chapter 701 or OAR chapter 812. The same rule adds the sentence that settles the question people argue about: possession of a Construction Contractors Board license does not replace any license required by the division or the appropriate board. Any applicant for a division contractor license must provide verification of Construction Contractors Board licensing, and the division or the board may suspend, revoke or refuse to renew a contractor license if the licensee fails to maintain the CCB license, including through suspension, termination, revocation or simple failure to renew.
Three requirements sit in statute. ORS 693.030 says a person may not engage in the trade of journeyman plumber without a journeyman plumber license issued under that chapter. The same section bars a licensed plumbing contractor from permitting anyone to work as a journeyman plumber without a valid license, from permitting a person to work as an apprentice plumber who does not meet the apprenticeship requirements of ORS 660.002 to 660.210, from employing an apprentice on plumbing work while representing the apprentice to be a journeyman, and from charging a journeyman plumber's wage for services performed by an apprentice. ORS 693.040 allows an apprentice plumber to work at the trade if the apprentice works under the supervision of a licensed journeyman plumber. The business side is ORS 447.040. A person may not work as a plumbing contractor, or advertise or purport to be a plumbing contractor, and a member or employee of a firm, partnership or corporation may not engage in the layout or superintending of plumbing installations, without the plumbing contractor license. The second subsection is the trap: a plumbing contractor license does not authorize the contractor to work as a journeyman plumber. Rule 918-695-0000 adds two duties that apply to every licensee. It is unlawful for a licensed person to allow the use of their plumbing license by others to install work or to obtain a permit or inspection. Licenses must be carried at all times when performing plumbing work and displayed at the request of any administrative authority.
Sourcesoregonlegislature.gov 1oregonlegislature.gov 2secure.sos.state.or.us 3
Rule 918-695-0030 sets three routes to the journeyman plumber examination. The first is satisfactory completion of a minimum four year plumbing apprentice program in Oregon. The second is an academic and on the job equivalency: at least 576 hours of academic training covering materials, tools and equipment; mathematics and science; soldering and brazing; plumbing and related codes; drainage installations; water systems installations; safety and first aid; blueprint reading; and seismic restraints, together with 7,700 hours of on the job experience as an apprentice plumber, a lawful journeyman plumber, or a combination of both. The third route is for people licensed elsewhere: verification of twice the amount of equivalent work experience in each category, lawfully obtained while holding a license that includes the scope of work of an Oregon journeyman plumber license. The state license directory states that third route as 7,700 hours of lawful commercial and 7,700 hours of lawful residential experience. The division's own application instructions match the rule. An application must be submitted as a single packet with a Plumbing Experience Verification Form for each employer listed, and applicants must list experience in the required work categories in OAR 918-695. Supporting paperwork includes proof of completion of an out of state apprenticeship program recognized by Oregon, official transcripts of classroom training, and proof of a high school diploma, a GED or equivalent, with a college degree accepted as a substitute. A two inch by two inch passport style photo with the applicant's name on the back is submitted with the application.
Sourcessecure.sos.state.or.us 1oregon.gov 2apps.oregon.gov 3
The 7,700 hour route in rule 918-695-0030 is not a single number you can fill any way you like. The rule splits the hours into six work categories and requires minimums in each, in both residential and commercial work. Sewerage, meaning sanitary and storm piping and disposal, requires 300 residential hours and 300 commercial hours. Drainage, waste and vent piping requires 1,300 residential and 1,300 commercial. Soldering, brazing and welding requires 200 and 200. Water supply, services, mains and appurtenances requires 1,100 and 1,100. Fixtures, appliances, trim and supports requires 700 and 700. Miscellaneous plumbing, piping, repair and maintenance requires 250 and 250. The total minimum subject hours are 3,850 residential and 3,850 commercial. There is one relief valve written into the same rule. A person with more than the minimum on the job hours in any one specific category may substitute up to twenty percent of the excess hours to meet the related minimum residential or commercial experience requirement in the same category. That is the whole of the flexibility, and it does not let commercial hours cover a residential shortfall in a different category. For a service company owner this matters at hiring time as much as at application time, because a technician who has spent four years on residential service calls will not have the commercial drainage, waste and vent hours the rule demands, and the substitution allowance is capped at twenty percent of the excess within the same category.
Sourcessecure.sos.state.or.us
Rule 918-695-0040 lists what the written journeyman examination covers. Understanding of engineering and architectural drawings and plans sufficient to prepare a bill of materials and lay out a plumbing system. Ability to compute areas of regular plane figures, volumes of regular solids, slopes, offsets, clearances and weights of piping. Selection and use of tools, materials and techniques commonly used in the plumbing trade. The Plumbing Specialty Code, administrative rules relating to plumbing and plumbers, and general scientific principles covering hydraulics. A general knowledge of construction job safety and occupational safety standards. A basic understanding of disabled access provisions of the Oregon Structural Specialty Code related to plumbing. The passing standard is in rule 918-030-0020: an applicant required by statute or rule to pass a written examination must score at least 75 percent correct, and no applicant may sit for an examination or receive a license unless the division approves the application first. Scheduling runs through a letter. Once the application is reviewed and approved the applicant receives a Letter of Authorization to schedule the test, with the contact information for the proctor site chosen on the application, and the applicant has 60 days from the date of the letter to schedule and take the exam. The exam location is set when the letter is created, and changing it afterward means paying the license fee again so a new letter can be issued. Test locations on the application are Bend, Eugene, Hermiston, Klamath Falls, Ontario, Pendleton, Portland, Roseburg, Salem and White City. Results are mailed within two weeks. The code you are tested against is the Oregon Plumbing Specialty Code, which the division adopts and amends and which applies to the installation, alteration, repair, relocation and replacement of plumbing systems in commercial and residential buildings. The edition in force is the 2023 Oregon Plumbing Specialty Code, effective October 1, 2023, based on the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code, and the division's rulemaking timeline lists adoption of the 2026 edition with an anticipated effective date of October 1, 2026.
Sourcessecure.sos.state.or.us 1secure.sos.state.or.us 2oregon.gov 3oregon.gov 4oregon.gov 5oregon.gov 6
Oregon licenses narrower scopes than the full journeyman license, and they are worth knowing because they are the legal way to put a technician on a specific task. ORS 693.103 lets the State Plumbing Board license limited specialty plumbers who demonstrate competency in the laws, rules, ordinances and practices relating to a plumbing specialty and pay the journeyman plumber application fee. The license authorizes work only in the specific branch of the trade for which it is issued. The statute requires the board to establish a limited specialty license for persons licensed under ORS 479.630(12) to install and replace residential water heaters in existing plumbing designed for that purpose, where the work does not require altering the existing plumbing, and qualification includes testing and a training requirement. Rule 918-695-0120 carries that out: a registered plumbing contractor also licensed as an electrical limited maintenance specialty contractor may apply, attend an approved eight hour training class for limited specialty residential water heater plumbing installation, and pass a division approved examination. Rule 918-695-0130 creates the water treatment installer classification. That license authorizes connections to potable water systems and indirect waste connections to existing drain, waste and vent systems, and does not authorize installation, alteration or remodel of drain, waste and vent piping. Qualification is an eighteen month Oregon apprenticeship program for the specialty, or equivalent experience totaling 3,000 hours including 210 general hours, 250 hours of indirect waste piping, 1,000 hours of water supply and services and 1,750 hours of water treatment equipment installation and service. Only a written examination is required. Rule 918-695-0035 requires a medical gas installer certification for medical gas and vacuum systems, on top of a current journeyman license or apprentice registration.
ORS 693.135 requires the State Plumbing Board to adopt rules establishing fees and then caps them. The maximum for an application for a journeyman plumber license is one hundred dollars. The maximum for a journeyman plumber license renewal is fifty dollars per year. The maximum for an application for a plumbing contractor license is one hundred fifty dollars, and for a plumbing contractor license renewal one hundred fifty dollars per year. The maximum for an application for a supervising plumber license is fifty dollars, and for its renewal fifty dollars per year. The maximum for continuing education for renewing a license is twenty five dollars per year. The current journeyman figure sits at the cap. The division's Plumbing License Application, form 440-2571, shows an amount of one hundred dollars on the payment block, and the state's license directory entry for Journeyman Plumber lists a license fee of one hundred dollars with no exemptions. The same directory entry sets a ten dollar fee for a duplicate license using form 2523 if the license is lost or the address changes, and gives a processing time of two to three weeks. Application fees are not refundable, which the division repeats on its reciprocal license page as well as its application instructions. Payment goes to DCBS Fiscal Services in Salem by mail, by secure fax with credit card details completed, or in person at the Salem office; the division asks applicants not to email documents.
Sourcesoregonlegislature.gov 1oregon.gov 2apps.oregon.gov 3oregon.gov 4oregon.gov 5
An Oregon journeyman plumber license renews every three years on April 1, according to the state license directory entry maintained for the Building Codes Division. The division renews online. All division issued licenses are eligible for online renewal within 45 days of the expiration date printed on the front of the license, and renewal notices are mailed to the address on file 45 days before expiration. The division sets out three steps in order: check your continuing education credits, because the credits must be registered in the division's system before you can renew; update the address associated with the license; then renew. An expired license is handled by email rather than online, and the division states that license holders will need to retest if the license has been expired for more than one year. The education requirement is in rule 918-030-0120. During each three year license cycle a Journeyman Plumber must complete 24 hours of approved continuing education, which must include 4 hours of code change, plus a 4 hour Oregon rule and law course meeting the standards in rule 918-035-0055, and the rule and law course is in addition to the code change hours. Rule 918-030-0130 puts the Solar Heating and Cooling System Plumbing Installer at 8 hours per cycle. New licensees get a sliding start under rule 918-030-0150: none if the license is obtained within 6 months of expiration, the lesser of 8 hours or the license minimum if within 12 months, and the lesser of 16 hours or the minimum if within 24 months. Backflow tester training approved by the Department of Human Services counts toward journeyman renewal credit.
Sourcesapps.oregon.gov 1oregon.gov 2secure.sos.state.or.us 3
The Construction Contractors Board states the general rule in its own words: Oregon law requires anyone who works for compensation in any construction activity involving improvements to real property to be licensed, and it lists plumbing among the examples. The board publishes nine steps. Complete the 16 hour pre license training and take the exam. Select a Responsible Managing Individual to complete that training and exam. Determine your endorsement type. File your corporation, limited liability company or assumed business name with the Oregon Secretary of State, Corporation Division. Submit a CCB surety bond in the required amount, including the bond and power of attorney. Provide proof of general liability insurance in the required amount, naming the Construction Contractors Board as the certificate holder. Obtain workers compensation insurance if you will hire employees. Obtain other employer account numbers such as state and federal tax numbers. Complete and submit an application. The board tells applicants that applications may take six to eight weeks. A complete application includes the bond with power of attorney and the insurance certificate, which are not to be submitted separately, a certification and signatures form, and a four hundred dollar fee for a two year license. Rule 812-003-0142 matches that figure from the rule side: effective July 1, 2024 the application fee for all renewal or reissued licenses is four hundred dollars, and effective July 1, 2025 the application fee for all new licenses is four hundred dollars. ORS 701.063 makes a license valid for two years from the date of issuance unless revoked or suspended.
Sourcesoregon.gov 1secure.sos.state.or.us 2oregonlegislature.gov 3
The Construction Contractors Board publishes an endorsement chart that sets the bond and insurance for each license type, and the choice turns on the kind of structure you intend to work on. A residential endorsement covers residential and small commercial structures. A commercial endorsement covers large and small commercial projects. A contractor performing work on residential and large commercial structures must have both, and the chart states the consequence in plain terms: contractors holding both a commercial and a residential endorsement must have two bonds, one for each endorsement, and one liability insurance policy in the higher amount required under the endorsements chosen. On the residential side, a Residential General Contractor carries a twenty five thousand dollar residential bond and five hundred thousand dollars per occurrence insurance. A Residential Specialty Contractor, which is the endorsement most plumbing shops fall under because it covers work involving one or two unrelated building trades, carries a twenty thousand dollar residential bond and three hundred thousand dollars per occurrence. A Residential Limited Contractor carries a fifteen thousand dollar bond and one hundred thousand dollars per occurrence, and is restricted by gross sales and per job caps. On the commercial side, a Commercial General Contractor Level 1 carries an eighty thousand dollar commercial bond and two million dollars aggregate insurance and requires eight years of construction experience, while Level 2 carries a twenty five thousand dollar bond, one million dollars aggregate and four years of experience. A Commercial Specialty Contractor carries a fifty five thousand dollar commercial bond. ORS 701.068 requires a separate surety bond for each endorsement held.
The Building Codes Division publishes its reciprocity position on one page and it is narrow. The state has reciprocity agreements with other states for some individual licenses, allowing licensed individuals from those states to obtain an Oregon license without taking the exam, and the agreements are only with states that have substantially similar electrical and plumbing licensing criteria. For plumbing, the division names the license and the states: individuals seeking a Journeyman Plumber reciprocal license complete the Reciprocal Plumbing License Application, and the reciprocal license agreement list for Journeyman Plumbers contains Idaho and Montana. No plumbing contractor reciprocity is listed. By contrast the electrical side lists seven states for General Journeyman Electrician and two for General Supervising Electrician, which is a useful reminder that a company holding both trades cannot assume the plumbing side moves the same way. Rule 918-695-0110 is the authority. Acting under ORS 670.380, the administrator with the consent of the board establishes a list of states with standards, qualifications and examinations substantially similar to Oregon's, and enters reciprocal agreements to issue certifications of registration as journeyman plumbers without examination. A person licensed under a reciprocal agreement must pay required and timely registration and renewal fees and comply with Oregon continuing education requirements after the reciprocal licensing. Rule 918-030-0030 adds a documentary limit: only reciprocal jurisdiction licenses obtained through examination meet the verification requirement. The division also runs the traffic the other way, publishing a License Verification Request Form for an Oregon licensee reciprocating out of state, with a stated processing time of four to six weeks.
Sourcesoregon.gov 1secure.sos.state.or.us 2secure.sos.state.or.us 3
Oregon splits the penalties across the two agencies. On the plumbing side the remedy is civil rather than criminal. ORS 693.992 lets the State Plumbing Board impose a civil penalty for a violation of the chapter or its rules, and ORS 447.992 does the same for ORS 447.010 to 447.156, both imposed as provided in ORS 455.895. That section sets the amount: a civil penalty must be in an amount determined by the appropriate advisory board or the department of not more than five thousand dollars for each offense, or in the case of a continuing offense not more than one thousand dollars for each day of the offense, and the maximum may be imposed only on a finding that the person has engaged in a pattern of violations. ORS 693.994 allows a civil penalty of up to five thousand dollars for violations of ORS 447.065 or 693.111. The quiet penalty is the one that costs the most. ORS 447.070 says a person carrying on, conducting or transacting a plumbing business may not maintain any suit or action in any court of this state to recover for the performance of plumbing work without alleging and proving that the person was duly licensed as a plumbing contractor at the time of the work, and ORS 693.180 denies court action to an unlicensed plumber. On the contracting side, ORS 701.990 makes a violation of ORS 701.021, the licensing requirement, a Class A misdemeanor, and makes intentional use of another contractor's license number, or use of a license number with intent to deceive the public, a Class A misdemeanor. ORS 701.992 adds a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars for each offense.
Sourcesoregonlegislature.gov 1oregonlegislature.gov 2oregonlegislature.gov 3oregonlegislature.gov 4
Oregon has the most detailed advertising rule of the three states in this series, and it is written for media rather than for signage alone. Rule 812-003-0120 opens by barring the conduct itself: no person shall advertise or otherwise hold out to the public that person's services as a contractor unless that person holds a current, valid license, nor shall any person claim by advertising or by any other means to be licensed, bonded or insured unless that person holds a current, valid license. Then it lists where the license number has to appear. All newsprint classified and display advertising prepared by a contractor or at the contractor's request or direction. All written bids, written inspection reports and building contracts. All telephone directory space ads and display ads. All advertisements by audio only media, such as radio commercials, must contain an audible statement of the license number. All advertisements by video media, or video and audio combined, such as television commercials, must show the license number visually. All advertising by internet media, including but not limited to website advertising, must show the license number visually. All business cards, business letterhead, business signs at construction sites and all other written or visual advertising. Two exceptions are written in. Written or visual advertising does not include permanently affixed or attached signs at a contractor's place or places of business that primarily and prominently display the contractor's name, and the section does not apply to promotional gifts including pencils, pens, cups and items of clothing. ORS 447.040 sits alongside it on the trade side, barring a person from advertising or purporting to be a plumbing contractor without the plumbing contractor license.
Two disclosure duties sit outside the advertising rule and catch plumbing companies specifically. ORS 701.348 covers building sewers. Every person offering to undertake or undertaking construction of building sewer piping must comply with ORS chapter 701, and every person submitting a bid or a written estimate of the costs to construct building sewer piping must provide to potential customers, before an agreement to perform, three things: the person's Construction Contractors Board license number, the applicable bonding and liability coverage, and the statement described in ORS 701.325(1). The same section confirms that any person licensed under ORS 701.021 may install a building sewer after obtaining a permit for plumbing inspection under ORS 447.095. The second duty is on the individual in the field. Rule 918-695-0000 requires licenses to be carried at all times when performing plumbing work and displayed at the request of any administrative authority, which in practice means the inspector on the job. The same rule places an obligation on the employer: it is the obligation of every employer to comply with all applicable plumbing licensing laws, and registered plumbing businesses shall not allow an unlicensed employee to perform plumbing work. It also makes it unlawful for a licensed person to allow the use of their plumbing license by others to install plumbing work or for the purposes of obtaining a permit or inspection, which is the rule behind the criminal provision in ORS 701.990 on the use of another contractor's license number.
Sourcesoregonlegislature.gov 1secure.sos.state.or.us 2oregonlegislature.gov 3
Portland states the licensing question on its residential plumbing permit page without hedging. All contractors doing plumbing work need a license, and they must get it from either the Oregon State Plumbing Board or the Oregon Landscaping Contractors Board. Homeowners can do their own plumbing work, but the homeowner must be the recorded property owner according to the county and not a limited liability company. The city lists the work that needs a permit: repairing, replacing or moving any plumbing pipes; installing or replacing plumbing fixtures such as toilets, sinks, showers, tubs or dishwashers; installing rain drains or drywells; and installing or replacing water service lines. Permit fees are not a flat figure. The city directs applicants to its fee schedule and says the fees are based on the fixtures and the work being done, and it publishes two separate plumbing permit fee schedules, one for the City of Portland and one for unincorporated Multnomah County, both effective July 10, 2026. A plumbing company working in Portland also carries a tax registration duty that has nothing to do with the trade license. The city's Revenue Division requires businesses doing business in Portland or Multnomah County to register for a Revenue Division tax account within 60 days, and treats a business as doing business where it has a stock of goods, an office, a place of business, employees providing services, or an economic presence through which it regularly takes advantage of the local economy. Exemption thresholds based on gross receipts apply and are set by tax year in the city code.
There are two public records, and a customer who has been told to check will usually be sent to both. The Building Codes Division runs a license holder search covering business contractor licenses, individual licenses and inspector certifications, searchable by individual name, business name or license number, or by profession and location. The division's search page links directly to the Construction Contractors Board license search beside its own, and also offers a downloadable registration data file of all licenses for anyone who wants the whole set. The Construction Contractors Board search runs at search.ccb.state.or.us. Because rule 812-003-0120 requires the CCB license number on written bids, building contracts, business cards, letterhead, jobsite signs and website advertising, the number a prospect reads on your estimate is the number they will type into that search, and a mismatch or a lapsed status is visible in seconds. Two conditions make a record look wrong without any complaint being filed. Rule 918-030-0015 lets the division suspend, revoke or refuse to renew a plumbing contractor license when the CCB license lapses, so a missed CCB renewal can take both licenses down. ORS 701.063 lets a contractor convert a license to inactive status when not engaged in contracting work, and an inactive contractor is not subject to the bonding requirement of ORS 701.068 or the insurance requirement of ORS 701.073, which is fine for the holder and looks like a red flag to a customer reading the record.
Sourcesoregon.gov 1www4.cbs.state.or.us 2search.ccb.state.or.us 3secure.sos.state.or.us 4secure.sos.state.or.us 5oregonlegislature.gov 6
These are common details other guides publish about Oregon, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
Yes, and at two agencies. The Building Codes Division, which staffs the State Plumbing Board, issues the journeyman plumber and plumbing contractor licenses under ORS chapters 693 and 447. The Construction Contractors Board licenses the construction business under ORS chapter 701.
Yes. Rule 918-030-0015 requires division licensed plumbing contractors to possess or maintain a Construction Contractors Board license, states that a CCB license does not replace the division license, and lets the division suspend, revoke or refuse to renew if the CCB license lapses.
Rule 918-695-0030 requires either a four year Oregon plumbing apprenticeship, or 576 hours of academic training plus 7,700 hours of on the job experience split into category minimums totaling 3,850 residential and 3,850 commercial, or double the equivalent experience while holding a similar scope license.
Rule 918-030-0020 requires at least 75 percent correct. The division approves the application first, then mails a Letter of Authorization, and the applicant has 60 days from the date of that letter to schedule and take the exam at the chosen proctor site.
ORS 693.135 caps the journeyman application fee at one hundred dollars and the renewal at fifty dollars per year. The division's Plumbing License Application shows one hundred dollars on the payment block, and the state license directory lists a one hundred dollar license fee.
Every three years on April 1, per the state license directory entry for the license. The division mails a renewal notice 45 days before expiration, and online renewal opens within 45 days of the expiration date printed on the license.
Rule 918-030-0120 requires a Journeyman Plumber to complete 24 hours of approved continuing education in each three year cycle, including 4 hours of code change, plus a separate 4 hour Oregon rule and law course. Credits must be registered in the division's system before you can renew.
The Building Codes Division lists Idaho and Montana for the Journeyman Plumber license, and no other plumbing reciprocity. Applicants complete the Reciprocal Plumbing License Application, pay the fees and comply with Oregon continuing education after licensing.
It depends on the CCB endorsement. A Residential Specialty Contractor carries a twenty thousand dollar residential bond and three hundred thousand dollars per occurrence insurance. A contractor holding both residential and commercial endorsements files two bonds and one liability policy at the higher required amount.
The State Plumbing Board may impose a civil penalty of up to five thousand dollars per offense, or one thousand dollars per day for a continuing offense, under ORS 455.895. ORS 447.070 also bars an unlicensed plumbing business from suing to recover for the work.
Yes. Rule 812-003-0120 requires all advertising by internet media, including website advertising, to show the contractor's license number visually, along with written bids, building contracts, business cards, letterhead, jobsite signs and radio and television advertising.
Portland states that all contractors doing plumbing work need a license from the Oregon State Plumbing Board or the Oregon Landscaping Contractors Board. Homeowners may do their own plumbing work if they are the recorded property owner according to the county and not a limited liability company.
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