Who issues a Texas plumbing license today
The Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners issues every plumbing license, registration and endorsement in Texas. That is worth stating plainly, because it nearly stopped being true and a lot of secondary writing on the subject is stuck in 2019. The Sunset Advisory Commission reviewed the board in the 2018 to 2019 cycle. Senate Bill 621 carried the commission's recommendations, the Senate and the House passed different versions, and the Legislature could not reconcile them. The board was scheduled to be abolished on September 1, 2019. Governor Abbott issued Executive Order No. GA-06 on June 13, 2019, which suspended the abolishment until May 31, 2021. The 87th Legislature then continued the agency with House Bill 636, effective May 26, 2021, which rewrote large parts of the Plumbing License Law. Section 1301.003 of the Occupations Code now reads that unless continued in existence, the board is abolished and the chapter expires September 1, 2033. The Sunset Advisory Commission lists the agency's next review in the 2032 to 2033 cycle, 93rd Legislative Session. So the board is the issuer, plumbing licensing did not move to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, and any page that says it did is describing a bill that failed. TDLR enforcement officers may check plumbing licenses and registrations on a job site and report non-compliance to the board under board rule 367.12(c), but they do not issue the credential. The board sits at 7915 Cameron Road, Austin, TX 78754, phone (512) 936-5200.
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The four licenses, four registrations and three endorsements
Texas does not have a single plumbing license. Occupations Code Chapter 1301 creates four licenses: Tradesman Plumber-Limited, Journeyman Plumber, Master Plumber and Plumbing Inspector. It creates four registrations: Plumber's Apprentice, Drain Cleaner-Restricted, Drain Cleaner and Residential Utilities Installer. It creates three endorsements that attach to an existing license: Medical Gas Piping Installation, Multipurpose Residential Fire Protection Sprinkler Specialist and Water Supply Protection Specialist. Board rule 365.1 sets what each one may do. A Master Plumber who meets the Responsible Master Plumber requirements may advertise and offer plumbing to the public, sign contracts, pull permits, work unsupervised and supervise others. A Journeyman or Master Plumber without that designation performs or supervises plumbing under a Responsible Master Plumber and only under contracts that a Responsible Master Plumber secured. A Tradesman Plumber-Limited license covers one-family and two-family dwellings under the same supervision, and may assist on other structures under on-the-job supervision of a Journeyman or Master Plumber. A registered apprentice assists a licensee under direct supervision. A Residential Utilities Installer builds yard water service piping and building sewers for one-family and two-family dwellings. A Drain Cleaner installs cleanouts and removes and resets p-traps. A Drain Cleaner-Restricted registrant clears obstructions through an existing code-approved opening only. Every one of those registrations works under a Responsible Master Plumber and under contracts that a Responsible Master Plumber secured. Section 1301.351(d) also requires a license or registration holder to carry the credential on their person while engaged in plumbing, and rule 367.12(a) requires the pocket card at every job site.
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Responsible Master Plumber: the designation the business actually runs on
A Master Plumber license by itself does not let anyone open a plumbing company in Texas. Section 1301.351(a-2) says a person that advertises or otherwise offers to perform or provide plumbing must secure the services of a Responsible Master Plumber. Board rule 367.9(a) repeats it: a person or company shall not advertise, contract for or otherwise offer or agree to perform plumbing work unless the company has secured the services of at least one Responsible Master Plumber holding a current Master Plumber license. A company has secured those services only if the Responsible Master Plumber is an employee of the company or is the owner of the company that contracts for and performs the work. Rule 367.5(a) allows a Master Plumber to act as the Responsible Master Plumber of record for only one person at a time, and requires written notice to the board within ten business days of being added or removed. Rule 367.5(b) and (c) put the permits, the contracts and the supervision on that person's license whether or not they personally signed the contract or pulled the permit. That includes making sure every individual working under the license holds the right credential, that a licensee is present and providing direct supervision wherever a registrant is working, and that every service vehicle carries the display required by rule 367.10. The board's application fee for the designation is $225 and it is non-refundable. A Plumbing Inspector license holder cannot take the designation.
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Experience hours and training at each tier
The hours are set in statute and repeated in board rule, and they only count if you registered first. The board's apprentice page states that you must register as a Plumber's Apprentice before you can start counting hours of experience. Apprentice registration has one substantive requirement: rule 363.7 says the applicant must be at least sixteen years of age. Tradesman Plumber-Limited requires at least 4,000 hours working at the trade under a Responsible Master Plumber or an out-of-state Master Plumber, plus 24 hours of approved training made up of one six-hour apprentice continuing education class, the OSHA 10-Hour Outreach Training class and eight hours on residential plumbing installation. Journeyman Plumber requires at least 8,000 hours under the same supervision, plus 48 hours of classroom training from a board-approved provider that includes two six-hour continuing education classes, the OSHA 10-hour class, eight hours of residential code training and eighteen hours across the Uniform Plumbing Code, International Plumbing Code, International Fuel Gas Code, Texas Accessibility Standards, the Americans with Disabilities Act and water conservation. Master Plumber requires holding a Journeyman license for at least two years, or one year if the applicant completed a training program approved by the United States Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship. Rules 363.5(c) and 363.6(b) let the board credit up to 1,000 hours of the required work experience for an applicant who finished an approved classroom program. An apprentice with an approved associate of applied science degree in plumbing technology may sit for the Tradesman or Journeyman exam directly.
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The examinations, the retake rules and the practical
Board rule 363.18 requires a uniform examination with written questions and practical applications where appropriate. In practice the written half is now a computer-based test. The board's computer-based testing page states that the Tradesman-Limited, Journeyman, Medical Gas Piping Installation and Water Supply Protection Specialist exams are computer-based, that Pearson VUE administers them at over 40 Texas locations, and that the fee for a computer-based test is $68.50 paid directly to Pearson VUE. The Master Plumber Examination Application, revised January 2026, states that the Master exam is computer-based and administered at authorized Pearson VUE testing centers. Practical, hands-on portions stay with the board and are administered in Austin and Waco. The Journeyman exam includes a practical portion, and the board schedules it only after the applicant passes the computer-based portion. Fingerprints are required for all examinees, submitted one time electronically through IdentoGO using TSBPE service code 11J66Z, at a fee of $39.05 collected by IdentoGO on top of license fees. Rule 363.22 lets an applicant who fails one part of a multi-part exam retake only that part, defines a failing score on a single part as 69.9 points or less, and allots three hours for the retake. A new application and fee are required to retake. Waiting periods after a failure run 30 days for the first, 60 days for the second and 90 days for the third and later failures. Rule 363.21 gives the board 30 days to report results.
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Every fee the state charges, by credential
Board rule 361.6 sets the schedule. Initial license and registration fees: Responsible Master Plumber $300, Master Plumber $75, Journeyman Plumber $40, Tradesman Plumber-Limited $35, Plumbing Inspector $55, Plumber's Apprentice $15, and Residential Utilities Installer, Drain Cleaner and Drain Cleaner-Restricted $18 each. Endorsement issue fees run $55 at Master level, $14 at Journeyman level and $27.50 at Inspector level, the same for all three endorsements. Examination fees in the rule: Master Plumber $175, Journeyman Plumber $40, Tradesman Plumber-Limited $36, Plumbing Inspector $55, and for each endorsement $80 Master, $27 Journeyman, $40 Inspector. The board's own Master Plumber page prices that exam differently and more currently: a $25 exam processing fee payable to the board plus a $128.50 exam fee payable to Pearson VUE on the day of the exam. Treat the board's page and application form as the operative number and the rule line as the older figure. Renewals: Responsible Master Plumber $300, Master $75, Journeyman $40, Inspector $55, Tradesman $35, Apprentice $15, and the three registrations $18. Other fees in the rule: Instructor Certification Training $150 per day, Duplicate Pocket Card $25, returned check $25, Transfer of License $500 and License Verification $15. The Responsible Master Plumber designation application fee is $225 and non-refundable. Rule 361.6(a) waives initial license, application and examination fees for military service members, military veterans and military spouses who substantially meet the requirements.
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The insurance the Responsible Master Plumber has to carry
This is the requirement that stops permits. Section 1301.3576 says that before a master plumber works as a responsible master plumber, the master plumber must provide the board with a certificate of insurance that meets the requirements of Section 1301.552. Section 1301.552 sets the substance. The policy must be written by an insurer authorized to do business in Texas or an eligible surplus lines insurer under Insurance Code Section 981.002. It must provide commercial general liability coverage for a claim for property damage or bodily injury, whether the claim arises from negligence or on a contract. It must provide coverage of not less than $300,000 for all claims arising in a one-year period. Board rule 367.6(a) adds that the policy must cover every type of plumbing performed under the license, naming LP-Gas plumbing, medical gas plumbing and multipurpose residential fire protection sprinkler systems. Rule 367.6(b) says a Master Plumber may not act as a Responsible Master Plumber of record unless a valid board-approved certificate of insurance has been uploaded to the online account. The board's application form is blunt about the format: the board only accepts the TSBPE version of the certificate of insurance form, and ACORD forms are not accepted. Certificates uploaded online are immediately valid for permitting. Inaccurate information on the certificate will block permits. Rule 367.6(c) requires the Responsible Master Plumber or the company owner to give any customer the carrier name and the agent's name, address and phone number within 30 days of a written request.
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Annual renewal and the six-hour continuing education rule
Section 1301.401 makes a Texas plumbing license, registration or endorsement valid for one year, renewable annually on payment of the fee. Endorsements expire on the same date as the underlying Master or Journeyman license and renew in the same transaction. Section 1301.404(b) requires at least six hours of continuing professional education a year to renew a license or endorsement, and three of those six hours must be in health protection, energy conservation and water conservation. Section 1301.405 applies the same six-hour annual training to Drain Cleaner, Drain Cleaner-Restricted and Residential Utilities Installer registrants, covering health and safety requirements, board-approved plumbing codes and water conservation. Only programs approved by the executive director count. Rule 365.14 gives a holder twelve months to obtain the hours and requires six hours for each year a credential sat expired, for credentials expired under two years. Courses may be taken in person, by correspondence or virtually. The late math is in Section 1301.403. Expired 90 days or less, you pay one and a half times the normal renewal fee. Expired more than 90 days but less than two years, you pay two times. Expired two years or more, you cannot renew at all and must qualify again from the beginning, examinations included. Rule 365.5(c) spells out the consequence most people miss: a late renewal creates an unlicensed period running from the old expiration date to the issuance date, and licensed plumbing work cannot be performed during it.
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What Texas makes you put on your trucks, your ads and your invoices
Board rule 367.10 is the rule contractors trip over, and it binds both the Responsible Master Plumber of record and the owner of the plumbing company. On vehicles: the Responsible Master Plumber's license number and the company name must appear on both sides of all service vehicles owned or operated by the company, or otherwise used in connection with providing plumbing work by or for the company. The license number must be preceded by the letters M, MPL or RMP. The letters and numbers must be placed on the body of the vehicle, in a contrasting color, and at least two inches in height. On paperwork: the first page of each written or electronic proposal, invoice or contract must carry, in at least twelve-point font, the first and last name of the Responsible Master Plumber of record, that person's license number, the phrase regulated by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, and the board's mailing address, phone number and website address. The rule defines proposal, invoice and contract to include written estimates, service invoices, billing invoices, receipts and any document that defines the scope or cost of work. Section 1301.302 is the statute behind it and also requires giving the customer an invoice or completed contract on completion of the job whether or not a fee was charged. On advertising: every advertisement designed to solicit plumbing business must state the license number of the Responsible Master Plumber of record, regardless of media, including business cards, flyers, referral coupons and handouts.
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The six advertising exceptions, and what they cost to get wrong
Rule 367.10(c) lists six kinds of advertising that do not have to carry the license number. Nationally placed or interstate television advertising is exempt if it includes a statement that license numbers for local providers are available on request. Internet advertising placed by a franchisor on behalf of its franchisees is exempt on the same condition. Advertising with no visual component, such as radio or a phone solicitation, is exempt if the solicitor states that the company complies with state licensing requirements and makes the license number available on request. Promotional items of nominal value such as ball caps, T-shirts and company uniforms are exempt. Signs at or next to the company's permanent business location are exempt. Telephone book listings and other third-party aggregated company information are exempt where the company has no editorial control and does not participate in spreading it. Note what is not on that list: your own website, your own social profiles, your own paid search ads and your own printed handouts all need the number. The penalty guidelines in rule 367.17 price the failures. Failing to permanently display the Responsible Master Plumber license number or company name on both sides of a service vehicle is a Class B violation at $1,000. Failing to display or state the number in an advertisement is $1,000. Failing to include the board's contact information or the name and license number on a written proposal, estimate, invoice or contract is $1,000.
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Penalties for working or advertising without the right license
The board publishes a penalty guideline table in rule 367.17 and splits it into Class A violations, which carry greater potential to jeopardize public health and safety, and Class B violations. The Class A figures a contractor should know: contracting or otherwise offering to perform plumbing without securing the services of a Responsible Master Plumber is $5,000. Merely advertising to perform or provide plumbing without one is $2,500. Allowing illegal use of a Responsible Master Plumber license is $5,000. Failing to maintain insurance while acting as a Responsible Master Plumber is $5,000. Engaging in plumbing without the proper license, registration or endorsement is $4,000, with another $1,000 if the work involved natural gas. Employing an unlicensed or unregistered person is $4,000. Failing to supervise is $4,000. Falsely claiming that a person is licensed, or using another person's license number, is $3,000. Falsely claiming to have secured a Responsible Master Plumber is $3,000. The table is guidance and the board may raise or lower an amount. The statutory ceiling in Section 1301.702 is $5,000 per violation, with each day counted as a separate violation. Section 1301.507 adds a civil penalty of not less than $50 and not more than $1,000 for each act and each day of violation after notice. Section 1301.508 makes unlicensed plumbing, and employing an unlicensed person, a Class C misdemeanor. The executive director may also issue a cease and desist order under Section 1301.5045.
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Coming from another state
Section 1301.3581, added by House Bill 636 in 2021, lets the board waive prerequisites for an applicant who holds a similar credential from a jurisdiction with substantially equivalent requirements, and lets the board make reciprocity agreements with other states subject to the governor's approval. Subsection (d) says an applicant may not be required to sit an examination if the applicant has held an equivalent credential in another jurisdiction for at least two years, and lets the board adopt rules for deciding equivalence. What the board actually runs today is an out-of-state examination path rather than a list of named reciprocal states. The Out-of-State Examination Application, revised March 2026, sets the minimum requirements: proof the applicant is authorized to work lawfully in the United States, proof the applicant is currently licensed as a Journeyman or Master Plumber in another state, and proof the applicant has held that license for two years. The non-refundable processing fee payable to the board is $40 for Journeyman and $25 for Master. Fingerprints are required for all out-of-state examinees. The form states that the Journeyman and Master from Out-of-State exams are computer-based and administered by Pearson VUE, and that the Journeyman exam also includes a practical portion. Failure waiting periods match the in-state rule at 30, 60 and 90 days. Section 1301.3585 separately requires the board to credit verified military service, training or education toward licensing requirements other than examination requirements, and to expedite licensing for applicants with verified military experience.
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City registration and permits in the big Texas metros
The license is statewide. Section 1301.359(a) says a license, endorsement or registration issued under the chapter is valid throughout Texas. The permit is local. Section 1301.551(a) requires every municipality with more than 5,000 inhabitants to regulate plumbing by ordinance and to require a permit before plumbing work, with carve-outs for leak repair and for replacing faucets, ballcocks, water control valves, garbage disposals and water closets. Subsection (h) requires a plumbing contractor to register with a municipality that requires registration before performing regulated work. Subsection (g) is the one worth knowing: a person required to obtain a permit is not required to pay a plumbing registration fee or administrative fee to a municipality or other political subdivision. Houston states that Texas Master Plumbers must register their license with the City of Houston to obtain permits, lists the registration as no fee, valid one year and renewable, and requires the license number, government-issued identification and proof of insurance. Dallas requires the Responsible Master Plumber to appear in person at 320 E. Jefferson Blvd, Room 210, with the current TSBPE Master pocket license and photo identification, and ties the city certificate's expiration to the state license or the certificate of insurance, whichever expires first. San Antonio requires a Responsible Master Plumber license and current insurance registered with the board before city registration, under City Code Chapter 10, Section 10-118. Austin requires mechanical, electrical and plumbing trade contractors to register once and update annually through the Austin Build and Connect portal. Fort Worth requires a valid Texas Master Plumber license and lists Master Plumbing registration as no fee, expiring one year from issuance.
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How a customer, or Google, verifies your Texas license
Texas runs a free public license search and it is the first thing a careful homeowner checks. The board's short link tsbpe.texas.gov/pls redirects to the Texas licensing datamart at vo.licensing.hpc.texas.gov. The board's consumer information page tells buyers to use that search to verify the Responsible Master Plumber license and to confirm that the Master Plumber has a certificate of insurance on file. It also tells them that Master Plumber license numbers begin with M, and that a number beginning with A, T, J or another letter is not a Master Plumber license. That single sentence is why rule 367.10(a) requires the M, MPL or RMP prefix on your trucks: a consumer who has read the board's page is looking for the letter. The board's application forms point applicants at the same search to check fingerprint status, completed training courses and renewal status. The board also publishes a Find-a-Plumber map tool built with the Texas Division of Emergency Management that draws on the public license search data, and a Free Licensee List of daily-updated CSV files broken out by Responsible Master Plumber, Master, Journeyman, Tradesman Plumber-Limited, apprentice and inspector. Complaint history is not in the search: the consumer page directs buyers to call the Enforcement Department at (512) 936-5200, extension 65249. Complaints are filed on the board's General Complaint Form, and rule 367.13 requires them in writing in a board-specified format, submitted by mail, email, fax or in person.
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Where a Texas plumbing license is not required
Chapter 1301 carries a subchapter of exemptions and they matter for anyone quoting rural work. Section 1301.051 lets a property owner do plumbing in their own homestead unlicensed. Section 1301.052 exempts plumbing other than work done in conjunction with new construction, repair or remodeling on property that is in a subdivision or tract not required to be platted under Local Government Code Section 232.0015, or that is not connected to a public water system and sits outside a municipality, or that sits outside a municipality and is connected to a public water system that does not require a license, or that sits inside a municipality of fewer than 5,000 inhabitants in a county of fewer than 50,000 inhabitants where the municipality has authorized unlicensed plumbing by ordinance. Section 1301.053 exempts plumbing incidental to another business by a maintenance person who does not do plumbing for the public, railroad work by railroad employees, public service company work to the point of measurement, appliance connection work by an appliance dealer other than on water heaters, and water treatment work other than rainwater treatment supplying a fixture or appliance. Section 1301.058 covers testing of medical gas and vacuum piping and Sections 1301.054 to 1301.056 address irrigators, water well pump installers and lawn irrigation systems. None of these exemptions release the work from inspection: Section 1301.053(b) says exempt work is still subject to inspection and approval under state law or municipal ordinance.
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The codes the board adopted, and who is allowed to inspect
Board rule 367.2(a) adopts the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code published by IAPMO and the 2018 International Plumbing Code published by the International Code Council, along with the codes incorporated by reference inside it, naming the 2018 International Fuel Gas Code and the 2018 International Residential Code. A political subdivision may adopt its own plumbing code with amendments for local concerns, provided the amendments do not substantially vary from state rules or laws, and plumbing must be installed under the codes adopted where the work happens. Rule 367.2(c)(1) fills the gap: plumbing installed by a licensee in an unincorporated county area, or anywhere no plumbing code has been adopted, must follow the codes the board adopted. LP-Gas piping must also follow the rules of the Texas Railroad Commission. Rule 367.2(d) sets a specific fixture requirement, that water closet fill valves be the antisiphon integral vacuum breaker type with the critical level at least one inch above the flood level rim of the fixture. Section 1301.255(e) and rule 367.2(e) require that plumbing installed under an adopted code be inspected by a licensed Plumbing Inspector, and a political subdivision may contract with any plumbing inspector or qualified plumbing inspection business that the subdivision pays directly. Section 1301.353 and rule 367.4(a)(1) bar an inspector from having a financial or advisory interest in a plumbing company, and the penalty guideline for inspecting with such an interest is $4,000.
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