Utah · Plumbing licensing · official-source guide
Utah licenses plumbing at state level through the Division of Professional Licensing, and it licenses the individual and the contracting business separately. Individuals hold one of five plumber grades. Businesses hold classification P200 General Plumbing Contractor or P201 Residential Plumbing Contractor, and the qualifier for a P200 must already be a licensed master plumber.
State-level license
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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.
The Utah Division of Professional Licensing, DOPL, sits inside the Department of Commerce at the Heber M. Wells Building, 160 East 300 South, Salt Lake City, with mail going to P.O. Box 146741, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6741. It administers both halves of Utah plumbing regulation under the Utah Construction Trades Licensing Act, Title 58 Chapter 55. Utah Code 58-55-103 creates the Construction Services Commission inside the division, which makes the licensing rules and sets passing scores with the concurrence of the director. The Electricians and Plumbers Licensing Board advises on the trade side. What matters commercially is that the two licenses are not interchangeable and you will usually need both. The trade license is personal and comes in five grades: Apprentice Plumber, Residential Journeyman Plumber, Journeyman Plumber, Residential Master Plumber and Master Plumber. The contractor license is issued to the business entity by classification. Utah Code 58-55-302 ties them together: for licensure as a plumbing contractor the qualifier must be a licensed master plumber, and for licensure as a residential plumbing contractor the qualifier must be a licensed master plumber or a licensed master residential plumber. So a company cannot hold the plumbing contractor classification unless a named individual inside it already carries the top personal grade. The two licenses even renew in different years.
Sourcesdopl.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3le.utah.gov 4le.utah.gov 5
Utah's plumbing contractor classifications are P200 and P201, and neither is a specialty S-code. Rule R156-55a-301f defines P200 General Plumbing Contractor under Utah Code 58-55-301(2)(k). A P200 licensee may perform all work defined in Utah Code 58-55-102(29), and the rule adds two inclusions: furnishing materials, fixtures and labor to extend service from a building out to the main water, sewer or gas pipeline, and the entire scope of a P201 Residential Plumbing Contractor. Rule R156-55a-301j defines P201 Residential Plumbing Contractor under Utah Code 58-55-301(2)(w), with scope drawn from Utah Code 58-55-102(49). Both rules carry the same restriction on subcontracting: a P200 or P201 licensee may not subcontract or hire any person to perform work on a project outside the scope defined for that classification. The boundary with HVAC is drawn explicitly. Rule R156-55a-301g states that HVAC does not include plumbing trade work under Utah Code 58-55-102(40), and that gas line work is off limits to an H100 unless the qualifier and the technician are Certified Natural Gas Technicians. A B100 General Building Contractor does not absorb plumbing either. R156-55a-301c excludes a P200 and a P201 from the B100 scope, while allowing a B100 to hire or subcontract to a Journeyman Plumber, Master Plumber, Residential Journeyman Plumber or Residential Master Plumber directly.
The Apprentice Plumber license is the entry point and requires only that the employer complete and sign the Verification of Supervision form. There is no exam. The Residential Journeyman Plumber requires 6,000 hours of experience as a licensed apprentice under a licensed journeyman or master plumber plus completion of a three-year approved apprentice plumber education program of at least 432 classroom hours, or 12,000 hours of licensed plumber experience with no schooling. The plumber application adds that the 12,000 hour route must run over not less than six years. The Journeyman Plumber requires completion of a plumber's apprenticeship education program of 576 classroom hours plus 8,000 hours of licensed plumbing experience under a licensed journeyman or master, or 16,000 hours with no program. The Master Plumber requires 4,000 hours of licensed Journeyman Plumber experience as a supervisor, or an Associate of Applied Science degree from an institution recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation plus 2,000 hours of supervisory experience. The Residential Master Plumber requires 4,000 hours as a licensed Residential Journeyman Plumber plus 4,000 hours of supervisory experience in that grade, or the degree plus 2,000 supervisory hours. Two DOPL pages disagree on the journeyman hours. The apply page and the plumber application both say 8,000 hours on the schooling route. The exam information page says 6,000 hours of plumbing experience as a licensed apprentice plus seven semesters. Both are current DOPL sources.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3commerce.utah.gov 4commerce.utah.gov 5commerce.utah.gov 6commerce.utah.gov 7
DOPL states plainly that preapproval for testing is not required on the plumber side, which is the opposite of the contractor side. The Residential Journeyman Plumber sits the Utah Residential Plumber Written Exam and the Utah Plumber Practical Exam. The Journeyman Plumber sits the Utah Plumber Written Exam and the Utah Plumber Practical Exam. The Master Plumber and Residential Master Plumber sit the Utah Master Plumber Law and Rule Exam, and the plumber application sets the passing score for that exam at 75 percent or greater. The practical exam is not repeated for a master applicant who has previously passed it. The Apprentice Plumber classification has no exam requirement at all. Effective January 19, 2026, all first-time candidates registering to take licensing exams with Prov must submit the Verification of Plumber Experience form directly to Prov by electronically attaching it to the exam registration. Out-of-state applicants who attended a trade program must also attach official transcripts to the registration. Applicants who graduated from an approved Utah trade program have their application held in pending status until the school authorizes them to proceed. DOPL tells applicants not to submit the licensure application until all required exams are passed and all other requirements are met, and exam fees go directly to the testing agency rather than to the division.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3
DOPL lists the contractor prerequisites in order and each one is a document. First, identify the classification and its scope in the administrative rules. Second, complete an approved pre-licensure course before applying. A specialty contractor needs a 25-hour course; general contractors and plumbing and electrical contractors need 30 hours, and the contractor application expresses the same total as the 25-hour pre-licensure course plus a 5-hour Business and Law course for E100, B100, R100, H100, E200, E201, P200 and P201 applicants. Courses come from Associated Builders and Contractors, the Utah Home Builders Association or the Associated General Contractors of Utah. Anyone who took the pre-licensure course before October 1, 2019 does not need the extra five hours. Third, a general liability certificate naming DOPL as certificate holder. Fourth, registration of the business entity with the Utah Division of Corporations for a corporation, LLC, LLP or partnership. Fifth, a federal EIN, unless a sole proprietor using a Social Security number. If you have employees you must hold workers compensation insurance with DOPL as certificate holder, a state withholding tax registration from the Utah State Tax Commission and an unemployment registration from the Department of Workforce Services. If you have no employees you must instead hold a Workers Compensation Coverage Waiver from the Utah Labor Commission. Utah Code 58-55-302 also requires two years of full-time paid construction industry experience for most classifications.
DOPL requires the Utah Contractor Business and Law Exam for B100 General Building Contractor, E100 General Engineering Contractor, H100 HVAC Contractor, R100 Residential and Small Commercial Contractor, E200 General Electrical Contractor, E201 Residential Electrical Contractor, P200 General Plumbing Contractor and P201 Residential Plumbing Contractor. For the plumbing classifications the division adds one line that decides everything: master classification needed. Utah Code 58-55-302 says the same in statutory language. For licensure as a plumbing contractor the applicant must be a licensed master plumber. For licensure as a residential plumbing contractor the applicant must be a licensed master plumber or a licensed master residential plumber. There is no trade exam for P200 or P201 sitting on top of that, because the master plumber licensure already carried the Master Plumber Law and Rule Exam at 75 percent. The practical consequence for a growing plumbing business is sequencing. You cannot buy your way into the contractor classification. Someone in the company has to have logged the apprentice hours, passed the written and practical exams as a journeyman, then logged 4,000 supervisory hours or 2,000 with an applied science degree, and passed the law and rule exam, before the entity can hold P200. Utah Code 58-55-501(2) makes acting beyond the scope of the license held its own unlawful act, so a P201 entity cannot take commercial plumbing on the strength of a residential classification.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1le.utah.gov 2le.utah.gov 3commerce.utah.gov 4
Utah raised the contractor insurance floor in 2026 and two DOPL sources currently disagree on the aggregate. The DOPL contracting page announcement, headed New Contractor Licensing Requirements Effective April 20, 2026 and stated to apply to all contractors, gives updated insurance minimums of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate. The Apply for a Specialty Contractor License page repeats it: a general liability insurance certificate with minimum required coverage of $1,000,000 for each incident and $2,000,000 in total, with DOPL listed as certificate holder. The contractor application form itself, in the version published in March 2026, states minimum coverage of $1,000,000 for each incident and $3,000,000 in the aggregate. Both are DOPL documents on DOPL's own site. Carry the higher figure until the division reconciles them, and confirm with the division before binding. Beyond general liability, Utah Code 58-55-302 requires proof of workers' compensation insurance covering employees and comprehensive general liability in amounts established by rule. Rule R156-55a-501(3) makes failing to continuously maintain insurance and registration unprofessional conduct, and R156-55a-501(4) requires a licensee to produce proof of coverage, the insurer's name, the policy number, the expiration date, the coverage limits, the policy itself, the workers compensation policy and any exclusions within 30 days of a request from the division or from anyone with a reasonable basis to make a claim.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3le.utah.gov 4adminrules.utah.gov 5
Utah does not set a fixed contractor bond amount. Utah Code 58-55-306 requires an applicant for a contractor license, and a licensee renewing or reinstating one, to demonstrate financial responsibility either by completing and signing the division's questionnaire, certifying the information is true and accurate, or by submitting a bond in an amount and form determined by the commission. Financial responsibility has to be maintained throughout the period of licensure, the division may audit it on a random basis or on a finding of reasonable need, and the burden of proof sits on the applicant or licensee. For an unincorporated entity the division considers the personal financial information of every individual holding an ownership interest, may audit that information at any time and may obtain a credit report. If it concludes the applicant lacks financial responsibility it may prohibit the individual from engaging in a construction trade, prohibit the entity unless that individual dissociates within 10 days, or require a bond. Rule R156-55a-602 supplies the arithmetic. A bond submitted under Utah Code 58-55-306(5)(b)(iii)(B) is set at 20 percent of the annual gross distributions from the unincorporated entity to its owners. Otherwise the minimum is the greater of 30 percent of total liabilities listed on bankruptcy Forms 106 where a petition has been filed, is pending or was discharged within three years, or 30 percent of cumulative outstanding debts, judgments, child support obligations and liens where those total $1,000 or more. The contractor application warns that a bond may be required before the license is issued.
Sourcesle.utah.gov 1adminrules.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3
The plumber application sets a $116.00 non-refundable application-processing fee payable to DOPL, and that figure covers all applicants regardless of grade. Exam fees are separate and go directly to the testing agency, not to the division, so DOPL publishes no amount for them. The plumber renewal fee is $74. On the contractor side the fee is assembled rather than fixed. The contractor application fee table multiplies the total number of qualifiers by $50.00, adds the total number of classifications multiplied by $175.00, and adds an Electronic Reference Library Surcharge of $1.00. The division explains the surcharge as funding web-based access for licensees to national, state and local building codes and standards, requested by emailing the division once the license issues. An unincorporated applicant with one or more owners holding less than 8 percent pays an additional $20 registration fee for each such owner. The contractor renewal fee is $128. Military members and spouses may qualify for a fee waiver by emailing DOPL a military fee waiver form, the license renewal form and a copy of active military orders. All DOPL fees are non-refundable, and DOPL sends a receipt to the email on file within two business days of payment and a copy of the license within one to three business days of approval.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3commerce.utah.gov 4
Utah Code 58-55-303 puts every license under this chapter on a two-year renewal cycle established by rule, and lets the division shorten or extend a period by up to a year to stagger the cycles it administers. DOPL has staggered plumbing and contracting into opposite years. Plumbing license renewals are due November 30 of even years. Contracting licenses expire November 30 of odd years. A plumbing business holding both will therefore renew something almost every year. The continuing education totals differ as well. Plumbers complete 12 hours of approved CE per licensing cycle, of which 8 hours must be core education and 4 may be core or professional, under Utah Administrative Rule R156-55c-304. Contractors complete 6 hours per licensing period, of which 3 must be core and 3 may be core or professional, with a maximum of 3 hours taken online. DOPL states that 3 of a contractor's 6 hours must be taught live, and that a live webinar counts. Each contractor course applies to all of that licensee's contracting licenses. DOPL emails a renewal notice to the address on file at least 60 days before a contractor license expires and 90 days before a plumber license expires, and Utah Code 58-1-301.7 requires the licensee to notify DOPL of any address or email change within 10 business days. Renewal cannot be completed on a mobile device.
Sourcesle.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3commerce.utah.gov 4commerce.utah.gov 5
Utah does not run a state-by-state reciprocity table in text. It publishes endorsement maps, one per license, and the map is the reciprocity page. There is a Journeyman Plumber Endorsement to Utah map, a Residential Journeyman Plumber map, a Master Plumber map, a Residential Master Plumber map and a separate Endorsement to Utah: Contractor document. Each uses three categories: equivalent to the Utah license, limited to specific classifications, and no equivalent license to Utah. If your state shows an equivalent license, you request a Verification of Licensure from that state's licensing authority and upload it with the online application. If it shows no equivalent, you meet the standard Utah requirements instead. The contractor endorsement adds conditions the trade endorsements do not. You must have held the equivalent license for at least one year and it must be in good standing, at least 50 percent of the ownership proposed for the Utah license must match the ownership of the license used for endorsement, and no more than 50 percent of the company ownership may have changed within the last year. Where a jurisdiction issues no state or territory-wide license, DOPL will accept city or county licenses as partial documentation of hours, exams and other qualifications rather than as endorsement. The contractor document also lists the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as additional jurisdictions.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3commerce.utah.gov 4commerce.utah.gov 5commerce.utah.gov 6
Utah Code 58-55-501 defines unlawful conduct and several clauses hit plumbing directly. Engaging in a construction trade or representing yourself as engaged in one requiring licensure without being licensed. Acting beyond the scope of the license held. Hiring a person who is not licensed to perform work on a project. Applying for or obtaining a building permit when not licensed. Submitting a bid for work for which a license is required. Doing business under a name other than the name appearing on the license. Allowing your license to be used by another. Failing to directly supervise an apprentice, or exceeding the number of apprentices allowed, where you are licensed as a plumbing trade contractor, journeyman plumber or residential journeyman plumber. Utah Code 58-55-503(2)(a) makes most of those a class A misdemeanor, and adds that failing to comply with a final citation is itself a class A misdemeanor. Subsection (2)(b) handles bidding separately: a person who bids without a license may not be awarded and may not accept a contract for the performance of the work. The administrative fines under 58-55-503(5)(h) are up to $1,000 for a first offense, up to $2,000 for a second, and up to $2,000 for each day of continued offense thereafter. For the tax withholding and related clauses the ladder doubles to $2,000, $4,000 and $4,000 per day. A citation must be contested in writing within 20 calendar days.
Sourcesle.utah.gov 1le.utah.gov 2
Utah imposes no general requirement that a plumbing contractor put a license number in advertising. The one vehicle-display duty in the statute is aimed elsewhere. Utah Code 58-55-501(25) makes it unlawful for a sign installation contractor or a nonelectrical outdoor advertising sign contractor to fail to display the contractor's license number prominently on a vehicle that the contractor uses and that displays the contractor's business name, or to fail to carry a copy of the license in any other vehicle used at a job site. That clause names sign contractors only. What does bind a plumbing contractor is narrower and easy to breach. Utah Code 58-55-501(11) makes it unlawful conduct to do business under a name other than the name appearing on the license, except as permitted by statute or rule, so a trade name on a truck, a website or an estimate that does not match the licensed entity name is the violation. Rule R156-55a-501(9) makes it unprofessional conduct to fail to timely provide, upon request by any person, a copy of a current license or the license number when performing construction trades work, which means a customer standing on a driveway can demand the number and refusal is a disciplinary matter. Rule R156-55a-501(2) requires notice to the division within 10 days of any change in the name, address, phone number or email of the qualifier or owners.
Utah adds one registration that sits outside the license and reaches any plumbing contractor touching houses. Utah Code 58-55-501(17) makes it unlawful conduct to engage in the construction trade or act as a contractor for the construction of residences of up to two units when not currently registered, or exempt from registration, as a qualified beneficiary under Title 38 Chapter 11, the Residence Lien Restriction and Lien Recovery Fund Act. DOPL lists the Residence Lien Recovery Fund on its own services menu and publishes the act and its rules, R156-38a, on the contracting laws and rules page alongside the State Construction Registry Rule R156-38b. Utah Code 58-55-501(18) adds a paperwork duty in the same area: it is unlawful conduct for an original contractor, as defined in Utah Code 38-11-102, to fail to include in a written contract the notification required by Utah Code 38-11-108. Utah Code 58-55-501(19) makes wrongfully filing a preconstruction or construction lien a violation as well. For a plumbing business the sequence is practical rather than theoretical. Residential work means the license, the insurance certificate with DOPL as holder, the lien fund registration, the statutory notice in the written contract, and filing in the State Construction Registry. Missing the registration does not merely cost the lien remedy; it is listed as unlawful conduct under the licensing act itself.
Utah handles the local layer differently from most states. Rather than licensing plumbers city by city, it makes the building official the enforcement point. Utah Code 58-55-501(5) makes it unlawful conduct to issue a building permit to any person for whom there is no evidence of a current license or exemption from licensure as a contractor, and 58-55-501(4) makes it unlawful to apply for or obtain a building permit when not licensed or exempted. Salt Lake City Building Services states the resulting rule in its own FAQ: state law treats rental property as commercial property, and work on all commercial property must have permits issued to state licensed contractors to ensure the work is to current code. Permits are applied for through the city's Citizen Access Portal, plans go to ProjectDox for review, and balances are paid through Teller. Building Services also warns that it never sends unsolicited emails asking for a fee by wire transfer and that invoices should be confirmed through the portal or the cashier's office. The separate local requirement is commercial rather than technical. Salt Lake City Corporation requires a business license as the permission to engage in the business the license is issued for, and its definition of business covers all activities, trades, professions or callings. Plan on the DOPL license for the trade and the city business license for the address.
DOPL runs a single public lookup for every profession it licenses, linked from the division home page as Verify a License and hosted on the state's secure portal. That one search covers plumbers and contractors, so a homeowner can check the individual and the company from the same box. Two companion tools sit next to it. The Disciplinary Actions and Citations Search publishes formal actions, and DOPL maintains an Active Licensee Count. A contractor who wants the record to read correctly has three specific duties. Rule R156-55a-501(2) requires notifying the division within 10 days of any change to the name, address, phone number or email of the qualifier or the owners. Rule R156-55a-501(1) makes failing to notify the division of any matter requiring notification, including a change in qualifier, grounds the division and commission treat as cause for immediate suspension of the contractor's license. Utah Code 58-55-503(4)(b) lists the same failures as grounds for immediate suspension, naming applying for a new specialty classification, filing a current financial statement and notifying the division of loss of insurance coverage or a change in qualifier. Utah Code 58-1-301.7 requires address and email updates within 10 business days, and DOPL points licensees to My License One to make them. A lapsed or suspended record is the first thing a customer sees.
Sourcessecure.utah.gov 1dopl.utah.gov 2adminrules.utah.gov 3le.utah.gov 4commerce.utah.gov 5
These are common details other guides publish about Utah, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
Yes. The Utah Division of Professional Licensing licenses both individual plumbers and plumbing contracting businesses under the Utah Construction Trades Licensing Act, Title 58 Chapter 55. The Construction Services Commission created by Utah Code 58-55-103 makes the licensing rules and sets passing scores with the concurrence of the director.
Both, separately. Individuals hold one of five grades: Apprentice, Residential Journeyman, Journeyman, Residential Master or Master Plumber. Businesses hold a contractor classification. Utah Code 58-55-302 requires the qualifier for a plumbing contractor to be a licensed master plumber, so the business license depends on an individual license inside the company.
P200 General Plumbing Contractor, defined by Rule R156-55a-301f under Utah Code 58-55-301(2)(k), and P201 Residential Plumbing Contractor, defined by Rule R156-55a-301j under Utah Code 58-55-301(2)(w). A P200 includes the full P201 scope plus extending service from a building out to the main water, sewer or gas pipeline.
Two routes. With a plumber's apprenticeship education program of 576 classroom hours, DOPL's apply page and plumber application require 8,000 hours of licensed experience under a journeyman or master plumber. Without the program, 16,000 hours. DOPL's exam information page states the schooled route differently, as seven semesters plus 6,000 hours, so confirm with the division.
Either 4,000 hours of licensed Journeyman Plumber experience as a supervisor, or an Associate of Applied Science degree or similar from a CHEA-recognized institution plus 2,000 hours of supervisory experience. Every applicant must pass the Utah Master Plumber Law and Rule Examination, and the plumber application sets the passing score at 75 percent or greater.
The plumber application processing fee is $116.00 and is non-refundable. Plumber renewal is $74. A contractor application is priced by line: $50.00 per qualifier, $175.00 per classification and a $1.00 Electronic Reference Library surcharge, plus $20 per owner holding under 8 percent of an unincorporated entity. Contractor renewal is $128.
DOPL's contracting page and its specialty contractor application page both state $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, effective April 20, 2026, with DOPL as certificate holder. The contractor application form published in March 2026 states $1,000,000 each incident and $3,000,000 aggregate. Two DOPL sources conflict, so confirm before binding.
Plumbing license renewals are due November 30 of even years. Contracting licenses expire November 30 of odd years. Utah Code 58-55-303 puts every license under the chapter on a two-year cycle and lets the division stagger it. A business holding both a plumber grade and a contractor classification renews in alternating years.
Plumbers complete 12 hours per licensing cycle, of which 8 must be core, under Rule R156-55c-304. Contractors complete 6 hours per period, of which 3 must be core and 3 must be taught live, with a maximum of 3 hours online. Each contractor course counts across all of that licensee's contracting licenses.
Possibly, through licensure by endorsement. DOPL publishes an endorsement map for each license showing whether your state is equivalent, limited to specific classifications, or has no Utah equivalent. For the contractor license you must have held the equivalent license at least one year in good standing, with at least 50 percent common ownership and no more than 50 percent ownership change in the past year.
Utah Code 58-55-503(2)(a) makes most unlawful conduct under 58-55-501 a class A misdemeanor. Citation fines run up to $1,000 for a first offense, up to $2,000 for a second, and up to $2,000 for each day of continued offense after that. A person who bids without a license may not be awarded and may not accept the contract.
No. The vehicle display duty in Utah Code 58-55-501(25) applies to sign installation and nonelectrical outdoor advertising sign contractors, not to plumbers. What does apply is Utah Code 58-55-501(11), which bars doing business under a name other than the one on the license, and Rule R156-55a-501(9), which makes refusing to give your license number on request unprofessional conduct.
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