Two licenses, two agencies, and why a plumbing company needs both
West Virginia regulates plumbing twice, and the two licenses do not substitute for each other. The West Virginia Division of Labor licenses the individual plumber under the Supervision of Plumbing Work Act, W. Va. Code 21-14-1 and following. Since January 1, 2009, no person may perform or offer to perform plumbing work in the state without a plumber license issued by the Commissioner of Labor. That license attaches to a human being and comes in three grades. Separately, the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board licenses the business under the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Act. That Act used to sit at W. Va. Code 21-11. House Bill 2006 of the 2021 regular session repealed article 11 and re-enacted the Act as W. Va. Code 30-42-1 and following, effective June 15, 2021. Every section of the old article 11 now reads Repealed on the Legislature's own code site, so a contractor still citing 21-11 is citing dead law. Under 30-42-6(a), no person may act as a contractor or submit a bid without a board license, and no firm, partnership, corporation or association may contract unless an officer holds one. So a one-person shop doing jobs over the dollar thresholds carries a Division of Labor plumber license in the owner's name and a Contractor Licensing Board license with the Plumbing classification in the company's name. A larger shop carries a plumber license for every plumber on the truck and one contractor license for the entity.
Sourceslabor.wv.gov 1labor.wv.gov 2code.wvlegislature.gov 3code.wvlegislature.gov 4code.wvlegislature.gov 5code.wvlegislature.gov 6code.wvlegislature.gov 7
The three plumber grades and the scope of each
W. Va. Code 21-14-2 defines the three grades the Division of Labor issues. A master plumber has passed the master plumber written examination with a score of at least 70 percent and is competent to design plumbing systems and to instruct and supervise the plumbing work of journeyman plumbers and plumbers in training. A journeyman plumber has passed the journeyman written examination at 70 percent or better and is competent to instruct and supervise the work of a plumber in training. A plumber in training is a person who has not passed the journeyman examination, and the statute caps that grade's fee at $25.00. Rule 42-32-8 sets the supervision ratio: a licensed master or licensed journeyman may directly supervise no more than three licensed plumbers in training. Rule 42-32-3.5 defines direct supervision as instruction, direction, oversight and control of the trainee's work at each separate job site, so one master cannot cover three trainees scattered across three towns. Plumbing itself is defined broadly at 21-14-2(e). It covers piping, fixtures, water treatment devices, plumbing appliances and appurtenances connected with sanitary or storm drainage, venting systems, medical gas systems, fuel oil and gas piping for residential, commercial and institutional facilities, backflow preventers, and public or private water supply systems. Medical gas and fuel gas piping sit inside the plumber license in West Virginia rather than behind a separate state endorsement.
Sourcescode.wvlegislature.gov 1labor.wv.gov 2labor.wv.gov 3
What the Division of Labor asks for as experience
Two Division of Labor sources describe the experience requirement differently, and a contractor should know both before applying. The agency's Plumber Certification page states that all master and journeyman applicants are required to certify experience and take a written exam. The legislative rule and the application form describe something narrower. Rule 42-32-6.1 requires a completed application and affidavit plus the license fee, and 42-32-6.2 requires a passing examination score. Neither the rule nor W. Va. Code 21-14 states a number of years or hours of field experience for any grade. The Plumber License Application and Affidavit itself, revised June 16, 2021, asks for name, contact details, the grade sought, and the examination date and score, and it carries no experience block, no employer verification section and no hour count. The only time bar written into law is the gap between grades: 21-14-2(c) and rule 42-32-10.4 both say the master examination may not be taken until 12 months after passage of the journeyman examination. The practical reading is that the affidavit the applicant swears before a notary is where the certification of experience happens, since the form is sworn under penalty of perjury. A plumber in training needs no examination at all and no stated experience, which is why that grade is the entry point.
Sourceslabor.wv.gov 1labor.wv.gov 2labor.wv.gov 3code.wvlegislature.gov 4
The plumber examination: 70 percent, the code it tests, and the 12 month wait
Rule 42-32-10.1 requires any applicant for a master or journeyman license to take the examination for that grade and obtain a minimum score of at least 70 percent. The same 70 percent figure is written into the statutory definitions at 21-14-2(b) and 21-14-2(c), so it cannot be moved by rule. Rule 42-32-10.2 says the Commissioner provides written examinations that test the applicant's knowledge of the International Plumbing Code. Rule 42-32-4 incorporates the International Plumbing Code as published by the International Code Council and as adopted by the West Virginia State Fire Commission in 87 CSR 4. The Fire Commission rule adopts the 2018 edition of the International Plumbing Code at 87-4-4.1, so the 2018 IPC is the book the state examination is drawn from. Rule 42-32-10.2.1 lets the Commissioner contract with a private testing agent, in which case candidates pay the examination fee directly to that agent, and the Division of Labor's Plumber Certification FAQ names ProV, Inc. as the testing agent. A candidate who misses 70 percent may retake the examination on payment of the applicable examination fee under 42-32-10.3. Rule 42-32-10.4 blocks the master examination until 12 months have expired from the date the journeyman examination was passed, so the shortest route from journeyman to master is a full year regardless of how much work the candidate does.
Sourceslabor.wv.gov 1code.wvlegislature.gov 2labor.wv.gov 3firemarshal.wv.gov 4
Every fee the Division of Labor charges a plumber
The plumber fee schedule is short and the rule and the agency's fee page agree on it. Rule 42-32-9.1 sets a $75 annual license fee for an initial or renewal applicant for a master plumber license or a journeyman plumber license. Rule 42-32-9.2 sets a $25 annual license fee for a plumber in training. Rule 42-32-9.3 adds a $25 late fee on top of the annual fee for any renewal received or postmarked more than 15 days after the expiration date. Rule 42-32-9.4 allows a $10 fee for a duplicate license on written request. The Division of Labor's Plumber Certification Fees page publishes the same four numbers: $75.00 for master and journeyman initial certification and renewal, $25.00 for plumber in training initial certification and renewal, $10.00 for a duplicate certification and a $25.00 late fee. The Plumber License Application and Affidavit repeats master $75.00, journeyman $75.00 and plumber in training $25.00, and directs payment by check, certified check, cashier's check or money order payable to the West Virginia Division of Labor, with no cash accepted. The examination fee is not in this list. Rule 42-32-10.2.1 puts that fee in the testing agent's hands and the Division of Labor does not publish the amount.
Sourceslabor.wv.gov 1labor.wv.gov 2labor.wv.gov 3
When plumbing work also needs a contractor license
The contractor license is triggered by the size of the job, not by the trade. W. Va. Code 30-42-3(d) defines a contractor as a person who for compensation undertakes, offers to undertake, purports to have capacity to undertake, or submits a bid to construct, alter, repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck or demolish any building or structure, where the cost of the undertaking is $5,000 or more for residential work or $25,000 or more for commercial work. Below those thresholds the contractor license is not required and the plumber license still is. Rule 28-2-3.37 defines undertaking as the entire construction project including the cost of all labor and materials, so a plumber cannot split a single project into sub-$5,000 pieces to stay under the line. Section 30-42-3(m) defines the plumbing contractor classification as a person whose principal business is the installation, maintenance, extension and alteration of piping, plumbing fixtures, plumbing appliances and appurtenances, venting systems and public or private water supply systems within or adjacent to any building, including gas piping, chilled water piping for refrigeration and comfort cooling, hot water piping for building heating, and piping for stand pipes. Section 30-42-10(b) adds a paperwork rule that bites well below the commercial threshold: no licensee may perform contracting work of an aggregate value of $10,000 or more, materials and labor included, without a written contract describing the work and its cost and signed by both sides.
Sourcescode.wvlegislature.gov 1apps.sos.wv.gov 2code.wvlegislature.gov 3
Classifications, qualifiers, and the residential shortcut
Rule 28-2-6.2 lists the classifications the Contractor Licensing Board examines for, and Plumbing contractor is one of them at 28-2-6.2.11. The list also includes concrete, electrical, excavation, general building, general engineering, heating ventilating and cooling, manufactured home installation, masonry, multifamily, piping, remodeling and repair, residential, sprinkler and fire protection, structural steel erection and utilities contractor. Two of those matter to a plumbing company. Rule 28-2-3.30 says a residential contractor is considered licensed for all classifications required in the construction, repair or improvement of a residential structure, which under 30-42-3(q) means a building of not more than three floors above grade used for residential occupancy. Rule 28-2-3.18 runs the same logic in reverse for general building contractors: outside work on a residential structure, the general building classification does not include performing electrical, plumbing, heating ventilating and cooling, piping or general engineering work. The license belongs to the entity, not the person who passed the test. Rule 28-2-3.28 defines the qualifier as the individual who obtains the passing score and who must be either a member of responsible management or a full-time employee, and who must file an affidavit letting the entity use the score. An entity may have multiple qualifiers. Rule 28-2-4.5 gives an entity 45 calendar days to name a replacement if a qualifier leaves, and 28-2-4.7 says failure to replace can strip the classification or inactivate the license.
Sourcesapps.sos.wv.gov 1code.wvlegislature.gov 2
The contractor examination: two tests, both at 70 percent
Rule 28-2-5.3 requires all applicants to pass a written examination in each contractor classification they seek plus a separate West Virginia business and law examination. A plumbing company therefore sits two examinations, the plumbing contractor trade test and the business and law test. Rule 28-2-6.1 sets the bar at a score of at least 70 percent on each examination, and anyone who falls short may apply for re-examination at the next regular session. Two routes narrow that. Rule 28-2-5.3.1 says an out-of-state contractor seeking licensure for bid purposes only passes just the business and law examination to qualify for a conditional license, and 28-2-4.3.2 requires that conditional license to be upgraded to the real classifications before work starts and before any subcontractor is hired. Rule 28-2-5.3.2 says an applicant coming in under the Universal Professional and Occupational Licensing Act passes only the business and law examination. Section 30-42-5(b)(1) requires the board to hold at least one examination in each calendar quarter for each classification. Rule 28-2-6.3 requires the board to notify applicants of date, place and time at least 15 calendar days ahead. Rule 28-2-6.4 puts examinations in the hands of a private testing agent approved and certified by the board, charges an examination fee for each classification requested, and makes the applicant pay that agent directly.
Sourcesapps.sos.wv.gov 1code.wvlegislature.gov 2
Contractor fees, the fee waivers, and the one year term
W. Va. Code 30-42-7(a) caps the license fee at $150 and 30-42-8(a) caps the application and annual license fee at the same $150, leaving the actual number to the board. Rule 28-2-5.5 sets it: any person desiring a license must pay an annual fee of $90 at the time of application. One narrow exception sits at 28-2-5.5.1, where a sole proprietorship operating only as an electrical contractor whose owner holds an electrician's license pays $20 a year. Rule 28-2-5.6 adds a $25 penalty fee when a renewal application is received or postmarked more than 15 calendar days after expiration, and requires the board to send a renewal notice at least 30 calendar days before the expiration date. Rule 28-2-5.7 allows a $10 fee for each duplicate license. Two applicants can skip the first year's fee. Rule 28-2-5.5.2 waives the initial fee for a low-income individual who files an affidavit under W. Va. Code 30-1-23, and 28-2-5.5.3 waives it for a qualifying military family applicant, with both paying the $90 annual fee at renewal. Section 30-42-8(a) fixes the term: a license expires one year from the date it is issued. The plumber license runs on the same one year clock under rule 42-32-6.3.
Sourcescode.wvlegislature.gov 1code.wvlegislature.gov 2apps.sos.wv.gov 3labor.wv.gov 4
Insurance, the wage bond, and the affidavit before the license issues
Neither the Contractor Licensing Act nor rule 28CSR2 sets a general liability insurance minimum for a West Virginia contractor license, and the Supervision of Plumbing Work Act sets none for a plumber license. What the board does require is a sworn affidavit. Under W. Va. Code 30-42-5(e), after the applicant passes the examination and before the license issues, the applicant certifies by affidavit that the business is in compliance with the business franchise tax provisions of chapter 11, has registered and is in compliance with the workers compensation fund and the employment security fund, and is in compliance with the wage bond requirements of W. Va. Code 21-5-14. The wage bond is the one hard money requirement. Section 21-5-14(a) requires any employer engaging in construction work to furnish a bond payable to the State of West Virginia conditioned on paying wages and fringe benefits when due, in an amount equal to the employer's gross payroll for four weeks at full capacity plus 15 percent of that total, rising and falling with payroll. Contractors already doing business in the state actively and actually engaged in construction work for at least one year before the posting are excepted. Section 21-5-14(a)(1) to (3) exempts an employer that has been in business in another state for at least five years, has at least $100,000 in assets, or is a subsidiary of a parent in business at least five years. Section 21-5-14(b) lets the Commissioner waive the bond on a finding of sufficient financial responsibility.
Sourcescode.wvlegislature.gov 1code.wvlegislature.gov 2apps.sos.wv.gov 3labor.wv.gov 4
Renewal, the 90 day cliff, and continuing education
Both licenses renew annually and both have the same hard stop. On the plumber side, rule 42-32-6.3 makes a master or journeyman license valid for up to one year, 42-32-6.4 lets the holder renew on or before the expiration date, requires the Commissioner to send a renewal notice at least 45 days in advance, charges a $25 late fee when the renewal arrives more than 15 days late, and then states flatly that a license expired for 90 days or more cannot be renewed. Rule 42-32-7.2 and 42-32-7.3 apply the same terms to a plumber in training. On the contractor side, W. Va. Code 30-42-13(a) says a license not renewed on or before the renewal date lapses, allows the board to set a delayed renewal fee, and says no license that has lapsed for 90 days or more may be renewed. The one carve-out in 30-42-13(a) is for a licensee in a dispute with a state agency who is found not at fault, in which case the board shall renew. Past 90 days on either license, the route back is a fresh application, and on the plumber side that means the examination again. Continuing education is the surprise: neither 42CSR32 nor 28CSR2 imposes continuing education hours on plumbers or on contractors. Section 30-42-13(b) only says that if continuing education is made a condition of reinstatement, it must be satisfied before the license is reissued.
Sourceslabor.wv.gov 1code.wvlegislature.gov 2apps.sos.wv.gov 3
Reciprocity: three separate doors, and none of them is automatic
West Virginia has no list of named reciprocal states for plumbing. It has three discretionary routes instead. Rule 42-32-14.1 lets the Commissioner of Labor grant a plumber license of the same classification without examination to a plumber licensed or otherwise authorized in another state, to the extent that state has requirements equivalent to the Act and the rule, if the applicant shows satisfactory proof of qualifications including compliance with W. Va. Code 21-17-3(a) and pays the license fee. Section 21-17-3(a) is the Review and Credential Acknowledgement Procedures Act, and its conditions are specific: a similar scope of practice, at least one year holding the out-of-state credential, all education and examination requirements met there, good standing everywhere held, West Virginia residency established under 11-21-7(a), no disqualifying criminal record, no revocation or surrender for negligence or misconduct, and no pending complaint. Rule 42-32-14.2 opens a second door for applicants whose work experience is in a state that does not license plumbers, routed through W. Va. Code 21-17-4, which requires at least two years in the occupation and passage of any required national examination. On the contractor side, W. Va. Code 30-42-18 lets the board grant licenses of the same or equivalent classification without written examination to contractors licensed by other states on satisfactory proof of equal qualifications and payment of the fee. Rule 28-2-5.3.2 keeps the West Virginia business and law examination in place for anyone entering under the Universal Professional and Occupational Licensing Act at W. Va. Code 30-1-27.
Sourceslabor.wv.gov 1code.wvlegislature.gov 2code.wvlegislature.gov 3code.wvlegislature.gov 4apps.sos.wv.gov 5code.wvlegislature.gov 6
What unlicensed plumbing and unlicensed contracting actually cost
The two Acts run parallel penalty ladders and both start with a cease and desist order rather than a fine. Under W. Va. Code 21-14-7(a), a person performing or offering to perform plumbing work without a license is subject to a cease and desist order. Rule 42-32-12.1 requires the Division of Labor to issue that order and lets the person resume work immediately once a license issues. Continuing to work after the order is what costs money. Section 21-14-7(b) sets a fine of not less than $200 nor more than $1,000 for a first offence, not less than $500 nor more than $2,000 for a second, and not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000 for a third and subsequent offences. Section 21-14-7(c) counts each day after official notice as a separate offence. On the contractor side, W. Va. Code 30-42-14(a)(2) lets the board impose a penalty of not less than $200 nor more than $1,000 after an opportunity for hearing, and the board may accept payment in lieu of a hearing. Section 30-42-14(b) makes continuing after service of a cease and desist order a misdemeanor, with a second offence carrying $500 to $5,000 or up to six months in jail or both, and a third carrying $1,000 to $5,000 plus 30 days to one year of confinement. Section 30-42-14(d) adds an administrative penalty of up to $200 per day on any unlicensed job where the contract total is $25,000 or more.
Sourceslabor.wv.gov 1labor.wv.gov 2code.wvlegislature.gov 3
Advertising, the license number, and what has to be posted on the job
This is the rule West Virginia contractors trip over most often, and it is written in one sentence. W. Va. Code 30-42-6(b) requires a licensee to keep the license or a copy posted in a conspicuous position at every construction site where the contractor is working, and then says the contractor's license number shall be included in all contracting advertisements and all fully executed and binding contracts. A violation exposes the contractor, after hearing, to a warning, a reprimand, or a fine of not more than $200. Rule 28-2-3.2 defines advertisement for that subsection as any means or method used by a contractor to promote the contractor's business to the general public, which pulls in vehicle lettering, yard signs, print, radio and every digital channel. The same provision gives one concession: if a contractor maintains an internet website, an advertisement may direct potential customers to the contractor's online landing page for a link to the required information, so a character-limited ad can point at the site instead of carrying the number itself. Rule 28-2-3.27 defines posting of the license as keeping a copy of each contractor's valid license on every job site so that it is readily available for inspection by the board or, on request, by the general public. Bidding has its own rule. Rule 28-2-4.2 says no bid may be accepted by any person soliciting bids for construction which does not bear the contractor license number on its face, and W. Va. Code 30-42-12 requires architects and engineers to put that warning in the plans and the invitation to bid. On the plumber side, W. Va. Code 21-14-3(b) and rule 42-32-5.2 require the licensed individual to carry proof of a valid license at all times while performing plumbing work.
Sourcescode.wvlegislature.gov 1apps.sos.wv.gov 2code.wvlegislature.gov 3code.wvlegislature.gov 4labor.wv.gov 5
Charleston and Huntington: what the cities add and what they cannot
Start with what a city may not do. W. Va. Code 21-14-8 says that on and after January 1, 2009, a political subdivision of this state may not require, as a condition precedent to the performance of plumbing work in the subdivision, a person holding a valid Division of Labor plumber license to have any other license or other evidence of competence as a plumber. No West Virginia municipality issues its own journeyman or master plumber card. What cities do regulate is business registration, permits and tax. Charleston's Building Commission requires contractors to be registered with the City Collector's Office and to hold a current West Virginia state contractor license and a valid certificate of insurance, and it lists an expired state license or an expired certificate of insurance as grounds for denial. Charleston applies a 2 percent business and occupation tax. Its permit page waives permit fees for construction totaling up to $2,500, assesses fees by schedule above that, and requires contract certification for work over $10,000 where no contract exists. Working without a permit draws a penalty of at least $100 or double the permit fee plus a minimum three month license suspension. Huntington charges a business license of $20.00 per fiscal year running July 1 to June 30, and requires a certificate of liability insurance showing general liability of at least $300,000 and $600,000 with the city named as certificate holder, plus a West Virginia business registration certificate and the state contractor license. Huntington also collects a 2 percent business and occupation tax on gross receipts for labor and materials and a city service fee of $5.00 per week per employee for weeks worked inside the city.
Sourcescode.wvlegislature.gov 1labor.wv.gov 2charlestonwv.gov 3charlestonwv.gov 4cityofhuntington.com 5
How a customer verifies a West Virginia plumbing company
Two searches, because there are two licenses. The Division of Labor runs its public lookups from one page at labor.wv.gov/database-search. Current Certified Plumbers is the link that answers the individual question, and it resolves to a plumber search at wvlabor.com run by the Division of Labor. That search is where a homeowner confirms that the person standing in the basement holds a master, journeyman or plumber in training card. The same page links Contractor License Search, which points to the Contractor Licensing Board's verification service at wvclboard.wv.gov/verify. That is the search that answers whether the company that signed the contract may lawfully hold the job at all. A customer checking a plumbing company should run both, because a licensed plumber working for an unlicensed company on a $9,000 bathroom is still an unlicensed job under W. Va. Code 30-42-3(d). Two more checks are free. W. Va. Code 30-42-17(b) requires the board to keep a complete indexed record of all applications, licenses issued and renewed, and all revocations, cancellations and suspensions, open for public inspection during office hours at its principal office. And under W. Va. Code 30-42-6(b), the license number should already be on the advertisement the customer responded to and on the signed contract, so a number that does not appear there is itself the first signal to check.
Sourceslabor.wv.gov 1wvlabor.com 2wvclboard.wv.gov 3code.wvlegislature.gov 4code.wvlegislature.gov 5code.wvlegislature.gov 6