NORTH-CAROLINA · plumber
Plumbing Contractor Class I (unlimited)
North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating, and Fire Sprinkler Contractors →SCOPE
Class I Vs Class Ii. Under N.C. General Statutes Chapter 87, Article 2 (G.S. 87-21), the Board issues plumbing contractor licenses in two classes. Plumbing Class I (P-I) authorizes the holder to engage in plumbing contracting on all structures, residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial, without dollar or structure-type limitation. Plumbing Class II (P-II) limits the holder to installation work in single-family detached residential dwellings only. A separate Restricted Limited Plumbing Contractor license exists for narrowly defined small-scope work. Source: N.C. General Statutes, Chapter 87, Article 2 (https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_87/Article_2.html); NC Licensing Board Exam Information (https://www.nclicensing.org/exam-information/).
Experience
The Board requires 2 years (4,000 hours) of on-site, full-time experience in the installation, maintenance, service, or repair of plumbing or heating systems to qualify for the Plumbing and/or Heating Contractor examination. Up to half of the experience requirement, 2,000 hours, may be satisfied by academic or technical training directly related to the field for which the examination is requested. Applications document experience through employer verification. Source: NC Licensing Board Exam Information (https://www.nclicensing.org/exam-information/).
Exam
Examinations are administered by the Board at seven state testing centers (Asheville, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Fayetteville, Greenville, and Wilmington) and are given on a daily basis after application approval. The plumbing contractor examination is two parts: a technical (trade) portion and a North Carolina business law portion. After the Board approves an application, the applicant receives written notification and has 90 days to schedule and sit for the examination. The application fee for examination is $100 and the two-part exam fee is $75, per the Board's published application forms. Source: NC Licensing Board Exam Information (https://www.nclicensing.org/exam-information/); NC Licensing Board Forms (https://www.nclicensing.org/forms/).
FEES
After passing both examination portions, the applicant submits a License Activation Form with the $150 contractor license fee within 45 days of passing. Total first-year cost elements published by the Board: $100 application, $75 exam, $150 license activation. Subsequent annual renewals are billed each fall. Source: NC Licensing Board Forms (https://www.nclicensing.org/forms/); NC Licensing Board License Renewal (https://www.nclicensing.org/license-renewal/).
Insurance and Bonding
The Board does not publish a statewide insurance or surety-bond minimum on its public license pages for Plumbing Class I or Class II. Local jurisdictions and general contractors typically require general liability coverage as a condition of bidding or pulling permits. Applicants should verify current bonding and insurance requirements with the Board and with any local permitting authority before contracting. Source: NC Licensing Board (https://www.nclicensing.org/).
Renewal and CE
Licenses expire December 31 annually. Per G.S. 87-22, renewals are due during the month of January each year. Renewal invoices are mailed on September 30, giving licensees three months to renew before expiration. A $25 late-renewal penalty applies to renewals processed after January 31. There is no grace period. All activities requiring a license must cease until the license is renewed. Expired licenses may be reinstated within three years by paying current fees plus unpaid prior-year fees; after three years, reexamination is required. Mandatory continuing education was eliminated by the Board in 2012 and is not required for renewal, though the Board encourages voluntary CE to stay current on codes and practices. Source: NC Licensing Board License Renewal (https://www.nclicensing.org/license-renewal/); NC Licensing Board Education (https://www.nclicensing.org/education/).
Apprentice / Journey Pathway
North Carolina does not issue a statewide journeyman plumber license. The installer-level credential offered by the Board is the Plumbing Class I or Class II Technician license, which authorizes the holder to work under the direct supervision of a licensed plumbing contractor. Registered apprenticeship programs (ApprenticeshipNC through the NC Community College System and union JATCs) are the common pathway into the trade; apprentice hours performed under a licensed contractor count toward the 4,000-hour experience requirement for the contractor examination. Source: NC Licensing Board Forms (https://www.nclicensing.org/forms/); ApprenticeshipNC (https://www.apprenticeshipnc.com/).
Scope Limitations
A Class II holder may not contract for plumbing installation work in multi-family, commercial, or institutional structures. That work requires a Class I license. Minor repairs or minor replacements to an already-installed system of plumbing, heating, or air conditioning are exempt from the licensure requirement under G.S. 87-21, but any change in energy source, fuel type, or routing or sizing of venting or piping is not a minor repair. Work on an already-installed fire sprinkler system is not exempt and requires the appropriate fire sprinkler credential. Source: N.C. General Statutes, Chapter 87, Article 2 (https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_87/Article_2.html).