VIRGINIA · plumber
Journeyman Plumber
Virginia DPOR — Board for Contractors, Tradesman Section →Scope of Work
Virginia licenses individual plumbers under the Board for Contractors, Tradesman Section, separately from the contractor firm that holds the Class A, B, or C contractor license. The tradesman license authorizes the individual to perform plumbing work; it does not authorize contracting with the public for plumbing work in the tradesman's own name. That requires the firm to hold a contractor license under Article 1 of Title 54.1. Virginia tradesman law is codified at Va. Code § 54.1-1128 et seq. and implemented through 18VAC50-30. Source: Virginia Code Title 54.1 Chapter 11 (https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodefull/title54.1/chapter11/).
License Classes
Virginia recognizes three plumber designations plus a separate gas fitter track. Apprentice: no statewide pre-license apprentice credential is required by 18VAC50-30; qualification is demonstrated through combined education-and-experience pathways at exam time. Residential Plumber: a residential-only tradesman designation available since April 1, 2025, with pathways from 160 hours of formal vocational training plus two years of practical experience up to six years of practical experience with no formal training. Journeyman Plumber: the standard full-scope tradesman license. Master Plumber: an advanced designation with pathways including three years as a residential tradesman, one year as a journeyman, or nine years of practical experience. Gas Fitter is a separate designation under Va. Code § 54.1-1129(C) with its own journeyman tier (bachelor's in engineering plus one year, up to eight years of practical experience) and provider tiers for liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas fitter providers. Source: 18VAC50-30-39 (https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title18/agency50/chapter30/section39/).
Experience and Training
Journeyman Plumber qualification under 18VAC50-30-39(B) is a matrix of education plus practical experience, ranging from a bachelor's degree in an engineering curriculum plus one year of practical experience at the low end to eight years of practical experience with no formal education at the high end. The commonly cited middle path is four years of practical experience paired with formal vocational training from a board-approved provider. Four years at 2,080 hours per year works out to roughly 8,000 hours of on-the-job work, which is the figure this page uses as the experience equivalent; verify the exact combination that applies to your pathway against 18VAC50-30-39 and the Tradesman Application Instructions before filing. The Board maintains an approved Tradesmen Vocational Education Schools/Courses list (https://dpor.virginia.gov/sites/default/files/boards/Tradesman/Tradesman%20Vocational%20Education%20Providers.pdf).
Exam
The journeyman plumber examination is administered by PSI Services at test centers in Charlottesville, Richmond, Roanoke, Vienna, Virginia Beach, Johnson City TN, and Salisbury MD, per the DPOR Tradesmen page. Exam fees as posted by DPOR: $100 for the journeyman exam and $125 for the master exam. The journeyman plumber exam covers the International Plumbing Code as adopted by Virginia through the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (VUSBC), plus plumbing math, isometrics, fixture venting and drainage, water supply, gas piping fundamentals, and Virginia tradesman law under Va. Code § 54.1-1128 et seq. Verify current exam topics and fees in the PSI Virginia Tradesman Candidate Information Bulletin. Source: Virginia DPOR Tradesmen (https://www.dpor.virginia.gov/Boards/Tradesmen).
FEES
Original tradesman license by examination: $150 per 18VAC50-30-90. Additional tradesman designation (adding a second trade to an existing license): $105. Card exchange (converting a locality-issued plumber card to the state tradesman license): $110. PSI exam fees as noted above. Source: 18VAC50-30-90 (https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title18/agency50/chapter30/section90/).
Renewal and CE
Under 18VAC50-30-120, a Virginia tradesman license is valid for three years from the last day of the month in which it was issued. Each plumber must complete three hours of continuing education per designation per three-year cycle, covering applicable building code changes delivered by a board-approved provider. This is a lower CE cadence than most states because the renewal cycle itself is longer. Verify current renewal fee on the DPOR renewal notice. DPOR sets renewal fees by schedule rather than by statute.
Reciprocity
Virginia maintains written reciprocity and exam-equivalency agreements with several states, published by DPOR as the Tradesmen Reciprocal Agreements list (https://dpor.virginia.gov/sites/default/files/boards/Tradesman/Tradesmen%20reciprocal%20agreements.pdf). Coverage and conditions vary by state and by trade; out-of-state applicants should pull that document before assuming an agreement covers plumbing specifically.
Contractor License Distinction
The individual tradesman license and the contractor firm license are separate credentials with separate applications and separate fee schedules. A plumbing business must hold a Board for Contractors firm license: Class C (projects under $10,000 per job and under $150,000 per year), Class B (projects under $120,000 per job and under $750,000 per year), or Class A (no monetary limit), with a qualified individual on staff. A journeyman plumber working as an employee of a licensed contractor firm does not need a firm license; a plumber who wants to contract directly with property owners does. Source: Virginia DPOR Board for Contractors (https://www.dpor.virginia.gov/Boards/Contractors).