Skip to content
LicenseReciprocity

Transfer Your Plumber License to Massachusetts: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)

Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters (Division of Occupational Licensure) ↗

Massachusetts publishes no named partner list, but the Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters (Division of Occupational Licensure) evaluates out-of-state plumbers for endorsement individually, crediting a comparable exam or documented experience. Massachusetts has NO plumber reciprocity agreement with any state, so its journeyman plumber examination is required of every applicant. An out-of-state plumber whose license has been active for at least three years immediately preceding application, is current and in good standing, and whose issuing jurisdiction's requirements are found substantially equivalent, may skip the Massachusetts apprenticeship and education requirements and sit directly for the Massachusetts journeyman exam — but the exam itself is never waived.. Application fee: $31–$83 ($31 journeyman plumber application fee plus $52 original license fee (per 801 CMR 4.00 rate schedule; $52 biennial renewal confirmed on the DPL fee page). Filed and paid via the eLIPSE portal; license fee paid after passing the exam. Valor Act fee reductions may apply to military/veterans/spouses.).

Moving to Massachusetts from a specific state?

Pick your current state — the checker returns your exact pathway.

Run the Reciprocity Checker →

Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

Massachusetts works case-by-case rather than from a published partner list, so the Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters (Division of Occupational Licensure)'s judgment on your specific license, exam history, and documented experience decides the outcome. Where the pathway is equivalency-based, the board is measuring your home state's standards and experience requirements against its own. Get any exam waiver or experience credit confirmed in writing before you rely on it — discretionary approvals are exactly the kind of thing that shifts between reviewers.

Massachusetts recognizes no formal plumber reciprocity with any state (its only plumbing-trade reciprocity, for electricians, is a separate program). The substantially-equivalent pathway waives Massachusetts apprenticeship/education requirements for a qualifying out-of-state licensee but does not waive the examination. Fee figures: renewal $52 confirmed on the official DPL fee page; the $31 application and $52 original-license amounts are from the state 801 CMR 4.00 rate schedule (mass.gov blocked direct fetch, so those pages were read via search extracts of the official domain). verification_system_url is the Massachusetts DOL public license search; no national plumber database exists.

Massachusetts requirements at a glance

Out-of-state plumbing license transfer requirements for Massachusetts, verified 2026-07-21
ExamMassachusetts has NO plumber reciprocity agreement with any state, so its journeyman plumber examination is required of every applicant. An out-of-state plumber whose license has been active for at least three years immediately preceding application, is current and in good standing, and whose issuing jurisdiction's requirements are found substantially equivalent, may skip the Massachusetts apprenticeship and education requirements and sit directly for the Massachusetts journeyman exam — but the exam itself is never waived.
Additional requirements
  • Standard path: complete a Board-approved apprenticeship of at least 6,800 clock hours of supervised work (8,000 hours if the apprentice license issued before Sept 1, 2008), over no less than 4 years
  • Complete the Board's five-tier education program: 550 clock hours of plumbing and gas fitting theory (300 hours if pre-Sept 1, 2008), with no more than 165 education hours credited per year
  • Pass the Massachusetts journeyman plumber examination (70% to pass)
  • Out-of-state applicants: document that the license was active at least 3 years, is current and in good standing with no pending discipline, and that the issuing jurisdiction's requirements are substantially equivalent
Fees$31–$83 ($31 journeyman plumber application fee plus $52 original license fee (per 801 CMR 4.00 rate schedule; $52 biennial renewal confirmed on the DPL fee page). Filed and paid via the eLIPSE portal; license fee paid after passing the exam. Valor Act fee reductions may apply to military/veterans/spouses.)
Processing timeNo board-stated processing time; applications, payment, and scheduling are handled online through the eLIPSE portal.

Step by step

  1. Confirm Massachusetts's current requirements on the Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters (Division of Occupational Licensure) website — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters (Division of Occupational Licensure) (application linked on this page).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
  4. Standard path: complete a Board-approved apprenticeship of at least 6,800 clock hours of supervised work (8,000 hours if the apprentice license issued before Sept 1, 2008), over no less than 4 years.
  5. Complete the Board's five-tier education program: 550 clock hours of plumbing and gas fitting theory (300 hours if pre-Sept 1, 2008), with no more than 165 education hours credited per year.
  6. Pass the Massachusetts journeyman plumber examination (70% to pass).
  7. Out-of-state applicants: document that the license was active at least 3 years, is current and in good standing with no pending discipline, and that the issuing jurisdiction's requirements are substantially equivalent.
  8. Pay the fees ($31–$83 ($31 journeyman plumber application fee plus $52 original license fee (per 801 CMR 4.00 rate schedule; $52 biennial renewal confirmed on the DPL fee page). Filed and paid via the eLIPSE portal; license fee paid after passing the exam. Valor Act fee reductions may apply to military/veterans/spouses.)) and allow No board-stated processing time; applications, payment, and scheduling are handled online through the eLIPSE portal..

Official links

Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters (Division of Occupational Licensure) ↗Massachusetts application ↗License verification ↗

Coming from a specific state?

Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Massachusetts:

California → MassachusettsFlorida → MassachusettsGeorgia → MassachusettsIllinois → MassachusettsMichigan → MassachusettsNew York → MassachusettsNorth Carolina → MassachusettsOhio → MassachusettsPennsylvania → MassachusettsTexas → Massachusetts

Frequently asked questions

Does my plumbing license transfer to Massachusetts?

Massachusetts publishes no named partner list, but the Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters (Division of Occupational Licensure) evaluates out-of-state plumbers for endorsement individually, crediting a comparable exam or documented experience. Massachusetts has NO plumber reciprocity agreement with any state, so its journeyman plumber examination is required of every applicant. An out-of-state plumber whose license has been active for at least three years immediately preceding application, is current and in good standing, and whose issuing jurisdiction's requirements are found substantially equivalent, may skip the Massachusetts apprenticeship and education requirements and sit directly for the Massachusetts journeyman exam — but the exam itself is never waived.. Application fee: $31–$83 ($31 journeyman plumber application fee plus $52 original license fee (per 801 CMR 4.00 rate schedule; $52 biennial renewal confirmed on the DPL fee page). Filed and paid via the eLIPSE portal; license fee paid after passing the exam. Valor Act fee reductions may apply to military/veterans/spouses.).

Will I have to take Massachusetts's plumbing exam?

Massachusetts has NO plumber reciprocity agreement with any state, so its journeyman plumber examination is required of every applicant. An out-of-state plumber whose license has been active for at least three years immediately preceding application, is current and in good standing, and whose issuing jurisdiction's requirements are found substantially equivalent, may skip the Massachusetts apprenticeship and education requirements and sit directly for the Massachusetts journeyman exam — but the exam itself is never waived..

What will licensing in Massachusetts cost an out-of-state plumber, and how long does it take?

$31–$83 ($31 journeyman plumber application fee plus $52 original license fee (per 801 CMR 4.00 rate schedule; $52 biennial renewal confirmed on the DPL fee page). Filed and paid via the eLIPSE portal; license fee paid after passing the exam. Valor Act fee reductions may apply to military/veterans/spouses.); processing No board-stated processing time; applications, payment, and scheduling are handled online through the eLIPSE portal..

Sources

Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.

Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21

How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]