Transfer Your Plumber License to Rhode Island: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT) — Division of Professional Regulation, State Board of Examiners of Plumbers ↗
Rhode Island has no blanket plumbing reciprocity, yet the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT) — Division of Professional Regulation, State Board of Examiners of Plumbers can license an out-of-state plumber by endorsement or equivalency rather than a full retest. Rhode Island waives its journeyperson plumber exam for an applicant duly licensed by examination in another state for the same classification, provided that state's requirements are the same as Rhode Island's; there is no fixed partner-state list, so eligibility is assessed case-by-case and any applicant who does not meet the equivalence test must pass the Rhode Island exam. Expect $72 (Journeyperson plumber license fee $72.00 (plus a $6.00 processing fee) per the RI DLT licensing portal; master plumber is $240.00. A separate initial reciprocity application fee could not be confirmed on an official page because the DLT application PDF was inaccessible.) in application fees.
Moving to Rhode Island from a specific state?
Pick your current state — the checker returns your exact pathway.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Rhode Island works case-by-case rather than from a published partner list, so the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT) — Division of Professional Regulation, State Board of Examiners of Plumbers'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.
Rhode Island licenses Apprentice, Journeyperson and Master plumbers through the DLT Division of Professional Regulation. It has no fixed reciprocity partner list; under RICR 260-30-15-9 a plumber licensed by examination in another state for the same classification may be issued an RI license without the RI exam if that state's requirements match Rhode Island's, otherwise the applicant must test. reciprocity_partners is [] because recognition is equivalence-based rather than by named partner states. No national plumber verification database exists; use the DLT online license search.
Rhode Island requirements at a glance
| Exam | Rhode Island waives its journeyperson plumber exam for an applicant duly licensed by examination in another state for the same classification, provided that state's requirements are the same as Rhode Island's; there is no fixed partner-state list, so eligibility is assessed case-by-case and any applicant who does not meet the equivalence test must pass the Rhode Island exam |
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| Additional requirements |
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| Fees | $72 (Journeyperson plumber license fee $72.00 (plus a $6.00 processing fee) per the RI DLT licensing portal; master plumber is $240.00. A separate initial reciprocity application fee could not be confirmed on an official page because the DLT application PDF was inaccessible.) |
| Processing time | No board-stated processing time. |
Step by step
- Confirm Rhode Island's current requirements on the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT) — Division of Professional Regulation, State Board of Examiners of Plumbers website — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT) — Division of Professional Regulation, State Board of Examiners of Plumbers (application linked on this page).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a current out-of-state journeyperson (or master) plumber license obtained by written examination for the same classification sought.
- Provide a statement from the issuing state's plumbing board attesting to licensure status, plus an affidavit that the applicant passed a written examination.
- Demonstrate requirements equivalent to Rhode Island's (the RI journeyperson path is 8,000 hours of on-the-job training under a master plumber plus related classroom instruction).
- Pay the fees ($72 (Journeyperson plumber license fee $72.00 (plus a $6.00 processing fee) per the RI DLT licensing portal; master plumber is $240.00. A separate initial reciprocity application fee could not be confirmed on an official page because the DLT application PDF was inaccessible.)) and allow No board-stated processing time..
Official links
Coming from a specific state?
Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Rhode Island:
Frequently asked questions
Does my plumbing license transfer to Rhode Island?
Rhode Island has no blanket plumbing reciprocity, yet the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT) — Division of Professional Regulation, State Board of Examiners of Plumbers can license an out-of-state plumber by endorsement or equivalency rather than a full retest. Rhode Island waives its journeyperson plumber exam for an applicant duly licensed by examination in another state for the same classification, provided that state's requirements are the same as Rhode Island's; there is no fixed partner-state list, so eligibility is assessed case-by-case and any applicant who does not meet the equivalence test must pass the Rhode Island exam. Expect $72 (Journeyperson plumber license fee $72.00 (plus a $6.00 processing fee) per the RI DLT licensing portal; master plumber is $240.00. A separate initial reciprocity application fee could not be confirmed on an official page because the DLT application PDF was inaccessible.) in application fees.
Will I have to take Rhode Island's plumbing exam?
Rhode Island waives its journeyperson plumber exam for an applicant duly licensed by examination in another state for the same classification, provided that state's requirements are the same as Rhode Island's; there is no fixed partner-state list, so eligibility is assessed case-by-case and any applicant who does not meet the equivalence test must pass the Rhode Island exam.
What will licensing in Rhode Island cost an out-of-state plumber, and how long does it take?
$72 (Journeyperson plumber license fee $72.00 (plus a $6.00 processing fee) per the RI DLT licensing portal; master plumber is $240.00. A separate initial reciprocity application fee could not be confirmed on an official page because the DLT application PDF was inaccessible.); processing No board-stated processing time..
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- RICR 260-30-15-9 — Licensing of Plumbers, Irrigators and Water System Installers (reciprocity-by-examination provision; journeyperson 8,000-hour path) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- RI.gov Licensing — Plumbers, Irrigators and Water Filtration fees (journeyperson $72, master $240, +$6 processing) ↗ (accessed 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]