Who licenses plumbers in Maine?
Maine regulates plumbing statewide through the Plumbers’ Examining Board within the Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation. The Board describes its role as examining and licensing people who perform plumbing in Maine. Plumbers’ Examining Board
The short answer is that the ladder is not one straight apprenticeship track. A trainee can qualify for the journeyman exam after the required supervised experience, while an approved plumbing graduate or apprentice can use the journeyman-in-training route. A master applicant can qualify through journeyman experience or a longer trainee route.
Keep individual trade credentials separate from company-level questions in our Maine contractor license guide. This guide focuses on the person’s plumbing status, experience, exam, and application.
What each Maine plumbing credential allows
| Credential | Legal scope | What moves you forward |
|---|---|---|
| Trainee plumber | Assists with plumbing installations under direct supervision of one or more licensed journeyman or master plumbers | Supervised installation experience |
| Journeyman-in-training | Assists under direct supervision of a journeyman or master and may not act as or claim to be a journeyman | Complete the limited JIT experience route |
| Journeyman plumber | Installs plumbing and drainage under a master plumber’s employment and direction; the definition also covers certain regular part-time repair work | Journeyman work experience or the longer trainee route for master eligibility |
| Master plumber | Is qualified to engage, or prepare to engage, in the business of installing plumbing or plumbing systems | Top individual credential in this ladder |
A trainee plumber assists with plumbing installations under the direct supervision of one or more licensed journeyman plumbers or licensed master plumbers. Title 32, section 3301
A journeyman-in-training assists with plumbing installations under direct supervision and may not act as or represent that the person is a journeyman plumber. Title 32, section 3301
A journeyman plumber customarily installs plumbing and drainage under the employment and direction of a master plumber, with a separate allowance in the definition for regular part-time plumbing repair work. Title 32, section 3301
A master plumber is an individual qualified under the chapter who engages in or is about to engage in the business of installing plumbing or plumbing systems. Title 32, section 3301
Experience, education, and exam requirements
Maine’s current statute provides these qualifying routes:
- A journeyman applicant may qualify with at least two years and 4,000 hours of plumbing-installation work as a licensed trainee under a master plumber or the equivalent. Title 32, section 3501
- The alternate journeyman route requires 2,000 hours as a journeyman-in-training under a licensed master, earned within four years after the JIT license was issued. Title 32, section 3501 The Board’s JIT FAQ also requires at least one year of work and 2,000 hours before the JIT applies for a journeyman license. Board JIT FAQ
- A journeyman-in-training applicant must show completion of the specified plumbing education or apprenticeship route and a passing grade on the journeyman examination. Title 32, section 3501
- A master applicant needs at least one year and 2,000 hours as a journeyman, or at least four years and 8,000 hours as a trainee under a master plumber or the equivalent. Title 32, section 3501
The Board’s JIT FAQ describes three education paths: one year of plumbing instruction at a Board-approved technical or community college, a two-year approved secondary career-and-technical-education program, or a registered Department of Labor apprenticeship program. Board JIT FAQ
The statutory minimum passing grades are 70% for the journeyman examination and 75% for the master examination. Title 32, section 3501-A
Applicants must receive Board approval before sitting for an examination, and a score earned before approval is null and void. Board examination instructions
A trainee does not take an entry exam. The trainee application instead must show employment by a licensed master plumber, or by an entity employing licensed master plumbers, and that the applicant will assist those plumbers.
License periods and the statutory fee ceiling
Maine’s public pages establish the license periods and a statutory ceiling, but the readable public portal landing page does not display the live dollar amount for each transaction. This section therefore does not present an unverified exam, initial-license, renewal, or reinstatement price.
State law allows the Office director to set fees by rule, but the fee for any one purpose may not exceed 350 dollars biennially. Title 32, section 3501-B
Master, journeyman, and trainee licenses renew biennially from the first licensure date, while a journeyman-in-training license is valid once for four years and cannot be renewed. Board licensing page
The Board’s forms page identifies separate exam, initial-license, renewal, and reinstatement transactions. It lists journeyman and master reinstatement for the period from 90 days through two years after expiration. Select the exact transaction in the state portal before budgeting; the statutory ceiling is not a quote for what that filing costs.
How to apply under the current online process
- Choose the exact credential or exam transaction.
- Assemble the experience affidavit, education record, and supervision information required for that route.
- File in the state’s online application system and pay the amount shown for that transaction.
- For journeyman, JIT, or master, wait for Board approval before scheduling the approved examination.
- After passing, complete the separate license transaction and check the official database for issuance.
Since January 1, 2024, the Board requires the online application system for all licenses, exams, and renewals; faxed, mailed, or emailed applications are not processed. Plumbers’ Examining Board notice
The Board says PROV provides its examinations for approved candidates. Plumbers’ Examining Board examination bulletin notice
Passing an exam is not license issuance. The Board’s FAQ tells successful journeyman and master candidates to use the licensing system after they pass. Keep the exam approval, result, application receipt, and issued-license record as separate milestones.
How out-of-state plumbers use endorsement
Maine does have an endorsement framework; the route is not limited to a published list of reciprocal states.
For plumbing licenses the Board considers appropriate, Maine law requires a process for licensure by endorsement. Title 32, section 3501-C
Maine’s statewide endorsement law requires proof of a license from another U.S. jurisdiction with substantially equivalent license requirements. Title 10, section 8003-H
The applicant must be in good standing in every jurisdiction where the applicant holds or has held a license. Title 10, section 8003-H
No cause for denial of a license may exist. Title 10, section 8003-H
The applicant must pay any required endorsement fee. Title 10, section 8003-H
The office or Board may also require a jurisprudence exam when Maine law or rule requires one for the profession. This is endorsement based on equivalence and applicant history, not automatic permission to work just because another state issued a card.
Use the ordinary Maine route if the Board has not designated the requested credential as appropriate for endorsement or finds the other jurisdiction’s requirements are not substantially equivalent. For a neighboring but separate system, see our New Hampshire plumbing license guide.
Maine plumbing license FAQ
Who licenses plumbers in Maine?
The Plumbers’ Examining Board within OPOR examines and licenses people who perform plumbing in Maine.
How many hours does a Maine trainee need for journeyman?
The trainee route requires at least two years and 4,000 hours of plumbing-installation work as a licensed trainee under a master plumber, or the equivalent, plus the journeyman exam.
What is the journeyman-in-training route?
After the specified Board-approved education or apprenticeship route and the journeyman exam, a JIT must work at least one year and earn 2,000 supervised hours before applying for journeyman. The 2,000 hours must be earned within four years after JIT issuance.
What education qualifies for journeyman-in-training?
The Board FAQ lists one year of plumbing instruction at an approved technical or community college, a two-year approved secondary career-and-technical-education program, or a registered Department of Labor apprenticeship program.
What experience qualifies for Maine master plumber?
The statute allows either at least one year and 2,000 hours as a journeyman or at least four years and 8,000 hours as a trainee under a master plumber or the equivalent, plus the master exam.
Does Maine recognize an out-of-state plumbing license?
Maine provides endorsement where the Board deems a license appropriate and the other U.S. jurisdiction has substantially equivalent requirements. The applicant must also satisfy good-standing, denial, and fee conditions.
What do Maine plumbing licenses cost?
The public statute caps a fee for any one purpose at 350 dollars biennially, but that is not the transaction price. Use the amount displayed for the exact exam, license, renewal, or reinstatement transaction in the state portal.