Hawaii Plumber License Requirements (2026)

Hawaii has two distinct licensing tracks. The Board of Electricians and Plumbers licenses individual Journey Worker Plumbers and Master Plumbers under HRS chapter 448E; that credential alone does not authorize contracting. A business that contracts for plumbing work needs a separate C-37 Plumbing Contractor license from the Contractors License Board under HRS chapter 444. A C-37 applicant qualifies through the Board’s contractor process, including supervisory experience and the applicable examinations; the law does not make a Master Plumber license the stated C-37 prerequisite. County permits and inspections remain separate.

Regulatory Body

Under HRS ch. 448E; HAR ch. 16-80, Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs — Board of Electricians and Plumbers (DCCA-PVL) is the body that issues this license and enforces compliance with it. The Board licenses individual Journey Worker Plumbers and Master Plumbers statewide. The separate Contractors License Board licenses C-37 Plumbing Contractors.

Official portal: https://cca.hawaii.gov/pvl/boards/electrician/
Address: 335 Merchant Street, Room 301, Honolulu, HI 96813
Phone: (844) 808-3222

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must be at least 18 years old. Applicants must provide a Social Security Number. The published individual and contractor applications require a Hawaii business address for a contractor but do not state a Hawaii-residency prerequisite for individual plumber licensure.

Good moral character

Contractor applicants must show a history of honesty, truthfulness, financial integrity, and fair dealing. Individual applications require disclosure and supporting records for applicable disciplinary or criminal-history answers.

Background investigation

A criminal-history record check is required when an individual-plumber applicant reports a criminal conviction; the published materials do not describe universal fingerprinting for every applicant.

Experience and Education

Plan to substantiate 5 years of Journey Worker Plumber applicants need at least five years of full-time equivalent plumbing work, but not less than 10,000 hours, in compliance with the Uniform Plumbing Code. Master Plumber applicants need at least two years registered as a licensed journey worker plumber in Hawaii or another state, or equivalent experience. A C-37 contractor’s qualifying individual needs four years of supervisory experience within the preceding ten years. with hard records. Payroll, tax, project logs, and supervisor verification are what the board relies on when it reviews the claim.

Accepted proof of experience or eligibility

Notarized plumber Experience Verification form from every licensed plumber who provided experience or training
License verification from every jurisdiction where an individual electrician or plumber license has ever been held
For C-37: at least three notarized contractor experience certificates and a Chronological History of Projects form documenting on-site supervision
For C-37: current compiled, reviewed, or audited financial statement with independent accountant report, current credit report, and tax clearance

Education substitution

The individual-plumber requirements identify the 10,000-hour journey-worker standard. For contractor applications, technical training may be accepted as experience, but the Board’s instructions cap it at one year; do not assume it replaces the four-year supervisory requirement in full.

Exam Requirements

Testing provider or authority: PSI Services LLC, after the applicable Hawaii Board approves the application. The following examination requirements cover the pathways described in this guide; follow each part's classification, waiver, and local-scope conditions. Unpublished format details do not remove an examination requirement:

Hawaii Journey Worker Plumber examination — question count: confirm with the authority, timing: confirm with the authority, passing score: confirm in the current candidate bulletin
Hawaii Master Plumber examination — question count: confirm with the authority, timing: confirm with the authority, passing score: confirm in the current candidate bulletin
Hawaii contractor business-and-law and C-37 classification examinations, when seeking the contractor license — question count: confirm with the authority, timing: confirm with the authority, passing score: confirm in the current candidate bulletin

Examination fee: The current individual-plumber application lists a $40 nonrefundable application fee. Contractor applications list a separate $50 nonrefundable application fee; PSI publishes current examination fees and bulletins after Board approval.

Retake policy: For contractors, all required examinations must be passed within six months after eligibility or the applicant must reapply. An individual electrician/plumber application may be deemed abandoned after two consecutive years without evidence of continued effort to complete the process.

Insurance and Bonds

This credential carries no state-level surety bond requirement under the cited sources. Individual jobs may still trigger a permit or public-works bond, which should be verified before bidding.

General liability

Individual plumber licensure does not carry a published statewide liability-insurance minimum. A C-37 contractor must submit proof of liability insurance to obtain and retain the contractor license.

Workers' compensation

A C-37 contractor must submit proof of workers’ compensation insurance, authorization as a self-insurer, or a Chapter 386 exclusion, as applicable.

Additional financial requirements

The C-37 contractor application requires a current compiled, reviewed, or audited financial statement with an independent accountant report and a current credit report. HRS §444-16.5 authorizes the Board to require a bond of at least $5,000; do not assume every C-37 applicant has the same bond requirement without Board confirmation.

Fee Schedule

Fee	Amount
Application	$40
Initial license	No separate amount recorded; confirm in the fee guidance
Renewal (every 3 years)	$306

To turn these board fees into a realistic year-one budget — bond premium, liability insurance, and exam prep included — open the cost calculator preloaded for Hawaii plumber.

Renewal and Continuing Education

Expect to renew the Hawaii Journey Worker Plumber / Master Plumber; C-37 Plumbing Contractor every 3 years. Renewal currently costs $306. Individual plumber licenses renew by June 30 every three years; plumbers renew in 2027, 2030, and 2033. A license not renewed by expiration is unlicensed. The separate C-37 contractor credential renews by September 30 of even-numbered years.

Continuing education: For the July 1, 2024–June 30, 2027 period, active Journey Worker and Master Plumbers must provide proof of the Board’s 2021 UPC continuing-competency requirement. A new license issued within one year of expiration has a one-time exemption; inactive licensees are exempt.

Downloadable Asset

2026 Hawaii Plumber License Roadmap (PDF) — a printable step-by-step checklist for the application process.

Download the PDF roadmap →

Reciprocity

Hawaii does not accept the NASCLA Accredited Examination for this classification.

Reciprocal State	Accepted Exam	Conditions
No formal bilateral reciprocity agreements identified.

Hawaii’s current individual electrician/plumber application states that Hawaii does not reciprocate with any jurisdiction. It can recognize substantially equivalent out-of-state journey-worker or master-plumber experience for the Master Plumber examination requirement, but applicants must apply, qualify, and pass Hawaii’s licensure examination.

Weighing more than one jurisdiction? The national hub compares published Plumber license requirements by state — exam, bond, fee, and experience thresholds side by side.

Plumber Licensing in Other States

Contractors working near a state line, or weighing where to qualify first, should compare Hawaii's requirements against the states most often compared against it before committing to an application:

California Plumber License Requirements — California Class C-36 — Plumbing Contractor
Washington Plumber License Requirements — Washington Journey Level Plumber (PL01)
Oregon Plumber License Requirements — Oregon Journeyman Plumber and Plumbing Business (PB) License
Nevada Plumber License Requirements — Nevada C-1 Plumbing and Heating Contractor

Step-by-Step Application Roadmap

Choose the individual or contractor track. Use the Journey Worker/Master track to perform and supervise plumbing work as an individual. Use the C-37 track if a business will contract for the classified plumbing scope.
Document qualifying individual plumbing experience. For Journey Worker, collect notarized verification of at least 10,000 UPC-compliant hours. For Master, document two years as a licensed journey worker or qualifying equivalent experience.
Apply to the Board of Electricians and Plumbers. Submit the individual application, $40 fee, experience verification, and any jurisdictional license verifications. Board approval is required before PSI registration.
Pass the applicable individual plumber examination. PSI administers the Board-approved examination; the plumber examinations are based on the Uniform Plumbing Code.
For a plumbing business, prepare the C-37 contractor application. The qualifying individual documents four years of supervisory experience within the prior ten years, with at least three notarized certificates and a project history.
Meet C-37 financial, tax, insurance, and examination requirements. Submit the contractor application, financial statement, credit report, tax clearance, and required insurance; pass the Board-approved business-and-law and C-37 examinations through PSI.
Confirm county permits and inspections. State credentials do not replace locally administered plumbing permits, plan review, code compliance, or inspections.
Renew the applicable credential. Individual plumbers renew triennially; active plumber renewal currently includes the Board’s UPC continuing-competency requirement. Contractor licenses renew biennially.

Application Checklist

The items below are the ones worth confirming before the application is filed with DCCA-PVL:

At least 10,000 documented UPC-compliant plumbing hours for Journey Worker, or two licensed journey-worker years/equivalent experience for Master
Notarized Experience Verification forms from each licensed plumber who provided experience or training
License verification from each jurisdiction where a relevant individual license has been held
$40 individual plumber application fee and Board approval before PSI registration
For C-37: four years of supervisory experience within the prior ten years
For C-37: at least three notarized experience certificates and classification-specific project history
For C-37: financial statement, credit report, tax clearance, liability insurance, and workers’ compensation evidence or exclusion
County permit and inspection confirmation for every project

Common Filing Mistakes

Based on the board's own instructions and the sources cited here, the problems below are what most often stall a Hawaii Plumber application.

Confusing the individual and business credentials

Journey Worker and Master licenses regulate individual plumbing work; they do not authorize contracting. C-37 is a separate contractor classification.

Assuming an out-of-state license is reciprocal

The current Hawaii individual-plumber application expressly says Hawaii does not reciprocate. Out-of-state experience may be relevant to qualification, but Hawaii approval and examination remain necessary.

Using unverifiable experience

Hawaii requires notarized verification from each licensed plumber who provided training or experience, plus jurisdictional verification when experience was earned under a contractor-only state system.

Treating the bond as a universal fixed C-37 fee

HRS allows the Contractor Board to require a bond of at least $5,000 based on the applicant’s financial condition and experience. Confirm the Board’s determination for the specific application.

Overlooking the active-plumber competency requirement

Active PJ and PM licensees must meet the current UPC continuing-competency requirement for the stated renewal period unless an exemption applies.

Study and Reference Materials

The references below are either cited by the board, used during the application, or standard preparation for the trade. They are listed purely for convenience — CLR earns no commission on any of them.

Hawaii electrician and plumber license requirements and application — Hawaii DCCA-PVL. Current experience, application, verification, examination, and fee instructions.
Uniform Plumbing Code — IAPMO. Hawaii identifies the plumber examination as UPC-based; use the current Hawaii-approved edition and local amendments where applicable.
Hawaii contractor application instructions and classification descriptions — Hawaii DCCA-PVL. Use these only for the separate C-37 contracting path.

Other Hawaii Trade Licenses

CLR covers other Hawaii trades as well — the published guides below may be more relevant:

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a Hawaii Master Plumber license allow me to contract?

No. DCCA’s current application states that an electrician or plumber license does not authorize contracting. A business that contracts for plumbing work needs the separate Chapter 444 contractor credential, including the C-37 classification for plumbing.

How much experience is required for a Hawaii Journey Worker Plumber?

At least five years of full-time equivalent plumbing work, and not less than 10,000 hours, in compliance with the Uniform Plumbing Code.

What is required for the Hawaii Master Plumber examination?

You must have been registered as a licensed journey worker plumber in Hawaii or another state for at least two years, or have equivalent qualifying trade experience. Hawaii does not grant reciprocity, so Hawaii application, qualification, and examination are still required.

What does a C-37 Plumbing Contractor applicant need?

The contractor process requires four years of supervisory experience within the preceding ten years, experience certificates and project history, the applicable examinations, financial statement, credit report, tax clearance, and proof of required insurance.

Do Hawaii plumbers have continuing education?

For the July 1, 2024–June 30, 2027 renewal period, active Journey Worker and Master Plumbers must complete the Board’s continuing-competency requirement on the 2021 UPC, unless an identified exemption applies.

Primary Sources

Regulatory requirements on this page are drawn from the official board, statute, and exam-provider materials listed below.

Verified 2026-09-04 · Next scheduled review 2026-12-04

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Corrections and presentation updates

2026-09-30: Corrected examination detection when format details are unpublished and updated the summary layout and requirements score. Source-check dates are unchanged.
2026-09-08: Shared template updated to distinguish unspecified eligibility requirements, retain cost qualifications, and use consistent headings. Source-check dates are unchanged by presentation updates.
2026-09-21: Local-only guides now use a compliance-focused structure and terminology instead of implying a statewide license application. Source-check dates are unchanged by this presentation update.