Montana plumber license requirements

This guide summarizes what Montana requires to work as a plumber, with a link to the state's own source for every requirement. Rules change; check the linked source before you apply.

Apprentices

A licensed master plumber in Montana may employ only apprentice plumbers registered with the state Department of Labor and Industry, and is responsible for making sure their work complies with the state plumbing code. (source)

Journeyman level: experience and exam

Montana's Board of Plumbers accepts either a written affirmation from the licensed master plumber or licensed plumbing contractor who employed the applicant, showing at least 7,500 aggregate hours of plumbing experience over not less than five years, or a registered apprenticeship completion certificate. An approved engineering degree counts as two years of the five-year requirement, steam fitting, hydronics and industrial piping experience can count for up to two years, and the board may give up to two years' credit for technical school or engineering technology study. (source)

Journeyman plumber applicants must pass two written examinations with a score of 70 percent or greater on each, and must pass the first before taking the second. An applicant who fails three written exams within the year an application is valid must complete 20 hours of continuing education before a fourth attempt. (source)

Master level

Master plumber applicants need 4 years of experience as a licensed journeyman plumber, including 3 years (which may run concurrently) working with a licensed master plumber or in a supervisory capacity, and must pass the master exam with 70 percent or better. One year of experience means 1,500 hours or more of work in a continuous 12-month period. (source)

Contractor license

Montana does not issue a separate plumbing contractor license. A plumbing business must designate a licensed master plumber as its master plumber of record to advertise, bid or contract for plumbing work, or to apply for plumbing permits. (source)

Renewal, continuing education and fees

Journeyman and master plumber licenses (and medical gas endorsements) renew every year, due September 1. (source)

Journeyman and master plumbers must complete at least four hours of board-approved continuing education each year. New licensees are exempt during their first renewal cycle. (source)

$220 application fee for a journeyman or master plumber license. (source)

Licensed in another state

Out-of-state applicants can submit a copy of their license and a certified verification letter from the licensing agency. If the other state's qualifications are not equivalent to Montana's, they get credit for the years that state required and must document the rest; applicants from states without journeyman or master licensing must document experience equivalent to five years (journeyman) or nine years (master). (source)

Check a license

Montana's public license lookup: https://ebizws.mt.gov/PUBLICPORTAL/searchform?mylist=licenses

Pay for plumbers in Montana

Statewide figures for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (SOC 47-2152), all employers, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS):

• Median hourly wage: $38.44 (BLS OEWS)
• Median annual wage: $79,960 (BLS OEWS)
• 10th percentile: $23.20 (BLS OEWS)
• 90th percentile: $48.49 (BLS OEWS)
• Estimated employment: 1,860 (BLS OEWS)

Release: May 2025 (source)

These are benchmarks, not job offers. A listing on Mountain West Trades shows the pay that employer posted.