Here is the fact that most Mississippi plumbing license guides get wrong: Mississippi has no statewide journeyman or master plumber license. The words “journeyman” and “master” do not appear anywhere in the Mississippi State Board of Contractors statutes or rules.
What Mississippi licenses at the state level is the plumbing business, through a designated qualifying party. Individual master and journeyman plumber licensing happens at the city level. Both layers are real, and neither substitutes for the other.
If you have seen a site referencing a “Mississippi State Plumbing Board,” that body does not exist.
Who actually licenses what
State: Mississippi State Board of Contractors (MSBOC). Licenses plumbing contractors, commercial and residential. Authority: Miss. Code Ann. 31-3-1 and following (commercial) and 73-59-1 and following (residential).
Mississippi State Board of Contractors · 800-880-6161
State, separate credential: Mississippi State Department of Health, Division of On-Site Wastewater. Certified Installer, Certified Pumper and Certified Professional Evaluator for septic systems. Not a plumbing license.
Local: cities. This is where master and journeyman plumber licensing actually lives. We verified the City of Jackson directly from its codified ordinances. We did not verify Gulfport, Hattiesburg or others, so check your city rather than assuming.
The state classifications
MSBOC issues a Certificate of Responsibility (commercial) or a residential license. The plumbing-relevant ones:
Commercial
– MECHANICAL (major classification, test required) covering HVAC, refrigeration, piping and plumbing
– PLUMBING (specialty under Mechanical, test required) covering commercial and residential plumbing systems, sanitary and storm drainage, venting, public and private water supply, septic tanks, drainage and supply wells, swimming pool piping, irrigation, medical gas, fire line standpipes and sprinklers. It does not include fuel gas or boiler systems
Residential
– RESIDENTIAL PLUMBING (test required), limited to residential plumbing
– RESIDENTIAL MECHANICAL (requires both the residential HVAC and residential plumbing tests)
When you need the state license
This is the part worth reading twice, because the dollar thresholds are not what people assume.
- Commercial license required at $50,000 or more. Miss. Code 31-3-1 exempts contracts under that
- Residential license: section 73-59-3(1)(d) requires “any subcontractor, of any tier, performing… Plumbing… on any residential construction or residential improvement project, no matter the dollar amount of the construction or improvements”
Read that carefully. The threshold applies to the project, not to your own contract. “Residential construction” means builder work over $50,000, and “residential improvement” means remodel work over $10,000. Once the project clears that, every plumbing sub needs a license regardless of how small their own piece is. A $900 rough-in on a $200,000 build still requires the license.
Experience requirements
The state publishes no number of years. We searched both the statutes and the board rules and there is no years-of-experience figure anywhere. Any site quoting you “X years for a Mississippi plumbing license” is inventing it.
What the law does say: Miss. Code 31-3-13 directs the board to consider experience and ability, character, performance on previous contracts, financial condition, equipment, personnel, work completed and work on hand. The commercial rule requires the qualifying party to have “the necessary experience, knowledge and skills to supervise or perform the contracting work.” The application asks you to list completed projects in the classification you want.
At the local level (City of Jackson, as the verified example):
– Master plumber: 5 years experience in the business, or trade school or college graduation plus 1 year practical experience. Minimum age 21. Three business reference letters
– Journeyman ID card: 4 years experience as a helper or journeyman, certified by at least 3 master plumbers licensed in the city
Exams
State. Administered by PSI. All exams are open book. Every applicant takes the Mississippi Law and Business Management exam. Plumbing classifications also require a trade exam.
Passing score: 70 percent. That is published in both the commercial and residential rule sets.
Question counts, time limits and PSI exam fees are not published on MSBOC’s site. The NASCLA alternate exam route applies to Commercial General Building and Master Electrical only, not plumbing.
Local (Jackson). The master plumber exam is weighted 50 percent technical and practical, 15 percent practical installation, 15 percent appliances and fixtures, 20 percent business procedure. 70 percent minimum to pass. Retake allowed after 90 days, no cap on attempts.
Fees
MSBOC fee schedule, effective January 1, 2016:
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Commercial application | $400 |
| Commercial renewal | $400 (late fee $50) |
| Commercial additional classification | $100 |
| Residential application | $50 |
| Residential renewal | $100 (late fee $10) |
| Request for waiver of exam (reciprocity, per exam) | $50 |
| Change in qualifying party | $25 |
| Active/inactive status change | $25 each |
| Duplicate license | $50 |
| Returned check | $40 |
City of Jackson: exam $100, master certificate renewal $100 (due by February 1), journeyman ID card $100 with annual renewal at $100, valid until April 30 following issuance.
Bond, insurance and net worth
No surety bond is required for state licensure. The only bonds in Miss. Code 31-3 are the Executive Director’s official bond and a $250 appeal cost bond. The statute explicitly says the board has no authority to determine the maximum bond a contractor can obtain.
| Requirement | Commercial | Residential |
|---|---|---|
| General liability | $300,000 per occurrence / $600,000 aggregate minimum, MSBOC listed as certificate holder | Proof of coverage required, no minimum amount |
| Net worth | $50,000 for a major classification (Mechanical), $20,000 for a specialty (Plumbing), on a reviewed CPA statement from the prior 12 months. Audited statement not required | Not required |
| Workers’ comp | Required if required by state law | Required if required by applicable law |
| Surety bond | None | None |
On workers’ comp: the “five or more employees” trigger you will see quoted comes from Mississippi workers’ compensation law in Title 71, not from an MSBOC rule. MSBOC’s own text just says “if required by applicable law.”
City of Jackson does require a $5,000 contractor’s surety bond plus liability insurance of at least $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident and $50,000 property damage.
Renewal and continuing education
- Annual. The license expires on the last day of the twelfth month following issuance or renewal
- 180-day late renewal window. Residential late renewal is the fee plus a 10 percent penalty. Past 180 days you file a new application
- Continuing education, residential only: 2 credit hours per year from a board-approved provider, under Miss. Code 73-59-11. This applies to residential licenses issued on or after July 1, 2015. If you held a valid license before that date you are statutorily exempt. The statute caps CE at no more than two hours per year
- Commercial: no CE requirement. The phrase does not appear as a licensee requirement anywhere in the commercial statutes or rules
- Renewal notices are email only starting in 2026
Reciprocity
Reciprocity in Mississippi waives the trade exam only. Everyone still takes the Mississippi Law and Business Management exam, files a full application and pays all fees. The waiver request is $50 per exam.
States whose agreements reach a plumbing classification:
- Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board waives the Commercial Plumbing exam
- Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board waives Electrical, HVAC, Plumbing and Refrigeration
- South Carolina Residential Builders Commission waives Residential Plumbing
- Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors waives all exams. MSBOC notes Tennessee is the only state that waives both Mechanical and Plumbing
Explicitly not waived for plumbing: Alabama General Contractors Board, Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board, and Louisiana (HVAC only). MSBOC states it and the Louisiana board no longer maintain an agreement but that it will continue to recognize Louisiana passing exam scores.
One caution: MSBOC’s downloadable reciprocity PDF (revised 07/2025) does not list the Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Board, while its web page does. The web page is the newer source. Go by the web page.
Separate pathways also exist under the Military Family Freedom Act (73-50-1) and the Universal Recognition of Occupational Licensure Act (73-50-2).
Recent changes
- Alabama reciprocity effective January 1, 2026. Alabama’s board states this explicitly. Mississippi confirms the agreement exists but does not publish an effective date, so the date traces to Alabama
- MSBOC renewal notices go email-only beginning 2026
- MSBOC’s laws page still serves the 2022 revisions as current
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Mississippi journeyman plumber license?
Not from the state. Cities issue them. The state licenses the business through a qualifying party.
Can I do plumbing under $10,000 without a license?
Careful. Once the overall residential project qualifies as residential construction or improvement, plumbing subs of any tier need a license regardless of their own contract amount.
How many years of experience do I need?
The state publishes no figure. Jackson requires 5 years for master and 4 for journeyman. Your city may differ.
Does reciprocity mean I skip testing?
No. The trade exam only. The Mississippi Law and Business Management exam is required of every applicant, always.
Before you apply
The honest summary: Mississippi does not issue a statewide journeyman or master plumber license. Get clear on which of the two layers you actually need, then handle both if you are running your own shop in a city that licenses individuals.
Confirm with MSBOC at 800-880-6161 and your local building department before relying on any figure here. This is not legal advice.
