A Hawaii plumbing license alone does not let you run a plumbing business. That is the single most expensive misunderstanding here, so start with it.
Hawaii separates the two things completely. One license says you are allowed to do plumbing work. A different license, from a different board, says your business is allowed to contract for it. A one person plumbing company needs both.
Who runs plumbing licensing in Hawaii
Two boards, both under DCCA Professional and Vocational Licensing.
The Board of Electricians and Plumbers issues the individual license. Note that name. There is no standalone “Plumbers Licensing Board” in Hawaii, it is one joint board.
Hawaii Board of Electricians and Plumbers
The Contractors License Board issues the C-37 plumbing contractor license.
Hawaii Contractors License Board
The laws are HRS chapter 448E for plumbers and HRS chapter 444 for contractors.
The two individual plumber licenses
Hawaii says “journey worker,” not journeyman. Use their term on the paperwork.
- PJ, Journey Worker Plumber. Lets you perform plumbing work. Does not let you contract.
- PM, Master Plumber. Same. Lets you perform work, does not let you contract.
There is no apprentice license. “Apprentice” in Hawaii means someone registered under a separate chapter, not a board issued license.
The supervision rule is stricter than most states. An unlicensed person can only do plumbing work in or within five feet of a building if a PJ or PM oversees it, is responsible for it, and is physically present and available at the project site at all times the work happens. Not on call. On site.
Hours: 10,000, and they have to be the right hours
PJ, Journey Worker Plumber: five years but not less than 10,000 hours of plumbing work under the Uniform Plumbing Code.
PM, Master Plumber: licensed as a journey worker plumber for at least two years, in Hawaii or in another state, county or country with substantially equivalent requirements.
Hawaii is unusual in breaking the 10,000 hours into work processes, and you have to document each one:
- Drainage, waste and vent installation: 2,000 hours
- Potable and non potable water piping: 2,000 hours, of which at least 1,000 must be potable
- Finish work, fixtures and appliances: 1,000 hours
- Pipe fitting, including fire sprinkler, welding and medical gas: 500 hours
- Gas and fuel systems: 500 hours
- General work, sleeves, inserts, firestopping: 500 hours
- Blueprint reading and layout: 500 hours
Start tracking these categories on day one. Verification is a notarized form from each licensed plumber you worked under, and reconstructing seven categories of hours five years after the fact is miserable. A contractor’s license is not acceptable as the signature unless you worked in a state where only a contractor license exists.
Exams
PSI administers the exams. The sequence is apply first, get board approval, then register with PSI and test.
File the application at least seven working days before a board meeting. The board meets roughly February, April, June, August, October and December, with exams usually the following month. Exam eligibility lasts two years from your approval letter.
The plumber exam is based on the Uniform Plumbing Code.
Hawaii does not publish a passing score for the PJ or PM exam. The rule says only that you pass an exam as prescribed by the board. The 75 percent figure you will see quoted is from the contractor rules and does not apply here. Do not cross apply it.
Fees and the three year cycle
Application fee is $40, non refundable, filed with the application.
The initial license fee is prorated depending on where you land in the triennium:
- Licensed in year one of the cycle: $306
- Year two: $204
- Year three: $102
That structure comes from a $52 license fee plus a compliance resolution fund fee charged at $50 per remaining year.
Plumber licenses renew every three years by June 30. Plumber years are 2027, 2030 and 2033. On time active renewal is $306. Inactive is $12. Late restoration is $406 active, $112 inactive.
Miss the deadline and the license is forfeited. You can restore within one year by filing the form, meeting continuing competency and paying the penalty. Past one year you reapply as a new applicant and generally retake the exam.
Continuing competency, not CE hours
Hawaii does require ongoing education, but it does not count hours. It requires a specific code update course.
For the current licensing period, every active PJ and PM has to complete the continuing competency course on the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code to renew. The University of Hawaii Community College system is the only approved provider. You either authorize the college to send proof directly to the board, or submit the completion certificate yourself.
Completing the course does not renew your license. You need all three: the renewal application, the fee, and the proof of continuing competency. Missing any one is a forfeiture.
Licensees on inactive status are exempt, as are those licensed within a year of the expiration date, one time only.
The C-37 plumbing contractor license
This is the one that lets you contract, bid and generally run a business. Requirements:
- At least 18 years old
- Good reputation for honesty, financial integrity and fair dealing
- Four years of supervisory experience within the past 10 years
- Pass both exams: Business and Law, and the C-37 trade exam. Each is 80 questions in 180 minutes with a 75 percent passing score. Exam fee $80.
- Carry liability and workers’ compensation insurance
The paperwork is heavier than most states. You submit at least three notarized experience certificates, a chronological project list showing you supervised your own crew, a financial statement compiled, reviewed or audited by a CPA, a credit report covering at least five years, and a tax clearance. A statement prepared by your bookkeeper or tax preparer will be rejected. Technical training can count as experience but never more than one year.
Insurance minimums: $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence bodily injury, $50,000 per occurrence property damage, plus workers’ compensation. Let coverage lapse and the license forfeits automatically, and if you do not reinstate within 60 days you apply as a new applicant.
No surety bond is required, and no minimum net worth is published. The financial statement, credit report and tax clearance are the financial responsibility test.
You also need a definite place of business in the state where you can be served. A P.O. Box does not count.
Contractor licenses renew every two years by September 30 of even numbered years, and renewal requires a current tax clearance dated within six months with the name matching your license exactly. The restoration window is only 60 days, versus a year for plumbers. That mismatch catches people.
The $1,000 exemption does not cover you
Hawaii has a small job exemption from contractor licensing at $1,000 total including labor, materials and taxes, with no building permit required.
It expressly does not apply to plumbing work requiring a permit, and even where the county does not require a permit, the work may still have to be done by a licensed plumber. The owner builder exemption carries the same carve out. Do not read the $1,000 rule as permission to do small plumbing jobs unlicensed.
Reciprocity: none
Hawaii says it twice, in the application packet and in the board FAQ. Hawaii does not reciprocate with any jurisdiction. Every applicant meets the same requirements and sits the same exam.
The only credit for outside experience is toward the PM, where two years licensed elsewhere at journey worker or master level can qualify you, if that state’s requirements are substantially equivalent. You still apply, get qualified and test.
If you have ever held a license anywhere, you submit a verification form from every jurisdiction.
Next steps
Compare states on the plumbing license by state hub, or read the full plumbing license guide.
Once the C-37 and the PJ or PM are both in hand, here is how to start a plumbing business.
