Arkansas licenses plumbers at the state level through the Department of Health, which is unusual. Most states run plumbing through a contractor board or a labor department. Arkansas runs it through public health, and it writes its own exams in house rather than using PSI or Prov.
Here is the whole system, verified against the Arkansas Plumber’s Law and the licensing rules that took effect September 5, 2024.
Who runs it
The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), Plumbing and Natural Gas Section, with eligibility decided by the State Committee of Plumbing Examiners. Rules come from the Arkansas State Board of Health under Ark. Code Ann. 17-38-101 and following.
ADH Plumbing and Natural Gas Section
Plumbing Licensing Rules (eff. 9/5/2024)
4815 W. Markham St., Slot 24, Little Rock, AR 72205 · 501-661-2642
Separate from this: the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board handles the contractor license. That is a different agency with different thresholds, covered further down.
License tiers
- Apprentice Plumber (a registration, not a license to work alone)
- Journeyman Plumber
- Master Plumber
- Lifetime Master Plumber (restricted, for long-time masters 65 and older)
- Restricted licenses: gas fitter, gas fitter supervisor, gas utility serviceman, hospital maintenance, restricted governmental maintenance, restricted water and sewer service line installer
- Plumbing Inspector / Gas Inspector certification
- Backflow Assembly Testing and Repair Technician certifications
There is no “residential plumber” tier in Arkansas.
Experience requirements
Arkansas states experience in years, not hours. This matters, because a lot of sites quote an 8,000-hour figure that is not the Arkansas licensing standard.
| Tier | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Journeyman | Minimum 4 years of plumbing experience or its equivalent |
| Master | Minimum 5 years experience, and hold a Journeyman license for 1 full year first |
| Gas Fitter | 2 years as a Registered Gas Fitter Trainee, plus exam |
| Gas Fitter Supervisor | 1 full year as a licensed Gas Fitter, plus exam |
| Hospital Maintenance | 4 years as a registered Hospital Maintenance Trainee |
| Lifetime Master | Previously licensed AR Master 12+ years, age 65+ |
A hardship waiver on the master’s one-year journeyman requirement is possible, and the Committee may also consider registered professional engineers with plumbing engineering expertise.
If you are applying without a prior license, you submit notarized affidavits on company letterhead from current and former employers.
Apprentice supervision: one master or journeyman may supervise up to three apprentices on a single job. A “final year” apprentice, defined by statute as someone with 480+ classroom hours and 6,000+ on-the-job hours in a USDOL-approved program, may work under indirect supervision. Those numbers define final-year status, not the licensing threshold.
The exam
ADH administers its own exams in house at the ADH Auditorium in Little Rock, roughly monthly. Statute requires at least two per year.
Journeyman: four sections, four hours total.
1. DWV isometric riser drawing plus water sizing per 2018 Arkansas Plumbing Code Appendix E201, with a 45-degree offset
2. 50 questions from the 2018 APC, 2018 Arkansas Fuel Gas Code and Arkansas Plumbing Law
3. Flue venting, combustion air, gas pipe sizing
4. Code illustrations
Master: four sections, four hours, similar structure with fixture spacing and longest-length gas pipe sizing.
Passing score: not published for Journeyman or Master. We looked through the rules, the law, the applications and both official study guides and found nothing. The only officially published passing score in Arkansas plumbing is 70 percent for the Plumbing Inspector / Gas Inspector certification. Anyone quoting a journeyman or master passing percentage is guessing.
Fees
Application fees and license fees are separate, which is where people underestimate the real cost.
| License | Application | Annual license | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | none | $25 | Dec 31 |
| Journeyman | $75 | $75 | Dec 31 |
| Master | $125 | $200 | Dec 31 |
| Lifetime Master | none | none | lifetime |
| Gas Fitter | $75 | $75 | Jun 30 |
| Gas Fitter Supervisor | $125 | $200 | Jun 30 |
| Hospital Maintenance | $75 | $37.50 | Jun 30 |
| Restricted Governmental Maintenance | $125 | $100 | Jun 30 |
| Restricted Water & Sewer Service Line | $125 | $200 | Jun 30 |
| Plumbing Inspector | none | $25 | Jun 30 |
So year one realistically costs $150 for a journeyman and $325 for a master.
Other fees: re-exam or failure to appear $50, non-scheduled or oral exam +$50, late fee $5 per month after 30 days delinquent, ADH inspection $25, re-inspection caused by supervisor negligence $35, deferment $20 per year, master-to-journeyman transfer $20.
Arkansas waives initial licensure fees under Act 725 of 2021 if you are on Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, TEA or Lifeline, were approved for unemployment in the last 12 months, or have income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
Bond and insurance
None required for the ADH plumber license. The words bond, insurance and liability do not appear anywhere in the Arkansas plumbing licensing rules or the Plumber’s Law. If a site tells you Arkansas requires a plumber’s surety bond or a liability minimum to get licensed, it is wrong.
Bond and workers’ compensation obligations attach at the contractor level through the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board. Thresholds there: a commercial license at $50,000 or more including labor and materials (any non-single-family project counts as commercial), and residential builder, remodeler or home improvement licenses at over $2,000 on a single-family residence.
Renewal and continuing education
- Master, Journeyman and Apprentice expire December 31 annually. Renew by early February, then $5 per month penalty
- Restricted licenses and Inspector certifications expire June 30 annually
- Statute gives you 30 days after expiration to renew. Past that, ADH will not renew without sufficient justification and you go through reinstatement
- Reinstatement: master $325, journeyman $150, plus all back fees and penalties
Continuing education for Master and Journeyman: none published. The rules contain a general clause saying applicants must be current on any CE “related to the license,” but no hour count is prescribed for master or journeyman. CE requirements that DO exist:
- Plumbing / Gas Inspector: 8 hours of ADH refresher training at each annual renewal
- Backflow Tester: department-approved recertification training before expiration
Reciprocity
Arkansas has four posted agreements:
| State | Scope |
|---|---|
| Oklahoma | Journeyman (unrestricted) |
| Texas | Journeyman |
| Louisiana | Journeyman |
| Ohio | Master only, effective Sept 1, 2022 |
Common conditions: the license must have been earned by examination, not by reciprocity in a third state, must be current and in good standing, with no revocation, suspension or pending discipline.
The Ohio agreement is master-only in both directions and requires Ohio applicants to hold both Master Plumber and HVAC licenses earned by exam. Arkansas to Ohio requires three years holding the Arkansas license. Arkansas to Texas requires either passing the Texas practical exam or four consecutive years holding the Arkansas journeyman license.
On the Oklahoma date: Oklahoma’s Construction Industries Board publishes this agreement as effective October 21, 2024. Arkansas’s own posted copy carries handwritten signature dates and prints no effective date. So the agreement is confirmed current by both states, but the specific date traces to Oklahoma. Oklahoma also notes reciprocity is not automatic and you still apply in the state where you will work.
Two non-reciprocity paths also exist: Automatic Occupational Licensure under Act 457 of 2023 for new Arkansas residents in good standing elsewhere for a year, and the Uniformed Service Members, Veterans and Spouses Act of 2021.
Recent changes
- Licensing rules effective September 5, 2024, incorporating Acts 137 and 457 of 2023
- June 17, 2026: the Committee issued an official code interpretation on sediment traps under 2018 Arkansas Fuel Gas Code section 408, holding the capped nipple must be in the run of the tee, vertical plane, not the branch
- Ralph McClenahan is interim manager of the Plumbing and Natural Gas Section as of mid-2026
- Current codes: 2018 Arkansas Plumbing Code and 2018 Arkansas Fuel Gas Code
Frequently asked questions
How many hours do I need for an Arkansas journeyman license?
Arkansas does not count hours. It requires four years of experience. The 8,000-hour figure floating around comes from the Arkansas–Texas reciprocity agreement, which is a mutual covenant between two states, not the Arkansas application standard.
What score do I need to pass?
Arkansas does not publish one for journeyman or master. Only the inspector certification has a published score, at 70 percent.
Do I need a surety bond?
Not for the plumber license. Possibly for a contractor license through a different board, depending on project size.
Can I use my out-of-state license?
If you are from Oklahoma, Texas or Louisiana at journeyman level, or Ohio at master level, and you earned it by exam. Otherwise the Committee can approve applicants from “substantially similar” states, defined as states using a national model code and a nationally proctored exam.
Before you apply
One practical detail most guides miss: applications are reviewed by the Committee at monthly meetings, and any application submitted without its application fee is discarded without review. Get the fee right the first time.
Requirements, fees and code editions change. Confirm with ADH at 501-661-2642 before relying on any figure here. This is not legal advice.
