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Plumber's Licenses
You need a license to do plumbing work in Texas.
To get an application, contact:
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Texas State Board of
Plumbing Examiners
929 East 41st Street
P. O. Box 4200
Austin, TX 78765-4200
(512) 458-2145
(800) 845-6584 (in Texas only)
Fax: (512) 450-0637
http://www.tsbpe.state.tx.us/ |
You'll have to pass an exam to get a plumbing
license. To qualify for the master exam you must have held a journeyman license
in Texas for one year. If you have a journeyman or master license in another
state you can get a Texas journeyman license directly. Then you don't have to
pass the two-year Texas journeyman license period. Texas doesn't have any
reciprocity agreements with other states.
The master exam has a written part and a hands-on
part. The hands-on part of the exam will ask you to install sanitary plumbing in
a three-story miniature commercial structure. This will test your ability to lay
out and install a sanitary waste and vent system. You'll have to make a material
take-off for the rough-in of the waste and vent systems for the fixture shown on
the miniature commercial structure.
The written part has multiple choice questions on
the following topics:
| Waste and vent systems |
Trade-related math
problems |
| Natural gas systems |
Terms and definitions |
| Water systems |
OSHA, ADA, LPG |
| Simple physics |
On-site sewerage
facilities |
| Cross connections
created by back siphonage and backflow |
Water
heaters |
| Sizing of gas, gas vent
appliance, water and drainage piping systems |
Law and
board rules |
Questions come from:
OSHA Code of Federal Regulations;
Title 29 Labor Part 1926
LPG Safety Rules, 1999, NFPA-54
ADA Texas Accessibility Standards (TAS)
Construction Standards For On-Site Sewage Facilities and Collective
Regulatory Guidance RG-355
International Plumbing Code and International Fuel Gas Code, 2000
version, International Code Council, (703) 931-4533
Uniform Plumbing Code, 2000 version, International Association of
Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, (800) 854-2766
Plumber's license fees: It will cost you
$150 to take the master exam. The fee you pay for a license and its duration
will depend on when Board issues it to you.
To qualify to take the journeyman exam, you must
have at least 8,000 hours of work experience in the trade or a combination of
work experience and technical training that equals 8,000 hours. If you have a
journeyman or master license in another state, you qualify to take the Texas
journeyman exam.
The journeyman exam has a written part and a
hands-on part. The written part of the exam has multiple choice questions on the
following topics:
| Waste and vent systems |
Water systems |
| Natural gas systems |
Simple physics |
| Cross-connections
created by back siphonage and backflow |
Terms and
definition |
| Water heaters |
Law and
board rules |
Questions come from:
International Plumbing Code and International
Fuel Gas Code, International Code
Council, (703) 931-4533
Uniform Plumbing Code, International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical
Officials, (800) 854-2766
The hands-on part of the exam is split in two
parts as described below.
The sanitary waste and vent installation portion
will test your knowledge of proper planning, layout and installation of sanitary
waste and vent systems. You will design the sanitary waste and vent system for a
reduced scale two story building and perform the material "take-off", order the
material and actually install the system on the reduced-scale two story
building.
The hands-on shop-work portion will test your
knowledge and ability to properly use plumbing tools to measure, cut, prepare,
assemble and install plumbing materials and recognize proper installations of
water heaters.
Journeyman plumber's exam fee: It will
cost you $25 to take the journeyman exam. The fee you pay for a license and its
duration will depend on when Board issues it to you.
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