How to start a plumbing business

This guide follows a plumber from the first registered apprentice hour to a company with its own license, insurance and customers, quoting the licensing agencies in Texas, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina and California. The most useful finding: the license you work under is rarely the one that lets you run the company, and in Texas your hours do not start counting until you register as an apprentice.

By Niomi AscotUpdated October 3, 202616 min read

Licensing: Set by states, with Florida journeyman licenses issued by counties and cities; there is no federal plumbing license
The Texas ladder: 8,000 hours to journeyman, two more years to master (one with a DOL apprenticeship), then a Responsible Master Plumber to run the company
Median pay, 2025: $63,800 a year for plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters (BLS via O*NET)
Job outlook: 5% to 6% growth from 2024 to 2034, which BLS rates faster than average
Typical shop size: 58.3% of plumbing and HVAC employer establishments have fewer than five employees (Census, 2023)
First paid leads: Google's Local Services Ads screening for plumbers takes 3 to 4 weeks on average

What a plumbing company sells, and the ways to run one

California’s license board defines the work in one sentence: a plumbing contractor “provides a means for a supply of safe water, ample in volume and of suitable temperature for the purpose intended and the proper disposal of fluid waste” (California CSLB, C-36 classification).

Service and emergency repair. Leaks, clogs and no hot water. Google files plumbing as urgent “because consumers often call plumbers for time-sensitive, urgent needs, such as a hot water outage” (Google Local Services Ads, plumber requirements), so whoever answers first usually gets the job.
Planned replacement. Water heaters, repipes and sewer lines: fewer calls, bigger tickets, and a homeowner who collects more than one price.
Drain cleaning only. Florida’s statute says “a mandatory licensing requirement is not established” for drain cleaning (Florida Statutes 489.105), and Texas offers a Drain Cleaner Registration that a registered apprentice can add (TSBPE apprentice registration).
New construction and commercial. Rough-in for builders on their schedule, or larger buildings that may need a higher license class.
Plumbing with heating and air. Federal statistics already treat them as one industry: NAICS 238220 is “Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors” (Census NAICS descriptions).

In our work with plumbing companies, owners usually open in service and repair, add water heaters early because they are easy to quote, and take on sewer work once they own a jetter, a camera and a second licensed plumber.

The outlook for plumbers and plumbing companies

Bureau of Labor Statistics figures on O*NET count plumbers together with pipefitters and steamfitters (O*NET 47-2152.00). Median pay in 2025 was $30.67 an hour, or $63,800 a year, and 504,500 people held these jobs in 2024. Employment is projected to grow 5% to 6% from 2024 to 2034, faster than average, with 44,000 projected job openings over that period as O*NET prints it.

The Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns, which covers businesses with paid employees, counted 111,207 plumbing and HVAC employer establishments in 2023, with 1,214,761 employees (2023 national file). Of those, 58.3% had fewer than 5 employees and 88.7% fewer than 20. Another 178,663 businesses in the group had no employees at all and averaged about $78,400 in receipts each (Census Nonemployer Statistics, 2023 national file). A one-truck company is the common shape of this industry.

One federal rule will send homeowners looking for plumbers for a decade. EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements require water systems “to identify and replace lead pipes within 10 years” (EPA, LCRI), and EPA estimates “up to 9 million homes are served through legacy lead pipes” (EPA, October 2024). Each water system’s plan decides how much of that work reaches private shops; our plumbing marketing page explains the letters residents receive.

Licensing: apprentice, journeyman, master, then the company

There is no federal plumbing license; states set the rules, and some hand part of them to counties and cities. The ladder looks similar across the five states below: supervised apprentice hours, a journeyman exam, a master or contractor license, and one more license, registration or named person to run a company. Check hours logged in one state against the next state’s rules before you move.

Two federal rules apply everywhere. For drinking water, the Safe Drinking Water Act defines “lead free” as “a weighted average of 0.25% lead calculated across the wetted surfaces” of pipes, fittings and fixtures (EPA, lead-free plumbing). And EPA’s lead-safe renovation rule names “plumbers” outright: paid work that disturbs more than six square feet of interior paint per room in housing or child-occupied facilities built before 1978 needs certification, “even sole proprietorships” (EPA RRP for contractors). Opening a painted wall to reach a leak can bring a job under it.

Five states side by side

As of October 2026, from each agency’s own pages:

State	Agency	License	Key requirements as the agency states them
Texas	Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners	Apprentice registration; Tradesman Plumber-Limited; Journeyman; Master; Responsible Master Plumber to run a company	Hours count only after registration; journeyman at 8,000 hours plus a 48-hour course or a DOL apprenticeship; master after two years as a journeyman; RMP carries $300,000 of liability coverage
Florida	Counties and cities (journeyman); DBPR Construction Industry Licensing Board (contractor)	Local journeyman license; certified or registered plumbing contractor	No statewide journeyman license; journeyman needs 75% on a proctored exam plus a state-approved apprenticeship or 12,000 hours of on-the-job training
Illinois	Illinois Department of Public Health	Apprentice plumber; plumber; plumbing contractor registration	Plumber exam after four years as a licensed apprentice; apprenticeship capped at six years; contractors register yearly
North Carolina	State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors	Plumbing technician; Class I or Class II plumbing contractor	Contractor exam at 4,000 hours, up to half from schooling; technician at 3,000 hours (Class I) or 2,500 (Class II)
California	Contractors State License Board	C-36 Plumbing contractor	Required on jobs of $1,000 or more or needing a permit; four years at journey level or above; $25,000 bond

Texas: hours count from the day you register

The Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners licenses individual plumbers; licenses renew yearly with six hours of continuing education. Fees are as of October 2026:

Apprentice. “You MUST register as a Plumber’s Apprentice before you can start counting the hours of experience.” Registration is $15 from age 16, and a licensed plumber must be “on the job site with you at all times you are performing plumbing work” (TSBPE apprentice page).
Tradesman Plumber-Limited, optional. 4,000 hours plus a 24-hour course, limited to “one and two-family dwellings” under an RMP; $36 to apply, $35 for the license (TSBPE tradesman page).
Journeyman. 8,000 hours, certified by your employers, plus a 48-hour board-approved course or a federally approved apprenticeship program; $40 each for the exam and license (TSBPE journeyman page).
Master. Two years holding a journeyman license from Texas or another state, or one year plus a completed DOL apprenticeship; $25 to the board, $128.50 to Pearson VUE and $75 for the license (TSBPE master plumber page).
Responsible Master Plumber. The license a company runs on: “a minimum of $300,000 of commercial liability insurance coverage” and $225. The RMP answers for permits, inspections and every worker’s license, “regardless of whether the individuals performing the work are employees or subcontractors” (TSBPE RMP page).

At 2,000 hours a year, that is four years to the journeyman exam and two more to the master exam, or one more with a completed federal apprenticeship. The RMP’s number then goes on the company’s ads and on both sides of its vehicles (22 TAC 367.10), and the board’s penalty schedule lists $1,000 for an ad without it (TSBPE board rules).

Florida: the journeyman card comes from a county

Florida has no statewide journeyman plumber license. “Counties and municipalities are authorized to issue journeyman licenses” to applicants who score at least 75 percent on a proctored exam, complete building code coursework, and finish a state-approved apprenticeship or “at least 12,000 hours of on-the-job training.” A county “must recognize” a journeyman license issued by any other Florida county or city (Florida Statutes 489.1455).

Contracting takes a state license: certified contractors may work “in any jurisdiction in the state,” registered ones only where their local license applies (Florida DBPR). One route to the exam is “at least 4 years of active experience,” a year of it as a foreman (Florida Statutes 489.111). Contractors then need $100,000 of liability and $25,000 of property damage coverage (Fla. Admin. Code 61G4-15.003) and a FICO score of 660 or a 14-hour financial responsibility course (Fla. Admin. Code 61G4-15.006).

Illinois: one plumber license, earned over four years

The Illinois Department of Public Health has no journeyman or master grade. It licenses “plumbers, plumbing contractors, plumbers’ apprentices, irrigation contractors and retired plumbers.” Apprentices start at 16 with a licensed sponsor or an approved program. The plumber exam requires at least four years “employed as a licensed apprentice plumber,” two years of high school or the equivalent, and an approved course. “After a maximum apprenticeship period of 6 years,” an apprentice who has not passed cannot renew. Contractors “must register with the state and pay an annual fee” and carry general liability, bodily injury, property damage and workers’ compensation insurance.

North Carolina: two classes, counted in hours

By statute, Class I covers “all plumbing, heating, and fire sprinkler systems for all structures” and Class II covers “plumbing and heating systems in single-family detached residential dwellings” (N.C. Gen. Stat. 87-21). A plumber who wants only house calls can start with Class II. The state board sets the hours:

Plumbing contractor exam: “2 years (4,000 hours) on-site full-time experience,” with “up to one-half (2,000 hours)” from related academic or technical training.
Plumbing technician, for plumbers employed by a contractor: 3,000 hours for Class I and 2,500 for Class II.
Restricted Limited Plumbing Contractor: 1,500 hours, up to half of it from training.

Exams must be taken within 90 days of approval, and the board has “no license reciprocity agreements with any other state,” though it offers South Carolina contractors a technical exam waiver and residents licensed in neighboring states a recognition route.

California: a contractor license built on four years at journey level

California’s company license is the C-36 from the Contractors State License Board. It is required on any job of “$1,000 or more” or one that needs a permit, and contracting without it starts as a misdemeanor carrying “up to six months in jail and/or a $500 fine” (CSLB, before applying).

The exam requires “at least four (4) years of experience, in the class you are applying for,” at journey level or as a foreman, supervising employee, contractor or owner-builder, and CSLB counts a completed apprenticeship as journey level. Training or schooling can stand in for up to three of those years, but “At least one year must be practical experience” (CSLB experience requirements). Planning and Estimating is 22% of the trade exam, the same share as Underground and Rough Systems (CSLB C-36 study guide). Fees as of October 2026 are $450 to apply, then $200 for a sole owner’s license or $350 for other entities, good for two years (CSLB fees), and the license issues after you file a “Contractor bond or cashier’s check of $25,000” (CSLB, issuing your license).

Permits and inspections are local everywhere, with rules and fees set where you work (SBA, licenses and permits). Ask the building department about city registration and backflow testing certification before pricing the first permitted job.

Setting up the company

Entity and EIN. An LLC protects owners “from personal liability in most instances,” the SBA says (SBA, business structure), but in Texas the company’s contracts still run under one person’s RMP license, so plan for that person leaving. The EIN is free once the entity exists (IRS, EIN), and Local Services Ads screening can check EIN records when a business has no D-U-N-S number (Google, LSA screening).
Sales tax. Texas shows why to ask before pricing: residential repair labor “is not taxable,” nonresidential repair “is taxable,” and on a residential lump-sum job “You don’t charge your customer tax” because you paid it on the materials (Texas Comptroller, Publication 94-116).
Insurance. Your license sets the floor, as the state sections show. Local Services Ads ask plumbers for general and professional liability, and the SBA’s list adds commercial property and a business owner’s policy (SBA, business insurance). The truck needs commercial auto.
Workers’ comp. Florida requires it in construction from “one or more employees” (Florida Statutes 440.02). California requires it with a single employee, though a C-36 contractor with none may file an exemption that CSLB does not offer roofing or HVAC contractors (CSLB, workers’ comp). Illinois requires it of registered contractors. Texas does not require it of most private employers (Texas Department of Insurance).
Employees or subcontractors. Calling a helper a subcontractor does not change who answers to the Texas board, and misclassifying a worker without a reasonable basis can leave you “liable for employment taxes for that worker” (IRS, contractor or employee).

Trucks, tools and software

The first truck is usually a cargo van with fitting bins, a pipe rack and room for a water heater dolly. Check the rating before buying bigger or hitching a jetter trailer: a vehicle of 10,001 pounds or more used in interstate commerce is a commercial motor vehicle under 49 CFR 390.5.

The plumbers we work with buy tools in the order the work arrives: drain machines and cables, then a sewer camera and locator, press and PEX tools, brazing kits and test gauges, and a hydro jetter once sewer work is steady. Stock only lead-free products for drinking water lines.

Software comes in four parts: dispatch and invoicing, a price book, call tracking, and after-hours answering. If you plan on Local Services Ads, choose a field service tool from Google’s booking partner list, which includes HighLevel (LeadConnector), Housecall Pro, Jobber and ServiceTitan (Google, LSA booking partners). Open accounts at two supply houses early, so one backorder never stalls a job.

Pricing and cash flow

The shops we see price work four ways: a service-call or diagnostic fee followed by a flat-rate repair, time and materials for problems behind a wall, written quotes for water heaters, repipes and sewer lines, and maintenance memberships. Post the service-call fee. BrightLocal found that among trade customers, “Pricing and deals also matter more here than elsewhere,” with 36% citing them as a research factor (BrightLocal, July 2026). Thumbtack’s own platform data puts water heater replacement at around $698 to $2,036, with most people paying around $1,193 (Thumbtack cost guide).

California caps a home improvement down payment at “$1,000 or 10 percent of the contract amount, whichever amount is less” (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 7159.5). In Florida, taking more than 10 percent up front on residential work means applying for permits within 30 days and starting within 90 days of their issue (Florida Statutes 489.126). A financing ad that names a monthly payment triggers Regulation Z disclosures (CFPB, 12 CFR 1026.24), and the federal tax credit for efficient water heaters covered only improvements made through December 31, 2025 (IRS).

In cold states the first hard freeze brings the busiest weeks, so have stock and phone cover ready before it.

We found no plumbing startup cost that showed its method, so none is quoted here; fill the SBA’s startup cost categories with your own quotes for the van, tools, insurance and fees.

Hiring apprentices and keeping crews safe

Apprenticeship is the hiring pipeline. O*NET lists 16 Department of Labor apprenticeship titles for the occupation, “Plumber” among them (O*NET 47-2152.00). A time-based program requires “at least 2,000 hours of on-the-job learning,” and the regulation recommends “A minimum of 144 hours for each year of apprenticeship” of related instruction (29 CFR 29.5). For sponsors, “In many states, businesses can qualify for tax credits” (Apprenticeship.gov).

Supervision rules decide how trucks are staffed. In Texas a licensed plumber must be on site whenever an apprentice does plumbing work, so two apprentices can never run a truck alone.

Sewer and water line jobs carry the trade’s worst risk. OSHA says “Trench collapses, or cave-ins, pose the greatest risk to workers’ lives” (OSHA, trenching). Workers in an excavation need a protective system unless it is in stable rock, or under 5 feet deep with a competent person finding no sign of a cave-in (29 CFR 1926.652). Hazard Communication and construction ladders ranked second and third on OSHA’s fiscal 2025 most-cited list (OSHA top 10), so keep safety data sheets for cements and drain chemicals on every truck. And screen the people you send into homes: Google says plumbers get “an additional level of screening, including service professional background checks” for Local Services Ads.

Finding the first customers

Google Business Profile. Set it up as a service-area business: hide the address if customers are not served there, list up to 20 service areas, and keep them within “about 2 hours of driving time” (Google, service areas). A rented virtual office “isn’t eligible for a Business Profile” (Google, eligibility). Google chooses the verification method and recommends video (Google, verification), so have the van, signage and tools ready to film. More on Google Business Profile setup.

Local Services Ads. The category is “Plumbers,” the badge Google Verified. Screening covers general and professional liability insurance, state licenses “where applicable by local law,” background checks for select users and a verified profile, and Google says “On average, this process takes 3-4 weeks” (Google, plumber requirements). It may include “minimum review requirements” (Google, LSA screening), and ranking weighs your rating, review count and “average response time” (Google, LSA ranking).

Reviews. BrightLocal’s 2026 survey found 47% of consumers avoid businesses with fewer than 20 reviews and 74% care only about the last three months (BrightLocal review survey), so ask from the first job on. The FTC’s 2024 rule bans incentives “conditioned on the writing of consumer reviews expressing a particular sentiment” and bars review suppression (FTC), so any thank-you goes to every reviewer alike. See how review requests work.

Search ads. Semrush estimates quoted by Backlinko put “plumber near me” at $62.67 a click in Austin, Texas, against $20.11 in Lincoln, Nebraska (Backlinko, January 2026). Price your own market, and run ads only in hours someone answers.

Referrals. In our experience early work comes from property managers, real estate agents, home inspectors who need sewer scopes, restoration companies, remodelers without a plumber, and heating companies that do not employ one.

License numbers. California requires the license number in “all forms of advertising” (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 7030.5) and Florida in every advertisement “regardless of medium” (Florida Statutes 489.119). With the Texas RMP rule, that means the wrap, the site footer and the profile carry it before the first ad runs.

From there, our plumbing marketing page covers where plumbing calls come from and what to fix first.

Where new plumbing companies get stuck

Unregistered hours. Helper work in Texas before the $15 apprentice registration counts for nothing toward a license.
Opening too early. A Texas company needs an RMP, and any California job of $1,000 or more needs the C-36.
Assuming Florida works like Texas. Its journeyman license is local and takes 12,000 hours without an approved apprenticeship.
Running out the Illinois clock. An apprentice who has not passed after six years cannot renew.
Unprotected trenches. From 5 feet down, a protective system is required unless the trench is in stable rock.
Voicemail. Local Services Ads rank partly on response time, and a caller who reaches voicemail can simply ring the next plumber listed.

Plumbing startup questions

How long does it take to become a plumber who can own a company?

From two years of full-time experience in North Carolina to about six in Texas. Texas needs 8,000 hours to the journeyman exam, then two years (one with a DOL apprenticeship) before the master exam and RMP. Illinois needs four years as a licensed apprentice, North Carolina 4,000 hours for the contractor exam, and California and Florida four years of experience.

What does a Texas plumbing license cost?

A few hundred dollars in board fees, and far more for insurance. As of October 2026 the fees run $15 for the apprentice registration, $80 for the journeyman exam and license, $228.50 for the master exam and license, and $225 for the RMP designation, which also requires $300,000 of liability coverage.

Can a registered apprenticeship replace the hours?

Partly. In Texas it covers the 24-hour and 48-hour courses and cuts the master wait to one year; in Florida it replaces the 12,000 hours for a county journeyman license; California credits it toward up to three of its four years.

Can I start with drain cleaning only?

In Florida, yes, since drain cleaning carries no mandatory license. Texas has a Drain Cleaner Registration that a registered apprentice can add. Elsewhere, ask the state board before buying the machine.

What insurance does a new plumbing company need?

Whatever your license sets, plus what Google asks: $300,000 of liability for a Texas RMP, $100,000 of liability plus $25,000 of property damage in Florida, liability and workers’ comp in Illinois, and general and professional liability for Local Services Ads.

Do I need workers’ comp for my first employee?

Yes in Florida, California and Illinois. Texas leaves it optional for most private employers, except on government contracts.

How do new plumbing companies get their first calls?

From a verified Google Business Profile, Local Services Ads once screening clears, reviews asked for after every job, and referral partners who already need a plumber. And answer every call: Google treats plumbing as urgent.

Sources

Checked on October 3, 2026. Rules and fees change, and many are set state by state or city by city: confirm the current requirements with the agency that issues them before you apply.

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