How to Get a Plumbing License in Oregon: BCD Journeyman, Supervising Plumber and PB Requirements (2026)

How do you get a plumbing license in Oregon? You get a Journeyman Plumber (JP) license from the Building Codes Division (BCD), not the agency most guides send you to. BCD, a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, licenses the person; the Construction Contractors Board (CCB) licenses the business that employs that person.

That split trips up almost every new applicant. Most guides tell you to register your apprenticeship with, and submit your journeyman paperwork to, the CCB. That is the common error, not the law: apprentices register through the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) Apprenticeship and Training Division, a third agency entirely, and your individual license comes from BCD. Three agencies, three jobs. Get that straight and the rest of Oregon's plumbing ladder is unusually clean.

At a glance

• Who issues it: The BCD licenses the person. The CCB licenses the business.
• Who needs it: Anyone doing plumbing work for someone else. Owners working on their own property are exempt under ORS 693.020.
• Experience: Four years of registered apprenticeship, or 576 classroom hours plus 3,850 residential and 3,850 commercial on the job hours.
• The exam: A 4 hour, 64 question, open book exam scored at 75 percent.
• The fee: $100 to apply, $100 to retest, $180 to renew every three years on April 1.
• The time: 2 to 3 weeks of state processing once your packet is complete, before you count the apprenticeship years.

This guide walks the path in order: who needs which license, the license types, the experience and exam, the application steps, every fee the state publishes, the CCB bond and insurance layer underneath the business, renewal, and what changes once you are hiring rather than working alone. For the CCB side in full, see the Oregon contractor license page; for how Oregon compares with other states, start at the contractor license guide.

Who needs an Oregon plumbing license

Oregon does not set a dollar threshold for plumbing licensing the way some states do for general construction. The trigger is who the work is for, not the size of the job.

ORS 693.030(1) bars anyone from working in the trade of journeyman plumber without a BCD journeyman plumber license. ORS 693.020 then carves out two narrow exemptions: "a person working on a building or premises owned by the person," and "a person who owns, leases or operates residential property and who repairs, or uses regular employees to repair, existing plumbing on property owned, leased or operated by the person." Neither exemption reaches new plumbing work in a commercial or industrial building under construction or offered for sale or rent, and neither waives the permit or inspection requirements under the Oregon Plumbing Specialty Code. Do plumbing work for anyone else, on anyone else's property, or on new commercial construction, and you need the license.

You cannot hold a BCD Plumbing Business license without an active CCB license. OAR 918-030-0015 requires boiler, electrical, elevator and plumbing contractors licensed by the division to hold and maintain a CCB license, states that a CCB license does not replace the division license, and lets the division suspend, revoke or refuse to renew a contractor license whose CCB license lapses. The BCD contractor/business application asks for your CCB number and expiration date on the first line. That dependency runs one direction only; plenty of CCB licensed businesses have no BCD license at all.

The Oregon plumbing licenses and classes

Notes on the table:

• The Supervising Plumber is Oregon's version of a master credential; there is no "Master Plumber" title here.
• Combination licenses fold plumbing together with boiler, electrical or limited maintenance scopes on one BCD form.
• Every business license on this table still needs an active CCB license sitting underneath it.

Experience and education: the three routes to Journeyman Plumber

Oregon's journeyman qualifications live in OAR 918-695-0030. The rule spells out two routes in hours and years, then adds a third in section (3) phrased as twice the equivalent experience.

Route 1: the Oregon apprenticeship

Satisfactory completion of a minimum four year plumbing apprentice program in Oregon. The rule states this in years, not hours. Your certificate of completion from a registered four year program, or a referral letter from the registered training committee or an Oregon Plumbing Board approved training program, is what the division wants to see. BOLI's Apprenticeship and Training Division is where the program and the apprentice are registered.

Route 2: the equivalency

Four years of academic training and on the job experience as an apprentice plumber, a lawful journeyman plumber, or a combination, meeting these minimums.

Academic: 144 hours per year for at least four years, 576 hours total, generally covering materials, tools and equipment, mathematics and science, soldering and brazing, plumbing and related codes, DWV installations, water systems, safety and first aid, blueprint reading, and seismic restraints.

On the job, split by subject and by residential versus commercial:

That is 7,700 hours, not 8,000. Many competing guides publish "8,000 hours of on the job training." The number does not appear in the rule.

Oregon's requirement is 3,850 residential plus 3,850 commercial, and the split is what actually trips people up. A candidate with 9,000 hours of nothing but residential service work does not qualify, because the commercial column is empty. Hours in the wrong column are not fungible.

There is one narrow relief valve. Under OAR 918-695-0030(2)(c), someone with more than the minimum in any single specific item category may substitute up to 20 percent of the excess hours toward the related minimum in the same category on the other side of the residential and commercial line. Twenty percent of the excess, in the same category only.

Route 3: the out of state installer license

The state license directory entry for the Journeyman Plumber license and Pathway 2 on BCD's own application form list a third path: verified proof of 7,700 hours of lawful commercial and 7,700 hours of lawful residential on the job experience while holding a license with a scope of work similar to an Oregon journeyman plumber. The rule phrases it as twice the equivalent experience in each category.

Read the numbers carefully: that is double the equivalency route on each side. An out of state installer license does not shorten the road; it doubles it. The exception is Idaho and Montana, covered under reciprocity below.

Who can verify your hours

Verification must come from a current or previous employer actively involved in your work; from your supervisor only if the employer is out of business, deceased or cannot be located; and from a co-worker only if neither can be found, backed by employment records. Military experience is documented from a supervising official under OAR 918-030-0050. False statements or cheating mean denial and a one year bar from any division license or exam under OAR 918-001-0040. The division counts no more than 2,000 hours of lawful work experience per year toward a license (OAR 918-030-0030(4)), so hours cannot be stacked faster than a full time year allows.

The exam, and what it costs

BCD does not hand plumbing exams to PSI, Prov or Pearson VUE. Once your application is approved, the division mails you a Letter of Authorization and you schedule directly with the testing location.

• 4 hours, 64 questions, open book. The Letter of Authorization comes with the list of approved material you may bring in.
• Passing score is 75 percent. BCD applies that score to every licensing exam it gives.
• You must sit the exam within 60 days of the Letter of Authorization date. Changing test locations after the letter is issued costs the license fee again and a new letter.
• The testing location forwards your exam to BCD for grading. Allow about two weeks. Results are not given over the phone, and the test site cannot tell you either.
• Fail, and you wait 30 days before retesting, and reapply on form 440-2574 ($100 for the Journeyman Plumber retake). In-person exam review has been eliminated.
• Test locations: Bend, Eugene, Hermiston, Klamath Falls, Ontario, Pendleton, Portland, Roseburg, Salem and White City.

Under OAR 918-695-0040 the exam covers six areas: reading drawings well enough to prepare a bill of materials; computing areas, volumes, slopes and piping weights; the trade's tools, materials and techniques; the Oregon Plumbing Specialty Code, the administrative rules and hydraulics; job safety; and the disabled access provisions of the structural code as they touch plumbing. Oregon's exam and code now run on the 2026 Oregon Plumbing Specialty Code (OPSC), based on the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code with Oregon amendments, in effect since October 1, 2026.

You must bring the Letter of Authorization and photo ID; no exam is given without both. Bring your own pencils and a silent, non-programmable, non-printing calculator.

No bond and no insurance are required for the individual JP license. Those attach to the business, through the CCB.

Step by step: from application to license in hand

1. Finish the hours. Complete the registered four year apprenticeship, or assemble 576 classroom hours plus 3,850 residential and 3,850 commercial hours in the categories above. Keep employer records as you go; each employer signs a verification form.
2. Build the packet. BCD form 440-2571 (pages 1, 2 and 3, affidavit signed at step 8), a Plumbing Experience Verification Form (440-2571A) for each employer, official transcripts, proof of any out of state apprenticeship Oregon recognizes, proof of a high school diploma, GED or equivalent (a college degree substitutes), a 2 inch by 2 inch passport style photo with your name on the back, and the $100 fee. Pick your test city on the form.
3. Mail it as one packet to DCBS Fiscal Services, P.O. Box 14610, Salem, OR 97309-0445, or the secure fax line 503-947-2333 if you pay by card. The division is explicit: do not email documents. Processing runs 2 to 3 weeks; incomplete packets are the usual cause of delay.
4. Receive the Letter of Authorization, schedule with your test site and sit the exam within 60 days of the letter's date.
5. Wait about two weeks for grading. Pass, and your license arrives in the mail with the results. Fail, and you get a strength and weakness report plus the reapplication form.
6. Renew every three years on April 1 with 24 hours of continuing education on record and the $180 renewal fee.

Want the application done for you?

Building the packet above correctly the first time is most of the delay most applicants run into: a missing employer verification form, a transcript that was never requested, a photo in the wrong format. The Licensing Company's License Application Processing prepares and submits the state contractor license application on your behalf.

Here is what that covers:

• An eligibility audit before anything is filed, so you know every state fee up front and whether you can qualify.
• A document checklist, with our team chasing the pieces with you rather than leaving it to you alone.
• Every state form prepared and reviewed line by line before it goes in, and you review and sign before anything is submitted.
• Submission the way the board requires, and every one of the board's paperwork questions answered and resubmitted until the board decides.

It is a flat $999 per state application, paid up front. State fees, exam fees, background checks and fingerprinting are paid to the state, not to us. We do not promise approval and we do not promise a timeline; only the board decides, and factors like criminal history, credit or experience you cannot document are outside anyone's control. We also do not take the exam for you. Call 615-219-2110 or start at License Application Processing.

If you are not yet eligible on your own hours and want to run a plumbing business while you build toward your own license, a qualifying agent can fill that role instead; see the business section below.

Every fee the state publishes

ORS 693.135 sets the ceilings the board works under: $100 for a journeyman application, $50 per year to renew, $150 for a plumbing contractor application, $150 per year to renew, $50 for a supervising plumber application or renewal, and $25 per year for continuing education. The rule figures above sit inside those caps.

A caution worth repeating: form 440-2888 carries a revision stamp of 1/15, so its printed fee table predates the current fee rule. The $150 PB figure on it does match the current fee rule and the state license directory entry, but the directory entry for combination licenses lists no dollar amounts at all, so confirm any combination fee with BCD licensing before you write the check.

The CCB layer underneath: bond, insurance and the RMI

You cannot hold the BCD plumbing business license without an active CCB license, so here is the layer beneath. The CCB's own current guidance is that a complete online application can take up to six weeks and a paper application six to eight weeks (CCB application FAQ; the CCB License page rounds it to six to eight weeks), so this layer goes first on the calendar.

The RMI. Most CCB endorsements require at least one Responsible Managing Individual. Under ORS 701.005(16), an RMI is an individual who is an owner or an employee of the business, exercises management or supervisory authority over the business's construction activities, and has completed the required training and testing, or demonstrated the required experience.

Training and test. For most licenses the RMI completes a 16 hour pre-license training course from a CCB approved provider, then passes a test based on the NASCLA Contractors Guide to Business, Law and Project Management (Oregon version): 80 multiple choice questions, three hours, open book, 70 percent (56 correct) to pass, $60 to the testing vendor. You have 24 months from passing the test to apply for the license. The CCB application fee is $400 for a two year license, and renewals are $400.

Bonds. HB 2922 (2023) raised every CCB minimum bond by $5,000 effective January 1, 2024:

A plumbing company doing residential service work is most often a Residential Specialty Contractor, which carries the $20,000 bond and $300,000 per occurrence insurance. If you take a residential and a commercial endorsement, you file two bonds but only one certificate of insurance, in the higher of the two amounts. A residential endorsement also covers small commercial structures (a non residential structure of 10,000 square feet or less and no taller than 20 feet, a non residential unit of 12,000 square feet or less and no taller than 20 feet inside a larger structure, or any non residential structure whose whole contract price is $250,000 or less), which is where most service and repair plumbing lands.

Public works. Any contractor on a qualifying public works project with a total project cost over $100,000 must file a separate $30,000 public works bond with the CCB before work starts. It does not replace your license bond.

Commercial experience. Level 1 commercial endorsements require 8 years of construction experience among the business's key employees; Level 2 requires 4 years. Completing an apprenticeship substitutes for up to 3 years, a bachelor's degree in a construction related field up to 3 years, a bachelor's or master's in business, finance or economics up to 2 years, and an associate's in construction or building management up to 1 year. Level 1 and Level 2 commercial contractors may perform the same work; the difference is bond, insurance and experience, not scope.

All fees, bond amounts and insurance minimums above are set by the board or the legislature and change. Verify current figures with BCD, the CCB and your surety before relying on them.

How long an Oregon plumbing license actually takes

Realistically, four years to build the experience under Route 2, or the length of a registered four year apprenticeship under Route 1. On top of that:

• 2 to 3 weeks for BCD to process a complete Journeyman Plumber application.
• Up to 60 days to sit the exam after the Letter of Authorization is issued, though most candidates test well before the deadline.
• About two weeks for exam results.
• 1 to 3 days for BCD to process a contractor/business application once the CCB license is in hand.
• Up to six weeks for a CCB application filed online, 6 to 8 weeks on paper, by the board's own estimate. This CCB layer is usually the slowest piece and the one to start first if you are also forming the business.

Incomplete packets are the single biggest cause of delay at every stage.

Renewal and continuing education

The JP renews every three years on April 1, a three year cycle on a fixed statewide date, not a rolling anniversary. BCD mails a renewal notice 45 days before expiration, and online renewal opens in that same window. The renewal fee is $180, which includes the $30 fee BCD charges to track your continuing education.

24 total continuing education hours are required across the cycle under OAR 918-030-0120, split among Oregon rule and law (ORL), code change (CC), and code related (CR) categories: 4 hours of code change and the 4 hour Oregon rule and law course, with the remaining 16 hours from other approved courses (BCD's plumbing CE page sorts every credit into ORL, CC or CR). Course providers post the credits to your record.

BCD's warning on this is worth repeating: a portion of your credits must come specifically from code change courses, and you have not met the renewal requirement if you are short on that category, even if your total hour count is fine. You can check your posted credits through the BCD license holder search before you file.

Let the license lapse for more than one year and BCD requires you to retest. Water treatment installers and water heater installers are exempt from continuing education; journeyman plumbers are not.

A lost or replacement license is form 440-2523 and a $10 fee.

Reciprocity: Idaho and Montana

OAR 918-695-0110 lets the division, with the Plumbing Board's consent, list states whose journeyman plumber standards and examinations are substantially similar to Oregon's and license their plumbers without examination. Today that list for the Journeyman Plumber license is Idaho and Montana, each under a written agreement posted by BCD. A reciprocal licensee pays the Oregon fees and meets Oregon continuing education from the first renewal on. Coming from anywhere else, including Utah and Washington, you are on Route 2 or Route 3 above.

Going the other way, BCD's license verification request for another state's board currently runs 4 to 6 weeks, so file it before that board's deadline, not after.

Supervising Plumber: Oregon's version of a master

Oregon has no "Master Plumber." The credential above journeyman is the Supervising Plumber, authorized by ORS 693.095. The State Plumbing Board may issue it to journeyman plumbers who:

1. Demonstrate competency, to the board's satisfaction, in the supervision of plumbing work and in the laws, rules, ordinances and practices relating to plumbing;
2. Comply with the board's licensing rules adopted under ORS 455.117; and
3. Pay the application fee set under ORS 693.135, which caps it at $50.

Note what the statute actually tests: supervision and the legal framework, not more pipe. Oregon designed this credential to be the person who answers for a company's work, which is exactly the role a plumbing business needs filled to hold its BCD license. The plumbing fee rule carries no separate line for it, so ask BCD licensing which document your company's designated supervisor needs on file.

ORS 693.030 puts the duty on the business side in plain terms. Subsection (1) says no one may work in the trade of journeyman plumber without a journeyman plumber license. Subsection (2) says a licensed plumbing contractor, or anyone required to be licensed as one, may not:

• (a) Permit or suffer any person to work as a journeyman plumber without a valid journeyman plumber license;
• (b) Permit or suffer any person to work as an apprentice plumber who does not meet the ORS 660.002 to 660.210 apprenticeship requirements;
• (c) Employ an apprentice plumber on plumbing work while representing the apprentice to be a journeyman; or
• (d) Charge a journeyman plumber's wage for services performed by an apprentice.

Subsection (d) is unusual and almost never mentioned. Oregon polices the billing of apprentice labor, not just the supervision of it. Marking an apprentice's hours out at journeyman rates is a statutory violation independent of whether the work was properly supervised.

And ORS 693.180 closes the courthouse door: a person providing plumbing services may not bring or maintain a court action to recover for those services unless the person alleges and proves that, when the work was done, they held a valid journeyman plumber license or were an apprentice plumber. The collection bar is part of the enforcement scheme, not just the fine schedule.

What changes for a business: the Plumbing Business license and the qualifier

The business side license from BCD is the Plumbing Business (PB), applied for on form 440-2888 (single or combination contractor/business license). Under the plumbing fee rule, OAR 918-780-0030, the single PB is $150 to apply and $450 to renew. Combination licenses that fold plumbing together with boiler, electrical or limited maintenance scopes run from $225 (PM, PP) to $1,020 (PBR, PBE) on the form's fee table; the single limited maintenance and pump licenses on the same form (LMS, LHR, CPI) are $75 each.

BCD's published prerequisites for its contractor/business licenses are short and pointed:

• Register the business name with the Secretary of State.
• Hold an active Construction Contractors Board (CCB) license.
• Employ an appropriate full time signing supervisor for the license chosen.

There is no exam on the business side. Renewal is every three years on July 1, a different cycle and a different date from the individual JP license. Businesses holding these licenses are exempt from continuing education; the CE obligation rides with the individual license holder.

Bonding and insurance are set by the CCB, covered above. Processing runs 1 to 3 days once the packet is complete; like the JP, it goes by mail or fax as a single packet, never by email.

One documented wrinkle worth raising with BCD directly: form 440-2888 instructs boiler/pressure vessel (BB) and plumbing business (PB) applicants to skip the signing supervisor designation chart, and its general instructions state that single plumbing business applicants "do not need to complete the qualifying person experience verification form." The "qualified person" (QP) route, where a business qualifies through someone whose experience is merely verified rather than licensed, exists for the limited electrical family licenses (CRE, LMS, LHR, CPI), not for plumbing. Plumbing runs on an actual licensed supervisor. The answer differs between a single PB and a combination license, so ask BCD which document your configuration requires.

The RMI gap is the failure mode that takes companies offline

Oregon does not let a plumbing business drift without a qualified person, and the CCB rules on this are among the strictest we work with.

OAR 812-006-0100(5) requires that when an RMI leaves a business, the business must immediately appoint another RMI or a temporary one, and immediately notify the agency in writing. Not within 30 days. Immediately.

OAR 812-006-0110 governs the temporary appointment: notify the board within 3 calendar days, and a temporary RMI may serve no more than 14 days from the date of notification. By day 14 you must have a fully qualified RMI in place. A temporary RMI is not allowed on an initial application at all. And the rule states the consequence without hedging: "Failure to maintain an RMI will result in suspension of the license of the contractor or business."

Fourteen days is not enough time to find, vet, train (16 hours), test and onboard a qualified person from a standing start. There is a second constraint that catches growing companies too. OAR 812-006-0100(3) provides that an individual who is not an owner may not be designated as the RMI of more than one licensee. The rule restricts non-owners only; read on its face, it does not impose that cap on owners. If your qualifier is an employee rather than an owner, that person can qualify your company and no one else's, which means the moment you open a second licensed entity, you need a second qualified person.

The BCD layer stacks a second dependency on top. The Plumbing Business license is conditioned on an active CCB license (OAR 918-030-0015) and on employing an appropriate full time signing supervisor, and ORS 693.030(2) makes the contractor answerable for every unlicensed person on journeyman work. Lose the RMI and the CCB license suspends; lose the CCB license and BCD may suspend the PB. Two licenses, one person's departure.

That structure is why Oregon rewards planning the qualifier role deliberately instead of treating it as a form field. A qualifying agent qualifies the company, as an owner or a full time W-2 employee who actually supervises the work; that person is named on the license and answers for it. If you cannot yet qualify on your own hours but want to run a plumbing business while you build toward your own license, see how a qualifying agent placement works and read what a qualifying agent is. If you are expanding a licensed entity into a second one, or facing a departure you can already see coming, read what happens when a qualifier leaves before you need it. Marshall Schofield and Jeremiah Jaskulski built The Licensing Company around exactly this failure mode, and Oregon's 14 day clock is the sharpest version of it we work with.

Law and code changes on Oregon's calendar

HB 4089: license number misuse becomes a felony on January 1, 2027. Enrolled and assigned chapter 53, Oregon Laws 2026 (passed the House February 27, 2026, the Senate March 5, 2026, signed by the Governor March 31, 2026 and filed as chapter 53 on April 6, 2026, per the legislature's measure history), HB 4089 amends ORS 701.990 to convert two offenses from Class A misdemeanors to Class C felonies:

• Intentional use of a contractor's license number without the authorization of the licensed contractor; and
• Use of a contractor's license number, with or without authorization, with the intent to deceive the public.

The enrolled act carries no emergency clause, so under ORS 171.022 it takes effect on January 1, 2027; the version of ORS 701.990 on the books today still reads Class A misdemeanor. Once in force, each offense carries up to five years in prison under ORS 161.605 and a fine of up to $125,000 under ORS 161.625. The same act adds ORS 658.991(7): a direct contractor or subcontractor who knowingly contracts with an unlicensed construction labor contractor commits a Class A misdemeanor, and a Class C felony with a prior conviction.

Read the second bullet again. It reaches use of a license number even with the license holder's permission, if the purpose is to deceive the public about who is actually standing behind the work. That is the exact fact pattern in every arrangement where a company puts someone else's credential on a job it does not actually supervise. From next January, Oregon treats it as a felony.

HB 2688: off site fabrication has been prevailing wage work since July 1, 2026. Passed in 2025 as chapter 612, HB 2688 amends ORS 279C.800 so that "public works" includes bespoke fabrication, assembly, preconstruction or construction performed off site, specifically for and to the specifications of a public works project, on listed systems that expressly include plumbing systems or components and mechanical heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration ducting and piping. The amendment is operative for procurements solicited, or contracts entered into, on or after July 1, 2026, a date that has already passed, and BOLI is directed to adopt rules naming which manufacturing and standard inventory items fall outside it. If your shop prefabs assemblies for public jobs solicited since July 1, 2026, your shop hours are prevailing wage hours now.

The 2026 Oregon Plumbing Specialty Code. The 2026 OPSC, based on the 2024 Uniform Plumbing Code with Oregon amendments, took effect October 1, 2026. Code change continuing education credit and the exam's approved materials list now follow this code.

A new Journeyman Plumber exam rule. BCD's rulemaking timeline lists a "Journeyman Plumber (JP) examination" rulemaking with an anticipated effective date of January 1, 2027. Candidates planning to test in 2027 should watch BCD's laws and rules page for what changes.

What this costs

There is no single number, and any guide that hands you one is guessing. Your real cost depends on which endorsement you take (the residential to commercial jump raises the bond to $80,000 at Level 1), whether you need one BCD license or a combination, your credit, which is what actually prices a surety bond, your insurance limits, and whether you carry employees and therefore workers' compensation coverage.

The government side items are knowable: the $100 JP license and its $180 renewal, the $150 PB license and its $450 renewal, the $60 CCB test, the $400 CCB application, and the bond amount your endorsement requires. The paperwork side is knowable too: a flat $999 per state application if you want License Application Processing to prepare and submit it for you. Putting a qualified person in place is priced to your situation; call 615-219-2110 or talk to The Licensing Company about the specifics rather than working from a published number that was never built for your risk profile, your volume or your state mix.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get a plumbing license in Oregon? Complete a registered four year apprenticeship, or 576 classroom hours plus 3,850 residential and 3,850 commercial on the job hours, then apply to BCD on form 440-2571 with the $100 fee, sit the 4 hour open book exam within 60 days of your Letter of Authorization, and pass at 75 percent. Processing runs 2 to 3 weeks once your packet is complete.

Does Oregon have a Master Plumber license? No. The credential above Journeyman Plumber is the Supervising Plumber, issued under ORS 693.095 to journeyman plumbers who show competency in supervising plumbing work and in the laws, rules, ordinances and practices of the trade. Guides that reference an "Oregon Master Plumber" are importing a title from another state.

How many hours do I need for an Oregon journeyman plumber license? Under the equivalency route, 3,850 residential plus 3,850 commercial on the job hours, 7,700 total, plus 576 hours of classroom training over at least four years. The widely published "8,000 hours" figure does not appear in OAR 918-695-0030. The apprenticeship route is stated in years: a minimum four year Oregon program.

Do plumbers need to be licensed in Oregon? Yes, to work for anyone other than yourself on your own property. ORS 693.030(1) bars anyone from working in the trade of journeyman plumber without a BCD journeyman plumber license, and the same section makes the contractor liable for letting an unlicensed person do that work. Apprentices work under a BOLI registered program. The limited specialty licenses (water treatment, residential water heater and solar installers) cover only their own narrow scope.

Who administers the Oregon plumbing exam? The Building Codes Division does. Oregon does not route its plumbing exams through PSI, Prov or Pearson VUE. BCD issues a Letter of Authorization, you schedule with one of ten approved test locations, and BCD grades the exam: 64 questions in 4 hours, open book, 75 percent to pass.

How much does an Oregon plumbing license cost? $100 to apply for the Journeyman Plumber license, $100 to retest if you fail, and $180 to renew every three years. The business side adds a $150 Plumbing Business application and $450 renewal, plus the CCB layer: a $60 pre-license test and a $400 two year contractor license, on top of your bond and insurance.

Do I need a CCB license and a BCD license? If you are a plumbing business, yes, both. BCD will not issue or maintain a Plumbing Business license for a company without an active CCB license. If you are an individual plumber working for someone else, you need only the BCD individual license.

Does Oregon reciprocate my journeyman plumber license? Only from Idaho and Montana. A licensed journeyman from either state applies on BCD's Reciprocal Plumbing License Application, pays the fee and skips the exam, then meets Oregon continuing education at renewal. Every other state's plumber qualifies on hours and tests.

How long does an Oregon plumbing license take? Realistically, four years to build the experience, then roughly 2 to 3 weeks for BCD to process the application, up to 60 days to sit the exam after the Letter of Authorization, and about two weeks for results. The business side is faster once the CCB license exists, at 1 to 3 days for BCD contractor/business applications. The CCB license underneath is the slow layer, at up to six weeks online and six to eight weeks on paper by the board's own estimate.

What happens if my company loses its supervising plumber or RMI? On the CCB side: appoint a replacement or a temporary RMI at once, notify the board within 3 calendar days, and have a qualified RMI in place within 14 days or face suspension. On the BCD side, the business license is conditioned on employing an appropriate full time signing supervisor, so operating without one puts the license at risk. This is the failure mode that takes companies offline; plan for it before it happens.

Where to go next

• New to the role entirely? Start with what a qualifying agent is.
• Building a plumbing company across state lines? Plumbing contractor qualifying agent requirements covers the trade nationally.
• Licensed in Oregon on the electrical side, or doing HVAC too? See the Oregon electrician license guide and the Oregon HVAC license guide.
• Want the wider picture? The Oregon contractor license page, the full state directory and the contractor license guide map the rest.
• Tracking what changed this year? 2026 contractor license law changes by state.
• Thinking about becoming the qualifier yourself? Become a qualifying agent.
• Want the state to prepare and submit your application? License Application Processing.

Sources

Every source below was opened on 2026-10-05.

• BCD, Journeyman plumber license
• BCD, Journeyman Plumber License Application, form 440-2571
• BCD, License exams and locations
• BCD, License Reapplication, form 440-2574
• BCD, Contractor and business licenses
• BCD, Single or Combination Contractor/Business License Application, form 440-2888
• BCD, License renewals
• BCD, Plumbing licenses continuing education
• BCD, Reciprocal licenses
• BCD, Laws and rules (rulemaking timeline)
• BCD, Plumbing Code Program, 2026 OPSC
• OAR chapter 918 division 695, Plumbing Licensing and Certification (918-695-0030)
• OAR 918-695-0040, Journeyman Examination
• OAR 918-695-0110, Licensing Reciprocal Agreements
• OAR 918-780-0030, Plumbing License Fees
• OAR 918-030-0120, Licenses Requiring 24 Hours of Continuing Education
• OAR 918-030-0015, Contractor Licenses
• ORS 693.020
• ORS 693.030
• ORS 693.095
• ORS 693.135
• ORS 693.180
• ORS 701.005
• ORS 701.990 (current text)
• Enrolled HB 4089 (2026), chapter 53
• OLIS, HB 4089 measure overview and history
• Enrolled HB 2688 (2025), chapter 612
• OAR 812-006-0100, Responsible Managing Individual
• OAR 812-006-0110, Temporary Responsible Managing Individual
• CCB, Licensing (HB 2922 bond amounts, public works bond)
• CCB, CCB License (steps, test, fee, processing time)
• CCB, Application FAQ (processing times)
• Oregon Business Xpress License Directory, Journeyman Plumber (JP)
• Oregon Business Xpress License Directory, Plumbing Business (PB)
• Oregon Business Xpress License Directory, Combination BCD Contractor Licenses
• BOLI, Apprenticeship and Training Division
• The Licensing Company, License Application Processing

Talk to The Licensing Company about your Oregon plumbing license

If your company needs a Responsible Managing Individual for its CCB license or a licensed supervisor for its BCD plumbing business license, want your application prepared and filed for you, or you are an Oregon journeyman plumber who wants to qualify a growing company as a full time employee, call 615-219-2110 or start at hire a qualifying agent. Verify every fee with BCD, the CCB and BOLI before you apply.