New Jersey plumbing license requirements and insurance

Who it applies to

1Who needs a plumbing license in New Jersey? What is this?

Licensed Master Plumber: anyone who runs a plumbing business or contracts for plumbing work in New Jersey. A company needs a licensed master plumber as its owner or as its named representative

License	Who needs it
Licensed Master Plumber	Anyone who runs a plumbing business or contracts for plumbing work in New Jersey. A company needs a licensed master plumber as its owner or as its named representative
Registered Journeyman Plumber	Anyone working toward the master license. The one year of journeyman work that the master exam needs must be done as a registered journeyman in New Jersey

License

Who needs it

Licensed Master Plumber

Anyone who runs a plumbing business or contracts for plumbing work in New Jersey. A company needs a licensed master plumber as its owner or as its named representative

Registered Journeyman Plumber

Anyone working toward the master license. The one year of journeyman work that the master exam needs must be done as a registered journeyman in New Jersey

Who runs it

2Who issues plumber licenses in New Jersey? What is this?

New Jersey State Board of Examiners of Master Plumbers, part of the Division of Consumer Affairs issues plumbing licenses in New Jersey.

See how this compares in every state: How to check a contractor's license, state by state

Name	New Jersey State Board of Examiners of Master Plumbers, part of the Division of Consumer Affairs
Website	njconsumeraffairs.gov
Look up a license	newjersey.mylicense.com
The law	New Jersey Statutes, title 45, chapter 14C (N.J.S.A. 45:14C)
The rulebook	New Jersey Administrative Code, title 13, chapter 32 (N.J.A.C. 13:32)

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Getting licensed

3How to become a plumber in New Jersey What is this?

New Jersey has 2 licenses that matter to a plumber: Licensed Master Plumber, Registered Journeyman Plumber. Each is below, with what you need before you apply.

License	Experience required	Training required	Exam
Licensed Master Plumber	One of two routes. Finish a four-year apprenticeship approved by the US Department of Labor, then work one year as a registered journeyman plumber in New Jersey, at least 1,200 hours. Or hold a bachelor's degree in mechanical, plumbing or sanitary engineering, then do the same one year as a journeyman	Both routes also need a propane gas course based on one of two named manuals	Yes, three parts. A written exam on the National Standard Plumbing Code, a practical exam, and a written exam on New Jersey plumbing law and rules. You need 70 in each part. A third-party vendor runs it at least four times a year
Registered Journeyman Plumber	A finished four-year apprenticeship or an engineering degree, as listed under the master license	—	—

License

Experience required

Training required

Exam

Licensed Master Plumber

One of two routes. Finish a four-year apprenticeship approved by the US Department of Labor, then work one year as a registered journeyman plumber in New Jersey, at least 1,200 hours. Or hold a bachelor's degree in mechanical, plumbing or sanitary engineering, then do the same one year as a journeyman

Both routes also need a propane gas course based on one of two named manuals

Yes, three parts. A written exam on the National Standard Plumbing Code, a practical exam, and a written exam on New Jersey plumbing law and rules. You need 70 in each part. A third-party vendor runs it at least four times a year

Registered Journeyman Plumber

A finished four-year apprenticeship or an engineering degree, as listed under the master license

—

What it costs

4How much does a plumbing license cost in New Jersey? What is this?

The government fees on this page add up to about $285 in New Jersey. Add insurance, tools, and a vehicle to get the real number.

License	Application	First license	First registration	Renewal	Late renewal	Getting a lapsed license back	Replacement license	Seal, first issue	Proving your license to someone
Licensed Master Plumber	$100	$160	—	$160	$50	$150	$25	$25	$25
Registered Journeyman Plumber	—	—	$75	—	—	—	—	—	—

Added up

Government fees, added up	$285

Does not include the exam fee paid to the vendor, the $3,000 bond premium, insurance, tools, a vehicle, or permit fees. Add $75 if you register as a journeyman first

Our estimate

Insurance

5How much plumbing insurance do you need in New Jersey? What is this?

New Jersey sets no minimum liability insurance for this license. Customers and general contractors usually ask for $1,000,000 anyway. Workers' comp is required as soon as anyone other than the owner works for the business for pay.

Minimum liability insurance	None required by the state
Type of policy	None set by the plumbing board for a master plumber. Its licensing rule asks for a $3,000 bond and a pressure seal, not an insurance certificate. The HVACR board, by contrast, asks for $500,000 of insurance
Who this applies to	Not applicable to plumbing work itself. Customers, builders and towns will still ask to see a policy before you work
Who must be named on the certificate	Not applicable
The exception that catches people out	Your license excuses you from registering as a home improvement contractor only while you are doing plumbing work. Take on a whole bathroom or kitchen and you are doing home improvement, so you must register, and a registered contractor must carry $500,000 of commercial general liability insurance for each claim. Plumbers who remodel need the policy after all
Workers' comp required?	Yes, as soon as anyone other than the owner works for the business for pay
Who can opt out	A sole owner with no employees does not need it. In a partnership or LLC the partners and members do not count as employees, so a firm with no other workers does not need it. A corporation must have it as soon as anyone, including an officer, works for it for pay
Workers' comp: if you skip it	Up to $5,000 for the first ten days without cover and up to $5,000 for every further ten days. Failing to insure is a disorderly persons offense. If it is willful it is a crime of the fourth degree

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Money checks

6Does New Jersey check your credit for a plumber license? What is this?

New Jersey does not check your credit for this license.

Credit score you need	None. New Jersey does not look at your credit, your net worth or a financial statement for a plumbing license
If your score is lower	Not needed
How we know	The exam eligibility rule asks for age, experience and a fee. The licensing rule asks for a bond, a seal and a fee. Neither mentions credit or finances

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Bonds

7Does a plumber need a bond in New Jersey? What is this?

New Jersey requires a bond of $3,000. A bond is a promise, backed by an insurance company, that customers can be paid if you do not finish the job.

Does the state require a bond?	Yes
Amount	$3,000
How long it lasts	Twelve months, then it is renewed for another twelve months each time it runs out

A bond is a promise, backed by an insurance company, that people can be paid if you do not do what the plumbing law requires. New Jersey makes every master plumber post one for $3,000 in favor of the State before doing any plumbing work. Anyone harmed by a master plumber's failure to follow the law or the board rules can claim on it. The bond must come from a surety company approved by the Department of Banking and Insurance. If you also hold the HVACR license, one $3,000 bond can serve both boards.

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Showing your number

8Where must a New Jersey plumber show the license number? What is this?

In New Jersey: all business stationery and correspondence carries the licensed master plumber's name, the words "Plumbing license number" or "Plumbing Lic.

On your vehicles	Both sides of every commercial vehicle show the licensed master plumber's name, in letters at least one inch high. Next to it, the words "Plumbing license number" or "Plumbing Lic.
On quotes, contracts, and invoices	All business stationery and correspondence carries the licensed master plumber's name, the words "Plumbing license number" or "Plumbing Lic.
On ads	Every advertisement carries at least these three things. The master plumber's name, the New Jersey business address with street name and number, and "Plumbing license number" or "Plumbing Lic.
If you forget	The rule does not set a fine. Breaking a board rule can lead to action against your license

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Tax

9Does a plumber charge sales tax on labor in New Jersey? What is this?

Whether New Jersey taxes your labor, your materials, or neither.

See how this compares in every state: Can you charge sales tax on labor? The rule in 25 states

What this tax is	New Jersey taxes contractor work by asking one question. Did the job add value or life to the building, or did it just keep the building working
Capital improvement (a job that becomes part of the building)	No sales tax on your bill. A new hot water heater, new bathroom fixtures, new kitchen fixtures and a new heating system are all on the state's list of exempt capital improvements. Get a signed Certificate of Exempt Capital Improvement, form ST-8, from the customer and keep it
Repair and maintenance work	You charge sales tax on the labor. Fixing faulty plumbing and fixing leaks in a cellar are on the state's list of repairs. Replacing a few loose tiles is a repair. Replacing all of them with better materials is a capital improvement
New buildings	All new construction is an exempt capital improvement. No tax on your labor
Who pays tax on materials	You. The state treats a contractor as the final user of pipes, valves, fixtures and fittings that become part of the building. You pay sales tax at the supply house and you cannot use a resale certificate
Materials you bill to the customer	On a taxable job, list the materials as a separate line at your actual cost and no tax is charged on that line. Everything else on the bill is labor and is taxed. If you do not separate them, the whole bill is taxed
Homes versus businesses	No difference for plumbing work. The same capital improvement and repair rules apply to a home and to a business
Tax-exempt customers	No tax on labor or materials for some customers. They are a New Jersey or federal government body, a registered charity or church, a qualified business in an Urban Enterprise Zone, and a qualified housing sponsor. You buy the materials tax-free with form ST-13 and keep the customer's exemption paperwork
When you are the subcontractor	When you work for a main contractor you still pay tax on your own materials. You do not charge the main contractor tax on your labor. The main contractor collects any tax from the owner
Registering and filing	Register with the state at least 15 business days before you start. File a quarterly return, form ST-50, even in quarters with no sales. If you collected more than $30,000 in tax the year before, you also file monthly
Tax rate	6.625 percent statewide. There are no county or city add-ons

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Getting paid

10Getting paid: lien and notice deadlines for a New Jersey plumber What is this?

The notices and deadlines that keep your right to be paid in New Jersey.

Who has to send a notice	On a business job, nobody. New Jersey has no preliminary notice on a commercial or industrial job. On a home job, every lien claimant must first file a Notice of Unpaid Balance and Right to File Lien, then go through a short arbitration before any lien can be filed
Do you have to send a notice?	Only on a home job
Home jobs: send your notice by	File the Notice of Unpaid Balance with the county clerk within 60 days of your last day of work (last day of work June 1 means the notice is filed by July 31). Within 10 days of filing it, serve a demand for arbitration on the owner through the American Arbitration Association
About home jobs	The arbitrator decides whether you have a valid claim and how much. The arbitration must finish within 30 days of the association receiving your demand. Only then can you file the lien itself
Home jobs: file your lien by	Within 10 days of receiving the arbitrator's decision, and never later than 120 days after your last day of work (last day of work June 1 means the lien is filed by September 29)
Business jobs: file your lien by	Within 90 days of your last day of work (last day of work June 1 means the lien is filed by August 30). File it with the county clerk where the property is
Copy to the owner	Serve a copy of the lien claim on the owner within 10 days of filing it, by personal service or by certified and ordinary mail together
File a lawsuit by	You must sue to enforce the lien within one year of your last day of work. There is a second, shorter deadline: if the owner, the community association, the contractor or a subcontractor serves you written notice requiring you to sue, you have 30 days from receiving it. Miss either one and you lose the lien and must remove it from the record at once, or you pay the owner's costs and legal fees

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Keeping it

11How do you renew a plumbing license in New Jersey? What is this?

The Licensed Master Plumber renews every two years. You have 30 days after the expiry date to renew late. After that the license is suspended without a hearing. You need 5 hours of training each renewal.

License	Renewal	Training hours each renewal
Licensed Master Plumber	Every two years. You have 30 days after the expiry date to renew late. After that the license is suspended without a hearing	—

License

Renewal

Training hours each renewal

Licensed Master Plumber

Every two years. You have 30 days after the expiry date to renew late. After that the license is suspended without a hearing

—

Renewal fees are in what the license costs. The official page for each license is linked under how you get it.

Watch out

12What catches people out in New Jersey What is this?

The things people get wrong or do not expect about New Jersey, in a few sentences.

New Jersey asks a master plumber for a $3,000 bond in favor of the State but sets no liability insurance minimum. The HVACR board next door asks for $500,000 of insurance, so many plumbers assume the same rule and it is not there.
Once you hold the state license no town can make you take another exam, buy another license or pay another licensing fee. Towns can still inspect your work.
The rulebook sets the letter size on your truck. Your name and license number go on both sides at one inch, and the vehicle owner and home town at three inches.
A lien on a house is a three-step job in New Jersey. A Notice of Unpaid Balance within 60 days, an arbitration demand within 10 days after that, and the lien itself within 10 days of the arbitrator's decision.
Continuing education is light. Five credits every two years, one of them on New Jersey law and rules, and none at all before your first renewal.

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13Where these numbers come from

The labels under each table are explained on how to read a page.