How to become a plumber in Alabama

The path in Alabama, step by step

Alabama licenses plumbing work at the state level through the Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board. These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Register as an apprentice with the board and work under a journeyman or master.
2. After two years as an apprentice, apply for and pass the journeyman plumber exam.
3. Work at least one year as a certified journeyman plumber.
4. Apply for the master exam and pass both the master plumber exam and the business law exam.
5. Within 90 days, submit the master certificate application and fees.
6. Register your company with the board and renew every year with continuing education.

The full license guide, with every fee and form: plumbing license in Alabama.

Finding an apprenticeship in Alabama

Alabama runs Registered Apprenticeship through its own State Apprenticeship Agency, recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor to register and oversee programs there. Its staff are state employees, and it may use the federal paperwork or forms of its own. Apprenticeship.gov lists the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship as the contact.

Either way, a registered program means paid work with a mentor, raises as you progress, classroom instruction and a credential recognized in every state. Search open spots in the Apprenticeship Job Finder.

Across the country. Most plumbers learn the trade in a 4 or 5 year apprenticeship, with about 2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training plus some classroom instruction each year.

License levels and exams in Alabama

The license to aim for: Master Plumber certification.

Trade exam. Yes. Journeyman and master plumbing exams, given by Prov, based on the 2021 International Plumbing Code or 2021 International Fuel Gas Code.

Business exam. Yes. Since January 1, 2026, master applicants must also pass a business law exam.

Keeping it. Every year. Certificates are annual and company registrations are renewed each year between October 1 and December 31. Journeyman and master holders need 4 hours of continuing education.

Coming from another state. Out-of-state journeyman or master plumbers whose license came from a 70 percent exam may take the Alabama exam. Mississippi Board of Contractors licensees can use a reciprocal request form for the master plumber license.

What the Alabama license costs

The fees the Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What plumbers earn in Alabama

The median plumber in Alabama earned $28.21 an hour in May 2025, 40th of 51 states, with 6,950 on payrolls. The national median was $30.67.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of plumbers in Alabama earned under $22.63 an hour and a tenth under $18.14. At the top, a quarter earned over $31.12 and a tenth over $36.87.

Every state, the neighbors and what a business should charge: plumber salary in Alabama.

Jobs ahead in Alabama

Alabama's labor market office projects jobs for plumbers growing from 7,030 in 2022 to 7,480 in 2032, a change of 6.4%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 660 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 6.4% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 2.3% projected nationally, ranking 31st of the 50 states in the file.

These are the state's own long-term projections, published together on Projections Central for the occupation group plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters.

Starting your own plumber business in Alabama

To contract on your own in Alabama, the license is the Master Plumber certification.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Alabama median of $28.21 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $120.13 per billable hour. Try your own in the plumber labor rate calculator.

The full checklist is in how to start a plumbing business. The free Koira Office plan gives you a website on a Koira address, estimates customers sign with a deposit, invoices with card payments and your day's jobs in one place, with no per-person fee. See the plans.