How to become a plumber in Connecticut

The path in Connecticut, step by step

Connecticut licenses plumbing work at the state level through the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Occupational and Professional Licensing Division. These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Finish a registered apprenticeship, or document equivalent experience and training, and get your P-2 journeyperson license.
2. Work two years as a licensed journeyperson, or document 576 classroom hours and 12,000 hours of on the job training for the equivalency path.
3. Apply to the Department of Consumer Protection for the P-1 contractor license and pay the $150 application fee.
4. Register for and pass the exam, paying the exam vendor its separate fee.
5. Renew every year before your license expires on October 31.

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

Finding an apprenticeship in Connecticut

Connecticut 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 Connecticut State Apprenticeship Agency 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 Connecticut

The license to aim for: P-1 Unlimited Plumbing Contractor.

Trade exam. Yes. Every applicant takes an exam. DCP points construction trade candidates, plumbing included, to PSI bulletins, and the exam vendor charges its own fee at registration.

Keeping it. Every year. All plumbing and pipefitting licenses expire October 31.

Coming from another state. Connecticut has no reciprocal agreements with any other jurisdiction. Holders of an equivalent out of state license can apply through a separate equivalency path.

What the Connecticut license costs

The fees the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, Occupational and Professional Licensing Division lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What plumbers earn in Connecticut

The median plumber in Connecticut earned $37.16 an hour in May 2025, 14th of 51 states, with 5,410 on payrolls. The national median was $30.67.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of plumbers in Connecticut earned under $27.68 an hour and a tenth under $21.96. At the top, a quarter earned over $45.40 and a tenth over $49.52.

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

Jobs ahead in Connecticut

Connecticut's labor market office projects jobs for plumbers growing from 5,770 in 2022 to 6,480 in 2032, a change of 12.3%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 590 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 12.3% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 2.3% projected nationally, ranking 12th 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 Connecticut

To contract on your own in Connecticut, the license is the P-1 Unlimited Plumbing Contractor.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Connecticut median of $37.16 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $135.85 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.