How to become a plumber in North Carolina

The path in North Carolina, step by step

North Carolina licenses plumbing work at the state level through the North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors. These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Get two years (4,000 hours) of full-time plumbing experience.
2. Download the plumbing contractor exam application from the board and complete it, with notarized signatures where required.
3. Order the reference books on the board's book list and complete the background check.
4. Send the application, documents and $150 exam fee to the board.
5. Once approved, schedule and take the plumbing exam and the Business and Law exam within 90 days.
6. Send the License Activation Form and fee within 45 days of passing.
7. Renew every year before the end of December.

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

Finding an apprenticeship in North Carolina

North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina

The license to aim for: Plumbing Contractor, Class I (all buildings) or Class II (single-family homes).

Trade exam. Yes. A plumbing contractor exam of about 4 hours. Bring the required reference books.

Business exam. Yes. A Business and Law exam of about 1.5 hours, unless you already hold an active contractor license from this board and passed its Business and Law exam after August 2003.

Keeping it. Every year. Licenses expire on the last day of December and must be renewed.

Coming from another state. No reciprocity with any other state. North Carolina has a technical exam waiver agreement with South Carolina for plumbing contractors, but you still must pass the North Carolina business and law exam.

What the North Carolina license costs

The fees the North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What plumbers earn in North Carolina

The median plumber in North Carolina earned $27.44 an hour in May 2025, 44th of 51 states, with 14,510 on payrolls. The national median was $30.67.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of plumbers in North Carolina earned under $22.38 an hour and a tenth under $18.69. At the top, a quarter earned over $30.43 and a tenth over $36.47.

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

Jobs ahead in North Carolina

North Carolina's labor market office projects jobs for plumbers growing from 16,080 in 2022 to 17,620 in 2032, a change of 9.6%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 1,590 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 9.6% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 2.3% projected nationally, ranking 21st 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 North Carolina

To contract on your own in North Carolina, the license is the Plumbing Contractor, Class I (all buildings) or Class II (single-family homes).

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the North Carolina median of $27.44 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $118.78 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.