How to become a plumber in Oklahoma

The path in Oklahoma, step by step

Oklahoma licenses plumbing work at the state level through the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (CIB). These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Register as a plumbing apprentice with the CIB and log your hours under a licensed contractor.
2. After three years of experience, apply for and pass the journeyman exam.
3. After one more year, apply for the contractor license and pay the $30 application fee.
4. Pass both the trade and the business and law parts of the PSI contractor exam.
5. File a $5,000 bond and proof of $50,000 general liability insurance to activate the license.
6. Renew every year and keep up 6 hours of continuing education every 36 months.

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

Finding an apprenticeship in Oklahoma

Oklahoma has no recognized State Apprenticeship Agency, so the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship registers and oversees programs there through a state field office. Apprenticeship.gov lists the Oklahoma Apprenticeship Office 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 Oklahoma

The license to aim for: Plumbing Contractor (unlimited or residential).

Trade exam. Yes. The contractor exam has a trade part and a business and law part, given through PSI. You need 75 percent on each part.

Business exam. Yes. Contractors must also pass the business and law part of the exam.

Keeping it. Every year, by the end of your birth month. Journeymen and contractors need 6 hours of continuing education in the 36 months before renewal.

Coming from another state. Oklahoma has a plumbing reciprocity agreement with Arkansas for journeyman licenses. Other states need a written agreement with Oklahoma.

What the Oklahoma license costs

The fees the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (CIB) lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What plumbers earn in Oklahoma

The median plumber in Oklahoma earned $27.87 an hour in May 2025, 42nd of 51 states, with 6,050 on payrolls. The national median was $30.67.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of plumbers in Oklahoma earned under $21.78 an hour and a tenth under $18.26. At the top, a quarter earned over $35.69 and a tenth over $39.69.

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

Jobs ahead in Oklahoma

Oklahoma's labor market office projects jobs for plumbers growing from 6,370 in 2022 to 6,700 in 2032, a change of 5.2%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 590 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 5.2% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 2.3% projected nationally, ranking 36th 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 Oklahoma

To contract on your own in Oklahoma, the license is the Plumbing Contractor (unlimited or residential).

Insurance. Active contractors need general liability of at least $50,000, with the CIB listed as certificate holder.

Bond. $5,000 surety bond (or $5,000 cash or certificate of deposit) for an active plumbing contractor.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Oklahoma median of $27.87 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $119.53 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.