- Oregon requires a plumbing contractor license (the Plumbing Business license from the Building Codes Division), and the business generally also needs a CCB license.
- Journeyman plumber: a completed 4 year apprenticeship, or 576 classroom hours plus 3,850 commercial and 3,850 residential hours, or 7,700 commercial and 7,700 residential hours of experience.
- Plan for a trade exam.
- Pay runs from about $27.99 an hour for the lowest-paid tenth of plumbers to $70.72 for the top tenth.
- Jobs are projected to grow 15.4% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 2.3% projected nationally.
The path in Oregon, step by step
Oregon licenses plumbing work at the state level through the Oregon Building Codes Division (BCD), with a Construction Contractors Board license. These are the steps it lays out, in order.
- Earn your journeyman plumber license through an apprenticeship or documented experience.
- Pass the open book journeyman exam with 75 percent or better.
- Get a Construction Contractors Board license for the business.
- Register your business name with the Oregon Secretary of State.
- Apply to the Building Codes Division for the Plumbing Business license.
- Renew on the license cycle and keep up continuing education.
The full license guide, with every fee and form: plumbing license in Oregon.
Finding an apprenticeship in Oregon
Oregon 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 Oregon 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 Oregon
The license to aim for: Plumbing Business (PB) license.
Trade exam. Yes, for the journeyman plumber license: a 4 hour, 64 question open book exam. Passing is 75 percent.
Keeping it. Licenses run on set cycles. All PB licenses next renew July 1, 2029, and all JP licenses next renew April 1, 2029. Many licenses need continuing education to renew.
Coming from another state. Journeyman plumber reciprocity with Idaho and Montana.
| License | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Plumbing Business (PB) | Lets a business advertise, furnish labor and materials, and install, change and repair plumbing. |
| Journeyman Plumber (JP) | Individual license to do all plumbing installations, alterations and remodels. |
What plumbers earn in Oregon
The median plumber in Oregon earned $46.66 an hour in May 2025, 3rd of 51 states, with 5,370 on payrolls. The national median was $30.67.
At the bottom of the range, a quarter of plumbers in Oregon earned under $36.02 an hour and a tenth under $27.99. At the top, a quarter earned over $60.77 and a tenth over $70.72.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $27.99 | $58,230 |
| 25th percentile | $36.02 | $74,920 |
| Median | $46.66 | $97,050 |
| 75th percentile | $60.77 | $126,400 |
| 90th percentile | $70.72 | $147,100 |
Every state, the neighbors and what a business should charge: plumber salary in Oregon.
Jobs ahead in Oregon
Oregon's labor market office projects jobs for plumbers growing from 5,920 in 2022 to 6,830 in 2032, a change of 15.4%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 630 openings a year.
Jobs are projected to grow 15.4% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 2.3% projected nationally, ranking 6th 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 Oregon
To contract on your own in Oregon, the license is the Plumbing Business (PB) license.
Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Oregon median of $46.66 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $152.53 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.
Where this comes from
The license steps, fees and rules are from the official pages below, read on the date shown. Pay is the BLS May 2025 state estimate, the job outlook is Oregon's own long-term projection, and the apprenticeship details are from the U.S. Department of Labor. A detail an official page did not confirm is left out.
- BCD licensing home (checked 2026-10-08)
- BCD contractor and business licenses (checked 2026-10-08)
- BCD individual licenses (checked 2026-10-08)
- BCD contractor license application steps (checked 2026-10-08)
- BCD reciprocal licenses (checked 2026-10-08)
- ORS chapter 447 (checked 2026-10-08)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 47-2152
- Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2022 to 2032 (state labor market offices) (checked 2026-10-09)
- U.S. Department of Labor, Apprenticeship System (Office of Apprenticeship and State Apprenticeship Agencies) (checked 2026-10-09)
- U.S. Department of Labor, State Offices (checked 2026-10-09)
- U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship Program (checked 2026-10-09)
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (checked 2026-10-09)
Training, schools and certifications for every state: how to become a plumber.