How to become a plumber in Utah

The path in Utah, step by step

Utah licenses plumbing work at the state level through the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Contracting. These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Earn your Journeyman Plumber license and log 4,000 hours as a supervising journeyman.
2. Pass the Utah Master Plumber Law and Rule exam and get your Master Plumber license.
3. Take the 30-hour pre-licensure course and pass the Contractor Business and Law exam.
4. Buy general liability insurance of $1,000,000 per incident and $2,000,000 total, and set up workers comp or a waiver.
5. Register your business entity and get a federal EIN.
6. Apply to DOPL for the P200 or P201 classification and pay the $175 fee.

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

Finding an apprenticeship in Utah

Utah 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 Utah 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 Utah

The license to aim for: P200 General Plumbing Contractor (or P201 Residential Plumbing Contractor), qualified by a Master Plumber.

Trade exam. Yes. The qualifier passes the Utah Master Plumber Law and Rule Examination for the master license.

Business exam. Yes. P200 and P201 require the Utah Contractor Business and Law Exam.

Keeping it. Contractor licenses expire on November 30 of odd years. You need 6 continuing education hours, 3 of them taught live, and an active liability insurance certificate to renew.

Coming from another state. Licensure by endorsement is possible if your state shows an equivalent license on DOPL's Master Plumber endorsement map. All applicants still pass the Utah Master Plumber Law and Rule exam.

What the Utah license costs

The fees the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Contracting lists. Exam fees from a testing company, insurance and any bond come on top.

What plumbers earn in Utah

The median plumber in Utah earned $29.76 an hour in May 2025, 34th of 51 states, with 7,030 on payrolls. The national median was $30.67.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of plumbers in Utah earned under $23.62 an hour and a tenth under $21.09. At the top, a quarter earned over $37.23 and a tenth over $39.96.

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

Jobs ahead in Utah

Utah's labor market office projects jobs for plumbers growing from 6,050 in 2022 to 8,200 in 2032, a change of 35.5%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 820 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 35.5% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 2.3% projected nationally, ranking 1st 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 Utah

To contract on your own in Utah, the license is the P200 General Plumbing Contractor (or P201 Residential Plumbing Contractor), qualified by a Master Plumber.

Insurance. General liability of at least $1,000,000 per incident and $2,000,000 total, with DOPL as certificate holder. If you have employees you need workers comp; if not, a workers comp coverage waiver from the Utah Labor Commission.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Utah median of $29.76 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $122.85 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.