Delaware Plumber Continuing Education Providers: Where to Complete Your 5 Hours

The 5-Hour CE Requirement Is New — Most Online Sources Are Wrong

If you've searched for Delaware plumber continuing education requirements recently, you've probably found conflicting information. Some sites say Delaware has no CE requirements. Others cite 24-hour cycles from other states. Both are wrong for the current renewal period.

The Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners adopted new CE rules that take full effect for the biennial license renewal on October 31, 2026. Every active Master Plumber must complete 5 hours of Board-approved continuing education during each two-year renewal cycle.

This is a real change from how Delaware worked historically — for years, there was no formal CE mandate for plumbers. The Board updated its regulations in March 2025 to bring plumber licensing in line with HVACR and other trade license requirements.

The 5-Hour Topic Split

The 5 hours aren't free-form. The Board requires specific topic coverage:

• 3 hours: International Plumbing Code changes and amendments
• 1 hour: Workplace safety and OSHA compliance
• 1 hour: Cross-connection controls and backflow prevention protocols

All 5 hours must come from Board-approved providers. Generic plumbing webinars or manufacturer training sessions don't count unless they've been specifically approved by the Delaware Board for CE credit.

Who Provides Board-Approved CE

The Board approves CE providers on a rolling basis. Approved courses must cover the mandated topic areas and be taught by qualified instructors. The primary provider categories include:

Trade associations. Organizations like the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association (PHCC) and the United Association (UA) regularly offer CE courses that align with Delaware's topic requirements. These are typically available as in-person seminars or online self-paced modules.

Vocational-technical schools. The same VoTech adult education divisions that provide apprenticeship RTI — New Castle County VoTech, Polytech, and Sussex Tech — offer continuing education courses for licensed plumbers.

Code training providers. Companies that specialize in IPC code interpretation and update training offer courses specifically structured to meet the 3-hour code changes requirement.

Online CE platforms. Several national online CE providers offer Delaware-approved courses. The convenience of online completion is appealing, but verify that the specific course has Delaware Board approval before enrolling — approval from another state's board doesn't automatically transfer.

The Board maintains a list of approved providers and courses. Before registering for any CE program, confirm its approval status through the Division of Professional Regulation.

Dual-License Holders Need 6 Hours

If you hold both a Master Plumber license and a Master HVACR license in Delaware, the CE requirement increases to 6 hours total:

• 3 hours on general code changes
• 1 hour on safety
• 1 hour on cross-connection and backflow prevention
• 1 hour on Energy Code compliance

The additional Energy Code hour reflects the overlap between HVACR and plumbing systems in modern building design. You can't double-count hours between the two licenses — the 6-hour total is cumulative.

How the DELPROS Audit Works

When you submit your biennial renewal through the DELPROS portal in October 2026, you'll self-certify that you've completed the required CE hours. The Board doesn't require you to upload certificates at the time of renewal — but they will check.

The Board randomly selects 5% of timely renewals for a compliance audit. If your license is selected, you'll need to submit electronic copies of your completion certificates within a defined response window.

Here's the important detail: if you submit your renewal late — even by one day — you're automatically audited. Not randomly selected, not flagged for possible review. One hundred percent of late renewals trigger a mandatory CE audit. This makes renewing on time not just good practice but a way to avoid guaranteed administrative scrutiny.

What Happens If You Fail the Audit

If an audit reveals that you haven't completed the required CE hours, the Board can take action ranging from a requirement to complete the missing hours within a cure period to administrative penalties against your license. The specific consequences depend on how deficient the compliance is and whether there's a pattern of non-compliance.

The simplest way to stay ahead of audits is to complete your CE hours early in the renewal cycle and keep digital copies of all completion certificates. Don't rely on the provider to maintain your records — save your own copies in a format that's easy to upload to DELPROS if requested.

The Delaware Plumber License Guide includes a CE tracking worksheet designed for the new 5-hour requirement, helping you log completion dates, provider information, and topic coverage as you go.

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