Mississippi Journeyman Plumber License

There's No State-Level Journeyman License

This is the single most misunderstood fact about plumbing in Mississippi: the state does not issue journeyman plumber licenses. Several licensing websites reference a "Mississippi State Board of Plumbing Examiners" that supposedly manages individual trade credentials. It doesn't exist — the statutory chapters they cite actually govern optometrists and pharmacists.

In Mississippi, journeyman plumber credentials are issued exclusively by local municipalities and counties. The city of Jackson, the city of Gulfport, the city of Southaven — each maintains its own examining board and issues its own trade cards.

That means your journeyman license is jurisdiction-specific. Getting your card in Jackson doesn't automatically qualify you to work in Gulfport.

What a Journeyman Card Gets You

A local journeyman plumber card authorizes you to:

• Perform plumbing installations, modifications, and repairs within that municipality
• Work under the supervision of a registered master plumber
• Execute code-regulated work that requires a trade credential

What it doesn't give you:

• The right to pull permits independently (that requires a master card and a registered bond)
• Authorization to supervise apprentices on your own
• A state contractor license (that's a separate MSBOC process for work above dollar thresholds)

The journeyman card is the middle rung of the trade ladder — above apprentice, below master. For many plumbers working as employees under a licensed master or contractor, it's the credential that lets them do the actual work.

Experience Requirements

Most Mississippi municipalities require between 8,000 and 10,000 documented on-the-job training hours before you can sit for the journeyman exam. That translates to 4 to 5 years of full-time work under a licensed plumber.

You'll also need related technical instruction — typically 144 hours per year of classroom or online coursework covering code, safety, and system design.

Two paths to accumulate these hours:

Formal union apprenticeship through a JATC program or the Mississippi Construction Education Foundation (MCEF). These programs structure your training, track your hours, and pair you with rotating supervisors.

Informal employment under a licensed master plumber. You're doing the same work but tracking your own records. Keep employer letters, supervisor sign-off sheets, W-2 tax records, and certified payroll records. The local examining board validates these when you apply — and missing documentation means your hours don't count, even if you actually worked them.

The documentation trap catches more people than the exam does. Start keeping records from your first day on the job.

The Local Exam

Once you've accumulated the required hours and documentation, apply to your local municipal building department for the journeyman trade exam.

Most Mississippi cities contract with the International Code Council (ICC) or the Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI) to proctor these exams. The format is generally:

• Open-book, based on the International Plumbing Code
• Passing score of 70% to 75% (varies by municipality)
• Covers pipe sizing, DWV systems, venting, fixture counts, and code compliance

Application fees vary by city. Southaven charges $50 for a journeyman application. Other municipalities set their own schedules.

The exam itself is focused on practical code knowledge — the kind of material you've been working with for the past 4 to 5 years. If you've been paying attention to the code during your apprenticeship and take the time to tab and highlight your IPC reference book, the pass rate is reasonable.

Working Across Municipalities

Here's where Mississippi's fragmented system creates friction. Your journeyman card is valid in the municipality that issued it. If a job takes you to a different city, you may need to register there separately.

MS Code Ann. § 27-17-457 provides some reciprocal recognition between municipalities — a local jurisdiction that issues trade licenses must accept equivalent licenses from other Mississippi jurisdictions without requiring a new examination. But "accept" still means you need to register and potentially pay the local fee.

In practice, if you're a journeyman working as an employee, your employer's master plumber credential and local registration usually cover you. The cross-jurisdiction issue becomes more pressing when you advance to master status and start pulling permits independently.

Next Steps After Journeyman

The journeyman card is a working credential, not an endpoint. The typical progression from here:

1. Work additional years as a licensed journeyman (requirements vary by municipality)
2. Apply for and pass the local master plumber exam
3. Register your surety bond and local insurance
4. Form a business entity if you want to operate independently
5. Apply for an MSBOC state contractor license if you'll take on projects above the state dollar thresholds

The Mississippi Plumber License Guide maps out this full apprentice-to-journeyman-to-master progression, including the documentation you need at each stage and the local requirements for major Mississippi cities.

See more Mississippi guides →