Pick your way in
Earn while you learn
A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.
- Pay
- From day one
- In AL
- 6 registered programs
Classroom first
Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.
- Pay
- You pay tuition
- In AL
- 4 schools with programs
Start on a crew
Get hired as a helper by a licensed plumbing contractor and log hours on the job.
- Pay
- Paid on the job
- Start
- No experience needed
The license steps
Start as an apprentice or trainee
Join a registered apprenticeship, take a trade school program, or work as a helper for a licensed contractor.
- Issued by
- Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board
Journeyman license2 yrsexam $110 + application processing $50 + initial certificate $75
Journeyman: 2 years of current work experience as an apprentice (or approved apprentice program); Master: 1 year of current work experience
- Time
- 2 yrs
- Cost
- exam $110 + application processing $50 + initial certificate $75
Run your own shop
To bid and contract on your own you need a plumbing contractor license or registration.
- Issued by
- Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examiners Board
Exam vendor, code book, fees, renewal and reciprocity for the Alabama license.
$58,670
a year is the median for plumbers in Alabama ($28.21 an hour, May 2025).5
Pay by city and percentile- Florence–Muscle Shoals$29.13
- Birmingham$28.89
- Decatur$28.81
- Tuscaloosa$28.62
- Mobile$28.56
Questions
Do you need a license to work on your own as a plumber in Alabama?
Check the Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examiners Board before you bid work on your own.3
Are plumbers in demand in Alabama?
Projections Central expects about 880 plumber openings a year in Alabama through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.4
Find an apprenticeship near you
6 registered programs in Alabama. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.
Find a programMore for plumbers in Alabama
Sources
- Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board (pgfb.alabama.gov, 2026-10-27)
- Alabama Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board: experience requirements (pgfb.alabama.gov, 2026-10-27)
- Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examiners Board (pgfb.alabama.gov)
- Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Alabama, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)