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Home / Plumbers / Delaware

How to become a plumber in Delaware

Delaware licenses plumbers at the state level through the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation, Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners.1 You start as an apprentice or trainee and work toward the exam.

46registered apprenticeship programs$31.11median an hour in Delaware

Pick your way in

Apprenticeship

Earn while you learn

A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.

Pay
From day one
In DE
46 registered programs
Find a program near you
Trade school

Classroom first

Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.

Pay
You pay tuition
In DE
1 schools with programs
Compare 1 schools
Helper

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
How to get started

The license steps

  1. 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
    Delaware Division of Professional Regulation, Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners
    Compare the ways in
  2. Journeyman license

    Two years under a master licensee after an apprenticeship journeyman certificate, or seven years under a master licensee without one

  3. Run your own shop

    Two years under a master after an apprenticeship journeyman certificate, or seven years under a master without one.

    Issued by
    Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Examiners (DPR)
    Delaware contractor license
Already logging hours?

Exam vendor, code book, fees, renewal and reciprocity for the Delaware license.

Delaware plumber license
Pay once you're working

$64,720

a year is the median for plumbers in Delaware ($31.11 an hour, May 2025).5

Pay by city and percentile

Questions

Do you need a license to work on your own as a plumber in Delaware?

Yes. Delaware licenses plumbing contractors through the Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Examiners (DPR).3

Are plumbers in demand in Delaware?

Projections Central expects about 170 plumber openings a year in Delaware through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.4

Next step

Find an apprenticeship near you

46 registered programs in Delaware. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.

Find a program

More for plumbers in Delaware

Sources

  1. Delaware Division of Professional Regulation, Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners (dpr.delaware.gov, 2026-10-27)
  2. Delaware Division of Professional Regulation, Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners: experience requirements (dpr.delaware.gov, 2026-10-27)
  3. Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Examiners (DPR) contractor licensing (dpr.delaware.gov)
  4. Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
  5. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Delaware, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)