Home / Plumbers / Massachusetts
Pick your way in
Every route ends at the same place: 6,800 logged hours and the state exam.
Earn while you learn
A program hires you, pays you on the job and runs your classes.
- Pay
- From day one
- In MA
- 25 registered programs
Classroom first
Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.
- Pay
- You pay tuition
- In MA
- 1 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
Journeyman license from the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters.
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
- Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters
Log 6,800 hours6,800 hrs
About 3 years of full-time work under a licensed plumber. Keep your own log of hours and pay stubs.
- Issued by
- Your employer signs off
- Time
- 6,800 hrs
Pass the journeyman exam$80 exam
Apply to the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters with your hours, then book the exam with PSI.
- Issued by
- Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters
- Cost
- $80 exam
Keep it currentEvery 2 years$52 renewal
Renew every 2 years. 12 hours of approved continuing education per 2-year cycle for plumbers (6 hours for gas fitters); apprentices need none
- Issued by
- Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters
- Time
- Every 2 years
- Cost
- $52 renewal
Run your own shop
To bid and contract on your own you need a plumbing contractor license or registration.
- Issued by
- Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters
Exam vendor, code book, fees, renewal and reciprocity for the Massachusetts journeyman license.
$93,880
a year is the median for plumbers in Massachusetts ($45.14 an hour, May 2025).4
Pay by city and percentile- Boston–Cambridge$46.52
- Springfield$44.27
- Worcester$39.55
- Pittsfield$39.41
- Amherst Town–Northampton$37.77
Questions
How long does it take to become a plumber in Massachusetts?
About 3 years of full-time work: the journeyman license requires 6,800 hours of supervised experience.2
Do you need a license to work on your own as a plumber in Massachusetts?
Check the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters before you bid work on your own.1
Are plumbers in demand in Massachusetts?
Projections Central expects about 1,500 plumber openings a year in Massachusetts through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.3
Find an apprenticeship near you
25 registered programs in Massachusetts. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.
Find a programMore for plumbers in Massachusetts
Sources
- Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters (mass.gov, 2026-10-27)
- Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters: experience requirements (law.cornell.edu, 2026-10-27)
- Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Massachusetts, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)