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Home / Plumbers / North Carolina

How to become a plumber in North Carolina

North Carolina licenses plumbers at the state level through the NC State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating & Fire Sprinkler Contractors.1 You start as an apprentice or trainee and work toward the exam.

10registered apprenticeship programs$27.44median an hour in North Carolina

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 NC
10 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 NC
10 schools with programs
Compare 10 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
    NC State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating & Fire Sprinkler Contractors
    Compare the ways in
  2. Technician Class II2,500 hrs

    15 months / 2,500 hours

    Time
    2,500 hrs
  3. Technician Class I3,000 hrs

    18 months / 3,000 hours

    Time
    3,000 hrs
  4. Contractor license4,000 hrs

    2 years / 4,000 hours (up to 2,000 hours via education)

    Time
    4,000 hrs
Already logging hours?

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

North Carolina plumber license
Pay once you're working

$57,080

a year is the median for plumbers in North Carolina ($27.44 an hour, May 2025).5

Pay by city and percentile
  1. Raleigh–Cary$29.10
  2. Durham–Chapel Hill$28.90
  3. Asheville$28.46
  4. Charlotte–Concord$28.22
  5. Greensboro–High Point$27.65
North Carolina median $27.44 an hour

Questions

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

Check the NC State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating & Fire Sprinkler Contractors before you bid work on your own.3

Are plumbers in demand in North Carolina?

Projections Central expects about 1,390 plumber openings a year in North Carolina through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.4

Next step

Find an apprenticeship near you

10 registered programs in North Carolina. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.

Find a program

More for plumbers in North Carolina

Sources

  1. NC State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating & Fire Sprinkler Contractors (nclicensing.org, 2026-10-27)
  2. NC State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating & Fire Sprinkler Contractors: experience requirements (nclicensing.org, 2026-10-27)
  3. NC State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating & Fire Sprinkler Contractors (nclicensing.org)
  4. Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
  5. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, North Carolina, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)