Home / Plumbers / Rhode Island
How do you start as a plumber in Rhode Island?
There are three ways in: a registered apprenticeship (8 programs and 111 companies in Rhode Island), trade school (1 school with plumber programs), or a helper or trainee job with a licensed plumbing contractor.
Every route ends at the same place: 8,000 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 RI
- 8 programs + 111 companies
Classroom first
Learn the basics, then find work to log your hours.
- Pay
- You pay tuition
- In RI
- 1 school 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
How do you get a plumber license in Rhode Island?
Log 8,000 hours of supervised work, then apply to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Division of Professional Regulation and pass the journeyperson exam.
Journeyperson license from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Division of Professional Regulation.
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
- Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Division of Professional Regulation
Log 8,000 hours8,000 hrs
About 4 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
- 8,000 hrs
Pass the journeyperson exam$75 application
Apply to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Division of Professional Regulation with your hours, then book the exam.
- Issued by
- Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Division of Professional Regulation
- Cost
- $75 application
Keep it currentEvery 2 years
Renew every 2 years. 7 hours of approved continuing education with an approved provider every 2-year license cycle for master and journeyperson plumbers
- Issued by
- Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Division of Professional Regulation
- Time
- Every 2 years
Run your own shop
To bid and contract on your own you need a plumbing contractor license or registration.
- Issued by
- RI DBR - Division of Professional Regulation (electrical, plumbing, mechanical)
Exam vendor, code book, fees, renewal and reciprocity for the Rhode Island journeyperson license.
$76,470
a year is the median for plumbers in Rhode Island ($36.77 an hour, May 2025).4
Pay by city and percentileMore questions about becoming a plumber in Rhode Island
How long does it take to become a plumber in Rhode Island?
About 4 years of full-time work: the journeyperson license requires 8,000 hours of supervised experience.2
Are plumbers in demand in Rhode Island?
Projections Central expects about 240 plumber openings a year in Rhode Island through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.3
Find an apprenticeship near you
8 programs and 111 companies in Rhode Island. Enter your ZIP to see the closest ones and what they ask for.
Find a programMore for plumbers in Rhode Island
Sources
- Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Division of Professional Regulation (rules.sos.ri.gov, 2026-10-27)
- Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, Division of Professional Regulation: experience requirements (webserver.rilegislature.gov, 2026-10-27)
- Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Rhode Island, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)