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State files updated Oct 27, 2026
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Home / Plumbers / South Carolina

How to become a plumber in South Carolina

South Carolina has no state license for individual plumbers; cities and counties license them. The state licenses plumbing contractors through the SC Contractors' Licensing Board (LLR).1

17registered apprenticeship programs$25.93median an hour in South 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 SC
17 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 SC
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. Get hired or start training

    Join a registered apprenticeship, take a trade school program, or work as a helper for a licensed contractor.

    Compare the ways in
  2. Run your own shop

    To bid and contract on your own you need a plumbing contractor license or registration.

    Issued by
    SC Contractors' Licensing Board (LLR)
    South Carolina contractor license
Pay once you're working

$53,940

a year is the median for plumbers in South Carolina ($25.93 an hour, May 2025).4

Pay by city and percentile
  1. Charleston–North Charleston$27.58
  2. Florence$27.00
  3. Hilton Head Island–Bluffton$26.38
  4. Spartanburg$25.31
  5. Columbia$25.04
South Carolina median $25.93 an hour

Questions

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

Check the SC Contractors' Licensing Board (LLR) before you bid work on your own.2

Are plumbers in demand in South Carolina?

Projections Central expects about 570 plumber openings a year in South Carolina through 2034, counting new jobs and people leaving the trade.3

Next step

Find an apprenticeship near you

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

Find a program

More for plumbers in South Carolina

Sources

  1. SC Contractor's Licensing Board licenses the contracting business (llr.sc.gov, 2026-10-27)
  2. SC Contractors' Licensing Board (LLR) (llr.sc.gov)
  3. Projections Central, long-term occupational projections 2024-2034 (projectionscentral.org, 2024-2034)
  4. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, South Carolina, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)