Plumbers must be certified.
Plumbers are always in demand and for the trade professions, enjoy relatively high wages. If you want to become a plumber in Minnesota, there are several steps necessary to receive certification. If you plan to work in a town with more than 5,000 people, you must apply for statewide certification. In the state of Minnesota, all plumbers, from journeymen to master plumbers, are required to attain licenses from the Minnesota Department of Health.
Instructions
Become Licensed
1. Assess your work experience. Have you been licensed to work as a plumber in any other states? Questions like these will help determine the certification process. Before you can sit either the journeyman or the master exam, you must demonstrate relevant plumbing experience. In order to sit the journeyman exam, you must have four years of demonstrable plumbing experience. For the master exam, you must already have passed the journeyman exam and have five years of demonstrable experience. Experience or licenses from other states count toward your certification in Minnesota. For example, you are entitled to the Minnesota journeyman license if you have already acquired it in another state and have worked as a plumber for longer than four years there. If you have a license from either North or South Dakota, you are entitled to a Minnesota license by reciprocity.
2. Assess your goals. Do you want to become a journeyman plumber? Are you hoping eventually to become a master plumber? Perhaps you are looking to begin your career in plumbing by becoming a restricted journeyman plumber, able to work in small towns. For each professional level, Minnesota offers a different exam and license. There are licenses for master plumber, journeyman plumber, water-conditioning installer and water-conditioning contractor, among others. Before you begin to study and complete applications, have a goal.
3. Check your financial resources. Taking the exams and becoming a licensed plumber comes at some expense. The exam itself costs $50 and is nonrefundable. If you pass, the master license costs $120. The journeyman license costs $55. The water-conditioning installer license fee is $30 and the water-conditioning contractor license fee is $70. The licenses last until the end of the year you receive them, expiring on Dec. 31. Exams are offered in March and September at three locations listed on the state website. Finally, for any type of plumbing work, you must prove a $25,000 code compliance bond.
4. Complete the application. You can print one from the state website and send it in. If you never completed one before, you will need to supply three notarized references. The application form also is available at the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry office.
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry
Plumbing and Engineering
443 Lafayette Road N.
St. Paul, MN 55155
651-284-5067
dli.mn.gov/Main.asp
5. Schedule to sit the exam. The plumber exams are all based upon the Minnesota Plumbing Code and Minnesota Rules, Chapter 4715. One portion of the exam is open book, the other is closed book. The plumbing code is available online through the Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. The state website says copies of the code also are available through the Minnesota Bookstore.
Minnesota Bookstore
660 Olive St.
St. Paul, MN 55155
651-297-3000
comm.media.state.mn.us
Tags: exam must, journeyman plumber, Minnesota Department, state website, also available, Assess your
