New York Plumber License: County & City Rules (No State Board)

Requirements at a glance

• Who must hold a credential: New York State issues no plumber or plumbing-contractor licence at all, so at the state level nobody holds anything. Every plumbing credential in New York is issued by a city or a county, and who must hold it depends on the locality. IN NEW YORK CITY the credential is the Licensed Master Plumber licence, and it is held by an INDIVIDUAL: NYC Administrative Code §28-408.4.6 provides that “[a] certificate of competence or a license and seal as a master plumber shall be issued only to an individual,” and §28-408.4.7 that “[n]ot more than one license and seal shall be issued to an individual.” The individual licence is nonetheless welded to a business: §28-408.4.5 issues the licence and seal only “upon establishing a master plumbing business conforming to the requirements of this article” or “upon demonstrating employment with a city agency,” and §28-408.6 requires that “[n]o less than 51 percent of the control and voting capital stock of such plumbing contractor business is owned by one or more individuals who are licensed master plumbers.” DOB puts the same point on its application page: “As a licensee applicant, you are required to be an officer, partner or sole proprietor of a business/company, and the business must have a place of business in New York City that complies with all Zoning Code regulations (i.e., within a commercial zone).” A working plumber who is NOT a licensee needs no licence, because §28-408.1 makes it unlawful “[t]o perform plumbing work unless such person is a licensed master plumber OR WORKING UNDER THE DIRECT AND CONTINUING SUPERVISION OF A LICENSED MASTER PLUMBER.” The journeyman credential does not change that and says so on its face: §28-409.4 requires the registration card to state “This registration is NOT A LICENSE, and the holder is NOT AUTHORIZED TO PERFORM PLUMBING WORK in New York city except under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master plumber.” Two individual add-ons do attach to the worker rather than the business: a journeyman plumber registration (needed as a prerequisite for two of the master-plumber experience routes) and, for anyone touching gas, a Gas Work Qualification. OUTSIDE NEW YORK CITY the pattern repeats locally with different names — the City of Buffalo licenses Master Plumbers, Journeyman Plumbers and Journeyman Repair Plumbers through its Examining Board of Plumbers, and Suffolk County's Department of Consumer Affairs licenses Master Plumbers and Restricted Plumbers.
• No New York State plumbing licence exists (nothing to apply for at the state level): There is no statewide plumber, master plumber, journeyman plumber or plumbing-contractor licence in New York, so there are no state requirements, no state board, no state exam and no state fee schedule. The negative has to be proved against BOTH of New York's occupational-licensing agencies, because the state has two. The Department of State's Division of Licensing Services “oversees the licensure, registration, and regulation of 35 occupations throughout the state” and enumerates them under four headings: Beauty Enhancement (cosmetology; nail specialty; nail specialty trainee; waxing; natural hair styling; esthetics; barbering, appearance enhancement and barber businesses); Real Estate (real estate salespersons and brokers; real estate appraisers; apartment information vendor/sharing agents; home inspectors; manufactured housing); Security and Secured Services (security guards; armored car services; private investigators; bail enforcement agents; watch, guard or patrol agencies; security or fire alarm installers; document destruction contractors; coin processors); and Miscellaneous Services (notary; athlete agent; pet cemetery and pet crematorium; telemarketer; central dispatch; ticket reseller; hearing aid dispenser; bedding manufacturer and refurbisher; durable juvenile product manufacturer; automobile broker; health clubs). Plumbing appears nowhere on it. The State Education Department's Office of the Professions — the agency that licenses New York's professions under Title VIII of the Education Law — publishes a “New York State Licensed Professions” index of 36 professions running from acupuncture to veterinary medicine (acupuncture; applied behavior analysis; architecture; athletic training; audiology; certified shorthand reporting; chiropractic; clinical laboratory technology; dentistry; dietetics and nutrition; engineering; geology; interior design; land surveying; landscape architecture; massage therapy; medical physics; medicine; mental health practitioners; midwifery; nursing; occupational therapy; ophthalmic dispensing; optometry; pathologists' assistant; perfusion; pharmacy; physical therapy; podiatry; polysomnographic technology; psychology; public accountancy; respiratory therapy; social work; speech-language pathology; veterinary medicine). Plumbing is not there either — and neither is electrical work or HVAC. What New York does have at state level is a uniform TECHNICAL code, not a licence: the Plumbing Code of New York State, which localities enforce. The City of Buffalo's plumbing division states the division of labour plainly, requiring that “[a]ll work, materials, parts, elements, components, finishes, equipment and/or fixtures, assemblies and systems shall comply with the requirements of the Plumbing Code of New York State irrespective of the requirement for a plumbing permit or payment of plumbing permit fees.” New York City is the exception even to that, having its own Construction Codes including the New York City Plumbing Code and Fuel Gas Code.
• NYC — the Master Plumber licence requirement, and the seal you cannot work without: NYC Administrative Code §28-408.1 (“Master plumber license required”) makes it unlawful for any person: “1. To perform plumbing work unless such person is a licensed master plumber or working under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master plumber, except that a city employee who holds a master plumber license may only perform plumbing work on existing buildings in the course of his or her employment. 2. To use the title licensed master plumber, master plumber or any other title in such manner as to convey the impression that such person is a licensed master plumber, unless such person is licensed as such in accordance with the provisions of this article.” The generic prohibition in §28-401.4 runs alongside it: “It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in or carry on in the city any business, trade or occupation regulated by this chapter or to hold himself or herself out as authorized to engage in or carry on such activity, without having first obtained a license from the commissioner.” The licence comes in two pieces and only the second one authorises work. A certificate of competence is issued to an applicant who satisfies the experience and examination requirements (§28-408.4.1), and its issuance “shall constitute evidence that the person named therein is qualified, upon payment of applicable fees, to obtain a seal” (§28-408.4.2) — but “[t]he holder of a certificate shall not be entitled to perform work or hold himself or herself out to perform work as a licensed master plumber until such seal has been obtained. Further, no holder of a certificate of competence shall enter into any contractual agreement to install or alter any plumbing, gas piping, or any piping system, other than an employment agreement with a master plumber business or a city agency” (§28-408.4.3). Sitting on a certificate has a cost: “If a holder of a certificate of competence has held the certificate for five (5) years without a seal, then the commissioner may require said person to submit an affidavit and supporting documentation... stating that over the five (5) year period the individual has been engaged in the installation of plumbing systems and the planning or the design of plumbing systems in the United States under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master plumber,” and if the qualifications are unsatisfactory “the commissioner may require such person to submit to reexamination or to provide evidence of retained proficiency” (§28-408.4.4). The seal is then used on every filing: “All documents that are required to be filed with any department or agency of the city of New York shall bear the stamp of the seal as well as the signature of the licensee. The licensed master plumber performing the work and services shall personally sign and seal all applications and other documents required to be filed pursuant to this code” (§28-408.2). On death, retirement, surrender, revocation or suspension the licence and seal go back to the commissioner immediately, with a carve-out letting a deceased licensee's legal representative retain the seal, with the commissioner's consent, to finish permitted work under a licensed master plumber's supervision within one year of the death (§28-408.5).
• NYC — the five experience routes to a Master Plumber licence: General qualifications first: every applicant for a licence or certificate of competence must “be at least 18 years of age, shall be able to read and write the English language, shall be of good moral character, shall be fit to perform work authorized by the particular license or certificate of competence, and shall meet additional qualifications that may be prescribed” (§28-401.6). On top of those, §28-408.3.1 gives five alternative experience routes, and they are alternatives, not steps: “1. Has at least seven (7) years total experience, within the ten (10) years prior to application, in the installation of plumbing systems and the planning or design of plumbing systems under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master plumber in the United States, with at least two (2) years of such experience as a registered journeyman plumber in accordance with the provisions of article 409; 2. Has received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or appropriate engineering technology from an accredited college or university and has at least five (5) years total experience, within the seven (7) years prior to application, in the installation of plumbing systems and the planning or design of plumbing systems under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master plumber in the United States, where at least two (2) years of such experience were in New York city; 3. Is an architect or engineer with at least three (3) years of experience, within the five (5) years prior to application, in the installation of plumbing systems and the planning or design of plumbing systems. All required experience must be under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master plumber in the United States, and at least one (1) year of such experience must be in New York city; 4. Has at least seven (7) years total experience, within the ten (10) years prior to application, with at least two (2) years of such experience working with installation of plumbing systems and in the planning or design of plumbing systems under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master plumber in the United States. The balance of such required experience may be obtained by performing maintenance, replacement and repair plumbing work on existing buildings while in the employ of a city agency under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master plumber supervisor employed by the city agency. The two (2) years' experience in the installation of plumbing systems and in the planning or design of plumbing systems set forth above may only be satisfied by working as a registered journeyman plumber; or 5. Has experience as an employee of a government agency, or a private inspection agency or other entity as specified in department rules, whose duties primarily involve the inspection of plumbing work for compliance with the New York city plumbing code and/or other laws relating to the installation, alteration or repair of plumbing systems that shall be credited for fifty percent (50%) of the number of years that he or she has been satisfactorily employed in such duties within the ten (10) year period prior to application, which, however, in no event, shall exceed two and one-half (2.5) years credit of satisfactory experience. The balance of the required seven (7) years must have been obtained by working with installation of plumbing systems and in the planning or design of plumbing systems under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master plumber in the United States, except that the requirement of paragraph 1 of this section that an applicant's working experience must have been within the ten (10) year period prior to application shall not apply to such balance of the work experience required pursuant to this paragraph.” Military service counts, but capped: “Applicants who were engaged in plumbing work as above provided prior to entering the armed services of the United States shall be permitted to credit their time in the service as experience in the plumbing business, as above provided; but such service credit shall not exceed one-third of the time required for experience” (§28-408.3.2). DOB's application page states routes 2 and 3 slightly more narrowly than the Code does — the page requires the mechanical-engineering degree to come from “a college or university registered by the New York State Department of Education” where the Code says “an accredited college or university,” and the page requires “a New York State-licensed Registered Architect or Professional Engineer” where the Code says “an architect or engineer.”
• NYC — two exams, and the clocks that run after each one: DOB: “Candidates must pass both a written and practical exam before submitting a background application to become a Licensed Master Plumber.” The WRITTEN exam is applied and paid for first: “Candidates must first apply for the written exam and submit a payment of $585.00 fee, payable by eCheck or credit card. Candidates must first pass the written exam before they can apply for the practical exam.” It “is multiple-choice and covers NYC Construction Codes, rules, and regulations. Reference materials are not permitted. The passing score is 70%. Results are provided at the test site upon completion.” DOB also notes that “[a]s of May 1, 2023, an updated Examination Plan for the Master Plumber license written exam is used for all candidates authorized to test.” The PRACTICAL exam follows: “After passing the written exam, you must apply separately for the practical exam and submit the $530.00 fee... Candidates have 24 months from the date of written exam notification to pass the practical exam. If you pass practical exam, you will receive an official results letter by U.S. mail approximately 3–4 weeks after testing.” Exam applications and payments go through the License Exam Application/Payment function in the DOB NOW Public Portal (no DOB NOW account required), and “[o]nce your exam application is accepted, you will receive an email from the exam administrator within 2–3 weeks with scheduling instructions. Exams are administered at multiple locations throughout New York State.” A third clock then starts: “Applicants have one (1) year from the date of their practical examination notification to submit their application to the department via DOB NOW: Licensing.” And a fourth after approval: “You will have one (1) year from the date of approval in DOB NOW to pick up your license card. Failure to do so will result in the portal automatically closing your application as a denial, and you will be required to restart the entire application process.” Renewal carries no exam: licences “may be renewed every three (3) years thereafter without examination” (§28-401.11), and late renewal is also “without examination” (§28-401.13). Reconsideration of a denial must reach DOB “no later than sixty (60) days from the date of the license denial notification.”
• NYC — the background application, and the documents that decide it: Section 28-401.8 requires every applicant for a licence or certificate of competence to “submit to investigation as directed by a governmental entity in order to determine the applicant's character and fitness,” and to “furnish the department with payment for the actual cost of conducting the background investigation”; incomplete submissions “will result in a denial of the license or certificate of competence.” Fingerprinting is mandatory under §28-401.8.1, and it reaches past the applicant: prints are taken of the individual seeking licensure, “the owner, if the applicant is a sole proprietorship; the general partners, if the applicant is a partnership; and the officers, principals, directors, and stockholders owning more than 10 percent of the outstanding stock of the corporation, if the applicant is a corporation,” each of whom must also furnish “three current passport-sized photographs.” The applicant “shall pay a processing fee as required and in a form and manner as prescribed by the state division of criminal justice services.” A criminal record is not automatically disqualifying: any fitness decision “must be made upon consideration of sections 701–703-b (article 23) and sections 751–753 (article 23-a) of the New York state correction law.” DOB's document list for the master plumber background application: the Examination Score Report Form with a passing score; “LIC62: Physical Examination Form – the form must be fully completed by a physician within the 90 days prior to submitting the background application; the form must have physician's stamp”; an Experience Verification Form “fully completed and signed by all supervisors for the years the applicant is claiming as experience” (DOB: “EVF filled out by Human Resources or the applicant will not be accepted”); a Social Security detailed itemized earnings statement for the claimed years, requested “by 'company name'” and carrying an SSA fee; a valid government-issued photo ID; the Social Security card; and the latest pay stub and/or W-2. DOB adds that “[a]ll documents must be signed and notarized within the last 90 days from the date of submission.” The rule behind the experience proof, 1 RCNY §104-01, requires the supervising licensee's own statement that “he or she directly supervised applicant's work,” the Social Security earnings history “reflecting wages appropriate for the trade,” and — where the code requires supervision in plumbing installation or design — “evidence that the supervising licensees performed such work as demonstrated by permits, completed contracts or such other documentation as the Department may require.” Self-employed applicants must verify their own work “by submitting documentation, including but not limited to personal and business tax returns, route sheets or work logs from the supervising licensee, contracts with customers, and statements from customers.” Since February 23, 2026 there is no paper route: “As of February 23, 2026, all Master Plumber applications are required to be submitted through DOB NOW: Licensing... The Department no longer accepts walk-in transactions or paper applications for this registration.”
• NYC — the master plumber business, the 51 percent rule, and what may be on the van: Section 28-408.6 (“Master plumber business required”) provides that “[n]o individual, corporation, partnership or other business association shall conduct a plumbing contractor business in the city of New York, or employ the name ‘plumber’ or ‘plumbing’ in its business name unless such business is a master plumber business as follows: 1. No less than 51 percent of the control and voting capital stock of such plumbing contractor business is owned by one or more individuals who are licensed master plumbers, except as otherwise provided; 2. All plumbing or gas piping work performed by such entity is performed by or under the direct and continuing supervision of such licensed master plumber; 3. The person in charge of such work is such licensed master plumber; and 4. The persons actually performing such work are in the direct employ of such master plumber business as authorized by the code.” DOB's application page implements the ownership test as “[a]pplicants must have at least 51% interest in the corporation, unless there are other Master plumber licensee with an ownership interest in the corporation, in which case the combined controlling interest of all Licensees must equal at least 51%.” A licensee may hold a qualifying interest in only one other master plumber business, and “[b]oth master plumber businesses in which the licensed master plumber has an interest shall be located at the same place of business” (§28-408.6.4). Joint ventures are allowed “of limited duration for a particular project with another master plumber business,” in writing and pre-approved by the department (§28-408.6.5). If the licensee withdraws, “the right of the business to perform plumbing work shall lapse if the provisions of this article are no longer satisfied,” and a revoked or suspended licensee “will be deemed withdrawn from such business” (§28-408.6.3). Advertising is regulated down to the vehicle: “All business vehicles, advertising, websites and stationery used in connection with a master plumber business shall display prominently the full name of the licensee, the words ‘N.Y.C. licensed plumber,’ the licensee's number and the licensee's business address,” with any trade, partnership or corporate name placed immediately above the licensee's name and disclosed to the department before use (§28-408.6.2). A physical NYC address is required — “[e]xcept as otherwise noted for a particular license, the holder of a [license], other than an employee of a city agency, shall have or be employed by a business entity that has an established place dedicated to the licensee's business with an address within the city of New York” (§28-401.18), and 1 RCNY §104-01 requires a Licensed Master Plumber to “have a place of business within New York City and must display prominently to the public in the window of the place of business designated in his or her application or on a sign securely attached to the premises, the licensee's full name with the words ‘Licensed Master Plumber’ and the Department-issued license number immediately thereunder.” Licensees must post a photocopy of the licence conspicuously at the place of business (§28-401.18.2) and notify DOB in writing of address changes (§28-401.18.1). DOB additionally requires a telephone bill in the business's name for the approved location, plus — if the line is VoIP or mobile — a current utility bill or a notarised lease stating utilities are included.
• NYC — Journeyman Plumber registration: $50, never expires, and it is not a licence: Article 409 creates a registration, not a licence. Section 28-409.1 requires qualifications “reflecting a progressive understanding, proficiency and competence in the plumbing trade, including: 1. A working familiarity with the plumbing code and technical standards and the ability to apply the code requirements correctly; 2. The application of basic plumbing theory and the utilization of trade skills on the job site; 3. A working knowledge of the tools of the trade and the ability to utilize them properly; and 4. An ability to draft simple diagrams and interpret from drawings for the purpose of the plumbing work in which the applicant is engaged.” The experience test in §28-409.2 is disjunctive: “1. A minimum of five (5) years of full-time experience in the performance of plumbing work under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master plumber or equivalent, where at least one (1) year of such experience shall have been in New York city; or 2. Satisfactorily completed a New York State recognized training program in plumbing.” DOB's own page states the second route with an added NYC condition — “Have satisfactorily completed a New York State registered training program with one (1) year experience in New York City,” with the note “One (1) year of experience in New York City is required to obtain a Journeyman registration” — which the Code text of §28-409.2(2) does not itself say. DOB also warns that the experience must be trade-specific: “Plumbing experience cannot be used to qualify for the Journeyman Fire Suppression registration, and Fire Suppression experience cannot be used to qualify for the Journeyman Plumber registration.” The registration is permanent: “The registration for journeyman plumber shall have no expiration and shall not require renewal or reissuance” (§28-409.3), and the code fee table lists it as “$50” initial with “No renewal” and a $50 reissuance fee. The card must carry the limit in its own words: “This registration is NOT A LICENSE, and the holder is NOT AUTHORIZED TO PERFORM PLUMBING WORK in New York city except under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master plumber” (§28-409.4). Application is through DOB NOW: Licensing with photo ID, original Social Security card, the DPL1 form, a Department of Labor approved apprenticeship/training programme certificate, notarised employer affidavits (sealed if from NYC licensees) stating job title, company, duties, employment dates, full- or part-time status and “[a] statement by the licensee that he or she directly supervised you,” a Social Security History of Earnings run by company name, the mandatory Child Support Form, and the $50 fee.
• NYC — Gas Work Qualification: the individual credential a plumber can lose permanently: Gas work in NYC needs either a master plumber licence or a personal gas qualification. NYC Admin Code §28-423.1 defines “gas work” as work covered by section 101.2 of the New York city fuel gas code that the code requires to be performed under a licensed master plumber's direct and continuing supervision (excluding the periodic inspections under article 318), and makes it “unlawful to perform gas work unless such work is performed by: 1. A licensed master plumber; or 2. A person working under the direct and continuing supervision of a licensed master plumber if such person: 2.1. Holds a full gas work qualification pursuant to this article; or 2.2. Holds a limited gas work qualification pursuant to this article and is performing such work under the direct supervision of (i) a person who holds a full gas work qualification pursuant to this article or (ii) a licensed master plumber.” DOB attributes the requirement to statute: “Local Law 150 of 2016 requires anyone performing gas work to possess either a Department-issued Master Plumber License or a Qualification for Gas Work.” FULL qualification: age 18, English literacy, fitness, good moral character, and a Department-sponsored Gas Work Qualification exam; the written exam is 50 questions, 2 hours, passing score 70% (35 correct answers), and “[b]eginning on August 1, 2024, the Gas Work Qualification written exam will be administered as an open-book exam,” with the references supplied electronically at the testing centre and candidates' own materials barred. The Code's experience routes for a full qualification (§28-423.2) each require having held a limited qualification for at least one year, plus one of: being a registered journeyman plumber; completing a New York State Department of Labor approved plumbing apprenticeship with at least one year of full-time supervised plumbing experience; or at least five years of full-time supervised plumbing work with at least one year of it in New York City. LIMITED qualification (§28-423.3) needs at least six months of full-time supervised plumbing work plus one of: a commissioner-approved gas work training programme of at least sixteen (16) hours; registration as an apprentice in a NYS DOL approved apprenticeship programme; or another competence requirement set by rule. The expirations are asymmetric and the limited one is a trap: “The full gas work qualification shall have no expiration and need not be renewed or reissued. The limited gas work qualification shall expire five (5) years after issuance and may not be renewed or reissued” (§28-423.4) — DOB repeats that a limited qualification “expires five years after issuance and may not be renewed,” and that limited qualifications “cannot be renewed or reissued after expiration.” The article does not reach utilities: “The provisions of this article shall not apply to gas work performed, serviced and maintained by utility corporations and subject to the jurisdiction of the New York state public service commission.” Fee: DOB's registration pages state “Pay the registration fee of $50.00 and submit your application in DOB NOW: Licensing,” and §28-423.2.1 waives it in one case — “No application fee shall be charged to an applicant for a full gas work qualification if such applicant (i) is, at the time such application is filed, a registered journeyman plumber pursuant to such article or (ii) is applying concurrently for a journeyman plumber registration pursuant to such article and a full gas work qualification.” DOB warns that performing gas work without the credential is “a violation carrying a penalty of $5,000 pursuant to 1 RCNY § 102-01.”
• NYC — insurance: $1,000,000 general liability, workers' compensation and disability benefits: Section 28-401.9 conditions issuance and renewal on insurance: “Except as noted otherwise for a particular license, or exempted by the commissioner pursuant to rule, prior to the issuance of a license, or during the renewal thereof, the applicant shall file with the department satisfactory evidence of a commercial general liability insurance policy in the amount of $1,000,000 or such other amount as the commissioner may require, together with satisfactory evidence of compliance with the workers' compensation law and the disability benefits law. Required insurance shall be maintained for the duration of the license and any changes in coverage, insurance renewals, or policy status shall be provided to the department in accordance with department rules.” The implementing rule, 1 RCNY §104-02, applies to Master Plumbers by name and requires the policy to “[p]rovide coverage of at least $1,000,000 (one million dollars) combined single limit per occurrence.” DOB's application page states the same three-part requirement: “All Master Plumber businesses must have General Liability, Workers' Compensation, and Disability Insurances.”
• NYC — three-year term, $225 renewal, and 7 hours of continuing education: Term: “Except as otherwise provided in this code or by rule, all licenses issued by the commissioner shall expire three (3) years from the date of issuance thereof, and may be renewed every three (3) years thereafter without examination” (§28-401.11). DOB's Master Plumber page states the term as “3 years.” Renewal window: applications “shall be made at least 30 days but not more than 90 days prior to the expiration date of same,” and anything inside 30 days “shall be considered late and subject to applicable late renewal fees” (§28-401.12); failing to renew “shall have the effect of cancellation of the license or certificate of competence upon expiration, and the holder of a seal issued by the department shall immediately surrender such seal.” Late renewal is available “within one (1) year of the date of its expiration without examination but subject to applicable late renewal fee” (§28-401.13). Fees, from the Code's own schedule at §28-401.15: master plumber licence (certificate of competence) $200 initial and $150 triennially, with late-renewal fees of “Up to 30 days late, $50; From 31 days to five years late, $100 for each year or part thereof” and a $50 reissuance fee. The Code itself answers which of those figures controls, two lines below the table: "Additional fees. Additional fees for licensing shall be set forth in the rules of the department. Additional fees include, but are not limited to, reissuance, deactivation, reactivation and late renewal" (28-401.15.1) -- late-renewal amounts are delegated to department rules BY NAME, which is why DOB's published schedule governs in practice rather than the Code's own table. Master plumber licence SEAL $50 initial and $75 triennially, with a $75 replacement fee upon loss with affidavit. DOB's operative renewal checklist (Rev. 04/26) totals the renewal: “$150.00 – License; $75.00 – Seal; Total Renewal Fee = $225.00,” with late fees of “$275.00 (this includes $225.00 renewal fee and $50.00 late fee) – between 1-30 days” and “$325.00 (this includes $225.00 renewal fee and $100.00 late fee) – greater than 31 days up until one (1) year.” Continuing education is required, and it is a hard renewal condition rather than an option: 1 RCNY §104-06 applies to Master Plumbers by name and provides at (b)(7) that for “Master Fire Suppression Piping Contractor and Master Plumber. During the one (1) year immediately prior to renewal, the licensee must have successfully completed a Department-approved course that is at least seven (7) hours in length.” DOB's renewal checklist demands the paper: “Original 7-Hour Continuing Education Course Certificate of Completion,” alongside the “LIC62: Physical Examination Form – must be completed within 90 days prior to renewal.” The statutory hook is permissive — §28-401.14 says only that “[t]he commissioner may promulgate rules to require applicants for the renewal of licenses or certificate of competence to complete a prescribed number of hours of continuing education courses” — so the seven hours live in the rule, not the Code. Renewal also requires evidence of fitness (§28-401.12 and §28-408.7: “As a condition of license renewal, a licensed master plumber shall provide evidence satisfactory to the department that such licensee is fit to perform the work”), and renewals are themselves subject to investigation.
• City of Buffalo — Master Plumber, Journeyman Plumber and Journeyman Repair Plumber: Buffalo runs its own three-tier plumbing licensure through the Department of Permit and Inspection Services' Plumbing Division and an Examining Board of Plumbers, and it is the clearest published example of the upstate pattern. The prohibition: “License required. Plumbing work by unlicensed person(s) is prohibited. No person shall hereafter engage in, carry on, or conduct the business of master plumber or do, or perform, or offer, or undertake, or contract to do the work of a master plumber within the City of Buffalo unless holding such master plumber license,” together with a title restriction (“No person not the holder of such license shall use in advertising the words ‘Master Plumber’ or any words of similar meaning”) and a hiring restriction (“No person or company shall cause to be done, or engage to do, any plumbing work by unlicensed plumber”). As in NYC there is a two-step credential: “No person may obtain license without first procuring a master plumber certificate of competency issued by the Examining Board of Plumbers, and registering with same Board in accordance with the General City Law.” Permits are tied to the licence: “A plumbing permit shall only be issued to a City of Buffalo Licensed Master Plumber. A plumbing permit is not transferable. A plumbing permit may be issued to an individual resident owner, who has proven to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Permit and Inspection Services that they are personally qualified to perform such plumbing work within their own home.” Supervision is stricter on its face than NYC's: “Master plumbers shall not allow any apprentice plumber, or unlicensed journeyman plumber, in their employ or otherwise under their supervision, to do plumbing work of any kind, including repairs and clearing stoppages of drains, unless said master plumber is physically present and taking an active part in said work.” Annual registration is required: “Master plumbers are required by law to register with the Examining Board of Plumbers of the City of Buffalo. Registration for licensed master plumbers must be made in person and shall occur on the first day of each year, or during the month of December prior thereto. Registration compliance shall consist of signing the master plumber registration book during said dates.” And a certificate holder without a licence must pay to keep it alive: “Persons who have a certificate of competency and do not take out a license shall register in the same manner as master plumbers and pay a fee of $50, to keep certificate active. An active certificate is required to take out a license for master plumber.” The published experience threshold for the Master Plumber licence, from Buffalo's own application form, is “Minimum Qualifications: 6,000 Hours worked as a Journeyman Plumber as an employee of a licensed Master Plumber, not working for yourself,” and the form adds that “[m]aster Plumber licenses from other municipalities may be used to meet qualification for work experience,” with copies submitted. Exams are scheduled a few times a year and the city publishes the dates: “The next City of Buffalo Master Plumber exam will be held on Saturday, October 17th 2026. The next City of Buffalo Journeyman Plumber and Journeyman Repair Plumber exam will be held on Tuesday, November 17th 2026.” Contact: Chief Plumbing Inspector Keith Ogden, (716) 851-5067; Plumbing Division, 65 Niagara Square, City Hall Room 312, Buffalo, NY 14202. Buffalo enforces the state technical code, not its own: all work “shall comply with the requirements of the Plumbing Code of New York State irrespective of the requirement for a plumbing permit or payment of plumbing permit fees.”
• Suffolk County — Master Plumbers and Restricted Plumbers (Department of Consumer Affairs): On Long Island the county licenses the trade directly. Suffolk County's Department of Consumer Affairs lists, among the “Licenses/Registrations issued through Consumer Affairs”: “Backflow Tester, Board Up Registration, Board Up Sales I.D., Commercial Painting, Dry Cleaners, Electrical Inspector, Fire-fighting Solicitors, Health Department Expeditor, Home Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings, Home Improvement, Home Improvement Sales, Liquid Waste, Master Electrician, MASTER PLUMBERS, Pet Cemeteries/Crematoriums, Pet Grooming Business Registration, Pet Groomer Registration, Polygraph Examiner, Pool & Spa Maintenance, Precious Metals, RESTRICTED PLUMBERS, Second Hand Dealers, Sign Hanger, Tax Grievance, VCR Repair, Special-Circumstance Temporary Licenses and Home Energy Audit Certificates.” So Suffolk issues both a Master Plumber licence and a Restricted Plumber licence, plus a separate Backflow Tester licence. The county also warns that “[u]nlicensed contractors are subject to arrest and prosecution for working without a license,” and directs verification and complaint questions to (631) 853-4600. Suffolk's per-licence requirements and fee amounts were not read on this pass and are not stated here — call Consumer Affairs or use the county's licensed-contractor search. NEIGHBOURING COUNTIES DIFFER, so do not generalise from Suffolk: Nassau County's Department of Consumer Affairs licenses “home improvement,” and its published list of covered trades runs from “air conditioning & heating systems” through “sewer cleaners” and “well drilling” without naming plumbing, master plumbing or journeyman plumbing at all — in Nassau, plumbing licensure is not published at the county level on that page, and the town or city where the work is performed must be checked.