Plumber licensing in Tennessee

Tennessee has no statewide journeyman plumber license to transfer in — what the state licenses is the plumbing CONTRACTOR (jobs of $25,000 and up) and, below that, the Limited Licensed Plumber, a small-jobs credential that applies only in municipalities using the state's inspection program. Everywhere else the city or county decides, so the question is never “does my license transfer to Tennessee” but “what does the jurisdiction where the job sits require.”

There is no statewide worker card to wait for. A W-2 plumber on a licensed contractor's crew has nothing to file with the state; if you will be contracting small jobs yourself, the Limited Licensed Plumber application is $75, filed online at core.tn.gov, and required only where the municipality uses the state's Division of Fire Prevention for permits and inspections — general maintenance under $500 is exempt.

The board's own instruction is the rule to travel by: always check with the local government first, because it may run its own licensing instead.

No statewide journeyman exam exists. The exams that do exist attach to the contractor license (jobs $25,000 and up) and the Limited Licensed Plumber credential — and where a city or county runs its own licensing, it runs its own exams on its own calendar.

No state apprentice card exists. Entry-level workers are hired directly by contractors; a formally registered apprenticeship runs through a US DOL sponsor, and any local licensing authority sets its own helper and apprentice rules.

The local layer decides here — the state board itself says to check with the local government first, because a municipality may accept the Limited Licensed Plumber credential or require its own license for permits and inspections. Two jobs an hour apart can sit under different rules; verify the specific city or county before every placement.

The state credential is the contractor license — required at $25,000 per project and up, and the business's concern. Below that, the Limited Licensed Plumber covers work under $25,000 per project in municipalities on the state inspection program ($75 initial application at core.tn.gov). A wage-earning traveler on a licensed contractor's payroll needs neither.