How to become a plumber in Tennessee
3Verified from the board0Board page checked0Research-seeded, not yet verified
Newest check Aug 28, 2026 · Sources: Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors — Limited Licensed Plumber (LLP) program ↗
Re-checked every 6 h · full re-verify quarterly · Changes ↓
What are the plumbing license tiers in Tennessee, and what does each require?
Rows checked against Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors — Limited Licensed Plumber (LLP) program (tn.gov) ↗ · newest Aug 28, 2026 · full re-verify quarterly · heartbeat every 6 h · how labels work
Who licenses plumbing here
State licenses contractors · cities license journeymen
Tennessee licenses plumber contractors at the state level, but the journeyman and master cards come from your city or county. The state rungs below are the contractor tiers; the local rung is where you start.
Scope derived by the importer from the dataset author's notes (derived:author-notes); the board pass confirms it.
No experience
Tennessee publishes no statewide dollar threshold for unlicensed work in the pages we read; the contractor statute and your city decide. Electrical and plumbing work are excluded — they are licensed at any job size.
Journeyman / master: your city or county
In Tennessee the journeyman and master cards are issued by cities and counties, not the state. Your local building department sets the hours and exam; the state rungs below are the contractor tiers you reach afterwards.
Your city or county (journeyman / master cards) — not yet mapped ↗placeholder — not yet mapped
Research-seeded, not yet verifiedresearch dataset ↗ServiceTitan: journeyman path = 8,000 hrs + 576–900 classroom hrs at local level. No state journeyman/master plumber. LLP subpage 404.
Rows marked placeholder are research-seeded: the dataset names the jurisdiction pattern but has not mapped each city's tiers yet.
- Verified from the boardTennessee Board for Licensing Contractors — Limited Licensed Plumber (LLP) program ↗
limited licensed plumber (LLP) — projects <$25,000 in areas without local plumbing licensing
specialty · Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors — Limited Licensed Plumber (LLP) program
- Experience
- —
- Class hours
- —
- Prerequisites
- Pass LLP exam
- Exam
- Prov (from 2026-07-01)
- Fees
- — application · — exam (in the vendor bulletin) · — license
- Renewal
- every 2 years · CE not stated
- Verified from the boardTennessee Board for Licensing Contractors — Limited Licensed Plumber (LLP) program ↗
contractor — CMC / CMC-C (Plumbing) classification, projects ≥$25,000
contractor · Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors — Limited Licensed Plumber (LLP) program
- Experience
- —
- Class hours
- —
- Prerequisites
- Trade + Business & Law exams; financials/bond; insurance
- Exam
- Prov (from 2026-07-01)
- Fees
- — application · — exam (in the vendor bulletin) · — license
- Renewal
- every 2 years · CE not stated
Where are you now? Find your next gate
Your next gate
contractor — CMC / CMC-C (Plumbing) classification, projects ≥$25,000
- Hours
- not stated by the board / experience-based
- Exam
- Prov (from 2026-07-01)
- Fees (application / exam)
- — / —
Apprenticeship, trade school, or community college — which is cheapest in Tennessee?
| Route | Cost to you | Time | Counts toward the license? | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered apprenticeship (union JATC or IEC/ABC open-shop) | Paid from day one (~45% of journeyman scale in period 1) | 4–5 years | Yes — every hour | Nashville (3) |
| Community / technical college certificate | Tuition (public, usually the cheapest classroom route) | 12–24 months | Classroom hours in some states; the credential opens helper/apprentice doors | Tennessee College of Applied Technology |
| For-profit trade school | Tuition (often the most expensive) | 6–15 months | Same as community college — check the board | Not listed here until IPEDS completions are joined; no school is ranked by what it pays us |
No credentials yet?
Tennessee publishes no statewide dollar threshold for unlicensed work in the pages we read; the contractor statute and your city decide. Electrical and plumbing work are excluded — they are licensed at any job size. Start-here page for Tennessee →
Plumbing in Tennessee's metros
Questions people actually ask
Do I need a license to work as a plumber in Tennessee?
Tennessee licenses plumbing contractors at the state level (Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors — Limited Licensed Plumber (LLP) program); the journeyman and master cards come from your city or county. You start as a helper or registered apprentice under a licensed contractor the week you are hired.
How long does it take to become a journeyman plumber in Tennessee?
Tennessee's journeyman card is issued by your city or county, so the hours depend on where you work — a registered apprenticeship (4–5 years, 8,000 hours) satisfies almost every jurisdiction.
What can I do for pay in Tennessee with no license at all?
Tennessee publishes no statewide dollar threshold for unlicensed work in the pages we read; the contractor statute and your city decide. Electrical and plumbing work are excluded — they are licensed at any job size.
What does a plumber make in Tennessee?
The statewide median is $58,600 per year (BLS OEWS May 2025); metros in the state run from Nashville — each has its own pay page.
Apprenticeship, trade school, or community college?
A registered apprenticeship pays you from day one (about 45% of journeyman scale in period 1) and counts every hour toward the license; trade school costs tuition and counts only classroom hours in most states; a community-college certificate (6–24 months) is the cheapest classroom route and often feeds a sponsor. The sponsor pages list every option we can find for your metro.
What changed in this data?
No changes recorded yet for this page.