Illinois licenses plumbers through the Department of Public Health, and the examination has two portions that are scored separately.
Figures below are compiled from state board and exam-provider sources. Where a board does not publish a count we say so rather than estimate. Confirm against the current candidate bulletin for your exam before you register.
Written and practical, each scored on its own
The licensed plumber examination comprises a written portion of multiple-choice and true/false questions on the Illinois Plumbing Code, and a practical portion. Each requires a score of 61 to pass, and each is scored independently.
That second point is the one that catches people. Passing the written paper does not carry you through the practical, and no multiple-choice preparation addresses the practical at all. Treat them as two separate readiness problems with two different practice regimes.
What IDPH does not publish
Neither the Illinois Department of Public Health nor Continental Testing Services, which administers the written examination, publishes an exact question count. We checked both, along with the IDPH application materials, which cover process rather than exam specification.
Public sources place the written portion somewhere in the region of 50 to 60 questions. Our preparation is sized to the middle of that range, and we have recorded it as an estimate rather than a sourced figure, because it is one.
If exact length matters to you, confirm with IDPH’s plumbing programme at (217) 782-4977 before planning around a specific number.
The code is Illinois-specific
The written portion tests the Illinois Plumbing Code, which is a state code rather than an adoption of the IPC or UPC. National plumbing study material will not map onto it cleanly.
Illinois exam prep
Before you register
- Confirm the question count and time limit on the current bulletin.
- Confirm the code edition; it is pinned and a newer edition is not a substitute.
- Confirm whether a separate business and law paper is required.