Connecticut P-1 Unlimited Plumbing Contractor Exam Prep

About the Connecticut P-1 Plumbing Contractor license

Connecticut licenses plumbers through the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP). The P-1 Unlimited Plumbing Contractor license is the top plumbing credential in the state; its scope covers "all plumbing and piping work" as defined in Connecticut General Statutes §20-330 — gas, water, and associated fixtures/piping; sanitary equipment and process piping; connections to backflow-prevention devices; and low-voltage (24V or less) lawn-sprinkler wiring. To qualify for the P-1, you generally must first hold a P-2 Unlimited Journeyperson Plumber license (which itself requires completing a registered apprenticeship program), then accumulate two years of experience as a licensed P-2 journeyperson (or DCP-approved equivalent experience/training), and pass the required exams described below. A P-1 licensee may design plumbing systems, pull permits, supervise P-2 journeypersons and apprentices, and serve as the qualifying individual for a licensed plumbing contracting business.

Your exam books are the ones on the PSI plumbing bulletin updated February 4, 2026. Bring the International Plumbing Code, 2015, 2018, or 2021. Connecticut towns enforce the State Building Code (the 2022 code adopted the 2021 International Codes with amendments). On this paper, answer code items from the listed edition in your lap. Do not answer from the Uniform Plumbing Code, and do not bring a 2024 IPC. UPC trap-arm limits are a different table, in inches, and they are not the IPC Table 909.1 foot limits this exam grades.

Know these scope facts cold: the license is held by the individual; most work requires a permit and inspection (rough-in/top-out and final); you must work within the classification you hold; and unlicensed or out-of-scope plumbing work is a violation that can cost you the license and carry penalties. Plumbing protects public health — the exam constantly returns to the two core purposes of the code: deliver safe potable water and remove waste without contaminating that water.

How Connecticut licensing works

• Experience: documented apprentice hours through a registered apprenticeship to earn the P-2 Unlimited Journeyperson Plumber license, then two years of experience as a licensed P-2 journeyperson before you're eligible to sit for the P-1.
• Education: completion of a registered apprenticeship program (or DCP-approved equivalent instruction/experience).
• Application: submit the application, fees, and proof of experience (often signed off by a licensed contractor or employer) before you are approved to sit.
• Exams: vendor is PSI. The P-1 requires two separate, required exams — a trade exam and a Connecticut business and law exam — each scored to a 70 percent passing cut. The trade paper is 80 questions, 3 hours, and 70 percent. Business and Law, on the same bulletin, is 50 questions, 2 hours, and 70 percent. It is a separate portion.
• Renewal: P-1 licenses renew every two years, in even-numbered years, and require 7 hours of continuing education per renewal period (Conn. Gen. Stat. §20-334d), including code-update hours when a new code edition is adopted.