Connecticut P-2 Journeyperson Plumber Exam Prep

About the Connecticut P-2 Journeyperson Plumber license

Connecticut licenses plumbers through the Connecticut Dept. of Consumer Protection (DCP), under its Plumbing and Piping Work Examining Board. The P-2 Journeyperson Plumber (Unlimited Journeyperson) license authorizes you to perform plumbing work, generally under the responsibility of a master plumber. You earn it by completing a registered apprenticeship (typically four years) or documenting equivalent experience and training — 8,000 hours of on-the-job training plus 576 classroom hours of approved instruction matching DCP's required curriculum — and then passing the trade exam.

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. On this P-2 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 in inches. IPC Table 909.1 limits are in feet.

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 hours in the trade (apprentice and journeyman time); the master license requires journeyman time on top of the base requirement.
• Education: approved instruction hours or completion of an approved apprenticeship program.
• Application: submit the application, fees, and proof of experience (often signed off by a master plumber or employer) before you are approved to sit.
• Exam vendor: PSI, under contract with DCP. The P-2 technical exam is 70 questions in 150 minutes, technical content only; the passing score is 70 percent. The P-1 (Unlimited Contractor) exam adds a separate business-and-law section (50 questions, 2 hours) on top of its own technical exam. That business portion is separate. P-1's own trade paper is 80 questions and 3 hours, not this 70-question paper.
• Renewal: P-2 licenses renew annually (expiring October 31); Unlimited Journeypersons must complete 5 continuing-education credit hours every two years (the cycle runs August 1 of an odd-numbered year through July 31 two years later, due at least three months before renewal). Confirm current DCP-approved CE providers and any added code-update hours when a new edition is adopted.