About the Georgia Journeyman Plumber license
Georgia licenses plumbers through the Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board (Division of Master and Journeyman Plumbers), under the Secretary of State's Professional Licensing Boards Division. The Journeyman Plumber license authorizes you to perform plumbing work, generally under the responsibility of a master plumber. You earn it by meeting the Board's documented-experience requirement plus passing the trade exam; confirm the current minimum years of qualifying experience and any approved-instruction or apprenticeship credit directly on the Board's application, since summaries of the exact hour/year count vary.
Your exam is built on the International Plumbing Code (IPC) as adopted by Georgia. The reference list effective January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026 mentions the 2018 books or the 2024 books, and then says that beginning May 1, 2026 the exam is based only on the 2024 Georgia Plumbing Code and only on the 2024 Georgia Gas Code. This review is October 9, 2026. That date has passed. Carry the 2024 editions. Confirm the current edition and effective date on the Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board's candidate information bulletin before you buy a code book, since the adopted edition changes over time. Georgia does not give you a choice of model plumbing codes on this exam. The plumbing code is the Georgia Plumbing Code, built on the IPC. The gas code is the Georgia Gas Code, built on the IFGC. The Uniform Plumbing Code is a different book. Do not size a Georgia pipe from a UPC table.
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 Georgia 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, delivered by computer at PSI test centers. The Journeyman exam has 100 scored questions (plus up to 20 additional unscored pretest questions mixed in) and a 5-hour time limit split into two 2.5-hour sessions with a break between them; there is no penalty for guessing, so never leave a question blank. Scores are reported as a scaled score, and the minimum passing scaled score is 70 for every exam form (not a raw 70 percent of the 100 scored items, and not 70 percent of the 120 questions presented). Unlike the Master Plumber exams, the Journeyman exam is open-reference — you may bring the Board-approved reference materials (the adopted Georgia Plumbing Code book plus items such as Mathematics for Plumbers and Pipefitters) into the exam room; confirm the current approved reference list on the candidate information bulletin, since it is revised periodically. Master Plumber exams are closed-book and add a separate business and law portion that the Journeyman exam does not include.
- Renewal: licenses renew every 24 months and require a minimum of 8 hours of continuing education completed within that 24-month window (reduced for candidates licensed less than two years), including code-update hours when a new code edition is adopted. Confirm the current CE rule and reporting process with the Board.
What the exam actually weights (out of 100 scored questions, per the Board's candidate information bulletin): Perform Plumbing Systems Installation Activities 21 · Perform Pipe Cutting and Joining Activities 10 · Comply with Regulations (Georgia Plumbing/Gas Code, OSHA 29 CFR 1926, permits, State Trenching Law, State Boiler Code) 15 · Perform Maintenance and Repair Activities 15 · Safety-Related Issues 15 · Perform System Testing Activities 7 · Work Planning/Organizing 7 · Comply with General Laws (Board rules, underground-utility location law, ADA, ANSI, water conservation) 5 · Calculations (offset, volume, area, pressure, depth, circumference, radius, weight) 5. Installation, code compliance, safety, and repair/maintenance together are well over half the exam — study there first.
This is the opening of the full study guide. The complete guide continues into code navigation, worked calculations and solved exam questions.
