Georgia Master Plumber Exam Prep

About the Georgia Master Plumber license

Georgia licenses plumbers through the State Construction Industry Licensing Board — Division of Master and Journeyman Plumbers, administered by the Georgia Secretary of State. The Master Plumber is the senior plumbing credential, issued in two types: Class I (restricted) — limited to single-family and small two-family dwellings and commercial structures not exceeding 10,000 square feet — and Class II (unrestricted), which has no size or occupancy limits but requires documented commercial/industrial experience. Both require you to first hold a journeyman plumber license, accumulate additional documented experience as a licensed journeyman, and pass a more demanding exam that adds system design, sizing, code administration, and a separate business-and-law portion. A master may design plumbing systems, pull permits, supervise journeymen and apprentices, and serve as the qualifying individual for a licensed plumbing contractor.

Your exam is built on the International Plumbing Code (IPC) as adopted by Georgia (confirm the exact edition on the bulletin — the exam is written to the adopted edition, not necessarily the newest). 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.

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: Georgia requires a minimum of 5 years of plumbing experience for the Master Plumber license, with at least 2 of those years as a licensed Journeyman Plumber. Class II additionally requires documented commercial or industrial experience. Confirm exact requirements on the current application.
• 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, by scheduled appointment at a PSI Test Center. You sit one exam for the class you are applying for — Class I (Restricted): 120 scored questions (80 trade/technical + 40 Administrative/Business/Design), or Class II (Unrestricted): 140 scored questions (100 trade/technical + 40 Administrative/Business/Design) — each delivered in two parts totaling 7 hours (3.5 hours per part, with a break between). The business-law, bonding/insurance, and system-design content is part of this same exam, not a separate sealed test. Passing is a final scaled score of 70 on the exam for your class. As of this writing the exam is written to the 2024 Georgia Plumbing Code (2024 IPC with Georgia amendments) and the 2024 Georgia Gas Code (2024 International Fuel Gas Code with Georgia amendments). Confirm current question counts, timing, and code edition on the PSI candidate information bulletin before you test.
• Renewal: licenses renew biennially (by November 30 of even-numbered years) and require continuing education — 4 hours per year (8 hours per renewal cycle) of board-approved CE.