Vermont Journeyman Plumber Exam Prep

About the Vermont Journeyman Plumber license

Vermont licenses plumbers through the Vermont Plumbers' Examining Board. The Journeyman Plumber license authorizes you to perform plumbing work, generally under the responsibility of a master plumber. You earn it by meeting the experience-and-education requirement — documented on-the-job hours plus approved instruction, or completion of an approved apprenticeship — and passing the trade exam.

Your exam is built on the International Plumbing Code (IPC) as adopted by Vermont — the 2024 International Plumbing Code, which Section 21 of the 2025 Vermont Plumbing Rules adopts, effective November 4, 2025, with the amendments in that section. The two model codes — the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) published by IAPMO and the International Plumbing Code (IPC) published by the ICC — agree on the physics but differ in tables, fixture-unit values, and some sizing methods, so always work from the one your state adopted.

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 Vermont 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: Prov, Inc. The Journeyman Plumber exam in bulletin 2026.01.01 is 80 questions in 3 hours, and the passing score is 70 percent.
• Renewal: licenses currently renew every two years and require eight hours of continuing education (including at least two hours of code review), which is what Section 9 of the 2025 rules requires.