Alaska has no Master Plumber license. The top examined plumbing credential in Alaska is the Mechanical Administrator license in a plumbing category — Unlimited Commercial and Industrial Plumbing, and Residential Plumbing and Hydronic Heating — issued by the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development and examined through PSI on the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code. This single PassProfessor program covers both categories. The companion guide is at /alaska-mechanical-administrator-exam-guide/.
This program is part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog — join the notify list and we’ll email you when enrollment opens.
What this credential certifies
A Mechanical Administrator in Alaska is the person licensed to supervise mechanical work within an assigned category, on behalf of one licensed contractor. In the plumbing categories, that supervision is the state’s top tier of plumbing responsibility: the administrator answers for design decisions, code compliance, and the direction of the work, while the hands that perform code work hold their own authorisation. Candidates should absorb that division before anything else on this page: an administrator license alone does not authorise the holder to perform code work. Performing the work belongs to the holder of a Plumber Journeyman Certificate of Fitness, issued through a separate department. An individual who holds both is the person who functions in Alaska the way a master tradesperson functions elsewhere: able to supervise the work and to perform it.
This program addresses experienced plumbers ready for the supervisory tier, and covers both plumbing categories in one program: the two categories share a regulator, a vendor, a code, and a passing standard, and many Alaska candidates will hold, or seek, both over a career that moves between commercial plants and residential hydronic work.
Two categories, two different scopes of practice
Unlimited Commercial and Industrial Plumbing (UCIP) is the broad category. Its holder supervises all plumbing work within its scope, together with the related heating, cooling, process piping, and control work the regulations place alongside it, and the residential category’s work as well. Its reach extends to piping and fixtures extending no more than five feet horizontally outside the building served — a boundary candidates should learn exactly, because scope questions turn on measured limits of that kind.
Residential Plumbing and Hydronic Heating (RPHH) is the narrower, dwelling-focused category. Its holder supervises plumbing and hydronic heating only in single-family dwellings, or duplexes not exceeding three stories, with hot water heating systems at or below 50 psi inside its scope. The category is not a lesser version of the commercial license; it is a different promise to the state, sized to houses rather than plants, and its examination weights fuel gas and hydronic heating accordingly.
Holding a category authorises supervision only inside that category. Adding a category later means passing that category’s examination. An administrator must also be assigned to one licensed contractor in order to practise — assignment is part of the license’s working machinery, not paperwork after the fact — and a change of employer or affiliation must be reported to the department in writing within 15 days. The one relaxation the regulations allow is geographic: in a municipality or community with fewer than three mechanical administrators, the single-assignment rule is eased, a recognition of how thin licensed supervision can be spread across Alaska.
The examination at a glance
| Item | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Program | Alaska Mechanical Administrator — Plumbing: one program covering Unlimited Commercial and Industrial Plumbing and Residential Plumbing and Hydronic Heating |
| Regulator | Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, under AS 08.40 and 12 AAC 39 |
| Examination vendor | PSI |
| Examination, each category | 100 questions / 240 minutes (4 hours) / open book |
| Passing standard | A score of at least 70 percent on the category examination |
| Tested code | Uniform Plumbing Code, 2018 — the edition Alaska has adopted, as adopted and amended by 8 AAC 63.010 |
| Department fees | $150 nonrefundable application fee + $200 license fee = $350 total, due with the by-examination application |
| License term and renewal | Two years, expiring December 31 of odd-numbered years; renewal fee $200 |
| Retake rule | The written examination may be taken no more than three times within a 12-month period (12 AAC 39.033) |
| Examination results | Valid for 12 months |
| Companion guide | /alaska-mechanical-administrator-exam-guide/ |
| Administrator note | PassProfessor is independent and is not affiliated with the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development |
Tested code and adopted code: the same book, read two ways
Alaska is one of the simpler states on the code-edition question, and candidates should still state the position precisely. The adopted code is the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code, as adopted and amended by 8 AAC 63.010 under AS 18.60.705 — chapters and appendices taken up within the adoption’s stated scope, with Alaska’s own revisions inside it, including the rule that liquefied petroleum gas piping may not serve a gas-fired appliance in a pit or basement. The tested code is the same 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code, carried on the examination’s allowed-reference list alongside the Alaska statute and regulation sets. Tested and adopted coincide in edition — but the examination tests the code as Alaska adopted it, amendments included, not the bare model text studied in another Uniform Plumbing Code state.
The adoption sits with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Mechanical Inspection section, while the license itself sits with the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. Two departments, two examination tracks: the Certificate of Fitness examination is given by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and the administrator examinations through PSI. Candidates should never assume that one track’s arrangements carry into the other.
What each category examination covers
Each category examination carries 100 questions, and each outline is published in full. Unlimited Commercial and Industrial Plumbing: General Knowledge 22; Drainage, Waste, and Sanitary, including Vents 14; Specialty Plumbing 12; Alaska Statutes and Regulations 10; Fuel Gas and Oil 10; Water Piping Systems 10; Isometric Analysis 10; Plumbing Fixtures 6; Roof and Storm Drain Piping 6. Residential Plumbing and Hydronic Heating: General Knowledge 22; Drainage, Waste, and Vents 14; Fuel Gas and Oil Piping 14; Alaska Statutes and Regulations 10; Water Piping and Backflow Prevention 10; Isometric Analysis 10; Specialty Plumbing 8; Plumbing Fixtures 6; Hydronic Heating 6.
Read the two outlines side by side and the categories describe themselves. Both papers open with the same general-knowledge block and drainage core, and both reserve a tenth of the paper for Alaska’s statutes and regulations and a tenth for isometric analysis. They diverge where the work diverges: the commercial paper spends its weight on specialty plumbing and roof and storm drainage, while the residential paper shifts that weight into fuel gas and oil piping and closes with hydronic heating — the heart of heating a northern house. A candidate sitting both categories is not sitting the same paper twice.
The isometric analysis block is a drawing-analysis component inside the examination: candidates read and reason from isometric drawings. It is not a hands-on practical, and no hands-on practical forms part of the administrator examinations. The department must conduct examinations at least twice each year, and results remain valid for twelve months.
Eligibility: the ladder into each category
Alaska defines a year of experience as at least 1,500 hours in a required field or position within a twelve-consecutive-month period, and the two categories build their ladders differently.
For Unlimited Commercial and Industrial Plumbing, the routes are plural: journeyman plumber practical experience in at least four of the six years immediately preceding application; plumbing management experience as a field superintendent or similar across the same span; a combination of the two totalling the same measure; an accredited mechanical engineering degree paired with a shorter span of journeyman or field-engineer experience in the three preceding years; or registration as a state professional mechanical engineer paired with mechanical-contracting management experience in that shorter window. The commercial ladder recognises both the tools and the office as roads to supervision, and engineering formation as a road of its own.
For Residential Plumbing and Hydronic Heating, the ladder has a single pattern: practical experience as a journeyman in residential plumbing and hydronic heating in at least two of the four years immediately preceding application. There is no management or engineering alternative. The asymmetry is deliberate and examinable: the residential category is a craftsman’s credential, earned in houses, and commercial or managerial experience should not be assumed to transfer.
Statute frames what the examination probes: understanding plans, design specifications, and engineering terms; knowledge of mechanical installations and piping; familiarity with the plumbing and related codes in effect; and personal skill and ability. Licensure by credentials offers a parallel door: an equivalent out-of-state license, the category qualifications, and an equivalent examination can see the Alaska examination waived, with verification sent directly.
Fees, term, continuing education, and staying licensed
The department’s by-examination figures are closed and simple: a $150 nonrefundable application fee and a $200 license fee, $350 in total, due with the application and payable to the State of Alaska. The license runs on a biennial rhythm — two years, expiring December 31 of odd-numbered years regardless of issue date — and renewal carries a $200 fee. There is no inactive status. An unrenewed license lapses, and a license lapsed for more than two years can only be recovered by retaking and passing the licensing examination.
Continuing education runs with the license: eight hours per concluding licensing period, as at least one eight-hour workshop — or a department-approved equivalent — covering the code applicable to each category held. For the commercial category that means the state-adopted plumbing code; for the residential category, the plumbing code or the mechanical code in effect when the hours are completed. A licensee who passed a licensing examination on the appropriate codes during the period is excused the hours for it. Falsified evidence is grounds for discipline, and a hardship waiver exists.
What makes these examinations demanding
The Alaska administrator examinations are open book, and candidates routinely misread what that means. Open book at this tier does not soften the paper; it changes its character. With the code on the desk, the examination can ask the supervisory questions — sizing, layout, scope, the regulation behind the decision — at full working weight, across 100 questions in four hours, in two categories whose outlines only partly overlap. A tenth of each paper is Alaska’s own statutes and regulations, a body of law no generic Uniform Plumbing Code preparation carries, and the tested code is the code as Alaska amended it. The candidate who knows plumbing but not Alaska’s amendments, assignment and scope rules, and the boundary between supervising work and performing it is prepared for a different state’s examination.
What the PassProfessor program will cover
Built on the platform architecture: a code core plus an Alaska delta, for both categories. The first layer is original practice material written to the shared ground of the two outlines — general knowledge, drainage and venting, water piping, fixtures, fuel gas, and isometric analysis. The second layer is the Alaska delta, carried at full weight because the examination carries it at full weight: the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code as adopted and amended by 8 AAC 63.010, the AS 08.40 and 12 AAC 39 framework, the assignment and scope rules, and the renewal machinery. Category modules then split where the outlines split — specialty plumbing and storm drainage for the commercial candidate; fuel gas depth and hydronic heating for the residential candidate. Every item is written from scratch against primary sources.
Independence, stated plainly. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider, not affiliated with the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development or with PSI, and this program is not an Alaska course. Completing it confers no license and no exemption; the department alone licenses, and candidates apply and schedule through the department’s and PSI’s own channels.
Tell me when enrollment opens. The Alaska Mechanical Administrator — Plumbing program is in the works as our catalog continues to expand into the Alaska trades, and enrollment is not yet open. Leave an email address and PassProfessor will write to you when the program is ready — and only about this program. No date is promised, because the program will open when it meets the standard described above, not before. The full route, outlines, and study method are set out in the companion guide at /alaska-mechanical-administrator-exam-guide/.
Frequently asked questions
Does Alaska have a Master Plumber license?
No. Alaska has no credential by that name. The top examined plumbing tier is the Mechanical Administrator license in a plumbing category, and the journeyman-side credential is the Plumber Journeyman Certificate of Fitness.
What categories does this program cover?
Both plumbing categories of the Mechanical Administrator license: Unlimited Commercial and Industrial Plumbing, and Residential Plumbing and Hydronic Heating. They are covered as one program because they share a regulator, a vendor, a code, and a passing standard.
Who issues the Mechanical Administrator license?
The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, under AS 08.40 and 12 AAC 39.
Who gives the examinations, and in what form?
PSI gives the Mechanical Administrator examinations. Each category examination is 100 questions, allowed 240 minutes, and open book, with candidates bringing their own listed references.
What score passes?
A score of at least 70 percent on the category examination. Examination results remain valid for twelve months.
What code are the examinations based on?
The Uniform Plumbing Code, 2018 — the edition Alaska has adopted, as adopted and amended by 8 AAC 63.010. Candidates are tested on the code with Alaska’s amendments, not the bare model text.
What do the department’s application and license cost?
A $150 nonrefundable application fee plus a $200 license fee — $350 in total, due with the by-examination application. Renewal is $200 on the biennial cycle.
Does the administrator license let me perform plumbing work myself?
No. An administrator license authorises supervision within its category, assigned to one licensed contractor. Performing code work requires the separate Plumber Journeyman Certificate of Fitness; holding both is what covers both functions.
What experience does each category require?
The commercial category offers several routes built on four of the six preceding years of journeyman or plumbing management experience, with shorter engineering-based routes. The residential category requires journeyman experience in residential plumbing and hydronic heating in two of the four preceding years, with no management or engineering alternative. A year of experience means at least 1,500 hours within a twelve-consecutive-month period.
How often may I retake the examination?
No more than three times within a 12-month period, under 12 AAC 39.033.
What continuing education does renewal require?
Eight hours per concluding licensing period, as at least one eight-hour workshop or approved equivalent covering the code applicable to each category held — unless the licensee passed a licensing examination on the appropriate codes during that period.
Is PassProfessor affiliated with the department or with PSI?
No. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider. The department alone licenses Mechanical Administrators, and examinations are scheduled through PSI’s own channels.
When does enrollment open?
The program is in the works and enrollment is not yet open. Leave an email address on this page and PassProfessor will write to you when the program is ready — and only about this program.