Florida certification for plumbing work runs through one statewide credential: the Certified Plumbing Contractor, known by the letters CFC, issued under the Construction Industry Licensing Board within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Its trade examination — Plumbing General Trade Knowledge — is scored out of 160 points, and passing takes 112 of 160 points (70%). The PassProfessor Florida Certified Plumbing Contractor (CFC) program prepares candidates for the written portion of that examination and for the Florida code edition it is built on.
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What this credential certifies
A Certified Plumbing Contractor holds a state certificate of competency and may contract for plumbing work in any jurisdiction in Florida without satisfying that jurisdiction’s own competency requirements. The scope is unlimited within the plumbing trade. That statewide reach separates certification from Florida’s other route: a registered plumbing contractor — the RF credential — is registered under a local government’s competency requirements, on a local competency examination rather than the state examination, and may contract only where that registration stands. The two routes are not versions of each other, and preparation for the state examination should never be blended with the local route. Florida also has no statewide journeyman credential; journeyman certificates here are county and city instruments. The CFC is the statewide plumbing credential this program addresses.
The statutory home of the system is Chapter 489, Part I, of the Florida Statutes, administered by the Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB) under the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Registration for the trade examination and its scoring run through Professional Testing, Inc. (PTI), the firm DBPR has contracted with to register candidates and to develop and score Construction Industry Licensing Board examinations. Candidates apply through floridaexam.com.
The examination at a glance
| Item | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Program | Florida Certified Plumbing Contractor (CFC): the Plumbing General Trade Knowledge examination, plus a separate Business and Finance examination required for certification |
| Regulator | Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB), Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), under Chapter 489, Part I, Florida Statutes |
| Examination vendor | Professional Testing, Inc. (PTI) for the trade examination; the separate Business and Finance examination is delivered through Pearson VUE |
| Examination format | One day, Orlando only, paper-and-pencil; morning session for isometric drawings, afternoon session for multiple-choice questions |
| Score composition | 160 points in total: 110 multiple-choice questions at one point each, plus 5 isometric drawings worth up to 10 points each — 50 points, which is 31.25% of the total |
| Passing standard | 112 of 160 points (70%) |
| Code edition tested | 2023 Florida Building Code — Plumbing (2021 International Plumbing Code base); the tested edition and the adopted edition are the same edition |
| Book status | Open book, restricted to the DBPR Examination Reference List, under the conditions described below |
| Administrator note | PassProfessor is independent and is not affiliated with the Construction Industry Licensing Board or the Department of Business and Professional Regulation |
A candid disclosure about the isometric drawings
This examination is not a written examination alone, and candidates deserve that fact stated before anything else. The morning session is given to five isometric drawings, and those drawings carry 50 of the examination’s 160 points — 31.25% of the entire score. Because the multiple-choice portion can contribute at most 110 points and passing takes 112 of 160 points (70%), it is mathematically impossible to pass this examination with zero isometric points, however strong the afternoon performance is. Drawings are not a garnish on this sitting; they are nearly a third of it.
PassProfessor states the boundary of this program plainly: a written practice program covers the written portion of the examination. It cannot rehearse the hand that draws, it cannot sit the morning session for the candidate, and nothing in this program should be read as a promise of full-examination coverage. What written preparation can do — thoroughly — is build the code knowledge, the sizing and venting reasoning, and the system understanding that a candidate then has to express on paper in the morning. Candidates should plan separate, deliberate drawing practice alongside this program. The companion guide at /florida-master-plumber-exam-guide/ sets out how the drawing session is graded and how to think about dividing preparation between the two sessions.
The sitting itself: one day, Orlando, two sessions
The examination is offered on Wednesdays in February, April, June, August, October, and December, in Orlando only, with the scheduling deadline 30 days before the date. It is administered on paper — the exception among Florida construction examinations, most of which are computer-based. The morning session runs four and a half hours for the isometric drawings (report 7:00 AM); the afternoon session runs four and a half hours for the multiple-choice questions (report 1:00 PM).
The multiple-choice questions offer four alternatives each, at one point apiece; basic mathematics is required, and there is no penalty for guessing. Unscored pilot questions may be included without being identified, with extra time given for them. Permitted materials are restricted to a scale ruler, a non-printing, silent, handheld calculator without an alpha keyboard or memory cards, No. 2 pencils, and one word-for-word translation dictionary.
Open book, on Florida’s terms
Open book here means open to a list. Only references on the DBPR Examination Reference List may be brought in, one copy of each, as published. Underlining and highlighters are allowed, and permanently attached tabs are allowed; removable tabs are rejected. No handwritten or typewritten notes may appear in the books — handwriting already in a book must be blackened out before the sitting — and marking in a reference book during the examination is treated as a felony under Florida law. Books may not be shared or exchanged. Preparing a compliant set of books is part of preparing for this examination.
What the trade examination covers
The published content areas, with their weights, describe a systems examination. Drainage systems carry 20%. Water distribution systems carry 20%. Natural gas piping systems carry 15%. Industrial piping systems, including sewage disposal and on-site treatment and disposal content, carry 10%. Swimming pools, wells, and irrigation carry 5%. Solar systems carry 5%. Fire protection systems carry 5%. Each area weight carries a tolerance of plus or minus three percent. The published areas are all technical systems; the bulletin publishes no separate law domain for this examination, and this program claims none.
Medical gas sits inside this credential as follows: medical gas systems are within the Certified Plumbing Contractor’s scope, medical gas piping systems carry 20% of the trade examination, and a plumbing contractor performing medical gas work must, at least once while licensed, complete a board-approved course of at least six hours on the current national medical gas standard and brazing.
The code edition: tested and adopted are the same book
Florida candidates prepare to one edition. The Florida Building Code is the statewide code and supersedes other state and local building codes. The 8th Edition (2023) of the Florida Building Code — Plumbing, built on the 2021 International Plumbing Code as its base, took effect on December 31, 2023, and it is the edition the examination tests. Tested and adopted are the same edition: the book a candidate studies is the book in force on Florida job sites. Preparation drawn from a bare national plumbing code, without the Florida amendments that make the state book its own document, is preparation for a different examination. The reference list for this cycle is built around the 2023 Florida books, together with the fuel gas volume, the national medical gas standard chapters the list specifies, state on-site sewage rules, standard trade mathematics and handbook references, a solar thermal manual, and the federal construction safety rules.
The second examination certification requires
Passing the trade examination is not, by itself, certification. Florida certification also requires the Business and Finance examination — a separate computer-based examination delivered through Pearson VUE, with 120 questions, six and a half hours, and a 70% passing standard. It is a distinct sitting, with its own registration, in a different subject family from the trade knowledge examined in Orlando. This program covers the trade examination and states the Business and Finance requirement because a route to certification needs the whole map; it builds no business and finance material from the trade record. After both examinations are passed, certification requires the further steps the Board prescribes, including proof of insurance, a financial statement and credit report, and business-organization and qualifying-agent information.
Who may sit: the eligibility routes
An applicant for certification must be at least 18 years old and of good moral character, and must qualify through one of the routes Chapter 489 sets out. The education route pairs a baccalaureate degree in engineering, architecture, or building construction with one year of proven experience; Florida counts 2,000 person-hours as one full-time year. The experience route requires at least four years of active experience as a skilled worker or foreman, with at least one of those years as a foreman. Combination routes sit between them: one year as a foreman with three years of college credits; one year as a worker, one year as a foreman, and two years of credits; or two years as a worker, one year as a foreman, and one year of credits. One exemption is worth naming precisely because it is partial: a graduate holding a baccalaureate in building construction with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher is exempt from the trade portion of the examination only — the Business and Finance examination is still required. A certificate of competency is not transferable. Certification by endorsement is available through a substantially equivalent out-of-state examination, reciprocity, or ten years of out-of-state licensure.
Financial responsibility is part of initial issuance. Applicants file proof covering workers’ compensation, public liability, and property damage insurance in the amounts the Board sets, together with a credit report. Under Board rule, a credit score of 660 or higher establishes financial stability; below that mark, a 14-hour board-approved financial responsibility course may substitute. Initial applicants also undergo a statewide criminal-history check and submit fingerprints for national processing.
Time, retakes, and staying certified
Candidates have four years from the first sitting to pass all portions, with unlimited retakes inside that window, and a passing grade remains valid for four years from Board approval of the successful-candidate list. Certification is renewed every two years, requiring at least 14 classroom hours of continuing education per cycle — each hour at least 50 minutes — including one hour of laws and rules, the Board-required portions on workers’ compensation, business practices, and workplace safety, and advanced-module hours in the Florida Building Code for the contractor’s discipline.
What the PassProfessor program will cover
The written portion, prepared as Florida examines it. The program is built on the 2023 Florida Building Code — Plumbing and the examination’s published content areas: drainage, water distribution, natural gas piping, industrial piping, pools and wells and irrigation, solar, and fire protection systems, weighted as the Board weights them. Material is written from scratch against the Florida sources; nothing is drawn from another provider’s items.
The points structure as a study discipline. Because this examination is scored in points, the program teaches candidates to think in its own arithmetic: 160 points, 110 in the afternoon, 50 in the morning, 112 to pass. That arithmetic shapes pacing, how much drawing practice a serious candidate schedules outside this program, and an honest account of readiness.
Independence, stated plainly. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider, not affiliated with the Construction Industry Licensing Board or the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and this program is not a Florida course. Completing it confers no certification and no exemption; the Board alone certifies, and candidates register for examinations through PTI’s channels.
Tell me when enrollment opens. The Florida Certified Plumbing Contractor (CFC) program is in the works 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. The full examination guide, with the session-by-session account, the grading of the drawings, and a study plan built around the two sessions, is at /florida-master-plumber-exam-guide/.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Florida plumbing credential called?
Certified Plumbing Contractor, abbreviated CFC. It is the statewide credential issued under the Construction Industry Licensing Board, and a certificate holder may contract in any Florida jurisdiction.
How is the Plumbing General Trade Knowledge examination scored?
Out of 160 points: 110 multiple-choice questions at one point each, plus five isometric drawings worth up to ten points each, for 50 points — 31.25% of the total. Passing takes 112 of 160 points (70%).
Can a candidate pass on the multiple-choice questions alone?
No. The multiple-choice portion can contribute at most 110 points, and passing takes 112 of 160 points (70%). It is mathematically impossible to pass with zero isometric points.
Where and when is the examination given?
In Orlando only, on paper, on Wednesdays in February, April, June, August, October, and December. The isometric drawings session is in the morning, with a 7:00 AM report time; the multiple-choice session is in the afternoon.
Who administers the trade examination?
Professional Testing, Inc. (PTI) registers candidates and develops and scores Construction Industry Licensing Board examinations under contract with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Candidates apply through floridaexam.com.
Which code edition does the examination test?
The 2023 Florida Building Code — Plumbing, built on the 2021 International Plumbing Code. The tested edition and the adopted statewide edition are the same edition.
Is the examination open book?
Yes, on a restricted basis: only references on the DBPR Examination Reference List, one copy of each, as published, with underlining, highlighting, and permanently attached tabs allowed. No notes may appear in the books, and marking in a reference book during the examination is treated as a felony.
Does this program cover the whole examination?
No, and the program says so directly. A written practice program covers the written portion. The five isometric drawings — 50 of 160 points — require drawing practice that a written program cannot rehearse, and no full-examination coverage is promised.
What other examination does certification require?
The Business and Finance examination: a separate computer-based examination through Pearson VUE, with 120 questions, six and a half hours, and a 70% passing standard. Both examinations must be passed for certification.
How long do passing scores remain valid?
Four years. Candidates have four years from the first sitting to pass all portions, with unlimited retakes in that window.
What does renewal require?
Certification renews every two years and requires at least 14 classroom hours of continuing education per cycle, including one hour of laws and rules and the Board-required subject portions.
Is PassProfessor affiliated with the Board?
No. PassProfessor is independent and is not affiliated with the Construction Industry Licensing Board or the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The Board alone certifies contractors.
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.