The Louisiana Master Plumber license is, through December 31, 2026, issued by the State Plumbing Board of Louisiana under R.S. 37:1361–1380 and LAC 46 Part LV. The master examination is a standardized, nationally recognized test adopted by the Board and given by board-appointed examiners. On January 1, 2027, under Act 908 of 2026, the State Plumbing Board is abolished and licensing passes to the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, acting through a Plumbing Contractors Subcommittee. The PassProfessor Louisiana Master Plumber program prepares candidates for the master examination and for both dated regimes around it, kept separate. The companion guide is at /louisiana-master-plumber-exam-guide/.
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What this credential certifies
A Louisiana Master Plumber stands at the top of the state’s examined plumbing ladder: the plumber who can plan and lay out plumbing systems, comprehend, interpret and apply the state sanitary code, and understand the business and legal terms that govern contracting for plumbing work. Those abilities are the eligibility frame the Board’s rules state for the master examination itself, and they describe what separates the master sitting from the journeyman sitting below it.
The ladder matters in a way candidates sometimes miss. A master plumber may not perform journeyman work unless the master currently holds, or has previously held, a board journeyman license — the master license is built on top of the journeyman credential, not a substitute for it. A master must also designate one employing entity and notify the Board of employment changes within thirty days under the rule. And no local authority may require any other master license: the state license is the master license, statewide.
The wider family also includes the Residential Plumber Limited class, natural gas fitter classes, medical gas credentials and a water supply protection specialist endorsement; the apprentice tier is registration only, and there is no current “Tradesman” license class. This program is about the Master Plumber.
The examination at a glance
| Item | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Program | Louisiana Master Plumber |
| Regulator through December 31, 2026 | State Plumbing Board of Louisiana, under R.S. 37:1361–1380 (Chapter 16) and LAC 46 Part LV |
| Regulator from January 1, 2027 | Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, acting through an 11-member Plumbing Contractors Subcommittee, under Act 908 of 2026 (HB 953) |
| Examination administrator | Board-administered: examinations are given by board-appointed examiners, with at least one Board member present, at the Board’s offices in Baton Rouge and Shreveport; applications and scheduling run through the Board’s own online portal |
| Examination character | A written examination: the master examination is, by statute, a standardized, nationally recognized test adopted by the Board. No test provider is named in any primary source, and none is named here |
| Sittings | Master examinations are held in conjunction with the journeyman examinations; regular examinations are quarterly, on the first Saturday of January, April, July and October in Baton Rouge; specially set days and special examinations on request are also provided for |
| Application timing | Application and documents filed at least 30 days before a scheduled examination |
| Tested code edition | UNVERIFIED — no Board primary source states the code edition the master examination is keyed to, and this page states none. See the code section below |
| Passing score, question counts, durations | Not published in the primary sources for this examination, and none is stated anywhere in this package |
| Rule-layer fees (pre-2027 regime only) | Master examination $100; initial license $180; renewal $180; inactive fee $30 — LAC 46:LV §312 rule figures; see the fees section for the full rule schedule and its limits |
| Continuing professional development | 5 hours for master renewal under the current rule layer — see the renewal section |
| Administrator note | PassProfessor is independent and is not affiliated with the State Plumbing Board of Louisiana or the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors |
Board-administered means the Board itself
Louisiana does not hand its plumbing examinations to an outside testing company in the way many states do. Examinations are given by examiners the Board appoints, with at least one Board member present, at the Board’s own offices in Baton Rouge and Shreveport, and candidates apply and schedule through the Board’s own online portal. For the master examination, the statute adds one requirement: the master examination shall be a standardized, nationally recognized test adopted by the Board. The Board adopts the test; the Board’s examiners give it.
No primary source names the test, its publisher, or any private provider, and this program names none — a rule option allows an appointed examiner to be a representative of a private professional service provider, also unnamed. A confident provider name in commercial material is a claim the Board’s own published record does not make.
The sitting rhythm is published: master examinations are held in conjunction with the journeyman examinations, regular examinations fall quarterly on the first Saturday of January, April, July and October in Baton Rouge, and special examinations are available on request for a board-set fee stated below. Applications are filed at least thirty days before a scheduled examination. An applicant who fails to report forfeits the fee, reversible for good cause.
The code question, answered honestly: adopted is verified, tested is not
Two different questions are routinely collapsed into one: what code governs plumbing work in Louisiana, and what code edition is the master examination keyed to? Only the first has a verified answer.
The adopted layer is clear. In force now, Louisiana’s plumbing provisions sit in the Louisiana Uniform Construction Code: the 2021 International Plumbing Code with Louisiana amendments, at LAC 17:I-111. There is no standalone Louisiana State Plumbing Code in force — the old code at LAC 51:XIV was voided effective January 1, 2016. The adopted layer is scheduled to move: the 2024 International Plumbing Code with Louisiana amendments takes effect January 1, 2027.
The tested layer is unverified — for the master examination exactly as for the journeyman examination. No Board primary source states the examination reference list or the code edition the written examinations are keyed to, and secondary lists conflict with each other. This page therefore states no tested edition. Adopted-code facts are stated as adopted-code facts — what governs the work — never dressed up as tested-edition claims. Candidates should confirm the current examination position with the Board directly before relying on any edition claim from any source.
Two regimes, two dates: the 2027 change is a separate layer
On June 12, 2026, Act 908 (HB 953) was signed. Its plumbing sections take effect January 1, 2027, and they are structural: the State Plumbing Board is abolished, Chapter 16 is repealed in its entirety, and the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors succeeds the plumbing board “in every way,” acting through a new eleven-member Plumbing Contractors Subcommittee whose powers are subject to the licensing board’s approval. The plumbing board relocated on September 1, 2026 to the contractors board address at 600 North Street, Baton Rouge, and continues its business through December 31, 2026.
This page keeps the layers apart. The current regime — Board administration, rule fees, eligibility, continuing education — is in force through the end of 2026. The 2027 regime has its own stated pieces: existing apprentice, journeyman and master licensees on or before December 31, 2026 hold the equivalent license from the contractors board on January 1, 2027, with no re-examination imposed on those three classes; the new contractor major classification is “Master Plumbing”; and master-plumbing-contractor qualifying-party status is available only through a licensed master plumber. Act 908 says nothing about code edition, exam content, references, passing scores or plumber exam fees, and no primary source says the tested edition changes at the takeover. Post-2027 operating detail awaits the successor’s own rulemaking, and none of it is invented here.
Who may sit: the eligibility rule
Under the current rule, LAC §306, the master examination is open to a holder of a current Louisiana journeyman plumber license — or, on the statute’s alternative route, a Louisiana-licensed professional engineer with five years of experience in the art of plumbing. The rule also states the abilities the examination exists to verify: applying the sanitary code, planning and laying out systems, and understanding business and legal terms.
The paperwork has its own discipline: a 2″×2″ photograph, an application filed at least thirty days before the examination, sworn before a notary. One post-examination rule deserves attention before the sitting: a passer who fails to pay the license fee within ninety days of notice of the results is not issued the license unless re-examined and the fees paid, waivable for good cause. Passing starts a ninety-day clock.
From January 1, 2027, the act states a different ladder: a journeyman built on 2,500 verified apprentice hours plus a written exam and what the act calls “practical administration,” and a master built on a licensed journeyman plus 1,000 verified journeyman hours plus a written examination. Those figures belong to the post-2027 layer only; no numeric apprentice supervision ratio exists before it, while the post-2027 layer provides that a journeyman supervises no more than three apprentices.
Fees, stated at the layer they belong to
Louisiana publishes its master fees in the rule at LAC 46:LV §312, and the figures here are those rule figures for the pre-2027 regime, stated as rule figures because that is the layer that supports them: examination $100; special examinations $500; initial license $180; renewal $180; inactive fee $30. The same rule layer carries conversion from inactive to active at $150, employing-entity redesignation at $150, revival at $60 — $120 after March 31 — and a withdrawal charge of fifty percent of the examination fee. All licenses expire December 31 annually, and a lapsed master license may be revived in lieu of re-examination at $250 per year for up to four consecutive years under LAC §310.
Two cautions travel with those numbers. They are the rule layer — verify the amount in the Board’s portal when applying — and they are pre-2027 figures only. Act 908 sets no plumber fee schedule (its only fee figures are a non-domiciled surcharge of up to $400 and an exception for plumbing contractors from a $100-per-year renewal dedication fee), so post-2027 fees await the successor’s rulemaking.
Staying licensed: renewal and continuing professional development
Under the current rule layer, LAC 46:LV Chapter 10, a master plumber renews on five hours of Board-approved continuing professional development taken in the prior calendar year, in a stated composition: one hour of health, consumer and environmental protection; half an hour of plumbing law and rules; two hours of industry practices and codes; and one and a half hours of business topics. The format is five hours in one day, or two sessions totaling five hours within thirty days, and the Board is the exclusive distributor of the course materials. The same hours are required for an inactive-to-active conversion. An inactive master renewing as inactive is exempt on an affidavit of inactivity; an inactive master functioning as a journeyman owes three and a half hours; a dual holder with a gas fitter credential owes six hours. After 2027 the subcommittee may prescribe continuing education regulations; no post-2027 hours are established.
What this examination does and does not publish
Honest preparation starts where the published record ends. The record publishes no passing score — no primary source states any numeric passing score for any Louisiana plumbing exam or part — and no question counts, durations, content outlines or topic weights; none appears here. Whether the current master examination includes any manual component beyond its written, board-adopted test is not established, and this page claims neither that it does nor that it does not. The rule’s one materials sentence, at LAC §314, allows board approved resource or industry code materials — with no list attached. Retake limits and part-banking are likewise unstated, beyond the ninety-day rule above.
What the PassProfessor program will cover
The Louisiana master delta, built in layers. The program is built around the structure this page describes: the journeyman-first ladder and the abilities the master rule names — sanitary code application, planning and laying out systems, and business and legal terms; the adopted code as it governs Louisiana work, in its current 2021 edition with Louisiana amendments and its scheduled 2024 successor, taught without false claims about the tested edition; the Board’s administration; the rule-layer fee and renewal structure; and the Act 908 transition, date-stamped. Every item is written from scratch against primary sources.
Independence, stated plainly. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider, not affiliated with the State Plumbing Board of Louisiana or the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors. Completing this program confers no license; the Board — and from 2027, its successor — alone licenses.
Tell me when enrollment opens. The Louisiana Master Plumber 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.
Frequently asked questions
Who issues the Louisiana Master Plumber license?
Through December 31, 2026, the State Plumbing Board of Louisiana. From January 1, 2027, under Act 908 of 2026, licensing passes to the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, acting through a Plumbing Contractors Subcommittee.
Who gives the master examination?
The Board does, through board-appointed examiners with at least one Board member present, at its offices in Baton Rouge and Shreveport. No provider is named in any primary source.
What code edition does the master examination test?
That is unverified, so this page states no tested edition. The adopted code governing Louisiana work is the 2021 International Plumbing Code with Louisiana amendments, with the 2024 edition and amendments taking effect January 1, 2027.
What score passes the Louisiana master examination?
No primary source publishes a numeric passing score for any Louisiana plumbing examination, and this page states none.
How many questions are on the examination, and how long does it take?
Neither figure is published in the primary sources, and neither is stated here.
Who is eligible to sit for the master examination?
Under the current rule, a holder of a current Louisiana journeyman plumber license, or a Louisiana-licensed professional engineer with five years of experience in the art of plumbing.
When are master examinations held?
In conjunction with the journeyman examinations — quarterly, on the first Saturday of January, April, July and October in Baton Rouge, with applications filed at least thirty days beforehand.
What are the master fees?
At the rule layer for the pre-2027 regime: examination $100, initial license $180, renewal $180, inactive fee $30. Post-2027 fees await the successor board’s rulemaking.
What continuing education does a master plumber owe?
Under the current rule, five hours of Board-approved continuing professional development in the prior calendar year, in the rule’s stated composition.
What happens to my license on January 1, 2027?
A master licensee on or before December 31, 2026 holds the equivalent license from the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors on January 1, 2027, with no re-examination imposed on that class.
Is PassProfessor affiliated with the Board?
No. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider. The Board, and from 2027 its successor, alone license plumbers and administer the examinations.
When does enrollment open?
The program is in the works; enrollment is not yet open. Leave an email address and PassProfessor will write when the program is ready — and only about this program.