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How to become a plumber in Utah

Utah's Division of Professional Licensing licenses five plumber classifications: apprentice, journeyman, master, residential journeyman and residential master. State law requires a person in a construction trade it licenses to be licensed before engaging in that trade, unless an exemption in state law applies, and apprentice plumber and journeyman plumber are among its license classifications. A journeyman license takes 8,000 hours of licensed plumbing experience under a journeyman or master with a plumber's apprenticeship education program, or 16,000 hours without it, and the Utah Plumber Theory and Practical exams. Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Utah earned a median $61,900 a year in May 2025 ($29.76 an hour).

State license for workers

Required

a passage on the pages read says so

On-the-job hours

8,000 hours

for Journeyman Plumber, the first license on the main path that takes 2,000 or more

Published fees, first steps

$116

for Apprentice Plumber; published fees only, not a total

Median pay

$61,900

$29.76 an hour, May 2025

Plumber licensing in Utah

The licensing authority is Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL). The pages each row was read from are listed under the table, with the date each was read.

License	What it takes	Experience	Exam	Fee
Apprentice Plumber	Apply to the Division with the Verification of Supervision form completed and signed by the employer; the application-processing fee is $116, non-refundable. There is no exam for this classification. The journeyman license counts the hours worked as an apprentice under a licensed journeyman or master plumber.	—	—	$116
Journeyman Plumber	A plumber's apprenticeship education program (576 classroom hours) and 8,000 hours of licensed plumbing experience under the supervision of a licensed journeyman or master plumber, or 16,000 hours of that experience without the program. Each year of work experience must include at least 2,000 hours, and no more than 3,000 hours are credited for any 12-month period. The exam page sets testing eligibility for the journeyman exams at 7 semesters or the competency exam equivalence and 6,000 hours of plumbing experience as a licensed apprentice plumber, or 16,000 hours of that experience. Then the Utah Plumber Theory and Practical exams: the written (theory) exam can be taken remotely, and the practical exam is taken in person at an approved Utah Prov testing center; the exam fees are paid to the testing agency. The application-processing fee is $116, non-refundable.	8,000 hrs (≈ 4 yrs)	Utah Plumber Theory (written) and Practical exams	$116
Master Plumber	An associate in applied science degree and 2,000 hours of supervisory plumbing experience as a licensed journeyman plumber, or 4,000 hours of plumbing experience and 4,000 hours of supervisory plumbing experience as a licensed journeyman plumber. Then the Utah Master Plumber Law and Rule exam, passed with 75% or more, and the Utah Plumber Practical exam unless it was passed for the journeyman license. The application-processing fee is $116, non-refundable.	—	Utah Master Plumber Law and Rule exam (and the Utah Plumber Practical exam if not already passed)	$116

Reciprocity. A journeyman licensed in a state that the Division's endorsement map shows as equivalent may apply by endorsement with a verification of licensure from that state; the application asks for official verification of active licensure in good standing for at least one year. An applicant licensed in a state without an equivalent license must meet Utah's licensing requirements.

Renewal. Due November 30 of even-numbered years, with 12 hours of continuing education.

Years to this license at your hours a week → · Every fee here, itemised and totalled → · Compare time and cost across trades and states →

Common questions

Do you need a license to work as a plumber in Utah?

What does it cost to get licensed as a plumber in Utah?

Each of the 3 published fees in the table above is $116, one for each step that lists it. Read each tier's requirements for any exam or license-issue fee charged on top.

How long does it take to become a plumber in Utah?

You can be licensed as Journeyman Plumber after 8,000 hours of on-the-job training. The time-to-journeyman calculator turns the hours into years at your own hours a week.

How much do plumbers make in Utah?

Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Utah earned a median $61,900 a year in May 2025, $29.76 an hour. That median is 3% below the national figure of $63,800, and Utah ranks 34 of 51 by pay for this trade.

How much do apprentice plumbers make in Utah?

In fiscal 2023 (October 2022 to September 2023), among registered apprentices in Utah under the occupation titles the U.S. Department of Labor maps to plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, 313 apprentices started, at a median $22.25 an hour across the 313 whose starting wage DOL counts. Those who completed that year were paid a median $34.38 an hour at completion (87 completers with an exit wage DOL counts). Wages are in that year's dollars.

What plumbers earn in Utah

Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Utah earned a median $61,900 a year in May 2025, $29.76 an hour. 7,030 people held the job, 4.0 for every 1,000 jobs in the state. That median is 3% below the national figure of $63,800, and Utah ranks 34 of 51 by pay for this trade.

Median annual

$61,900

$29.76 an hour

Rank by pay

#34

of 51 with a published median

Employed in UT

7,030

4.0 per 1,000 jobs

Location quotient

1.35

1.00 = national concentration

The full wage spread in Utah

Point	Hourly	Annual	Meaning
10th percentile	$21.09	$43,860	A tenth of the workforce earns less than this.
25th percentile	$23.62	$49,120	A quarter earn less.
Median	$29.76	$61,900	Half earn less, half earn more.
75th percentile	$37.23	$77,440	A quarter earn more.
90th percentile	$39.96	$83,120	A tenth earn more than this.
Mean	$30.87	$64,210	The average. Pulled up by the top earners.

Annual figures are the hourly rate times 2,080 hours, BLS's full-time year. Overtime is inside the survey's earnings but not separated out.

Pay by metro area in Utah

Salt Lake City-Murray, UT employs the most plumbers of the 5 metro areas based in Utah that BLS publishes, 3,190, at a median $64,800 a year. The best-paid is Ogden, UT at $64,860.

Metro	Employed	Median annual	10th pct	90th pct
Salt Lake City-Murray, UT	3,190	$64,800	$47,870	$88,310
Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT	1,450	$57,130	$40,540	$78,420
Ogden, UT	1,310	$64,860	$40,540	$83,370
St. George, UT	370	$56,730	$38,040	$75,840
Logan, UT-ID	170	$60,390	$38,790	$76,530

Metropolitan statistical areas as BLS publishes them in the same May 2025 estimates. A metro that crosses a state line is listed only under its primary state, so part of a neighboring state's metro can sit outside this table. Areas outside any metro are not shown.

Utah against its neighbors on the pay ladder

#	State	Median annual	Employed
31	Wyoming	$62,410	1,140
32	Vermont	$62,170	980
33	Arizona	$62,070	11,810
34	Utah	$61,900	7,030
35	Nevada	$61,610	5,370
36	New Mexico	$61,440	2,830
37	Nebraska	$60,970	4,110

The complete ranking is on the Plumbers and pipefitters page.

Against the national figure

Figure	Utah	United States
Median annual	$61,900	$63,800
Median hourly	$29.76	$30.67
10th percentile, annual	$43,860	$44,150
90th percentile, annual	$83,120	$108,420
Employed	7,030	465,840

Apprenticeships in Utah

U.S. Department of Labor records list 664 registered apprentices active in Utah in fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024) under the occupation titles DOL maps to plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (SOC 47-2152). The file's fiscal 2024 records largely stop after February 2024. In fiscal 2023, the latest year the file holds in full, 313 apprentices started, at a median $22.25 an hour across the 313 whose starting wage DOL counts. Those who completed that year were paid a median $34.38 an hour at completion (87 completers with an exit wage DOL counts).

Find a registered program: DOL's Apprenticeship Finder → · What those wages come to at your hours a week → · Every state's count and wages for this trade →

Wages are DOL's own hourly figures in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Which wages DOL counts, which titles count and how the state is assigned are on the data page.

Other trades in Utah

Electricians ($62,000) · HVAC technicians ($58,730) · Welders ($58,380) · Truck drivers (CDL) ($60,620) · Lineworkers (power-line installers) ($101,220) · Elevator installers ($81,060) · Ironworkers ($58,250) · Sheet metal workers ($63,140) · Carpenters ($52,360) · Brickmasons and blockmasons ($60,450) · Auto service technicians ($46,570) · Diesel mechanics ($64,350) · Heavy equipment operators ($60,740) · Machinists ($61,280)

See all 15 ranked by pay in Utah.

The pay and employment figures on this page are the May 2025 BLS estimates, apart from the apprenticeship figures, which are DOL's; the licensing detail is read from the pages listed in the licensing section, each with the date it was read. See how the numbers are built.