Massachusetts Plumber and Gas Fitter License Renewal

At a glance

Who needs it

Anyone in business as a master plumber or master gas fitter, or working as a journeyman or apprentice plumber or gas fitter or as an undiluted liquefied petroleum gas installer or limited LP installer, must be licensed by the Board. A master or journeyman plumber may also do gas fitting work anywhere in the state

Licenses

Apprentice, journeyman and master plumber; apprentice, journeyman and master gas fitter; liquefied petroleum (LP) gas installer and limited LP installer; and the corporation or partnership certificate a master uses to run the business as a corporation or partnership

Renews every

2 years. Licenses are issued for two years and renewed every two years on or before May 1

Renewal window

Licenses can be renewed from February 1 of every even-numbered year, and the deadline is May 1 of the same year: the next is May 1, 2028

Renewal fee

Apprentice plumber or gas fitter $40; journeyman plumber or gas fitter $52; master plumber $78; master gas fitter $97; LP installer $66; limited LP installer $52; corporation or partnership $225. The fee is non-refundable

Late fee

$57 more for any renewal received after May 1

Continuing education

Every two-year cycle, with a Board-approved provider: 12 clock hours for journeyman and master plumbers, 6 clock hours for gas fitters and LP gas installers. Apprentices need none. Online or correspondence courses count only if the Board approved them

CE records

Keep your CE documentation for at least three renewal cycles and send it to the Board if it asks

New licensees

Exempt from CE for the renewal cycle in which their license was first issued. A journeyman who gets a master's license in a cycle still owes that cycle's CE

Missed CE

You take make-up classes for the hours you missed, and the Board can fine you, deny your renewal or take other disciplinary action

Renew

Online, through the Division of Occupational Licensure's eLIPSE platform with a MyMassGov account linked to your license, uploading the required documents (including a DOL CORI form) and paying there. Renewal applications mailed to the Board are returned

Renewing late

Renewed after May 1, a license is a deferred renewal: you pay the fee, any deferred renewal fee the Board asks for, and the fees that would have been payable had the license been continuously renewed. It doesn't make you a licensee for any period before it's issued

Expired 6 years or less

Finish all the CE hours you owe before applying to reinstate, and pay any back or late fees

Expired more than 6 years

Finish the CE hours for the current cycle and pass the full Board exam for your highest license before it's reinstated

Inactive license

Not working in the trade? An inactive license is renewed every two years without CE, but you can't do plumbing or gas fitting on it (except, with a permit, in your own owner-occupied single-family house). Going active again follows the rules for reinstating an expired license

Apprentices

An apprentice license isn't renewed more than ten years after it was first granted, counting from September 1, 2018 at the earliest. You may petition the Board to reinstate it for good cause

Masters

Display your license in your place of business, put your designation and license number on every sign, listing and advertisement, and register with the town (its inspector of buildings or board of health, for a fee of no more than $20) where you do business as a master

Renewals are online only. If you've never used eLIPSE, link your license to a MyMassGov account well before May 1.

How to renew

1. Renewal opens February 1 of every even-numbered year: the next deadline is May 1, 2028.
2. Take your CE with a Board-approved provider: 12 hours for a journeyman or master plumber, 6 for a gas fitter or LP installer. Keep the certificates.
3. Renew online in eLIPSE, uploading the DOL CORI form, and pay the fee on or before May 1. Mailed renewals are returned.
4. Missed May 1? Renew anyway and pay the $57 late fee and any other fees the Board asks for: a late renewal doesn't make you a licensee for the time before it's issued.

Deadline checklist

• January of an even-numbered yearCount your CE hours this cycle and book a Board-approved course if you're short: 12 hours for a journeyman or master plumber, 6 for a gas fitter or LP gas installer.
• February 1Renewal opens in eLIPSE. Finish your CE, then renew with the DOL CORI form and pay the fee.
• Early AprilNot renewed yet? Do it now, so a problem with your CORI form or CE can be sorted out before May 1.
• May 1Last day to renew without the $57 late fee.

Put this renewal in your calendar

Know your expiration date? Download a free calendar file with reminders before it, no sign-up needed. It's made in your browser: nothing you type is sent to us (your browser keeps it only if you follow the sign-up link, for your new ledger). A Google Calendar button sends just that one event to Google.

The file covers one date: once you renew, make a new one. How to add it to your calendar

Frequently asked questions