The essentials
- Licensing authorityDelaware Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners, Division of Professional Regulation — official site
- Statewide?Yes — Delaware licenses at the state level
- Experience requiredWith a Journeyman Certificate from a federally approved apprenticeship program: proof of at least 2 years of work experience under a master licensee after receiving the certificate. Without a journeyman certificate: proof of at least 7 years of work experience under the supervision of a master licensee
- ExamProV Exam (ProV) administers all required licensure examinations for the Plumbing and HVACR trade; Associated Builders and Contractors Delaware (ABC Delaware) administers the 'Apprenticeship-Bypass' examination. Passing score is 70%. Board permission to sit for the exam is required
- Renewal & CEBiennial — plumbing/HVACR licenses expire October 31 of even-numbered years; renewal requires submission of proof of continuing education completion. Verify current CE hours with the board
- Bond / insuranceNot published in a form we could verify — confirm with the board
- ReciprocityNone we could confirm
License classes in Delaware
Delaware issues the following classes. Getting the class right matters — several states have residential-only or limited-scope licenses that will not cover commercial or multifamily work:
- Master Plumber — the state-issued plumbing license; may contract and supervise
- Master HVACR — full HVACR license
- Master HVACR Restricted — limited-scope HVACR license
- Journeyperson — recognized via a Journeyman Certificate issued by a federally approved apprenticeship program (e.g. Delaware DOL), not a board license
- Temporary Plumber/HVACR license — short-term authorization
Experience and training
With a Journeyman Certificate from a federally approved apprenticeship program: proof of at least 2 years of work experience under a master licensee after receiving the certificate. Without a journeyman certificate: proof of at least 7 years of work experience under the supervision of a master licensee
One thing worth knowing regardless of state: the hours only count if they were logged properly at the time. Several boards require you to register as an apprentice before the clock starts, and hours worked while unregistered are simply gone. If you are early in the trade, get the registration paperwork right now rather than reconstructing it four years later.
The exam
ProV Exam (ProV) administers all required licensure examinations for the Plumbing and HVACR trade; Associated Builders and Contractors Delaware (ABC Delaware) administers the 'Apprenticeship-Bypass' examination. Passing score is 70%. Board permission to sit for the exam is required
Renewal and continuing education
Biennial — plumbing/HVACR licenses expire October 31 of even-numbered years; renewal requires submission of proof of continuing education completion. Verify current CE hours with the board
Letting a license lapse is more expensive than it looks. Some states allow a short grace period with a penalty fee; others treat a lapsed license as forfeited and make you retest from scratch. Put the renewal date in your calendar with a 90-day warning, not a 7-day one.
Insurance and bonding
We could not verify a published state bond or insurance minimum for Delaware. That does not mean you should work uninsured — local permit offices, general contractors and property managers routinely require a certificate regardless of what the state demands.
Separately from whatever the state requires: Pipe Well requires every plumber on the network to carry current general liability insurance and to upload the certificate before the first appointment is sent.
Working across state lines
We could not confirm any published reciprocity agreement for Delaware. That does not always mean there is none — several states evaluate out-of-state licenses case by case, or let you sit for the exam on the strength of a license held elsewhere. If you are relocating, call the board and ask specifically about endorsement or credential review rather than assuming you start over.
What plumbers actually get wrong here
Delaware licenses plumbers only at the master level — there is no separate state journeyperson plumber license, so journey-level status comes from a DOL-approved apprenticeship certificate rather than the board. The board also grants licensure by reciprocity/endorsement to applicants currently licensed in good standing in a jurisdiction with substantially similar standards, but publishes no fixed list of states.
Once you are licensed: getting the work
A license gets you legal. It does not get you a full schedule. The usual next step is buying leads — $40 to $85 for a contact that three or four other shops bought at the same moment, which at a realistic 10–20% close rate works out to somewhere between $300 and $1,000 for every job you actually book, plus the unpaid hours spent chasing the ones that go nowhere.
Pipe Well works the other way round. We book appointments, not leads, and we handle everything up to the moment you knock on the door: the advertising, the phone call, qualifying the job, getting the address and access details, and agreeing a date and time window with the homeowner. What reaches your phone is a scheduled appointment — name, address, time window and what is wrong. You reply YES and it is yours.
What it costs
Nothing to join. No subscription, no per-lead charge. You do the job, you set your own price, and you collect payment from the customer directly. Then Pipe Well is paid 50% of the job after your documented materials come off the top:
(amount collected − documented materials) × 50%
| Collected | Materials | Net | Pipe Well | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $400 | $40 | $360 | $180 | $220 |
| $1,200 | $520 | $680 | $340 | $860 |
| $2,800 | $800 | $2,000 | $1,000 | $1,800 |
| $8,500 | $3,200 | $5,300 | $2,650 | $5,850 |
Due within 48 hours of the customer paying you. If they never pay, you owe nothing. And look honestly at that last row — on a big repipe our share is a large number. If your book is already full of $8,500 jobs you are better off filling that capacity yourself. We are worth most to a shop with open capacity it cannot currently fill.
Apply free → Run your own numbersQuestions plumbers ask about licensing in Delaware
Do you need a license to do plumbing work in Delaware?
Yes. Delaware Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners, Division of Professional Regulation is the licensing authority for Delaware. Delaware licenses plumbers only at the master level — there is no separate state journeyperson plumber license, so journey-level status comes from a DOL-approved apprenticeship certificate rather than the board. The board also grants licensure by reciprocity/endorsement to applicants currently licensed in good standing in a jurisdiction with substantially similar standards, but publishes no fixed list of states.
Who issues the plumbing license in Delaware?
Delaware Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners, Division of Professional Regulation. The official site is https://dpr.delaware.gov/boards/plumbers/.
What license classes exist in Delaware?
Master Plumber — the state-issued plumbing license; may contract and supervise. Master HVACR — full HVACR license. Master HVACR Restricted — limited-scope HVACR license. Journeyperson — recognized via a Journeyman Certificate issued by a federally approved apprenticeship program (e.g. Delaware DOL), not a board license. Temporary Plumber/HVACR license — short-term authorization.
How many hours of experience do you need for a Delaware plumbing license?
With a Journeyman Certificate from a federally approved apprenticeship program: proof of at least 2 years of work experience under a master licensee after receiving the certificate. Without a journeyman certificate: proof of at least 7 years of work experience under the supervision of a master licensee
Who administers the Delaware plumbing exam?
ProV Exam (ProV) administers all required licensure examinations for the Plumbing and HVACR trade; Associated Builders and Contractors Delaware (ABC Delaware) administers the 'Apprenticeship-Bypass' examination. Passing score is 70%. Board permission to sit for the exam is required
How often does a Delaware plumbing license renew?
Biennial — plumbing/HVACR licenses expire October 31 of even-numbered years; renewal requires submission of proof of continuing education completion. Verify current CE hours with the board
Can I get booked plumbing appointments in Delaware once I am licensed?
Yes. Pipe Well Plumbing books customer appointments in Delaware and texts them to licensed plumbers whose service radius covers the address. Joining is free — no subscription and no per-lead fee. Pipe Well is paid 50% of the job after your documented material costs are deducted, and only after the customer has paid you.
Booked appointments in Delaware
Set your ZIP and a service radius of at least 30 miles and we will match appointments inside it. Free to join.
Join Free → Plumbing jobs in DelawarePlumbing license requirements in other states
Compiled from Delaware Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Examiners, Division of Professional Regulation published materials, last reviewed July 2026. Where a figure could not be verified against a primary source we have said so rather than estimate it. Spotted something out of date? Email info@pipewellplumbing.com and we will correct it.