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Step 1: Verify the State License
Every state regulates plumbing licensing through a contractor licensing board, plumbing examining board, or department of professional regulation. License lookup is free and takes 30 seconds. The plumber's license number should be on their website footer, their truck, their business card, and every quote they send. If you cannot find it, that is the first red flag.
What to verify in the lookup:
- License is active, not expired or suspended
- Tier matches the job: master plumber for water heater, repipe, gas, or sewer; journeyman acceptable for most service work; apprentice never works alone
- Disciplinary history: any complaints, fines, or license suspensions in the past 5 years
- Business name matches: the license should be issued to the company you are hiring, not just an individual
- Issue date: a license issued in the past 12 months is fine, but it means the company is new and you should weight reviews more heavily
Free license lookups for top 10 states by plumbing volume:
| State | License Database | License Authority |
|---|---|---|
| California | cslb.ca.gov | Contractors State License Board (C-36) |
| Texas | tsbpe.texas.gov | State Board of Plumbing Examiners |
| Florida | myfloridalicense.com | DBPR Construction Industry |
| New York | NYC: nyc.gov/dob; state varies by city | Local DOB or county license |
| Pennsylvania | hicsearch.attorneygeneral.gov | HIC Registration (state) + city license |
| Illinois | idfpr.illinois.gov | IDFPR Plumbing License |
| Ohio | com.ohio.gov | Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board |
| Georgia | sos.ga.gov/PLB | State Construction Industry Licensing |
| North Carolina | nclicensing.org | State Board of Plumbing Examiners |
| Michigan | aca.accela.com/MILARA | LARA Plumbing Licensing |
For other states, search "[state name] plumber license lookup" on any search engine. The first result is almost always the official state database. contractors-license.org aggregates links to all 50 state boards in one place.
What Each License Tier Means
- Apprentice: 1-4 years of supervised training. Cannot pull permits or work alone. Acceptable for ride-along work but the lead on your job must be journeyman or master. Hourly rate $40-$70.
- Journeyman: 4-5 years of training plus a state exam. Can install, repair, and service most residential plumbing solo. Pulls permits in many states. Hourly rate $85-$140.
- Master: Journeyman plus 2+ years and a more rigorous exam. Can design plumbing systems, supervise other plumbers, sign off on water heater, repipe, gas line, and commercial work. Required to pull permits in some states. Hourly rate $120-$185.
- Specialty endorsements: Backflow prevention certification, medical gas certification, gas line certification. Required for specific jobs and verifiable on the state lookup.
Match the license to the job. A water heater swap, a repipe, or any gas work should have a master plumber sign off. Routine drain cleaning or fixture installs are fine with a journeyman. If the company sends an apprentice solo on anything, that is a red flag and a violation in most states.
Step 2: Confirm Insurance and Bonding
Ask the plumber for a Certificate of Insurance (COI) listing two policies:
- General liability ($1M-$2M minimum): Covers property damage to your home if the plumber causes a leak, fire, or collapse during the job.
- Workers compensation: Covers the plumber and their crew if they are injured on your property. Without it, an injury on your property can become your liability through homeowner premises liability claims.
The COI is easy to fake. The way to verify is to call the insurance carrier directly using the phone number on naic.org or the carrier's main website (NOT the number on the COI itself). Provide the policy number and ask "is this policy currently in force?" The answer takes 60 seconds.
Bonding is separate from insurance. A surety bond ($10,000 to $25,000 typical for plumbers) is a financial guarantee that if the plumber walks off the job or fails to complete contracted work, the bonding company will pay you up to the bond amount. Most states require a bond as part of licensing for jobs over $5,000. Verify the bond on the state license lookup or by asking for the bonding agent's name and certificate number.
Step 3: Get 3 Written Itemized Quotes
For any job over $500, get 3 written itemized quotes. Same-day single-quote homeowners pay 20-40% above fair market on plumbing. Each quote should list:
- Diagnosis statement in writing: what the plumber thinks is wrong
- Parts: brand, model number, warranty term
- Labor: hours and hourly rate, OR flat-rate book line item
- Permit pulled by contractor: city, fee, expected inspection date
- Code-required upgrades: expansion tank, drain pan, sediment trap, sealed combustion
- Workmanship warranty: 1 year minimum, 2-5 years preferred
- Manufacturer warranty: 6-12 years on tanks, 25 years on PEX, lifetime on most fixtures
- License number on the document
- Insurance certificate attached or referenced
Three quotes within 15% of each other is fair market. One outlier high or low usually means different scope assumptions. The lowest quote is rarely the best deal because the typical reason it is low is missing scope (no permit, no expansion tank, no warranty) that you will pay for as a change order later.
Step 4: Verify Recent Reviews
Reviews are easy to manipulate. Here is how to read them like a fraud investigator.
- Sort by newest, not by relevance: A 4.9-star average from 2018 means nothing if recent reviews trend 3.0. Read the most recent 20.
- Check time clustering: 10 five-star reviews on the same week, with no reviews for the prior 3 months, is a paid-review pattern. Same-day photos in identical lighting, same writing style, generic "great service!" content.
- Click reviewer profiles: A reviewer with one review (the one for this plumber) is suspicious. A reviewer with 50+ reviews of varied businesses is real.
- Look for specifics: "Pip arrived at 9:15, diagnosed the slab leak with a stethoscope, gave us a $1,800 quote, finished in two days, the inspector signed off Wednesday" is real. "Great service, friendly, recommend!" is generic and possibly fake.
- Check Better Business Bureau: Visit bbb.org and search the company. Look at the rating (A+ to F), the complaint history, and how the company responded. Companies that respond and resolve complaints publicly score higher than companies that ignore them. A pattern of unanswered complaints is the strongest negative signal.
- Look up Yelp filtered reviews: Yelp hides reviews its algorithm flags as suspicious. Click "see filtered reviews" at the bottom of the company page. A high ratio of filtered-to-public reviews is a red flag.
Why Licensed Costs $20-$50/hour More (And Why It Is Worth It)
Licensed plumbers charge $85-$185/hour. Unlicensed handymen charge $40-$80/hour. The premium is real and it pays for:
- Insurance ($300-$1,200 per month for the company): General liability and workers comp.
- Permit-pulling: A licensed plumber can pull permits. An unlicensed handyman cannot.
- Code-compliant work: Will pass inspection. Unpermitted work shows up as a defect in home inspections during sale.
- Continuing education: Most states require 8-16 hours per year for license renewal.
- Bonding: Financial recourse if the work is abandoned.
- Recoverable through insurance after a leak: Homeowners insurance typically requires that any plumbing work was permitted and performed by a licensed plumber for a leak claim to be covered. Unpermitted unlicensed work is the single most common reason claims are denied.
The math: paying $400 more for a licensed water heater install vs. an unlicensed swap is cheap insurance against a $30,000 leak claim being denied two years later.
Red Flags When Hiring a Plumber
- No license number on truck or invoice. A licensed plumber lists their state license on every estimate.
- Cannot pull a permit. If a permit is required for the job and the plumber says you should pull it, that is a licensing limitation, not a courtesy.
- Company name only on a personal Facebook page (no real address). Legitimate businesses have a verifiable physical address, a state-registered LLC or corporation, and a Google Business Profile.
- "Lifetime warranty" with no LLC behind it. A warranty from an unincorporated sole proprietor evaporates when the person retires or moves. Verify the entity on the Secretary of State business search.
- Deposit over 30% before work starts. Service calls are typically pay-on-completion. 25-33% is the upper bound on bigger jobs.
- Cash-only or unusual payment methods. Anything that bypasses normal accounting is a fraud risk and prevents recourse via credit-card chargeback.
- Same-day pressure to sign. Legitimate plumbers hold pricing for 30 days. Hard pressure ("today only") correlates with overpriced jobs.
- Below-market quote (30%+ under others). Usually missing scope, permits, or proper licensing. The low bid becomes the high bill once change orders pile up.
- Can name the city inspector by name and personal friendliness. Implied "I can get this past inspection" is a kickback or shortcut signal.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find a licensed plumber near me?
Find a licensed plumber in 4 steps: (1) verify the state license number, (2) confirm general liability insurance and workers compensation, (3) get 3 written itemized quotes for any job over $500, and (4) check Google and Better Business Bureau reviews for the past 6 months. The whole verification takes 2 to 5 minutes per plumber.
How do I verify a plumber's license?
Every state has a free online license lookup. Enter the license number from the plumber's website, business card, or quote. The result shows whether the license is active, the tier (apprentice, journeyman, master), the issue date, the expiration, and any disciplinary actions. Lookups are free and take 30 seconds.
What is the difference between a journeyman and a master plumber?
Apprentice plumbers train under supervision and cannot work alone. Journeyman plumbers can install, repair, and service plumbing on most residential jobs. Master plumbers can pull permits, design plumbing systems, supervise other plumbers, and sign off on water heater, repipe, and gas line work. A master plumber should be involved in any job over $5,000 or any gas/water heater work.
Should I hire an unlicensed plumber to save money?
No. Unlicensed plumbing voids homeowners insurance after a leak. The job will not pass inspection if a permit is required, and the unpermitted work shows up as a defect during home sale. Unlicensed plumbers are typically uninsured, which means injury on your property becomes your liability.
How much deposit should I pay a plumber?
For a service call (under $500), no deposit. Pay on completion. For a mid-size job ($500-$3,000), 10-25% deposit is reasonable. For a large project ($3,000+), 25-33% deposit at signing, milestone payments at rough-in and inspection, and final 10-20% on completion. Anything over 50% up front is a red flag.
How do I check Better Business Bureau and Google reviews?
On Google, sort by newest and check the most recent 20 reviews. Look for time-clustered 5-star reviews, generic language, and reviewer profiles with no other reviews. Those are usually fake. On the BBB site, check the rating, complaint history, and how the company responded to past complaints.
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How We Build This Guide
License database links and authority names are sourced from each state's official Secretary of State, Department of Labor, or Department of Professional Regulation. Hourly rate ranges come from Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for plumbers and pipefitters. Insurance and bonding requirements are summarized from state contractor board rules and may vary by city. Read our full methodology.