The journeyman plumber exam is the gate between apprentice and licensed plumber, and it scares people more than it should. There is no single national version. Each state, and sometimes each county, writes or contracts its own. Once you put the official outlines side by side, though, they cover the same core material in the same way: an open-book test on the plumbing code, plus math, isometrics and, in some places, gas piping or a hands-on practical.
This guide uses real candidate bulletins and board pages from Maryland, Florida, New York and Texas to show what is on the test, how it is scored and how to prepare in the hours you actually have after work. If you are still logging hours, see where this step falls in the apprentice-to-master ladder.
Who Sets the Journeyman Plumber Exam
Your licensing authority decides everything: eligibility, the code book, the testing company and the passing score. Some states use a national testing vendor such as PSI or Pearson VUE. Some counties still give a paper exam on a Saturday morning. Before you study anything, download the candidate information bulletin for your jurisdiction. It lists the question count, time limit, allowed references and the content outline. Everything below is an example, not a substitute for that document.
Eligibility usually means documented work hours. Texas, for example, requires at least 8,000 hours in the trade plus either a 48-hour board-approved course or enrollment in a DOL-registered apprenticeship, according to the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. Our state-by-state licensing guide covers how other states handle hours.
Exam Format: Four Real Examples
| Jurisdiction | Format | Time | Passing score | Allowed references |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland (PSI), journey plumber/gas fitter | 100 questions | 240 minutes | 70% | 2018 IPC, 2018 IFGC, a plumbing math text, a backflow text, OSHA 29 CFR 1926 |
| Volusia County, Florida (GITS) | 100 questions, open book | 4 hours | Not listed on the sheet | Florida Building Code (Plumbing, Building, Fuel Gas), two plumbing texts, OSHA 1926 |
| Onondaga County, New York | 35 multiple choice (70 pts) plus drawings (30 pts) | 3.5 hours | 75 of 100 points | 2025 Plumbing Code of New York State only |
| Texas (Pearson VUE + TSBPE) | Written exam, then a hands-on practical | Not listed on the page | Not listed on the page | See the TSBPE candidate handbook |
Sources: the Maryland PSI candidate bulletin, the Volusia County exam information sheet, Onondaga County's April 2026 exam notice and Pearson VUE's Texas page.
Notice the pattern. These are long, open-book exams. Four hours for 100 questions gives you about 2.4 minutes per question, which is plenty for someone who knows where things are in the book and not nearly enough for someone who has to hunt.
What's on the Journeyman Plumber Exam
The official outlines break the exam into weighted topics. Here are two of them side by side. The Maryland exam combines plumbing and gas fitting into one license, which is why gas dominates it.
| Topic | Maryland (items of 100) | Volusia County, FL (items of 100) |
|---|---|---|
| Drainage, waste and vent | 13 | Drainage 6, vents 8, cleanouts 6, developed length 4 |
| Water supply | 8 | Water supply 8, water heaters 4 |
| Backflow prevention | 10 | Not a separate category |
| Fixtures | 4 | 10 |
| Traps and interceptors | 4 | Traps 4, interceptors 4 |
| Isometric analysis | Not a separate category | 10 |
| Plumbing math | 7 | Not a separate category |
| Gas appliances and piping | 40 | Not a separate category |
| Safety (OSHA) | Combined with fundamentals (8) | 6 |
| Materials, definitions, general regulations | Materials 6 | Definitions 6, general regulations 6, administration 2 |
| Trade knowledge and other | Not separate | Trade knowledge 8, hangers and supports 4, indirect waste 2, storm drains 2 |
Onondaga County lists a similar spread: sanitary and storm drainage, water supply and distribution, codes, trade practice, installation technique, special wastes, fixtures, and business and general math.
Read your outline for gas. If your state bundles gas fitting into the plumbing license, gas can be the single biggest section on the test. If you need a separate gas card, it may not appear at all.
Open-Book Rules: What You Can Bring and Mark
Open book does not mean anything goes. The Maryland bulletin is a good example of how strict the rules can be:
- Books may be highlighted, underlined and tabbed.
- Only permanent index tabs of specific brands are allowed. Removable sticky flags are not.
- No loose papers, notes or study guides tucked into the book.
- Only the specified editions count, so check the year on your code book.
Onondaga County allows only the 2025 New York plumbing code and supplies the calculator. It bans colored pencils on the drawing section. Small rules like these send people home before the exam starts, so read the bulletin line by line.
Which code you study depends on what your state adopted. Most use a version of the IPC or the UPC, and a few write their own. Our UPC vs. IPC guide explains the differences you will notice in the tables and chapter layout.
Practical Exams and Drawing Sections
Some jurisdictions test your hands, not just your reading. Texas requires apprentices moving up to journeyman to pass a written exam and then a hands-on practical at the board's Waco or Austin locations. The board supplies the materials. You must pass the practical within one year of passing the written exam to get your license. The test site also enforces a dress code: no shorts or open-toed shoes.
Onondaga County takes a middle path with a drawing section worth 30 of 100 points. That is where isometric skills pay off. If your exam has drawings or isometric questions, practice sketching a full drain, waste and vent layout for a two-bath house and sizing it from the code tables until you can do it without hesitation.
A 10-Week Study Plan That Fits Around Work
This plan assumes about an hour a night on weekdays and a longer session on the weekend. Adjust the weeks to match the weights in your outline.
- Week 1: Get the documents. Download the bulletin, buy the exact code editions listed and read the outline. Mark which topics carry the most points.
- Week 2: Tab and map the book. Tab every chapter and the key tables: fixture units, pipe sizing, vent sizing, trap sizes, hanger spacing and the definitions chapter.
- Weeks 3 to 4: Drainage and venting. Work DFU calculations, horizontal and vertical sizing, slope and vent types. This is usually the heaviest plumbing section.
- Week 5: Water supply, water heaters and backflow. Sizing by fixture units, pressure, relief valves and which backflow device fits which hazard.
- Week 6: Fixtures, traps, interceptors and cleanouts. These are fast points if you know where the tables are.
- Week 7: Math and isometrics. Offsets, grade and fall, volume and pressure. Draw isometrics from plan views.
- Week 8: Gas and safety. Gas pipe sizing tables if your exam includes them, plus the OSHA 1926 sections on trenching, ladders and confined spaces if OSHA is listed.
- Weeks 9 to 10: Timed practice. Take full-length practice tests under the real time limit with only the allowed books. Every question you miss is a missing tab or a table you need to find faster.
Test-Day and Retake Checklist
- Government ID that matches your registration name exactly (Texas specifically warns about mismatches)
- Only the allowed code editions and references, with approved tabs
- Calculator if allowed, or know that one will be provided
- Pencils if it is a paper exam; no colored pencils where banned
- Work clothes and closed-toe boots for any practical
- Pacing target: check your progress at the halfway point of the clock
- Answer every question; skip and flag the slow ones and come back
If you do not pass, the rules again depend on where you test. Maryland's PSI bulletin says you can retake no more often than every 30 days and lets you review missed items for 30 minutes after a failure. Texas allows up to five attempts on one authorization, with waits of 30, 60 and then 90 days after successive failures, all within a year of your application. Massachusetts lets you retest within 12 months, according to its journeyman plumber license page.
Bottom Line
The journeyman plumber exam is mostly a test of how well you know your code book under time pressure, built on the drainage, venting and water supply work you have been doing for years. Get your jurisdiction's bulletin first, buy the exact editions, tab them carefully and take timed practice tests. If your exam includes gas, drawings or a practical, give those their own weeks rather than hoping field experience carries you.