STATE LICENSE
NoneSee what applies
K.S.A. 12-1508 designates the ICC, IAPMO, or Prometric examinations in effect on July 1, 2008 as the standard tests for plumbing contractors and master and journeyman plumbers. Under K.S.A. 12-1509, any city or county that licenses plumbers may ask nothing beyond that exam, must require 75% to pass, must charge a uniform fee, and must require 12 hours of CE every two years (or 6 a year), six biennially in code.
A certificate of competency earned on the designated exam is valid proof for licensure in every other Kansas jurisdiction that licenses plumbers, without another exam. Journeyman applicants need two years of documented field experience under a journeyman or master (up to one year by 930+ hours of trade schooling); master applicants need two years as a journeyman or four years of field experience.
The state sets the license floor; the county or city permit office controls filing, inspections, and local rules wherever the job site sits.
Cities and counties choose whether to license plumbers and must follow K.S.A. 12-1509 when they do. Johnson County's DP license serves its participating cities; MABCD licenses plumbing contractors and issues master/journeyman trade certificates for Wichita and Sedgwick County; Lawrence requires city licensing and journeyman/master certification for plumbing employees.
The local offices section below names the exact permit desk for every Kansas county on file.
Each row names the issuing authority, cost, timeline, citation, and status behind the requirement — verified against the official source.
Published fees from the issuing authorities, as of October 2026. Local permit fees vary by project and jurisdiction — the basis is stated where a flat number does not exist.
Kansas lets a plumber qualify for the master exam with two years as a journeyman or four years of field experience (K.S.A. 12-1509(f)).
Your designated-exam certificate must be accepted elsewhere in Kansas, but each jurisdiction still issues its own license and charges its own uniform fee.
MABCD requires homeowners doing their own plumbing on an occupied home to pass a plumbing exam.
A practical sequence for a new plumbing contractor in Kansas. Actual agency processing times are noted in the ledger above.
Each item names the issuing authority, cycle, and citation.
Statutory consequences with their citations — not estimates, not “commonly cited” guesses.
Johnson County cities, MABCD (Wichita/Sedgwick County), and Lawrence condition permits on an active local license of the matching class; penalties are set by each local code, not by state statute.
A lien statement on residential property must be filed within four months after the last labor or materials; commercial claims get five months only if a notice of extension is filed within the first four.
Contractors selling to consumers are suppliers under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act; a court may impose civil penalties for each violation, up to $20,000 for willful violation of a court order.
Inside city limits, the city office listed here issues the permit; the county office serves unincorporated areas. Every office links to its official page.
Every fact in this file was checked against these official sources on October 2026.
Pending verification: Which Johnson County cities require the county contractor license — no official county page lists participating cities (Overland Park's requirement is documented in our Johnson County office record) · MABCD and Lawrence license fee amounts for this class (MABCD's licensing page lists no amounts; a 2024 MABCD application form was seen only as a search excerpt) · K.S.A. 12-1510 and 12-1511 (alternative plumbing exams and medical gas provisions) were not read directly
General information, not legal advice. Always confirm requirements, deadlines, and forms with the issuing authority before filing or contracting.
Store licenses, permits, policies, and renewal dates in one place.