Renew it, and get back to work.
Renewing a Texas plumbing license is not complicated, but the order matters and the late fees are real. This is the whole checklist in the order you should do it, from a master plumber who renews his own.
Do the hours first. Everything else is a form and a card number.
The order to do it in
- Take your six hours. Approved CPE, from an approved provider. This is the only step that takes real time, and it is the only step you cannot do on the last day. What has to be in the six hours.
- Make sure they got reported. The provider reports your completion to the board. You should get a certificate the same day you finish. Keep it. If you do not have one, you do not have proof.
- Renew online with TSBPE. The board takes renewals through its own online system. Have your license number and your card.
- If you carry the RMP designation, handle the RMP side too. That is a separate fee and separate insurance proof. See below.
- Check that it went through. Do not assume. Log back in and look at the license status before you count on it.
If you are a Responsible Master Plumber
The RMP designation sits on top of a Master Plumber license and carries its own obligations. You have to keep at least $300,000 of general commercial liability insurance in force. You pull the permits and call the inspections. You are the one on the hook that everybody doing plumbing work under your license holds a current license or registration. And you can be the RMP of record for exactly one company at a time.
The RMP renewal fee runs $300 a year, separate from your master license. Your CE requirement does not change: it is the same six hours whether you hold the RMP designation or not.
Late renewal
The board splits late renewal into two windows, and the second one costs more than the first. Under 90 days expired is one fee. Over 90 days expired is a bigger one. On the RMP designation, for example, late renewal runs $150 under 90 days and $300 over 90 days, on top of everything else.
Stay out of both windows. A calendar reminder is free.
Working on an expired license
Do not. An expired license is not a grace period, it is an expired license. The work you do on it is work performed without a license, and if you are the RMP, everything your crew does rides on your number. That is a far more expensive problem than a late fee.
Fees and rules change. Confirm your own numbers with the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners before you renew.
Find your license
Tradesman Plumber Limited
One and two family dwellings under an RMP. Six hours a year, same as everybody.
Journeyman Plumber
The license that turns you loose on any job. Six hours a year to keep it.
Registered apprentice holding an endorsement? You owe the six hours too, and most shops do not know it. Apprentice CE, explained.
Want the reminder instead of the late fee?
Tell us when your license comes due and we will remind you in time to actually do something about it. No charge, no catch.
What a reminder gets you
- A heads up ninety days out, when you still have options
- A second one thirty days out, in case the first got buried
- Nothing else in between
Sign up below and pick your renewal month. If you run a shop, the crew dashboard does this for every license you carry, in one screen.
Questions on this one
What order should I do this in?
Hours first, then renew. The six hours are the only part that takes a day. Everything after that is a form.
Do I need the 6 hours if I hold the RMP designation?
Yes, and it is the same six hours. The RMP designation adds a separate fee and the insurance requirement, not extra CE.
How much liability insurance does an RMP have to carry?
At least $300,000 of general commercial liability coverage, kept in force.
What happens if my license expired?
There are two late windows, under 90 days and over 90 days, and the second one costs more. Do not work on an expired license while you sort it out.
Can I renew before I take the CE?
Do not put yourself in that spot. Take the six hours first so the requirement behind your renewal is actually met.
Get the reminder, skip the late fee
One email the day registration opens. A renewal reminder if you want one. Nothing else.
Already registered? Sign in to your course. Running a shop? Open your crew dashboard.