North Carolina Plumbing Contractor Licenses
Every plumbing contractors working in North Carolina must hold a license from the State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors. Plumbing licenses in North Carolina are graded by the kind of building the holder may work in, not by the value of the project. The class is what determines whether they can legally work on your home. SafeHire NC tracks 7,159 of them across 602 North Carolina cities and communities.
P-I is unrestricted. P-II is limited to single-family detached homes. A restricted license covers exterior work only. Fuel piping is a separate credential that often appears alongside a plumbing class. What each classification allows
| Class | What it covers | Scope | In NC |
|---|---|---|---|
P-I |
Full plumbing (Class I) Any plumbing work in any building: repipes, water heaters, fixtures, sewer and water lines. |
Any building | 6,386 |
P-II |
Residential plumbing (Class II) Full plumbing work on single-family detached homes only. Not apartments and not commercial buildings. |
Single-family homes | 644 |
RLP |
Restricted (exterior) Building sewer piping, exterior water service, backflow preventers and filtration. Not interior plumbing. |
Exterior only | 108 |
Fuel |
Fuel piping Gas and fuel piping work as authorised by the state fuel piping credential. |
Gas and fuel lines | 547 |
How to verify a license before you hire
- Ask for the license number before work begins. A licensed contractor will give it without hesitation. Reluctance is itself an answer.
- Check that it is active, not merely issued. Licenses lapse. 0 NC plumbing contractors licenses expire within the next 90 days.
- Check the classification against your project. This is the check people most often skip, and it is the one that decides whether the work is legal.
- Confirm the name matches. The license belongs to the qualifier and the company named on it, not to whoever is holding it up.
Hiring an unlicensed contractor can void your homeowner insurance on any resulting claim, and unpermitted work routinely surfaces during a sale. What you risk with an unlicensed contractor · Report unlicensed work · All NC license types
Look up a licensed plumbing contractor
Browse all 7,159 NC plumbing contractors →
By city
Raleigh (224) Charlotte (221) Wilmington (181) Greensboro (113) Fayetteville (106) Winston-Salem (95) Durham (90) Asheville (81) Concord (70) Hendersonville (69) Gastonia (68) Clayton (63)
Common questions
Can a P-II plumber work on my apartment building?
No. A Class II plumbing license is limited to single-family detached homes. Apartments and commercial buildings require a Class I holder.
Is a fuel piping credential the same as a plumbing license?
No. Fuel piping is a separate credential covering gas and fuel lines. Many plumbing contractors hold both, and both appear on their profile here.
Does a plumbing license have a dollar limit?
No. Unlike electrical and general contractor licenses, NC plumbing classes are defined by building type rather than project value.
Other trades
North Carolina Electrical Contractor Licenses North Carolina General Contractor Licenses North Carolina HVAC and Heating Contractor Licenses North Carolina Fire Sprinkler Contractor Licenses North Carolina Home Inspector Licenses North Carolina Structural Pest Control Licenses