Written for plumbers, electricians, water heater and heat pump installers, drain and sewer shops, and small multi-trade firms serving homeowners and property managers, with Texas, California, Florida and New York in detail.
The short version
- Match every job to a license.Only licensed staff, or supervised staff registered where your state requires it, do licensed work. Gas piping is plumbing or gas fitting in most states.
- Pull any required permit before work starts.Ask the city or county if the job needs one. The license holder pulls it, and the inspector signs the final.
- Lend your license to no one.A sub doing plumbing, gas or electrical work needs its own license. Letting an unlicensed firm work under yours can cost you the license.
Plumbing, gas and electrical work is licensed state by state, and often city by city. The license holder of record, whether the responsible master plumber, the qualifier or the master electrician, signs for the permits and the work under them. Get this wrong and you can lose the license, and in some states the right to be paid.
The big four states
Texas
Plumbing, including natural gas and LP piping inside buildings, is licensed by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. A plumbing company works under a master plumber acting as its responsible master plumber. Everyone else doing plumbing needs a license or registration from the board and licensed supervision, so even a helper must be at least a registered apprentice working under a licensed plumber's direct supervision. Electrical work is licensed by TDLR, and permits and inspections are municipal. As of Oct 2026.
Tex. Occ. Code chs. 1301 and 1305; secs. 1301.002(6) and 1301.351
California
The CSLB licenses the business (C-36 plumbing, C-10 electrical, C-20 HVAC) through a qualifier. The minor work exemption needs an aggregate price for labor, materials and everything else below $1,000, no permit, no employees assisting, no part of a larger project or split contract, and no advertising as a contractor. If a qualifier leaves, you generally have 90 days to replace them, subject to a possible board extension. The contractor's bond is $25,000, and electricians for C-10 contractors must be state-certified. As of Oct 2026.
Cal. Bus. and Prof. Code secs. 7048, 7068.2 and 7071.6; Cal. Lab. Code sec. 108
Florida
Plumbing contractors are certified statewide or registered for a local jurisdiction, and electrical contractors are licensed under a separate part of the same chapter. Contracting without a license is a crime and voids your right to enforce the contract or a lien. Local journeyman cards vary by county. As of Oct 2026.
Fla. Stat. ch. 489, secs. 489.127 and 489.128
New York
There is no statewide plumbing or electrical license. New York City licenses Master Plumbers and Master Electricians through the Department of Buildings, residential remodeling needs a Home Improvement Contractor license from DCWP, and Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester and many cities run their own. In NYC, gas piping in most buildings other than one- and two-family homes is inspected every 4 years by a Licensed Master Plumber; buildings in community districts 4, 6, 8, 9 and 16 are due by December 31, 2026. As of Oct 2026.
NYC Local Law 152
Other states and cities differ, and in most states gas piping is plumbing work or needs a separate gas fitter license, so check before sending an HVAC tech to run a gas line.
Permits
Check with the city or county that issues permits whether a water heater replacement, repipe, gas line, sewer replacement or new circuit needs a permit and who may pull it. Where one is required, the license holder pulls it before work starts and the inspector signs the final. Pulling a permit for a job someone else did is a license violation in most states. When a customer asks you to skip the permit, price it in instead: many cities issue water heater permits online the same day, and an unpermitted install surfaces on the home inspection.
Gas piping is plumbing work in Texas. Putting it right takes a licensed plumber working in the order the authority directs, the cost is yours, and a board complaint may follow.
Refrigerant work
EPA 608 and the R-410A rule
Anyone who opens a refrigerant circuit on a heat pump water heater, mini-split or AC needs EPA 608 certification, and venting is illegal. New residential and light-commercial AC and heat pump systems generally must meet the under-700-GWP limit; under EPA's May 26, 2026 final rule, an R-410A system can still be installed after January 1, 2026 only if all its specified components were manufactured or imported before January 1, 2025. Repairing and servicing existing R-410A equipment, including replacing a failed component, is still allowed, so check the distributor's records rather than refusing. As of Oct 2026.
Clean Air Act sec. 608; 40 C.F.R. part 82, subpart F; 40 C.F.R. sec. 84.54
Job safety
Lead paint and trenches
Disturbing more than 6 square feet inside or 20 square feet outside in a pre-1978 home or child-occupied facility needs an EPA RRP-certified firm and renovator and lead-safe practices. Trenches for sewer and water lines need protective systems from 5 feet deep and a competent person's daily inspection. As of Oct 2026.
40 C.F.R. part 745, subpart E; 29 C.F.R. secs. 1926.651(k) and 1926.652(a)(1)
Subs and helpers
A licensed trade cannot be subcontracted to someone unlicensed: a sub doing plumbing, gas or electrical work needs its own license. Letting an unlicensed firm work under your license is a violation in every big-four state and can cost the license holder the license.
If you are the only master plumber or qualifier, the firm's ability to pull permits leaves with you. Name a second license holder well before you plan to step back or sell.
Asked in Greymill
Why: in Texas, gas piping inside a building is plumbing work, licensed by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners.
Only licensed staff can do it, or a registered apprentice under a licensed plumber's direct supervision. An unlicensed helper working alone is neither, however experienced.
And it is your license on the line.
The permit: ask the city if this job needs one. If it does, the license holder pulls it before work starts, not after. Pulling a permit for work someone else did is a license violation in most states.
If it has already happened: shut off and make safe, disclose the unlicensed work, and contact the permitting authority and the plumbing board. A licensed plumber then puts it right, in the order the authority directs, at your cost. A board complaint may follow.
I can also draft a one-page rule on who takes gas jobs.
Ask it about your own business
Paste this into Greymill with your own figures, and Rules & Licensing works it through for your business.
I run a plumbing, heating or electrical business in [state], in the US. We mostly work in [city or county]. Our license holders are [names and licenses], and the team is [techs, licenses and EPA 608 cards held, helpers]. Tell me which jobs each person can do and under whose supervision, which of our usual jobs need a permit there and who must pull it, and set up a renewal calendar for every license, bond and continuing education requirement.
More for plumbing, heating and electrical in the US
- My flat-rate book came from a competitor: is it paying after drive time and callbacks?Flat-rate prices only work if the hourly rate inside them is built from the hours your techs actually sell, not the hours you pay.Read the lesson
- Service pays at the truck, warranty companies and GCs pay late: can I afford another truck?Service work pays on the spot, but installs, home warranty companies, property managers and commercial pay apps do not, so plan cash by the week and test any new loan against what is left.Read the lesson
- Do I charge sales tax on this repair? Why the same job is taxable in one state and not the nextWhether a plumbing or electrical job carries sales tax turns on the state and on whether it repairs or improves real property, and a wrong guess can build up for years.Read the lesson
- How much can I take up front on a home job, and when can the customer cancel?Down payment limits, cancellation rights and required contract wording all change by state, and getting them wrong can mean refunds, misdemeanor charges or license discipline.Read the lesson
- I pay techs flat rate and helpers on 1099s: am I building up back pay?Flat-rate and commission pay, drive time, on-call and 1099 helpers are where shops in this trade build up back pay without noticing.Read the lesson
- Selling the replacement at the kitchen table: options, financing and what I can claimPresent replacements as clear priced options with honest financing, and know the rules on dealer fees, fear selling and reviews before you start.Read the lesson
- A customer says my work flooded their house months later: what do I do?When a leak or failure is blamed on your work, report it, keep the evidence and watch the deadline on any defect notice, or you can lose the right to fix it first.Read the lesson
Open the interactive lesson · Every plumbing, heating and electrical lesson · What Greymill knows about the trade
Sources
The primary sources behind this lesson, checked Oct 2026.
- Agency page: next review 2032 to 2033 cycle (93rd Legislature); H.B. 636 (2021) continued the board; S.B. 1659 (2023) moved the sunset date (Licensing: plumbing, gas and electrical in texas, california, florida and new york)
- Occ. Code ch. 1301; board rules 22 Tex. Admin. Code part 17 (Licensing: plumbing, gas and electrical in texas, california, florida and new york)
- Occ. Code ch. 1305 (Licensing: plumbing, gas and electrical in texas, california, florida and new york)
- Classifications (Licensing: plumbing, gas and electrical in texas, california, florida and new york)
- Cal. Bus. and Prof. Code sec. 7048(a) to (c); Stats. 2025 ch. 67 sec. 12 (AB 1170), effective January 1, 2026 (Licensing: plumbing, gas and electrical in texas, california, florida and new york)
- Cal. Bus. and Prof. Code sec. 7068.2 (Licensing: plumbing, gas and electrical in texas, california, florida and new york)
- California Building Standards Code, 2025 edition (Codes, permits, backflow and lead-free rules)
- 16 Tex. Admin. Code sec. 73.100 as amended; 51 TexReg 5776 (August 28, 2026) (Codes, permits, backflow and lead-free rules)
- FBC 2023 (8th edition) (Codes, permits, backflow and lead-free rules)
- Health and Safety Code sec. 19211 (Codes, permits, backflow and lead-free rules)
- 10 C.F.R. 430.32(d); DOE compliance date May 6, 2029 (Codes, permits, backflow and lead-free rules)
- 16 C.F.R. 429.1 (Who must sign off: time-critical steps first)
- Prop. Code secs. 27.004 (Who must sign off: time-critical steps first)
- sec. 558.004 (Who must sign off: time-critical steps first)
- statutes.capitol.texas.gov (Who must sign off: time-critical steps first)
- Lab. Code sec. 2781 (Subs, helpers and the license holder)
- 30 Tex. Admin. Code ch. 30 (Hard cases: licensing, codes and the job)
- LL152 steps 4 and 5 and current civil-penalty notice, updated July 2026 (Hard cases: licensing, codes and the job)
- EPA final rule, 91 FR 31284 (May 26, 2026), effective July 27, 2026, Executive Summary item 8; 40 C.F.R. 84.54 (Hard cases: licensing, codes and the job)
- 2026 Fla. Stat. sec 489.126(2) and (3) (Hard cases: licensing, codes and the job)
- Credit termination (Water heaters, heat pumps, refrigerant, EV and solar)
- Home Energy Rebates (Water heaters, heat pumps, refrigerant, EV and solar)
- 40 C.F.R. 82.161; Clean Air Act sec. 608(c) (Water heaters, heat pumps, refrigerant, EV and solar)
- NFPA 70 (2023) (Water heaters, heat pumps, refrigerant, EV and solar)
- NEM and net billing tariff (Water heaters, heat pumps, refrigerant, EV and solar)
- Credit termination (Public Law 119-21) (Pitfalls that embarrass the product)
- Public Law 119-21 sec. 70433 (Pitfalls that embarrass the product)
- May 2026 final rule (Pitfalls that embarrass the product)
- Custom Communications, Inc. v. FTC (8th Cir. July 8, 2025) (Pitfalls that embarrass the product)
- 29 C.F.R. 1926.651(k), 1926.652(a)(1) (Safety: osha and EPA on service and new-work jobs)
- 1926.501; 1910.28 (Safety: osha and EPA on service and new-work jobs)
- 1926 subpart AA; 1926.1153 (Safety: osha and EPA on service and new-work jobs)
- 40 C.F.R. 745.83 (minor repair and maintenance) (Safety: osha and EPA on service and new-work jobs)
- Title 8 secs. 3395, 3396 (Safety: osha and EPA on service and new-work jobs)
- Memorandum of May 21, 2026 (Safety: osha and EPA on service and new-work jobs)