Requirements at a glance
| License before this | Apprentice Plumber |
|---|---|
| Education + experience | 432 classroom hours (3-year program) + 6,000 hours, or 12,000 hours of experience |
| Exams | Utah Residential Plumber written (90 Q, 4 hr, 70%) + practical |
| Exam fees | $85 written, $78 practical (Prov) |
| Code books | 2021 IPC, IFGC, IMC + Utah amendments, NFPA 13D |
Licensed apprentice plumbers seeking the Residential Journeyman Plumber license (DOPL: a 3-year, 432-classroom-hour program plus 6,000 hours, or 12,000 hours of supervised experience).
Official links
How to get licensed, step by step
Work as a licensed apprentice
Log hours under a licensed journeyman or master plumber with an apprentice license.
Finish your hours and schooling
Complete a 3-year (432 classroom hours) approved program plus 6,000 hours, or 12,000 hours of supervised experience. Attach the experience verification form when you register.
Verification of plumber experience form (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
Register and schedule with Prov
Utah's licensing exams are given by Prov, Inc. Create an account, pick "Residential Journeyman Plumber", and choose a testing center (21 sites from Logan to St. George) or take the written exam from home through Examroom. Reschedule at least 3 business days ahead or you lose the fee.
Pass the written and practical exams
90 written questions in 4 hours (70%), open book, plus the residential practical. If you later upgrade to journeyman, you won't retake a practical you already passed.
Apply for your license
Apply to DOPL online once both exams are passed.
DOPL: residential journeyman plumber license (opens in a new tab)DOPL online application (opens in a new tab)
How to prepare
- Get the exact editions on the reference list. Answers are based on those editions, and Utah's statewide amendments change some sections.
- Tab your books before you study, not the night before: one permanent tab per chapter plus the tables you use most. Highlighting is allowed.
- Practice finding answers, not memorizing them. Open-book exams are a race against the clock: on a 4-hour, 100-question exam you have about 2.4 minutes per question.
- Expect dwelling scenarios: water heater installation and T&P discharge, expansion tanks, gas pipe sizing for a house, and DWV sizing for bathrooms and kitchens.
- Tab NFPA 13D. Residential sprinkler questions are easy points if you can find the water-supply chapter fast.
- Start with the free questions above to find your weak topics, then drill those first.
- Take at least two full timed simulations before exam day. Timing is where most people fail open-book exams.
- Read every explanation, including for questions you got right, and look the section up in your own book.
Books for this exam
This is an open-book exam: you can bring the references below, and most questions come from the 2021 IPC. Tabs and highlighting are allowed. Free online copies are read-only and can't be used in the exam room.
2021 International Plumbing Code (IPC)Essential
The core of the exam: DWV and water supply sizing tables, venting, traps, backflow, water heaters.
ICC store (opens in a new tab)Read free (opens in a new tab)
Utah Code Title 15A, Chapter 3 (Utah's statewide code amendments)
Utah changes parts of the IPC, IFGC, IMC and NEC. Print the parts for your trade and tab them, or write the changes into your code book.
2021 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC)
Gas pipe sizing tables (Chapter 4), appliance shutoffs, testing.
ICC store (opens in a new tab)Read free (opens in a new tab)
2021 International Mechanical Code (IMC)
Hydronics and boiler questions.
ICC store (opens in a new tab)Read free (opens in a new tab)
NFPA 13D (2016): Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings
Residential sprinkler water supply and multipurpose piping.
Utah Admin. Code R317-4 (Onsite Wastewater Systems)
Septic tank sizing and setbacks.
29 CFR 1926 (OSHA Construction Standards), sections on your reference list
Trenching, scaffolds, fall protection and ladders. Print just the listed sections.
Official reference list (as published by the testing agency)
- International Plumbing Code (IPC), 2021
- International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC), 2021
- International Mechanical Code (IMC), 2021
- Utah Water Quality rule R317-4, Onsite Wastewater Systems
- 29 CFR 1926 (OSHA Construction): selected sections
- NFPA 13D, Sprinkler Systems in One- and Two-Family Dwellings, 2016
What's on the exam
Official content outline from Prov, Inc. (number of questions per topic):
| Topic | Questions | |
|---|---|---|
| Drain, Waste and Vent (DWV) | 20 | |
| Water Supply | 15 | |
| Water Heaters | 7 | |
| Fuel Gas | 6 | |
| Plumbing Fixtures | 6 | |
| Plumbing Math | 6 | |
| Plumbing Safety | 6 | |
| Indirect & Special Waste | 5 | |
| Pipe and Fittings | 5 | |
| Hydronics | 4 | |
| Plumbing Drawing | 3 | |
| Structural Penetration & Insulation | 3 | |
| Basic Valves | 2 |
The outline totals 88; the other items on the 90-question exam are unscored or unassigned.
Exam day details
- Administered by Prov, Inc. for the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL).
- Fee: $85 written exam; $78 practical exam (Prov).
- Open book: references may be tabbed and highlighted.
- A residential practical exam is also required.
- OSHA sections referenced: 1926.354, 1926.651, 1926.652.
Note: Utah adopted the 2024 IPC, IFGC and IMC for construction effective July 1, 2026 (Utah Code 15A-2-103), but Prov's current bulletin still lists the 2021 editions for this exam. Our questions follow the bulletin (2021). Check Prov's bulletin before buying books in case the references have changed.
Frequently asked questions
How is the residential exam different from the journeyman exam?
It has 90 questions instead of 100, puts more weight on water heaters and less on indirect/special waste and math, and adds NFPA 13D residential sprinklers to the reference list.
What score do I need?
70%, within 4 hours.
Free questions with answers
Show all 10 free questions and answers
In a house, one horizontal fixture branch will serve a kitchen sink, a residential dishwasher and an automatic clothes washer standpipe. Using Tables 709.1 and 710.1(2), what is the minimum size of the horizontal branch?
Answer: 2 inches
Table 709.1: domestic kitchen sink 2 DFU + domestic dishwashing machine 2 DFU + residential automatic clothes washer 2 DFU = 6 DFU. (If the dishwasher drains through the sink, the table's combined "kitchen sink with dishwasher" row is 2 DFU, giving 4 DFU, and the answer is the same.) Table 710.1(2) limits a 1-1/2-inch horizontal branch to 3 DFU and allows 6 DFU on a 2-inch branch, so 2 inches is the minimum.
Reference: 2021 International Plumbing Code, Tables 709.1 and 710.1(2)
In Utah, a vent pipe passes through a roof of a new house that is not used for any other purpose. How far above the roof must the vent end?
Answer: 12 inches
The IPC leaves the roof-extension height in Section 903.1.1 for the adopting jurisdiction to set, and Utah's statewide amendment sets it at 12 inches. The 7-foot figure applies only where the roof is used for purposes such as a promenade or recreation. Learn the Utah value, because the model code book shows a blank.
Reference: 2021 International Plumbing Code, as amended by Utah Code 15A-3-3, Section 903.1.1 (Utah Code 15A-3-309)
A plumber finishing a new house on a hillside reads 92 psi static pressure at the hose bibb nearest the water service entrance. What does Section 604.8 require?
Answer: A pressure-reducing valve with strainer that limits static pressure to 80 psi or less
Section 604.8 requires an approved pressure-reducing valve (ASSE 1003 or CSA B356) with a strainer wherever static pressure in the building exceeds 80 psi. The valve must reduce the distribution pressure to 80 psi static or less. 60 psi is a common setting but it is not the code limit, and water hammer arrestors do not reduce static pressure.
Reference: 2021 International Plumbing Code, Section 604.8
A homeowner in Utah picks a showerhead for a bathroom remodel. Under Utah's amendment to Table 604.4, what is the maximum flow rate allowed for the showerhead?
Answer: 2.0 gpm at 80 psi
Utah replaces the Table 604.4 shower head value with 2 gpm at 80 psi. The unamended 2021 IPC value of 2.5 gpm at 80 psi does not apply in Utah. 1.5 gpm at 60 psi is Utah's limit for private lavatories, and 2.2 gpm at 60 psi is the sink faucet limit.
Reference: 2021 International Plumbing Code, as amended by Utah Code 15A-3-3, Table 604.4 (Utah Code 15A-3-306)
A gas water heater in a garage has a 3/4-inch T&P relief valve, and its discharge pipe ends over the garage floor. Which termination height meets Section 504.6?
Answer: 4 inches above the floor
Section 504.6 requires the discharge pipe to end not more than 6 inches above the floor or waste receptor and not less than two times the discharge pipe diameter above it. For 3/4 inch, the minimum is 2 x 3/4 = 1-1/2 inches, so the allowed range is 1-1/2 to 6 inches. 1 inch is too close, and 8 and 12 inches are too high.
Reference: 2021 International Plumbing Code, Section 504.6
A 120,000 Btu/h furnace is the only appliance on a natural gas branch. The longest run from the meter is 60 feet. The gas heating value is 1,000 Btu per cubic foot. Using IFGC Table 402.4(2) (Schedule 40 metallic pipe, inlet pressure under 2 psi, 0.5 in. w.c. drop), what is the minimum pipe size?
Answer: 3/4 inch
Demand = 120,000 / 1,000 = 120 cfh. In the 60-foot row of Table 402.4(2), 1/2 inch carries 65 cfh (too small) and 3/4 inch carries 137 cfh, which covers 120 cfh. So 3/4 inch is the minimum. 1 inch is larger than needed, and 1/2 inch works only if you misread a much shorter length row.
Reference: 2021 International Fuel Gas Code, Table 402.4(2) and Section 402.4.1
A homeowner wants a custom tiled shower in a basement bathroom. Which inside dimensions meet Section 421.4 (at least 900 square inches of interior area and at least 30 inches in the least dimension)?
Answer: 30 inches x 30 inches
Section 421.4 requires at least 900 square inches of interior cross-sectional area and at least 30 inches in the least dimension. 30 x 30 = 900 square inches and passes. 28 x 34 = 952 and 29 x 36 = 1,044 have enough area but are narrower than 30 inches, and 32 x 28 = 896 fails both tests.
Reference: 2021 International Plumbing Code, Section 421.4
A 3-inch building drain in a house is 48 feet long and runs at the minimum slope allowed by Table 704.1. How much total fall is there over its length?
Answer: 6 inches
Table 704.1 requires 1/8 inch per foot for 3-inch pipe. Fall = 48 ft x 1/8 in/ft = 6 inches. 12 inches uses 1/4 inch per foot (the rule for 2-1/2 inches and smaller), and 3 inches uses 1/16 inch per foot (the rule for 8 inches and larger).
Reference: 2021 International Plumbing Code, Table 704.1
A residential sewer trench is 4-1/2 feet deep in soil. A competent person examined it and found no sign of a possible cave-in. Under 29 CFR 1926.652(a)(1), is a cave-in protective system required?
Answer: No, because it is under 5 feet deep and the competent person found no indication of a potential cave-in
1926.652(a)(1) requires a protective system except when the excavation is entirely in stable rock, or when it is less than 5 feet deep and a competent person's examination shows no indication of a potential cave-in. The 4-foot depth triggers egress and atmosphere testing, not cave-in protection.
Reference: 29 CFR Part 1926, 29 CFR 1926.652(a)(1)
A plumber is hanging 3/4-inch PEX horizontally in an unfinished basement. Under Table 308.5, what is the maximum spacing between supports?
Answer: 32 inches
Table 308.5 sets PEX 1 inch and smaller at 2.67 feet (32 inches) horizontally. PEX 1-1/4 inches and larger may be supported every 4 feet (48 inches), and 6 feet is the value for copper tubing 1-1/4 inches and smaller.
Reference: 2021 International Plumbing Code, Table 308.5
Sources
Questions last verified September 30, 2026. Licensing rules change. Always confirm current requirements with the licensing agency before you apply.