How to Apply

Any individual who desires to be employed as an apprentice plumber in the State of New Hampshire must apply with the Plumbing Safety and Licensing Section (603-223-4289). We will issue him/her a yellow identification card, which must be carried at all times and presented to an inspector upon request. Each year we will mail a renewal form at the beginning of his/her birth month, which must be completed and returned before the last day of the month. We will renew your identification card only if you are currently enrolled in the apprenticeship program. We will then mail an updated I. D. card.

Ask your (potential) employer if they have Standards of Apprenticeship on file with the Office of Apprenticeship. If they do not, the employer should contact Charles Vaughan at the Office of Apprenticeship at 603-225-1444 and complete a set of Standards and sponsor checklist.

Complete an apprenticeship agreement with your employer. If you have previous experience in the trade or in related schooling include that documentation with your apprenticeship agreement. The employer mails or faxes the apprenticeship agreement and work/school records to the Office of Apprenticeship. The employer can call for blank apprenticeship agreements.

Then, the Department of Education will set up the classroom instruction.

This is a four-year program. When the apprentice completes all the requirements the Office of Apprenticeship will issue a CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION. In order to qualify for the journeyman license examination, an apprentice registered in New Hampshire must present a copy of this CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION with his/her application form to the Plumbers' Licensing Board.

Resources

What Every Apprentice Needs to Know

The work process for plumbing apprentices requires 8,000 hours or about 4 years of work experience and on-the-job training. Additionally, an apprentice is required to complete 144 hours of related classroom instruction for every year of the apprenticeship period.

Always fill out an apprenticeship agreement when you start work with a new employer. Failure to do so may result in work hours not counting toward your apprenticeship.

If you have previous experience in the field bring documentation of that experience when you fill out a new apprenticeship agreement. Your employer may give you credit for that experience in box 5 of the apprenticeship agreement. All credit for previous experience must be documented. Record books are the preferred way to document on-the-job-training (OJT).

Include documentation of your previous experience with your apprenticeship agreement when it is sent to the Office of Apprenticeship.

If you have previous education in the field and want to get credit for it, have your employer include a copy of the transcript with your apprenticeship agreement. Your transcript will be forwarded to the New Hampshire Department of Education, which will determine what credit, if any, you will receive.

Apprentices are responsible for maintaining their own records. When record books are completed, copy the final month's entry with totals for the previous twelve months, and send it to the Office of Apprenticeship. The new record book will then be forwarded to your sponsor. Please keep copies or originals of your apprenticeship records as they are needed to complete your apprenticeship.

Include your name and the name of your employer on any documents forwarded to the Office of Apprenticeship.

Questions regarding related instruction (apprenticeship classes) may be addressed to: NH Department of Education, 21 South Fruit Street, Suite 20, Concord, NH 03301, phone (603) 271-3893, fax (603) 271-4079.

The Office of Apprenticeship is located at Cleveland Federal Building, 55 Pleasant Street, Room 3703, Concord, NH 03301, phone (603) 225-1444.

All plumbing apprentices must have a yellow apprentice card from the plumbing board to be legal out in the field.