SECTION 158:30-9-1. Examination and licensure procedures

(a)   The plumbing standards for the plumbing examination shall be the standard of installation as described in OAC 158:30-1-4.

(b)   Any previously certified examination may be used to meet an examination requirement pursuant to the Act and this Chapter.

(c)   Examination for a plumber's license shall include, but not be limited to, written questions and drawings and/or charts.

(d)   The maximum grade value of each part of the plumbing examination shall be 100 points. An examinee must make 75% or more on each part, to pass the examination.

(e)   Applicants for a contractor license must pass both portions (business/law and trade) of the contractor license exam. If an applicant for a contractor license passes only one of the two portions of the required exam, the applicant need only retake the portion of the exam not passed if done within three (3) years of the date the Applicant is approved and eligible to sit for the contractor's exam. Otherwise, the Applicant will need to retake both portions of the contractor license exam.

(f)   If an applicant for a contractor license passes only the trade portion of the contractor exam, the applicant may choose to apply the passing score of the trade portion of the contractor exam to a journeyman license application. All other requirements in the Act and this Chapter for a journeyman license are required, including but not limited to, completing the journeyman application form and submitting any applicable fee, both of which must be received by the Board no more than one year after passing the trade portion of the contractor exam. The timeframe to complete both portions of the contractor exam as provided in (e) of this Section is applicable even if a journeyman license is obtained under this subsection.

(g)   A contractor license, whether active or inactive, must be renewed annually including completing the renewal form and paying the renewal license fee for a contractor license. An inactive contractor status may be changed to active contractor status at any time by providing proof of compliance with bond and insurance requirements as provided in this Chapter. A contractor, whether active or inactive, can elect to renew as a journeyman with filing of a journeyman renewal application and fee which election will be considered a permanent change of license category. If a permanent license category change occurs and the individual wants to change from journeyman to contractor category, either active or inactive, the individual must retake and pass the contractor license exam and meet all other contractor license requirements in the Act and this Chapter.

(h)   Applicants for the plumbing contractor examination must be capable of reading English without assistance. A person who cannot meet this requirement may request a hearing before the Committee to request reasonable accommodations.

(i)   Except as authorized by the Plumbing Examiners Committee, no person, other than examinees, shall be permitted in the examination area.

(j)   Any applicant who violates exam procedures as determined by the examination provider, including but not limited to cheating, misrepresenting oneself as another, or inappropriate actions during an examination may be immediately notified and expelled from the examination. Furthermore, the applicant's exam will be considered invalid and the applicant will be disqualified from retaking the exam for a period of time no less than 30 days and no more than 365 days as determined by the Administrator of the Construction Industries Board.

(k)   Applicants for the journeyman examination must be eighteen (18) years of age or older and have:

(1)   three (3) years of experience in the plumbing trade while employed by a licensed Plumbing contractor, or a combination of education and experience as provided for in (n) of this Section; or

(2)   equivalent verifiable three (3) years of experience in the plumbing trade while serving in the U.S. military; or

(3)   a verifiable out-of-state plumbing license which may expedite processing of the requirements or be considered for reciprocity under OAC 158:30-5-4 if there is a written reciprocity agreement with that state, the license is currently in good standing, and meets the qualifications in (k)(1) of this Section.

(l)   Applicants for the contractors examination must meet the same requirements as applicants for the journeyman examination with an additional one (1) year of experience.

(m)   Applicants for plumbing license examinations who are not licensed and wish to include experience gained in Oklahoma must maintain an apprentice registration on file with the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board for all experience obtained in Oklahoma. The Construction Industries Board will not consider experience obtained in or outside of Oklahoma as verifiable experience for periods in which an apprentice is unregistered, except for experience lawfully obtained according to any applicable federal or state laws, or the rules in this Chapter, and must be comprised of plumbing work as defined in the Act and in this Chapter.

(n)   The following may be substituted for a portion of the experience requirement in (k)(1) and (l) of this Section:

(1)   An associate degree or vocational diploma certifying completion of a formal plumbing educational program approved by the Committee, consisting of a minimum of one thousand (1,000) classroom hours from a school approved by the Committee, may be substituted for two (2) years of experience.

(2)   A vocational diploma certifying completion of a formal plumbing educational program approved by the Committee, consisting of a minimum of five hundred (500) classroom hours from a school approved by the Committee, may be substituted for one (1) year of experience.

(3)   A vocational diploma certifying completion of a formal plumbing educational program approved by the Committee, consisting of a minimum of three hundred and seventy five (375) classroom hours from a school approved by the Committee, may be substituted for three-fourths (3/4) of a year, or nine months of experience.

(4)   A vocational diploma certifying completion of a formal plumbing educational program approved by the Committee, consisting of a minimum of three hundred and thirty four (334) classroom hours from a school approved by the Committee, may be substituted for two-thirds (2/3) of a year, or eight months of experience.

(5)   A vocational diploma certifying completion of a formal plumbing educational program approved by the Committee, consisting of a minimum of two hundred and fifty (250) classroom hours from a school approved by the Committee, may be substituted for one-half (1/2) year, or six months of experience.

(o)   Applicants must present transcripts showing the Committee approved school, the Committee approved program, courses, hours attended, grades, any certificates achieved, and a vocational diploma or certificate of completion for the specific plumbing educational program and school that have been approved by the Committee. The Administrator shall make the final determination on acceptability of the described supporting documentation.

(p)   The fees for a license must be on deposit with the Administrator in advance of the examination.

(q)   If the applicant fails to meet the minimum qualifications to take the examination, the application fee will be forfeited.

[Source: Added at 19 Ok Reg 721, eff 1-22-02 (emergency); Added at 19 Ok Reg 1264, eff 5-28-02; Amended at 20 Ok Reg 2652, eff 7-26-03; Amended at 23 Ok Reg 1147, eff 3-29-06 (emergency); Amended at 23 Ok Reg 1213, eff 5-25-06; Amended at 23 Ok Reg 1147, eff 3-29-06 through 7-14-07 (emergency); Amended at 24 Ok Reg 2871, eff 8-25-07; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 2081, eff 7-11-10; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 1533, eff 7-11-13; Editor’s Notice published at 30 Ok Reg 2095, eff 7-11-13; Amended at 31 Ok Reg 899, eff 9-12-14; Amended at 32 Ok Reg 193, eff 11-3-14 (emergency); Amended at 32 Ok Reg 1616, eff 9-11-15; Amended at 34 Ok Reg 873, eff 10-1-17; Amended at 35 Ok Reg 917, eff 10-1-18]

Note

EDITOR’S NOTE: This emergency action expired before being superseded by a permanent action. Upon expiration of an emergency amendatory action, the last effective permanent text is reinstated. Therefore, on 7-15-07 (after the 7-14-07 expiration of the emergency action), the text of 158:30-9-1 reverted back to the permenent text that became effective 5-25-06, as was last published in the 2006 Edition of the OAC, and remained as such until amended by permanent action on 8-25-07.