Contractor Licensing/Registration

Contact Us

Building and Zoning Services
111 North Front Street
Columbus, OH 43215   

Office:  (614) 645-7433   

Weekdays: 9:00AM to 4:00PM 
Please note that the Zoning Review room will be closed the second Tuesday of the month from 9 -10:30 AM for staff training.

Additional Contacts
Directions to our office
Parking Map for BZS

Citizen Access Portal


2023 Observed Holidays

Monday, January 2
New Year's Day (Observed)
Monday, January 16
Martin Luther King Jr Day
Monday, February 20
Presidents’ Day
Monday, May 29
Memorial Day
Monday, June 19
Juneteenth (Observed)
Tuesday, July 4
Independence Day
Monday, September 4
Labor Day
Friday, November 10
Veterans Day (Observed)
Thursday, November 23
Thanksgiving Day
Monday, December 25
Christmas Day

Journeyperson Plumber

The City of Columbus requires and issues licenses for individuals who intend to work in the City of Columbus as a journeyperson plumber. Per City of Columbus Code Section 4114.107, no Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (OCILB) licensed specialty plumbing contractor shall employ any person to work at the trade of journeyperson other than a duly licensed journeyperson plumber licensed by the department. No person shall engage in or work at the trade as journeyperson plumber until he or she shall have first procured a department-issued journeyperson plumber's license.

In addition, no department-licensed journeyperson plumber shall contract or carry out a contract for the construction, installation, repairing or altering of any plumbing, or furnish plumbing material therefor, within the corporation limits of the city, or represent or advertise himself, either publicly or privately, as being ready, willing or able to contract to perform such work or furnish such material within the corporation limits of the city. 


Applicants for a City of Columbus Journeyperson plumber license must meet the following requirements:

(1) Have a minimum of 5 full years of experience in the plumbing trade installing building services plumbing systems and apparatus including potable water systems; or, completed a United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Apprenticeship Training (USDOL, BAT) certified plumbing apprenticeship program.
(2) Satisfactorily complete and pass, with a grade of at least 70%, the National Standard Journeyman Plumber – F25 written examination administered by an approved testing agency.  

For more information, study references, and to take the exam, please contact the International Code Council (ICC) at (877) 783-3926 or visit the ICC website

Study references can be found under Contractor/Trades Examination Bulletin published by ICC.

Schedule to take the exam (enter “F25” into the Search by Exam title search field and click “Search.”)

An applicant's failure to pass the required examination shall not operate to deny the applicant the right to take such examination at a future scheduled date, provided the applicant makes proper application for such later examination with the approved testing agency.

After 1 year from the date that a passing score was achieved on any required examination for a department-issued license, the passing score for that examination or examinations shall become invalid unless an application for licensure has been made. 

Alternatively, in lieu of the above requirements, an applicant for any license may be: 
(1) An engineer, registered in Ohio, in the specific field of work for the type of license for which application is made; or
(2) A graduate engineer, with at least 1 full year's experience as a designer or installer in the specific field of work for the type of license for which application is made.

A full year of experience, shall be based on 12 consecutive calendar months during which the applicant shall have been gainfully and verifiably employed for not less than 1,600 working hours at the specific craft, trade or profession for which an application for a department-issued license has been made. 

The Skilled Trades Review Board meets once per month. Applicants must submit their application (and fee) no later than 1 week prior to the next scheduled board meeting. Please see the Boards and Commissions page on this site for more information.

Applicants are not required to be present at the board meeting. However, contractors may appear before the Skilled Trades Review Board for due process complaints.