Maine § 3501. - Issuance of licenses

§ 3501.. Issuance of licenses

1.  License required. 

1-A.  Application; qualifications.  The board shall issue a license to any person who files a sworn application, who passes an examination approved by the board and who meets the qualifications set forth in this section.

2.  Journeyman or limited license.  The board may issue a journeyman plumber or limited plumber license to persons who submit an application on a form prescribed by the board with the required fee as set under section 3501‑B and who provide satisfactory evidence of the following qualifications:

A. A minimum of at least 2 years with 4,000 hours of work in the field of plumbing installations as a licensed trainee plumber under the supervision of a master plumber, or the equivalent thereof, and obtaining a passing grade as determined by the board on the journeyman's examination; or   [PL 1999, c. 386, Pt. L, §6 (AMD).]

B. A minimum of 2,000 hours of work in the field of plumbing installations as a journeyman-in-training under the supervision of a licensed master plumber, as long as the work experience is obtained within 4 years of the date upon which the applicant was issued a journeyman-in-training license. A journeyman-in-training license must be issued upon sworn application to any person who has satisfactorily completed one academic year of instruction in plumbing at a board-approved technical college or community college or in a career and technical education program approved pursuant to Title 20‑A, section 8306‑B as a secondary student or in a registered Department of Labor apprenticeship program and who has obtained a passing grade, as determined by the board on the journeyman's examination.   [PL 2017, c. 4, §1 (AMD).]

2-A.  Master plumber license.  The board may issue a master plumber license to a person who submits an application on a form prescribed by the board with the required fee as set under section 3501‑B and who provides satisfactory evidence of the following qualifications:

A. A minimum of at least one year with 2,000 hours of work in the field of plumbing installations as a journeyman plumber or a minimum of at least 4 years with 8,000 hours of work in the field of plumbing installations as a trainee plumber under the supervision of a master plumber, or the equivalent; and   [PL 1987, c. 597, §11 (AMD).]

B. Obtaining a passing grade, as determined by the board on the master's examination.   [PL 1983, c. 468, §18 (NEW).]

2-B.  Journeyman-in-training.  The board may issue a journeyman-in-training license to a person who provides satisfactory evidence of completion of a plumbing course consisting of one year or 2 semesters at a board-approved technical college or community college, in a registered Department of Labor apprenticeship program or in a career and technical education program approved pursuant to Title 20‑A, section 8306‑B as a secondary student and who submits the required fee set under section 3501‑B and evidence of having obtained a passing grade, as determined by the board, on the journeyman's examination. A journeyman-in-training license is valid for a single nonrenewable period of 4 years and may be issued only once to any individual.

3.  Trainee license.  The board may issue a trainee plumber license without examination to any person who submits a written application on a form supplied by the board with the required fee set under section 3501‑B and who provides satisfactory evidence that the person is employed by a licensed master plumber or an entity that employs a licensed master plumber or plumbers and will assist the licensed master plumber or plumbers as a trainee plumber.

4.  License displayed.  All persons licensed by the board must receive a license that must be publicly displayed at the principal place of business of the plumber, if any, and a pocket card license that must be carried on the person and displayed at any time upon request.

5.  Examinations. 

6.  Installation, repair or replacement of well pumps.  A person licensed under this subchapter who performs the installation, repair or replacement of a pump in a well, as defined in section 4700‑E, subsection 8, shall install, repair or replace that pump in compliance with the code of performance adopted by the Maine Water Well Commission pursuant to section 4700‑H, subsection 5. Any person, company, firm, partnership or corporation who installs, alters, repairs or replaces a pump system without being licensed as provided in this chapter or in violation of the code of performance, except for an apprentice pump installer as set forth in this chapter, or any person, firm, partnership or corporation who procures a license as provided in this chapter wrongfully or by fraud commits a civil violation punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.

This subsection does not prevent a person from making pump system installations, alterations, repairs or replacements in a single-family residence occupied by that person or to be occupied by that person as a bona fide personal abode, providing the installation, alteration, repair or replacement conforms to the standards set forth in this chapter and any rules adopted by the Maine Water Well Commission or the department.  

This subsection does not prevent a person from removing and replacing an existing pump for the purpose of well inspection or to test pumping if the pump and electrical system are not being modified.