How to become a plumber apprentice in South Dakota

The apprentice application, and how approval works

Plumbing apprentices in South Dakota apply through the Plumbing Commission, and the route is simpler than the electrical one beside it. For all categories, the commission says, fill out the apprentice application and submit it with the application fee.

Approval works in two steps. Approved apprentice applicants receive an email stating the license fee due, and the license is issued once that fee is paid. Other license types get an email on next steps and fees instead.

The apprentice category is not one slot. Alongside apprentice plumbers, the commission's specialty licenses each run on apprentice time: a sewer and water installer needs two years as a sewer and water apprentice, and an appliance installer needs two years as an appliance apprentice.

An apprentice plumber in South Dakota fills out the apprentice application and submits it with the application fee. — South Dakota Plumbing Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

Approved apprentice applicants receive an email stating the license fee due, and the license is issued once the fee is paid. — South Dakota Plumbing Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

2 yearsA sewer and water installer's license requires two years' experience as a sewer and water apprentice, and an appliance installer's license requires two years as an appliance apprentice. — South Dakota Plumbing Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

Four years, 1,900 hours each, for the plumber's license

The plumber's license itself sits on apprentice time. The commission requires four years' experience as an apprentice plumber, with at least 1,900 hours spent in each of those years.

The arithmetic differs from the electrical trade. Electrical work counts a year as 2,000 hours; plumbing demands 1,900 hours per year instead, so a strong year cannot bank credit for a slow one. Compare the two on the hour-logging guide.

Military service converts. The commission gives credit for military plumbing at one year of credit for each two years in the military, up to a maximum of five years.

1,900 hours per yearA South Dakota plumber's license requires four years' experience as an apprentice plumber with at least 1,900 hours per year. — South Dakota Plumbing Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

up to 5 yearsCredit for military plumbing is given at one year of credit for each two years in the military, up to a maximum of five years. — South Dakota Plumbing Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

The third-year apprentice license, and what it allows

South Dakota plumbing has a middle rung that electrical work does not. Apprentice plumbers with two years, 3,800 hours, of experience in learning and assisting in plumbing installation under a plumbing contractor may work without supervision during their third and fourth years, on two conditions: only on single family dwellings, and only after satisfactorily passing a state-administered examination.

The license has its own application. To apply for the third-year apprentice plumber's license, you need two years as an apprentice plumber with at least 1,900 hours in each.

The scope matters more than the freedom. Unsupervised work attaches to single family dwellings only, so a third-year apprentice on a commercial job still works under a plumbing contractor's supervision.

3,800 hoursApprentice plumbers with two years, 3,800 hours, under a contractor may work without supervision in years three and four, only on single family dwellings and only after passing a state exam. — South Dakota Plumbing Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

2 yearsThe third-year apprentice plumber's license requires two years' experience as an apprentice plumber with at least 1,900 hours per year. — South Dakota Plumbing Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

The contractor license above the plumber license

The contractor rung is a taller stack. A plumbing contractor's license requires six years of experience as a plumbing contractor, plumber, or plumber's apprentice, with at least two of those years as a contractor or plumber, and at least 1,900 hours per year across the six.

That path rewards staying licensed the whole way. Four apprentice years plus two plumber years equals six, so the apprentice hours do double duty if the licenses stay current.

The specialty trades run shorter. Every specialty contractor license above needs one year as that trade's installer, on top of the installer's two apprentice years.

6 yearsA plumbing contractor's license requires six years' experience as a contractor, plumber, or apprentice, with at least two years as a contractor or plumber and at least 1,900 hours per year. — South Dakota Plumbing Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

A specialty contractor's license requires one year of experience as that specialty's installer, on top of the installer's two apprentice years. — South Dakota Plumbing Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

Where the rules came from, and where they are going

The commission cites its own chapter precisely: plumbing is governed by SDCL 36-25, with administrative rules in ARSD 20:53 and the plumbing code in ARSD 20:54.

The rules are moving. The commission's laws page states that it is in the process of adopting rules, to align notification requirements with a new database, align rules with the intention of SDCL 36-25, and clean up language. A public hearing was set for October 2, 2026.

Read the current licensing page, not an old summary, before you file. A rules change like this one moves deadlines and forms more often than it moves hour counts.

South Dakota plumbing is governed by SDCL 36-25, with administrative rules in ARSD 20:53 and the plumbing code in ARSD 20:54. — South Dakota Plumbing Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

October 2, 2026The Plumbing Commission is adopting rules to align notification requirements with a new database, with a public hearing on October 2, 2026. — South Dakota Plumbing Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

The routes beside this one

Electrical work counts 2,000 hours to a plumbing year's 1,900, and its supervision rule follows the apprentice onto the job site rather than relaxing at year three. The electrician route sets those rules out.

The beauty trades have no apprentice route at all here. Cosmetology and barbering both count school hours only, as the cosmetology page and the barber page each show.

An employer sponsoring both trades can also register a federal apprenticeship program on top of these licenses. The registration guide covers that layer.

The South Dakota Cosmetology Commission only accepts training and education documentation from schools or providers it licenses or certifies. — South Dakota Cosmetology Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

Questions