Georgia State Law and the Licensing Board

Georgia State Law and the Licensing Board

Reference text for the Georgia general-laws and regulations area. This is the one matter of this set

written for a single state: the code corpus carries nothing about Georgia's licensing law or its

licensing board, so nothing here is taken from it, and no International Plumbing Code address appears

in this file. Every rule below is written from a document filed in this repository, and each rule

names that document and the line it was read on. Section 6 names what was looked for and is not

there; no rule is stated below that cannot be read on a line of one of these pieces.

The pieces, and the short form each is cited by:

Affairs rule 110-11-1-.26, « International Plumbing Code (IPC), 2024 Edition with 2026 Georgia State

Amendments », captured as text from the page published by the Georgia Secretary of State's rules

service — cited below as GA-rule.

Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board, Division of Master and Journeyman Plumbers, November

2024, captured as text from the PDF published by PSI Services — cited below as GA-bulletin.

the bulletin and its provenance note, cited by file name.

1. The code Georgia adopts, and the edition the exam is taken on

Georgia's statewide minimum plumbing code is built out of two documents, and the rule says so in one

sentence: the International Plumbing Code, 2024 edition, published by the International Code Council,

when used in conjunction with the Georgia State Amendments to that edition, constitutes the official

Georgia State Minimum Standard Plumbing Code (GA-rule, l. 21). The rule itself is titled

« International Plumbing Code (IPC), 2024 Edition with 2026 Georgia State Amendments » (GA-rule, l.

15), it is current through rules and regulations filed through September 2, 2026 (GA-rule, l. 13), and

its history line records the step from the 2018 edition to the 2024 edition: the rule was amended to

the new title « International Plumbing Code (IPC), 2024 Edition with 2026 Georgia State Amendments »,

filed December 2, 2025, effective January 1, 2026 (GA-rule, l. 1068).

Each amendment block in the rule carries its own effective date, and they are all the same one: the

amendments printed chapter by chapter below the adoption sentence are marked « Effective January 1,

2026 » (GA-rule, l. 46). The authority the rule is issued under is stated at its foot as O.C.G.A.

§ 8-2-20 et seq. (GA-rule, l. 1061), and the rule is to be cited as Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R.

110-11-1-.26 (GA-rule, l. 1060).

What the examination is taken on, and what may be carried into it, are both printed by the bulletin. The

book policy is stated before the reference list: except for the journeyman examination, the reference

materials may NOT be used during the examination, and for the journeyman examination they may be

(GA-bulletin, l. 686, GA-bulletin, l. 687) — so a master candidate in Georgia sits a closed-book

examination. The scope of the questions is stated on the same page: some of the test questions are based

on field experience and knowledge of trade practices, and the questions are therefore not limited to

the reference materials listed (GA-bulletin, l. 685). And the edition is fixed: the suggested reference

list states that beginning May 1, 2026 the exam will be based on ONLY the 2024 Georgia Plumbing Code

(2024 International Plumbing Code), with 2024 Georgia amendments (GA-bulletin, l. 712), and the same

sentence is printed for the gas code — beginning May 1, 2026 the exam will be based on ONLY the 2024

Georgia Gas Code (2024 International Fuel Gas Code), with 2024 Georgia amendments (GA-bulletin, l. 706).

The list that carries both sentences is stated there to be applicable to examinations administered

through December 31, 2026, and a candidate taking the examination after that date is directed to obtain

an updated list from the Board's website or from PSI (GA-bulletin, l. 738).

2. What the Georgia amendments do to the code as a whole

Four of the amendments reach the code as a whole rather than one of its chapters, and they belong to

this matter because they are regulatory decisions rather than plumbing practice.

The code's administrative chapter is removed: the amendment instructs that Chapter 1, « Scope and

Administration », be deleted entirely and without substitution, and states that Chapter 1 is to

remain in the Code as a reference guide for local governments to use in developing their own

administrative procedures (GA-rule, l. 44). What a local jurisdiction in Georgia then applies as

administration is therefore its own procedure, not the model chapter — and the same withdrawal is

what makes the administrative provisions of the code a subject of this set rather than a chapter of

it (see Section 4).

The appendices are not part of the enforceable code: the rule prints that appendices are not

enforceable unless they are specifically referenced in the body of the code or adopted by the

Department of Community Affairs or the authority having jurisdiction (GA-rule, l. 32), and the new

general applicability section, added by the same rule, repeats that rule for the adopted code as a

whole (GA-rule, l. 152).

Two of the code's own cross-references are redirected to Georgia documents: every reference to the ICC

Electrical Code is replaced with a reference to the Georgia State Minimum Standard Electrical Code,

that is the National Electrical Code with Georgia State Amendments (GA-rule, l. 27), and every

reference to the International Energy Conservation Code is replaced with a reference to the Georgia

State Minimum Standard Energy Code, which is also directed to be the document used for efficiency and

coefficient of performance ratings of equipment (GA-rule, l. 28).

Above a threshold, the state hands the subject to another agency: the State's minimum requirements

for boilers and water heaters and for pressure vessels over 200,000 Btu/h (58.61 kW), 210 degrees

Fahrenheit or 120 gallons capacity are established by O.C.G.A. Title 25, Chapter 15 and by the rules

and regulations of the Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner (GA-rule, l. 36); the same

sentence is added to the adopted code as a new water heater section so that it stands inside the code

as well (GA-rule, l. 460).

The state also legislates on water use inside the code. A new Section 300, « General Applicability

Standards », is added as the code's own scope statement: the provisions apply to the erection,

installation, alteration, repair, relocation, replacement, addition to, use or maintenance of

plumbing systems within the state of Georgia, and — in the same section — the installation of fuel

gas distribution piping and equipment, fuel-gas-fired water heaters and water heater venting systems

is regulated by the International Fuel Gas Code (GA-rule, l. 151). The same new section states that

where different sections of the code specify different materials, methods of construction or other

requirements, the most restrictive governs (GA-rule, l. 155).

On fixtures, the state moved in the direction of water conservation: the installation of high

efficiency plumbing fixtures is required in all new construction (GA-rule, l. 170), and a county or

municipality is permitted to adopt an ordinance granting a waiver from that requirement in the

conditions the rule lists, among them a repair or renovation that does not replace the plumbing or

sewage system servicing toilets, faucets or shower heads, a system that would not function properly

if the required fixtures were installed, a privately owned well or gravity flow from a spring used in

the owner's personal residence, and units designed for use by persons with disabilities, designed to

withstand unusual abuse or installation in a penal institution, or toilets for juveniles (GA-rule, l.

176, GA-rule, l. 177, GA-rule, l. 183). The code's referenced-standards chapter is amended to carry

the WaterSense specifications that back this requirement: the tank-type high efficiency toilet

specification, the specification for flushing urinals and the high-efficiency lavatory faucet

specification (GA-rule, l. 1031, GA-rule, l. 1041, GA-rule, l. 1051). A candidate meeting this

subject on the examination is meeting the state's water conservation law, which the bulletin lists

among the general laws tested (GA-bulletin, l. 313).

3. The board, the licence and the examination

The examinations are the property of a named body: the bulletin is issued by PSI Services for the

Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board, Division of Master and Journeyman Plumbers (GA-bulletin,

l. 4, GA-bulletin, l. 23), and it prints the three classes of licence the division offers —

Journeyman Plumber, Master Plumber Class I (Restricted) and Master Plumber Class II (Unrestricted)

(GA-bulletin, l. 100, GA-bulletin, l. 102). The two master classes are the ones this platform serves,

and the bulletin gives each its own examination format.

The content categories are published with an item count for each of the three classes, in columns

headed JM, Class I and Class II (GA-bulletin, l. 301). The nine technical categories run from Comply

with General Laws through Calculate, and their item counts sum to the subtotal printed under them:

100 questions for the journeyman, 80 for Class I and 100 for Class II (GA-bulletin, l. 305, GA-bulletin,

l. 492). The administrative, business and design block is printed only for the two master classes: 40

questions for Class I and 40 for Class II (GA-bulletin, l. 454). Each examination also carries

pre-test questions that are not part of the scored total: 20 additional pre-test questions for the

journeyman, 24 for Class I and 28 for Class II, so that the total number of test and pre-test

questions is 120, 144 and 168 respectively (GA-bulletin, l. 494, GA-bulletin, l. 496). Read together

with the columns, that is what the master classes are: Class I is 80 technical items plus 40

administrative items, 120 scored items, with 24 further pre-test items served alongside them.

The time allowed is printed per class. For the journeyman the bulletin prints five hours in two parts

of two and a half hours each (GA-bulletin, l. 538). For Master Class I and for Master Class II it

prints seven hours: three and a half hours for part 1, a break, and three and a half hours for part 2

(GA-bulletin, l. 545, GA-bulletin, l. 553). Scoring is by a converted score rather than a raw count:

the minimum passing score for each examination form is converted to a final scaled score of 70, so

that the minimum passing score is 70 for all forms regardless of the difficulty of the individual

form, and the final scaled score of 70 is required for passing any examination form (GA-bulletin, l.

601, GA-bulletin, l. 606). The examinations are delivered by computer at PSI test centres, are

administered by appointment only Monday through Saturday, and candidates are scheduled on a

first-come, first-served basis (GA-bulletin, l. 112).

4. The subjects the bulletin prints that the plumbing code does not carry

The published outline itself names nine general-law subjects, and none of them is a plumbing

disposition. Category A, « Comply with General Laws », is printed with five items: the Georgia

Construction Industry Licensing Board itself, its complaint procedures, its function and renewal; the

location law for underground utilities; the Americans with Disabilities Act; American National

Standards Institute handicap accessibility; and the state water conservation law (GA-bulletin, l.

307, GA-bulletin, l. 308, GA-bulletin, l. 310, GA-bulletin, l. 311, GA-bulletin, l. 312, GA-bulletin,

l. 313). Category B, « Comply with Regulations », adds the codes and the authorities that stand beside

the plumbing code: the Georgia State Plumbing Code and the Standard Building Code Congress plumbing

code, the SBCCI gas code, the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 29, Part 1926 (OSHA), the obtaining

of the necessary permits and inspections, including boiler inspections, the state trenching law, the

Georgia State Boiler Code, the health department, and manufacturer's recommendations (GA-bulletin, l.

315, GA-bulletin, l. 316, GA-bulletin, l. 319, GA-bulletin, l. 320, GA-bulletin, l. 321, GA-bulletin,

l. 322, GA-bulletin, l. 323, GA-bulletin, l. 324). Nothing of the location law, the accessibility

standards, the trenching law, the boiler code or the health department rules is reproduced,

summarised or paraphrased in this text: the bulletin names them as subjects of the examination, and

this file names them as subjects of the examination.

Manufacturer's recommendations are the one item on that list the code itself reaches, and the code

reaches it in the direction of strictness. Materials are installed in strict accordance with the

standards under which they were accepted and approved, the manufacturer's instructions being followed

in the absence of such installation procedures, and where those requirements do not conform to a

minimum provision of the code, the code applies (IPC 2024, 303.2); and the Georgia amendment to the

backfilling section states the rule for Georgia expressly — where the manufacturer's installation

instructions for materials are more restrictive than those prescribed by the code, the material is

installed in accordance with the more restrictive requirement (GA-rule, l. 203).

The reference list is printed document by document, and it is where a candidate finds the law that

backs the subjects above. The items are the Americans with Disabilities Act publication on an

employer's responsibilities, the Contractors Guide to Business, Law, and Project Management published

for the Georgia Construction Industry Licensing Board in its 5th edition by the National Association

of State Contractors Licensing Agencies, the Georgia Gas Code and the Georgia Plumbing Code in their

2018 or 2024 editions with the corresponding amendments, Mathematics for Plumbers and Pipefitters in

its 8th edition of 2013, Plumbing Technology, Design and Installation in its 4th edition of 2008, the

ADA Standards for Accessible Design of 2010, the Excavator Manual published by GA 811 for the Georgia

Public Service Commission in its 2025 edition, and the Employer's Tax Guide, Circular E, for 2025 or

2026 (GA-bulletin, l. 695, GA-bulletin, l. 698, GA-bulletin, l. 703, GA-bulletin, l. 709, GA-bulletin,

l. 715, GA-bulletin, l. 719, GA-bulletin, l. 721, GA-bulletin, l. 726, GA-bulletin, l. 729). One item

is reserved to the master classes: the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 29, Part 1926 (OSHA), latest

available edition, is printed as a reference that applies only to Master Plumber Class I (Restricted)

and Master Plumber Class II (Unrestricted) candidates (GA-bulletin, l. 732, GA-bulletin, l. 735).

5. Where the state's own words are, and where they are not

One statement of the rule's own scope keeps the rest of this set honest. The scope sentence added as

Section 300.1 is written for the state of Georgia and it is the sentence that hands fuel gas to

another code (GA-rule, l. 151) — so a gas rule is a rule of the fuel gas code, and the plumbing code's

own text is not offered in this set as its source. The general applicability section that carries

that scope is itself a Georgia addition: it is not printed in the code corpus kept in this

repository, which is the unamended 2024 edition, and a rule read here from the added section is

marked by its GA-rule line rather than by a code address.

6. What these documents do not state

filed here, and none is asserted above. The bulletin prints that three classes of licence are

offered (GA-bulletin, l. 100) and that passing the licensure examination is one of the requirements

for obtaining a plumber licence (GA-bulletin, l. 96), and the lines filed here go no further on

eligibility.

they draw on — the Board and its division (GA-bulletin, l. 23), O.C.G.A. § 8-2-20 et seq. as the

rule's authority (GA-rule, l. 1061), O.C.G.A. Title 25, Chapter 15 for boilers, water heaters and

pressure vessels above the printed threshold (GA-rule, l. 36) — and no provision of any of them is

reproduced or paraphrased here.

utilities, the Georgia State Boiler Code, the health department rules and the ADA and ANSI

accessibility standards are listed by the bulletin as subjects or as references (GA-bulletin, l.

307, GA-bulletin, l. 315) and no copy of any of them is held here: what this text can state about

them is that they are named.

administrative content categories name those subjects (GA-bulletin, l. 466, GA-bulletin, l. 467).

says the reference list it prints applies to examinations administered through December 31, 2026 and

directs a later candidate to obtain an updated list (GA-bulletin, l. 738). Nothing above states what

that updated list will say.