Spotsylvania County, VA Building Safety: Plumbing Permits (2026)

Article III of Chapter 5 covers plumbers alongside electricians and building-related mechanical workers under one certification scheme adopted in 1982. Sec. 5-92 defines a plumber as anyone who installs, maintains, extends, or alters piping, fixtures, plumbing appliances, and plumbing appurtenances connected to sanitary or storm drainage, venting systems, or public or private water supply within or adjacent to a building, when done for the general public for compensation. Sec. 5-96(a) ties that definition directly to permitting: except for the exemptions in subsection (b), including holders of a valid Class A contractor's license, those certified in another Virginia locality since 1978, apprenticeship graduates, helpers and laborers, and owners working on their own owner-occupied residence, no permit for plumbing work regulated by the building code may be issued without a valid, unexpired, unrevoked certificate, and doing such work without one is unlawful.

The building official examines and certifies applicants under Sec. 5-95, granting Level One (journeyman) or Level Two (master) certificates based on four years of practical experience, an approved apprenticeship, or a combination of a degree and experience, under Sec. 5-99 and Sec. 5-100. Sec. 5-101 requires a 75 percent passing score on an exam keyed to the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, offered at least every three months, with a twelve-month wait after a second failure. The certification application fee is $35 under Sec. 5-98, paid to the county treasurer, and certificates expire three years after issuance and must be renewed under Sec. 5-105. Helpers and laborers assisting on permitted plumbing work must work under the direct, personal supervision of a certificate holder, per Sec. 5-103.