Plumber profession data by country
Where plumber is a regulated profession, how foreign qualifications are recognised and which shortage lists name it, country by country, from official registers.
37 countries have an official record for plumber: 31 regulate it and 23 name it on a shortage list. Comparable country-level profession salaries are not published here, so a best-paying destination cannot yet be named.
- Countries
- 37
- Regulated in
- 31
- On a shortage list in
- 23
Country by country
Open a country for its full record and sources. A dash means the register has no entry for that field.
| Country | Regulation | Recognition route | Shortage list |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Regulated | Apply through the Offshore Skills Assessment Program to the approved RTO for the nominated trade. A successful assessment can result in an Offshore Technical Skills Record (OTSR); then apply for a provisional State/Territory licence, complete gap training and supervised employment, and meet full-licence requirements.Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) through an approved Registered Training Organisation (RTO) for offshore skills assessment; the State/Territory licensing authority for the subsequent licence. | Listed2025 Occupation Shortage List (ANZSCO 2022) |
| Austria | Regulated | Independent Gas/Sanitary trade permit; cross-border service requires prior notification and qualification evidence; safety-sensitive cases may require aptitude examination.District authority/Magistrat for local trade permission; federal route for temporary cross-border service notification. | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Belgium | Regulated | Recognition of professional experience Annex IV - automatic recognition; DIRECTIVE 2005/36/EC; National legislation: 29 JANVIER 2007. - Arrêté royal relatif à la capacité professionnelle pour l'exercice des activités indépendantes dans les métiers de la construction et de l'électrotechnique, ainsi que de l'entreprise générale. 29 JANUARI 2007. - Koninklijk besluit betreffende de beroepsbekwaamheid voor de uitoefening van zelfstandige activiteiten van het bouwvak en van de elektrotechniek, alsook van de algemene aanneming. Ordinary employee plumbing has no general professional-recognition route identified. For specified self-employed activity, skills may be proven by diploma/experience or a regional central-jury exam.No profession-recognition authority for ordinary employee plumbing jobs was identified. Regional business-access rules for specified self-employed activities are checked through an accredited enterprise counter. | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Bulgaria | Not marked regulated | Employer assesses the foreign professional qualification for the generic non-regulated role. NACID academic-degree recognition may be requested separately where a foreign degree needs equivalence; it is not a professional licence.For a non-regulated profession, NACID says the employer is competent to recognise the foreign professional qualification; no profession-wide national recognition authority is identified. | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Canada | Regulated | Experienced foreign-trained plumbers may apply for STO Trade Equivalency Assessment; an approved applicant can schedule the exam.Skilled Trades Ontario handles Ontario plumber trade equivalency and certification. | ListedCanadian Occupational Projection System — projected labour-market conditions |
| Croatia | Regulated | Recognition of professional experience Annex IV - automatic recognition; DIRECTIVE 2005/36/EC; National legislation: Zakon o obrtu (NN 143/13); Trades and Crafts Act; Recognition of professional experience Annex IV - automatic recognition | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Cyprus | Not marked regulated | — | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Czechia | Regulated | Recognition of professional experience Annex IV - automatic recognition; DIRECTIVE 2005/36/EC; National legislation: Sections 6, 7, 8, 21, and 22 of Act No 455/1991 Coll., the Trade Licensing Act, as amended. Craft-trade competence can be evidenced by relevant apprenticeship/secondary/vocational/university qualification, retraining or six years of experience; evidence must match the exact trade. Recognition of professional experience Annex IV - automatic recognition.For the cited craft-trade business registration, the competent Trade Licensing Office receives/processes the application; this is not a universal employee-qualification authority. | — |
| Denmark | Regulated | The company applies for the relevant contractor authorisation and must have a technically responsible person approved by Sikkerhedsstyrelsen. The approved-person route and company conditions are separate from ordinary employee recruitment.Danish Safety Technology Authority (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen) for company authorisation and approval of the technically responsible person. | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Estonia | Regulated | For activities within Regulation 61, a foreign professional qualification must be recognized before acting as competent person; apply to TTJA with supporting documents.TTJA for construction or electrical competent-person activities within its remit. | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Finland | Regulated | For statutory building-system design or site roles, obtain eligibility from the relevant authorised body; ordinary installation has no single recognition route.The Ministry of the Environment or its authorised body for covered water/sewage design or construction competence; not one authority for every installer. | — |
| France | Regulated | Recognition of professional experience Annex IV - automatic recognition. Recognition of professional experience Annex IV - automatic recognition; DIRECTIVE 2005/36/EC; National legislation: Loi n°96-603 du 5 juillet 1996 relative au développement et à la promotion du commerce et de l'artisanat; - Décret n°98-246 du 2 avril 1998 relatif à la qualification professionnelle exigée pour l'exercice des activités prévues à l'article 16 de la loi n°96-603 du 5 juillet 1996 relative au développement et à la promotion du commerce et de l'artisanat. Applicants evidence qualification or the prescribed experience; EU/EEA recognition can require a compensatory aptitude measure for substantial differences.The competent CMA handles EU/EEA qualification recognition for the covered regulated plumbing activity. | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Germany | Regulated | Recognition of professional experience Annex IV - automatic recognition. Recognition of professional experience Annex IV - automatic recognition; DIRECTIVE 2005/36/EC; National legislation: Nr. 23 der Anlage A zur Handwerksordnung. Employee qualification recognition is generally optional for a non-regulated occupation. To operate the listed licensed craft independently, the business must be entered in the Handwerksrolle and meet the HwO qualification/exception route; foreign qualifications are assessed by the relevant Handwerkskammer.There is no single occupational-recognition authority for all employed electricians/plumbers. For an independent licensed craft business, the regional Handwerkskammer maintains the Handwerksrolle; the intended Land and exact trade determine the contact. | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Greece | Regulated | Submit the activity-specific qualification and notification/approval application to the competent Region. Foreign certificates/qualifications and exact technician grade require separate assessment; this is not a single national licence for all adjacent tasks.Ministry of Development; the locally competent Regional Development Directorate/Vocational Department handles the specified technical-activity notification. | — |
| Hungary | Regulated | Recognition of professional experience Annex IV - automatic recognition; DIRECTIVE 2005/36/EC; National legislation: - az egyes ipari és kereskedelmi tevékenységek gyakorlásához szükséges képesítésekről szóló 21/2010. (V. 14.) NFGM rendelet - egyes ipari, kereskedelmi és idegenforgalmi tevékenységek gyakorlásához szükséges képesítésekről szóló 5/1997. IKIM rendelet - a nemzetgazdasági miniszter hatáskörébe tartozó szakképesítések szakmai és vizsgakövetelményeiről 27/2012. (VIII. 27.) NGM rendelet. Where a foreign higher-education credential needs formal recognition for work, OH-MEIK can determine qualification level and professional qualification; activity-specific legal authorisation, if any, remains a separate check.For foreign higher-education credentials used for employment or professional purposes, OH-MEIK in the Educational Authority is the official diploma-recognition authority; any activity-specific practice authority remains separate. | — |
| Iceland | Regulated | Recognition of professional experience Annex IV - automatic recognition; DIRECTIVE 2005/36/EC; National legislation: The Industrial Act no. 42/1978 and Regulation no. 940/1999 on Regulated Industrial Professions. Submit foreign vocational credentials, translations and verified experience to ENIC/NARIC Iceland; after a positive assessment, the District Commissioner of East Iceland issues the professional-rights certificate. Master-plumber responsibility for licensed work requires the separate HMS master-craftsman route.ENIC/NARIC Iceland assesses foreign vocational qualifications; the District Commissioner of East Iceland issues professional-rights confirmation nationwide. HMS issues master-craftsman certification for licensed-work responsibility. | — |
| Ireland | Regulated | Gas installers must enter the RGI scheme for regulated gas installation work; the checked source does not state a profession-wide registration process for ordinary plumbing.Register of Gas Installers of Ireland (RGI) for gas installation work; no universal plumber recognition authority is stated on the checked leaf. | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Italy | Regulated | For the technical-responsible person of a firm performing covered water or sanitary installation work, MIMIT's foreign-qualification route and any prescribed compensatory measure apply. This is an activity/business route, not the recognition procedure for every employed plumber.MIMIT publishes the recognition references for covered building water and sanitary installation activity; company registration and a qualified technical responsible person are part of the activity framework. | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Latvia | Not marked regulated | — | — |
| Lithuania | Not marked regulated | For a non-regulated occupation, the general regulated-profession recognition process is not required; an applicant can apply directly to an employer.No professional-qualification recognition authority is assigned to the broad title as a non-regulated profession; the prospective employer sets job requirements. | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Luxembourg | Regulated | Where plumbing work falls within the List A heating-sanitary installation craft, the independent craft manager needs a permit and an activity-specific qualification. The source does not establish that all ISCO 7126 work is the same legal title.The Ministry of the Economy is the permit authority for the named List A heating-sanitary-refrigeration installer craft activity; the checked source does not assign all frozen plumber jobs to that title. | — |
| Malta | Regulated | — | — |
| Netherlands | Not marked regulated | No profession-wide foreign-professional recognition application is required for the title where the Dutch RegProf catalogue does not list it. Optional IDW diploma valuation compares an academic credential but is not a practice licence.No profession-specific recognition authority applies to the broad title when it is not listed as regulated; an optional academic credential evaluation can be requested through IDW/Nuffic/SBB. | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| New Zealand | Regulated | PGDB compares the applicant's overseas qualifications and experience with the relevant regulated trade and may require assessments or supervised/provisional licensing.Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board assesses overseas qualifications and issues registration/licences for its regulated trades. | — |
| Norway | Not marked regulated | No profession-wide foreign professional-recognition application is identified for this broad title in the checked official list. Voluntary HK-dir education recognition assesses level/credits and is not a licence to practise.No profession-wide professional-recognition authority is identified for this broad title in the checked HK-dir regulated-professions list; HK-dir can voluntarily assess foreign education, which is not a practice licence. | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Poland | Regulated | — | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Portugal | Regulated | Gas technicians/installers use DGEG recognition and qualification routes under the gas-sector framework; this does not establish a general licence for all plumbing work.DGEG handles recognition/certification for named gas-sector professionals; this is not a general plumber authority. | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Romania | Regulated | For covered gas-installation work, the natural-gas installer authorization application is submitted through ANRE's portal and includes the regulated examination process; it does not cover all plumbing work.ANRE for the named natural-gas installer subset and associated gas-system work; no general plumber authority is inferred. | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Saudi Arabia | Regulated | For occupations included in HRSD Professional Verification, expatriates complete credential/skill verification and any required theoretical/practical assessment in the programme scope. This is not stated as a universal plumber licensing path.HRSD Skills Verification/Professional Verification for expatriate occupations covered by its programme; this is not a universal plumber board. | — |
| Slovakia | Regulated | Recognition of professional experience Annex IV - automatic recognition; DIRECTIVE 2005/36/EC; National legislation: Act No. 455/1991 Z. z. o živnostenskom podnikaní (živnostenský zákon) For the Plumbing and Heating trade, obtain formal-education recognition and professional-qualification recognition, then meet the trade-register requirement; exact vocational-training and practice alternatives apply. Recognition of professional experience Annex IV - automatic recognition.Ministry of Education / CRD for education evidence; District Office / Ministry of Interior for the professional qualification and trade route. | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Slovenia | Regulated | For self-employed/craft-provider plumbing, heating and air-conditioning work (F43.220), obtain the craft permit/register entry and show required professional qualification; this does not impose the same individual licence on every employee.For the craft-provider activity, OZS handles the craft permit/register; this is not a worker licence. | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Spain | Regulated | General system of recognition - primary application. For gas installations, meet the category-specific installer qualification and company conditions, then follow the competent Autonomous Community procedure. This does not establish a universal licence for ordinary plumbing.For regulated gas-installation work, the relevant Autonomous Community competent authority applies the qualification/installer route; authorised gas installation companies are also required. | — |
| Sweden | Regulated | — | ListedEURES labour shortages and surpluses dashboard — National Coordination Office submission |
| Switzerland | Regulated | For the SVGW GW101 potable-water installation certificate, the stated routes include a Swiss sanitary-installer EFZ plus two years’ experience and the SVGW course, or secondary-II completion plus four years’ experience and the course; listed equivalent further qualifications may also qualify. This is a certification route, not blanket foreign-diploma recognition.For the specific potable-water-installation certification route, SVGW’s person-certification body grants GW101 certification and maintains the register used by water-supply companies. This is not a universal foreign-plumber licensing authority. | — |
| United Arab Emirates | Regulated | — | — |
| United Kingdom | Regulated | — | ListedTemporary Shortage List — Appendix Skilled Worker SW 6.1A |
| United States | Regulated | — | — |
How this list is built
The list holds the 37 countries with at least one official record for plumber: a regulated-professions register entry, a recognition record or a shortage-list row. National occupation names are joined to this profession through a reviewed crosswalk, country by country; a name the crosswalk does not match is left out rather than guessed. Salaries are not shown until a profession-level salary is collected for the country.
Cite this page
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APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 25). Plumber profession data by country [ImmigrationDB compilation; version d0ad285f73f0b717b1f6ef803a8b760a]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/move-as/plumber/ Retrieved 2026-10-25. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_plumber-profession-data-by-country_60df7fa77843,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Plumber profession data by country},
publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-25},
version = {d0ad285f73f0b717b1f6ef803a8b760a},
url = {https://immigrationdb.com/move-as/plumber/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-10-25. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Plumber profession data by country](https://immigrationdb.com/move-as/plumber/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version d0ad285f73f0b717b1f6ef803a8b760a; retrieved 2026-10-25; built 2026-10-25.This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.
Sources
- Trades Recognition Australia (TRA)
- Jobs and Skills Australia / Australian Government
- ILO
- WKO Installation and Building Technology
- European Labour Authority / EURES
- Austrian Federal Government, migration.gv.at
- European Commission — Regulated Professions Database (RegProf)
- FPS Economy
- Walloon Public Service, Employment and Vocational Training
- Council of Ministers / NAVET