TITLE 54

PROFESSIONS, VOCATIONS, AND BUSINESSES

CHAPTER 26

PLUMBING AND PLUMBERS

54-2602.  Exceptions. (1) Certificate of competency requirements of this chapter shall not be deemed to apply to:

(a)  Any person who does plumbing work in a single or duplex family dwelling, including accessory buildings, quarters and grounds in connection with such dwelling; provided that such person owns or is a contract purchaser of the premises, and provided further that such person shall comply with the minimum standards and rules applicable to plumbing practices provided by this chapter.

(b)  Farm buildings located outside the incorporated limits of any city unless such buildings are connected to a public water or sewer system; and a farm building is hereby defined to be a structure located on agricultural zoned property and designed and constructed to house farm implements, hay, grain, poultry, livestock or other horticultural products and includes sheds, barns, corrals or fences. This definition does not include a place for human habitation or a place of regular employment where agricultural products are extracted, processed, treated or packaged; a place used by the public; or conditioned livestock housing.

(c)  Logging, mining or construction camps when plumbing installations are made to conform with the recommendations of the department of health and welfare.

(d)  Piping systems in industrial processing plants located outside the incorporated limits of any city unless such systems are connected to a public water or sewer system.

(e)  Work on plumbing systems on premises owned or operated by an employer who regularly employs maintenance or construction plumbers, provided that alterations, extensions and new construction shall comply with the minimum standards and rules applicable to plumbing practices provided by this chapter.

(f)  Nothing contained in this section or any other provision of this code shall be construed or applied to require a sewer contractor, sewage disposal contractor, or any excavating or utility contractor who generally engages in the business of installing, altering or repairing sewers, private and public sewage disposal systems, and water distribution and/or drainage lines outside the foundation walls of any building or structure to obtain a valid contractor’s certificate of competency or to employ only journeymen plumbers possessing a valid journeyman plumber’s certificate of competency or registration or to in any way require that his employees be registered, licensed or declared competent by the board.

(g)  Water treatment installations and repairs when installed in residential or business properties, provided the same, when installed, repaired or completed, shall be inspected by a designated, qualified and properly identified agent of the division of occupational and professional licenses as to quality of workmanship and compliance with the applicable provisions of this chapter.

(h)  Plumbing work within modular buildings as defined in section 39-4301, Idaho Code, that are constructed in the state of Idaho for installation on building sites outside the state; provided however, that no modular building shall be installed on a building site in the state of Idaho until it has been approved and bears the insignia of approval of the division as being in compliance with the requirements set forth in section 39-4304, Idaho Code.

(i)  Individuals holding a current installer license pursuant to the provisions of chapter 21, title 44, Idaho Code, may make connections from manufactured home or mobile home sewer or water facilities to existing sewer or water facilities on-site.

(j)  Individuals licensed pursuant to chapter 10, title 54, Idaho Code, or chapter 50, title 54, Idaho Code, as follows:

(i)   Individuals holding a current HVAC or electrical license may install electrical circuitry from the disconnecting means to a water heater and electrical connections to the water heater as long as the disconnect is in sight from the unit and the circuit from the disconnecting means to the water heater is no more than fifty (50) feet long.

(ii)  Individuals holding a current HVAC license may install gas piping and piping for hydronic systems.

(iii) Individuals holding a current HVAC license may install boilers that are not otherwise subject to inspection by the industrial commission or its authorized agent.

(k)  A nonprofit organization that is chartered to build houses and that has tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, including a religious corporation, and such organization’s volunteers, performing plumbing installations for a single-family dwelling unit. An organization described in this paragraph shall designate a primary contact person with whom inspectors may communicate.

(2)  To the extent that an electrical or HVAC installation permit issued by the Idaho division of occupational and professional licenses includes any part of a plumbing installation, the permit issued and inspection performed shall be sufficient to satisfy the permitting and inspecting requirements of this chapter if all required permit fees have been paid.

(3)  Apprentice registration requirements shall not apply to high school students enrolled in an educational program recognized by the board in which the performance of plumbing installation is a formal component of the program. The exemption is limited to students performing residential installations as part of such program under the constant on-the-job supervision of a licensed journeyman plumber and a permit for the work is obtained from the authority having jurisdiction. Work hours performed by such students shall not apply toward apprentice work requirements.

(4)  Any person, firm, copartnership, association or corporation making water treatment installations and/or repairs in accordance with the provisions of this chapter shall maintain a surety bond in the amount of two thousand dollars ($2,000).

History:

[(54-2602) 39-2701, added 1957, ch. 214, sec. 2, p. 454; am. 1963, ch. 138, sec. 2, p. 392; am. 1969, ch. 184, sec. 1, p. 548; am. 1974, ch. 39, sec. 25, p. 1023; am. 1975, ch. 173, sec. 1, p. 467; am. and redesig. 1984, ch. 123, sec. 2, p. 282; am. 1996, ch. 421, sec. 51, p. 1436; am. 2004, ch. 250, sec. 7, p. 720; am. 2007, ch. 197, sec. 2, p. 598; am. 2007, ch. 252, sec. 9, p. 746; am. 2008, ch. 381, sec. 1, p. 1051; am. 2018, ch. 199, sec. 2, p. 447; am. 2020, ch. 77, sec. 1, p. 165; am. 2022, ch. 301, sec. 2, p. 953.]