Bathroom Remodel — South Dakota license requirements

01 The project

The starting point is the work itself — Bathroom Remodel in South Dakota. The job determines which trades are involved, and the trades determine which license classifications may be required.

02 Jurisdiction

This project is evaluated for South Dakota — the no-general-contractor-licence state. The State Electrical Commission (SDCL ch. 36-16) licenses only electrical, and only on its own terms: no dollar threshold, a $10,000 undertaking with liability insurance, biennial June 30 even-year renewal; the State Plumbing Commission (SDCL ch. 36-25) runs the plumbing ladders on annual December 31 licences; and every person entering a construction contract needs DOR's 2% contractor's excise licence. Local permits and any municipal registration are a separate layer under SDCL 36-16-35. South Dakota jurisdiction page.

03 Trade → license

Relations below are recorded per state — only this jurisdiction's classifications are shown.

Trades involved: Plumbing, Electrical, Tile, Framing, Drywall, Painting.

• May require PLUMBING-CONTRACTOR — Plumbing Contractor (SD Plumbing Commission) confirmed S-SD-PLUMBING-DEFAULT rule SD-PLB-LICENSE
  A remodeled bathroom's plumbing on public-system-connected property needs a Commission licence at ANY price — plumbing contractor (6 years' experience incl. 2 as contractor/plumber, $275 annual) or plumber under one (rule SD-PLB-LICENSE).
• Component basis PLUMBER — Plumber (SD Plumbing Commission) confirmed S-SD-PLUMBING-EXAMS rule SD-PLB-EXAM
  The plumber performing the work holds the exam-gated licence (4 years' apprentice experience at 1,900 h/yr; $100 Commission exam; $105 annual) — the Commission itself administers the exam in Pierre/Sioux Falls/Rapid City (rule SD-PLB-EXAM).
• Alternative path ELECTRICAL-CONTRACTOR — Electrical Contractor (SD Electrical Commission) confirmed S-SD-WIRING-BULLETIN rule SD-ELEC-LICENSE
  The electrical half of the remodel (rewiring, fan, lighting, GFCI circuits) needs the electrical Commission licence too — one bathroom job can touch BOTH commissions (rule SD-ELEC-LICENSE). Owner-occupants instead use the $130 plumbing certificate + the owner's wiring permit (rules SD-PLB-HOMEOWNER, SD-ELEC-EXEMPT).
• Component basis THIRD-YEAR-APPRENTICE-PLUMBER — Third-Year Apprentice Plumber (SD Plumbing Commission) confirmed S-SD-PLUMBING-LICENSING rule SD-PLB-EXPERIENCE
  On a SINGLE-FAMILY home, a third-year apprentice plumber (3,800 hours + the $50 state exam) may work unsupervised during years three and four — but ONLY on single-family dwellings (rule SD-PLB-EXPERIENCE; SCOPE-SD-THIRD-YEAR-NO-UNSUPERVISED). A bathroom in anything else needs the plumber or contractor over them.

04 Scope

What the official sources say about the work involved — typed assertions, never a boolean "covers". Interpretations are marked as such.

• Officially excluded THIRD-YEAR-APPRENTICE-PLUMBER Unsupervised Plumbing On Anything But A Single Family Dwelling (may_not_perform) ARSD 20:53:03:05; DLR licensing page S-SD-PLUMBING-LICENSING
  A narrow official window — the third-year apprentice is NOT a journeyman substitute on commercial or multi-family work.
• Officially included ELECTRICAL-CONTRACTOR Contract Electrical Work Of Any Kind (may_perform) SDCL 36-16-13, 36-16-14 S-SD-WIRING-BULLETIN
  The only class that may contract electrical work of any kind (rule SD-ELEC-CONTRACTING).
• Officially excluded bathroom-remodel Homeowner Permit On Commercial Or Rental Property (may_not_perform) SDCL 36-25-17; DLR homeowner pages S-SD-PLUMBING-HOMEOWNER
  The owner exemptions NEVER reach income property — commercial and rental work must go to the licensed contractors (the second owner page states the electrical half verbatim).
• Officially included bathroom-remodel Homeowner Plumb Own Single Family Dwelling (may_perform) SDCL 36-25-17 S-SD-PLUMBING-HOMEOWNER
  Owner = installer, single-family only, $130 certificate, three state inspections (rule SD-PLB-HOMEOWNER).

05 Requirements

06 Rule: SD-PLB-LICENSE

SDCL 36-25-17 is titled 'License required for plumbing work on property connected to public water or sewer system — Exceptions' (official chapter index, surfaced — the chapter's full text sits behind sdlegislature.gov's JavaScript shell). The Commission's licensing page (machine-read) enumerates exactly which occupations require licences: plumbers, plumbing contractors, third-year apprentices, sewer and water installers, appliance installers, manufactured and mobile home installers, underground irrigation installers, water conditioning installers, and individual and small on-site wastewater system installers. The Commission's front page states the licence is issued by the State Plumbing Commission; violating SDCL 36-25 is a Class 2 misdemeanor (SDCL 36-25-30, surfaced — confidence `reported`, no dollar/day figures read).

07 Rule: SD-PLB-EXAM

Commission exams page verbatim (machine-read 2026-10-09): 'The State Plumbing Commission administers and establishes educational, training, and examination requirements' for plumbing, sewer and water, appliance, on-site wastewater, manufactured & mobile home, underground irrigation and water conditioning occupations. Fees: 'Contractor exams and re-exams $100.00; Plumber/Installer exams and re-exams $100.00; Third-year Plumbing Apprentice exams and re-exams $50.00'; first-timers must apply, pay and be approved before scheduling; exams run in Pierre by advance appointment and in Sioux Falls/Rapid City when 8–10 applicants warrant travel. A third-party 'Pearson VUE' claim found during discovery is CONTRADICTED by this official page and is not used. The plumbing pass mark is not published on the pages read (§O).

08 Rule: SD-ELEC-LICENSE

SDCL 36-16-1 (machine-read from DLR's official Wiring Bulletin): 'Any person, firm, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation engaged, or offering to engage, in business as an electrical contractor as defined in § 36-16-2 or any person performing the work as defined in this chapter, shall obtain a license from the State Electrical Commission before any person may undertake and perform such work … It is a Class 2 misdemeanor' to do so without compliance. There is NO dollar threshold on any electrical licence — the duty attaches to the work itself.

09 Rule: SD-PLB-EXPERIENCE

Commission licensing page verbatim (machine-read 2026-10-09): plumbing contractor — 'six years' experience as a plumbing contractor, plumber, or plumber's apprentice with at least two of those years as a plumbing contractor or plumber' + 'at least 1,900 hours per year'; plumber — 'four years' experience as an apprentice plumber' + 1,900 hours/year (military credit 1 year per 2 served, up to 5 years); third-year apprentice — two years / 3,800 hours, then may 'work without supervision during their third year and fourth year, only on single family dwellings and only upon satisfactorily passing a state-administered examination'; specialty contractor — one year as an installer; installer — two years as an apprentice; apprentice — application only. Each figure is the initial AND annual renewal fee's ladder under ARSD 20:53:12 (LRC-approved, effective 7/2/2025).

10 Rule: SD-PLB-HOMEOWNER

Commission Homeowner Plumbing page verbatim (machine-read 2026-10-09): 'Per South Dakota Codified Law (SDCL) 36-25-17, as a homeowner, you may install plumbing in your residence or farmstead on which you presently reside or premises where you will reside when construction is complete. Homeowner plumbing permits are for residences only, which means it must be a single-family dwelling … Homeowners of a mobile home or modular home are not allowed … unless the units are located on an owner occupied lot … Homeowners are not allowed to conduct an installation on commercial or rental properties. These properties must be plumbed by a licensed South Dakota plumbing contractor'; 'You must be the owner and person performing the installation'; the certificate costs $130, 'expire[s] two years from the date the permittee signs and dates the permit', requires proof of ownership, must follow state plumbing code ARSD 20:54, and needs underground, rough-in and final inspections (5-day notice recommended; additional inspections $75 each).

11 Rule: SD-ELEC-EXEMPT

SDCL 36-16-15 (machine-read): 'No license is required of a person installing electric wiring in or on: (1) The person's own residence … (2) The person's own farmstead; (3) The premises of a single-family dwelling unit … in the process of being constructed if the person owns the premises and intends to occupy [it] …; or (4) Any private, non-habitable property owned by the person …' — entrances over 60 A, circuits and parts remain subject to inspection with an inspection fee; failure to report the work is a Class 2 misdemeanor; 'residence' means a detached owner-occupied single-family dwelling. DLR's Homeowner Wiring page (machine-read) adds the rule ARSD 20:44:14:01(12) definition of the owner's exemption: an approved homeowner permit BEFORE starting work, proof of ownership, NO commercial or rental property, mobile/modular only on an owner-occupied lot (otherwise a licensed electrical contractor must do it), 72-hour inspection notice, rough-in + final inspections, permit life three years.

12 Rule: SD-ELEC-PERMIT

SDCL 36-16-27 (machine-read): 'No new electrical service entrance … may be connected for use until a wiring permit has been furnished' to the energy supplier; the section caps a rule's wiring-permit fee at $15 and late/renewal-failure fees at $750. § 36-16-30(9) (2021 amendment) authorises wiring permits 'not to exceed twenty dollars', and the Commission's fee schedule effective July 1, 2025 (machine-read) charges $20 each or a book of 20 for $400, with a $250 late-permit administrative fee. CONFLICT-SD-001 (the $15 vs $20 cap) is resolved with method: the later § 36-16-30 schedule and the Commission's current $20 charge govern what is collected today.

13 Two commissions in one bathroom

14 Fees and the credential boundary

Evidence

Verification