1.1 Exam Format, Permitted References & Open-Book Strategy

Why the format matters

The Virginia journeyman plumber examination tests whether you can find and apply code requirements under time pressure. PSI Services LLC administers the examination for the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) and the Virginia Board for Contractors. You must first get Board approval of your application. PSI will not let you schedule until the Board sends that approval. The facts below come from PSI's Individual License and Certification Candidate Information Bulletin, updated July 23, 2026. Check the current bulletin before you test, because PSI can change these rules.

The bulletin uses the same 80-item outline for the journeyman and master plumber examinations. That means a journeyman candidate must be ready for sizing and layout questions as well as installation questions.

The 13 outline areas

At 210 minutes for 80 scored items plus up to 10 unscored items, you have a little over 2.3 minutes per question. If you count only the 80 scored items, you have about 2.6 minutes. That is enough time to look up most code values, but not enough to search the whole book for each question.

Permitted references and how to prepare them

PSI lists two references for the plumber examination:

1. Virginia Board for Contractors, Individual License and Certification Regulations (DPOR document A501-27TRADEREGS, which includes 18VAC50-30 and the Title 54.1, Chapter 11 statutes).
2. International Plumbing Code, 2021 edition (ICC).

PSI's reference rules:

• You must bring your own references; none are provided at the site.
• No study guides and no sample examinations are allowed.
• References may be highlighted, underlined or indexed before the examination, but must otherwise be unmarked. A reference with writing in it is not allowed.
• Only permanent tabs are allowed. Removable tabs are not.
• A downloaded reference must be bound (spiral, three-ring binder or stapled at the left corner); loose pages are not allowed.
• Writing in a reference during the exam is prohibited and is reported to the Department.

PSI states that, for code questions, "the examination will be based only on the edition of the Code book that is listed." Use the 2021 IPC, not the 2018 or 2024 edition.

Virginia amendments and which rule wins

The bulletin's content-outline instructions give a precedence rule. A legal requirement (code, law or regulation) overrides other references. When two legal requirements appear to conflict, the state-specific code, law or regulation overrides the national one. In Virginia, the plumbing code in force is the 2021 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC). Part I of the USBC, the Virginia Construction Code (VCC), incorporates the 2021 IPC. VCC Section 2901.1.1 then lists Virginia's changes to the IPC. These Virginia changes appear throughout this guide:

• Storm drainage: Virginia replaced the 2021 IPC's flow-rate (gpm) tables with projected-roof-area tables for leaders, horizontal storm drains and gutters, and added Section 1114.1 (1 gpm of continuous flow = 96 square feet of roof area).
• Backflow location: VA 608.15 requires backflow prevention assemblies between 12 and 60 inches above the grade, floor or service platform.
• Grease interceptors: VA 1003.3.2 requires a solids interceptor ahead of a grease interceptor that receives a food waste disposer.
• Tracer wire: VA 603.3 and 703.7 require an 18 AWG insulated copper tracer wire on nonmetallic water services and building sewers that connect to public systems.
• PVC solvent cementing: Virginia deleted the exception to 705.10.2, so purple primer is required for PVC DWV joints.
• Fixtures: Virginia amended Table 403.1, the urinal partition rules (405.3.5) and the compartment rules (405.3.4), and deleted IPC Section 311 (toilet facilities for workers).

Test-day logistics

• Schedule online at test-takers.psiexams.com/vacon or by calling PSI at (855) 340-3910. You can test at a PSI center or by remote proctoring.
• Arrive 30 minutes early with one valid, unexpired, government-issued photo ID that matches your registered name. A military ID is not accepted for remote testing.
• To cancel or reschedule without losing the fee, PSI must receive notice at least two days before the exam date. Voicemail and email are not acceptable notice.
• Remote-proctored exams do not allow breaks or scratch paper. At a test center, PSI gives you an erasable LCD writing tablet.
• The bulletin's prohibited-items list includes handheld calculators. Plan to do arithmetic on the tablet unless PSI confirms otherwise before test day.
• Your score appears on screen. A failing score report includes a diagnostic report by content area. You cannot rebook on the same day. Depending on space, you may be able to retest within two business days, and you pay the exam fee again.

A practical open-book method

1. Tab by chapter and by the main tables. Useful tabs include Tables 403.1, 604.3, 604.4, 608.1, 608.16.1, 709.1, 710.1(1), 710.1(2), 906.1, 909.1, 912.3 and 1003.3.5.1, plus the storm-drainage tables.
2. Answer from memory first. Look up a value only when you know where it is. Skip a question that would need a long search and return to it later.
3. Read for qualifiers. Words such as "not less than," "except," "public," "private," "individual" and "where approved" often decide the answer.
4. Watch for Virginia changes. If the question is about Virginia practice in a topic Virginia amended (storm sizing, backflow height, tracer wire), apply the state rule.