State Board of Examiners
of Plumbing, Heating and
Fire Sprinkler Contractors
BOARD MEMBERS
William H. Eubanks
Chairman
Plumbing Inspector
Wilmington, NC
Stuart F. Schwartz
Vice-Chairman
Plumbing Contractor
Raleigh, NC
M. Randall Strother
Secretary
/Т
reasurer
Fire Sprinkler Contractor
Sanford, NC
Roberto A. Nunez
NCSU Engineer
Raleigh, NC
Troy A. Worrell
Heating Contractor
Raleigh, NC
Patricia K. Selby
Public Member
Raleigh, NC
William H. Sullivan III
Air Conditioning Contractor
Greensboro, NC
State Board of Examiners
of Plumbing, Heating, and
Fire Sprinkler Contractors
1 109 Dresser Court
Raleigh, NC 27609
Phone: 919-875-3612
www.nclicensing.org
March 2023
The Importance of Sub-licensees
Under the Board's laws and rules, the licensee is responsible for all activities which require a license, in¬
cluding but not limited to: bids, quotes, contracts, permits, supervision of work in progress, and inspection
requests. This person is known as the qualifier, whether they are conducting business in their personal
name or serving as a qualifier for a firm. If qualifying a firm, the licensee's qualifications are extended to
the firm (plumbing, heating, fuel piping, fire sprinkler, etc.)
The laws and rules also allow for sub-licensees, which may be another licensed contractor or licensed
technician. Any qualifications that the sub-licensees hold also extend to the firm, even those which the
qualifier may not hold. The sub-licensees can also perform the supervision duties that are required of the
qualifier. There is additional information concerning this near the end of this article.
If a qualifier or sub-licensee leaves the firm, or is unable to perform the required duties due to injury,
illness, death, military leave, family medical leave or any other reason, the firm may not engage in any ac¬
tivities which require that individual’s qualifications unless there is another licensed person in the firm who
also holds those qualifications. Let's look at some examples:
Example I: QRS Plumbing is qualified by Joe Queen, who holds a P-l license. The family owned and oper¬
ated firm has 10 employees, including Joe’s wife, his two sons and their wives, and his two daughter’s and
their husbands. Business is booming with many jobs in progress and many more under contract in the
upcoming months. Unfortunately, Joe unexpectedly suffers a fatal heart attack. With no other licensee in
the firm, all licensed activity must stop immediately until the firm can either hire a licensed plumbing con¬
tractor to serve as the qualifier, or until one of the family members can go through the licensing applica¬
tion and examination process, which may take 2 months or longer. The firm, which relied heavily on new
construction work, is now limited to service and minor repairs. In addition to the grief of suddenly losing
a family member, the family has to deal with the reality of lost income and a million headaches from being
unable to complete their jobs in progress and those on the schedule. They will have to rely on service
work and minor repairs which do not require a license until a licensee can be put in place. In the highly
competitive plumbing trade, the firm may not survive more than a few weeks without a licensee.
IF ... Joe’s wife, or any of his children or their spouses would have held a P-l contractor license, filing a
Trade Name Change form with the Board's office would have allowed the firm to continue all of their
work without missing a beat.
Example 2: Quench It Fire Protection Services is qualified by Minnie Waters, who holds a Fire Sprinkler
Installation Contractor and Fire Sprinkler Inspection Contractor license. There are 20 employees doing
installation work and 10 technicians doing inspections. Ms. Waters, a long-time member of the Army Na¬
tional Guard, is deployed to a foreign country for a 12 month tour of duty, effective immediately.
As the only contractor licensee in the firm, all activities must stop until another licensee can be recruited,
hired and listed as the firm’s qualifier. Unfortunately, none of the 30 employees hold the required NICET
Level III certification required to take the installation or inspection contractor's exam. Unable to fulfill
their current installation and inspection contracts and with no luck in recruiting any contractors to fill the
licensing void, the firm files for bankruptcy, leaving 30 loyal employees without a job and their long-time
customers facing monumental issues with unfinished work, delayed projects and non-compliance.
IF ... any of the employees would have held an installation contractor and inspection contractor license, a
simple Trade Name Change form would have allowed the firm to continue working. It could be one indi¬
vidual holding both qualifications, or two individuals who each held one of the qualifications.
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