Alaska Plumbing Licensing Law

Alaska Code · 4 sections

The following is the full text of Alaska’s plumbing licensing law statutes as published in the Alaska Code. For the official version, see the Alaska Legislature.

Alaska Stat. § 08.18.171

In this chapter, (1) “builder” means general contractor; (2) “cash deposit” means a cash deposit or other negotiable security filed with the commissioner in lieu of a surety bond under AS 08.18.071 (b); (3) “commissioner,” unless the text reads otherwise, means the commissioner of the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development; (4) “contractor” means a person who, in the pursuit of an independent business, undertakes or offers to perform, or claims to have the capacity to perform, or submits a bid for a project to construct, alter, repair, move, or demolish a building, highway, road, railroad, or any type of fixed structure, including excavation and site development and erection of scaffolding; “contractor” includes a general contractor, builder, mechanical contractor, specialty contractor, and subcontractor; (5) “department” means the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, unless the context indicates otherwise; (6) “existing home” means a residence previously occupied as a residence; (7) “general contractor” means a contractor whose business operations require the use of more than three trades or the use of mechanical or specialty contractors and subcontractors who are under the supervision of the contractor; (8) “home inspection” means a visual examination, performed in accordance with standards of practice adopted by the department, of the readily accessible parts of one or more of the following systems and components of a residence or intended residence: (A) heating and air-conditioning systems; (B) plumbing and electrical systems; (C) built-in appliances; (D) roof, attic, and visible insulation; (E) walls, ceilings, floors, windows, and doors; (F) foundation and basement; (G) visible interior and exterior structures; (H) drainage to and from the residence; (I) other systems or components as specified by the department in regulations; (9) “home inspector” means an individual who performs or offers to perform a home inspection for a fee; (10) “joint registration” means a certificate of registration that authorizes an individual to inspect both new homes and existing homes; (11) “knowingly” has the meaning given in AS 11.81.900 ; (12) “landing page” means a single web page that appears in response to clicking on a search engine optimized search result, marketing promotion, marketing email, or online advertisement; (13) “mechanical contractor” means a contractor whose business operations involve plumbing, pipe fitting, sheet metal, heating, air conditioning, ventilating, or sprinkler and dry chemical fire protection trades in order to install or modify mechanical piping and systems, devices, fixtures, and equipment or other mechanical materials subject to the following codes as published by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials or the International Conference of Building Officials: (A) Uniform Plumbing Code; (B) Uniform Swimming Pool, Spa, and Hot Tub Code; (C) Uniform Solar Energy Code; and (D) Uniform Mechanical Code; (14) “new home” means a residence not previously occupied as a residence; (15) “residence” means (A) a single-family home other than a mobile home; (B) a duplex, triplex, or four-plex; or (C) a residential townhouse or residential condominium unit; (16) “residential contractor” means a general contractor whose business and operation involve undertaking the construction or alteration of a privately-owned residential structure of one to four units that is used or intended to be used as a human dwelling; (17) “specialty contractor” means a contractor, other than a mechanical contractor, whose business operations are described in AS 08.18.024 (b); (18) “trade” means a skill used in the field of construction, as defined by regulation by the department; (19) “visual examination” means an examination performed in person at the physical location of the residence except that, if a method other than personal physical inspection has been approved by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation under AS 18.56.300 (b), use of the other approved method constitutes a visual examination under this chapter.

Alaska Stat. § 08.40.270

(a) Each applicant shall be examined to determine the applicant's (1) ability to understand plans, design specifications, and engineering terms commonly used in the mechanical field; (2) knowledge of mechanical installations and piping; (3) familiarity with the requirements of the Uniform Plumbing Code, Uniform Swimming Pool, Spa, and Hot Tub Code, Uniform Solar Energy Code, and the Uniform Mechanical Code currently in effect in the state; (4) personal skill and ability. (b) If an applicant for a license submits proof satisfactory to the department that the applicant is licensed as a mechanical administrator or the equivalent by another state or territory, meets qualifications established by the department under AS 08.40.230 , and has passed an examination equivalent to the test administered under (a) of this section, the department shall waive all of the examination required under (a) of this section.

Alaska Stat. § 08.40.490

In AS 08.40.210 — 08.40.490, (1) “department” means the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development except where the context otherwise requires; (2) “manufacture” means fabrication or completion of a product or mechanical apparatus exclusive of its completion or installation at a job site; (3) “mechanical administrator” means a person who is responsible for (A) installing or modifying mechanical piping and systems, devices, fixtures, equipment, or other mechanical materials subject to the Uniform Plumbing Code, Uniform Swimming Pool, Spa, and Hot Tub Code, Uniform Solar Energy Code, and the Uniform Mechanical Code as published by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials and the International Conference of Building Officials; or (B) certifying that an installation or modification described in (A) of this paragraph complies with the applicable codes; (4) “mechanical piping” includes piping fixtures, devices, and equipment; (5) “utility” means every public, cooperative, or other corporation, company, individual, or association of individuals, their lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed by a court, that owns, operates, manages, or controls a plant or system for (A) furnishing, by generation, transmission, or distribution, electrical service, fuel gas service, district heating, sewage disposal, or domestic water service to the public for compensation; (B) furnishing telecommunications service to the public for compensation.

Alaska Stat. § 08.48.331

(a) This chapter does not apply to (1) a contractor performing work designed by a professional architect, engineer, or landscape architect or the supervision of the construction of the work as a supervisor or superintendent for a contractor; (2) workers in building trades crafts, earthwork, grounds keeping, or nursery operations, and superintendents, supervisors, or inspectors in the performance of their customary duties; (3) an officer or employee of the United States government practicing architecture, engineering, land surveying, or landscape architecture as required by the person's official capacity; (4) an employee or a subordinate of a registrant if the work or service is done under the direct supervision of a registrant; (5) associates, consultants, or specialists retained by a registrant, a partnership of registered individuals, a corporation, a limited liability company, a limited liability partnership, or a limited partnership authorized to practice architecture, engineering, land surveying, or landscape architecture under this chapter, in the performance of professional services if responsible charge of the work remains with the registrant, the partnership, or a designated representative of the corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or limited partnership; (6) a person preparing drawings or specifications for (A) a building for the person's own use and occupancy as a single family residence and related site work for that building; (B) farm or ranch buildings and their grounds unless the public health, safety, or welfare is involved; (C) a building that is intended to be used only as a residence by not more than (i) four families and that is not more than two stories high and the grounds of the building; or (ii) two families and that is not more than three stories high and the grounds of the building, if the building is located in a municipality that has adopted a building or residential code that applies to the building and if the building complies with the building or residential code; (D) a garage, workshop, or similar building that contains less than 2,000 square feet of floor space to be used for a private noncommercial purpose and the grounds of the building; (7) a specialty contractor licensed under AS 08.18 while engaged in the business of construction contracting for work designed by an architect, engineer, or landscape architect that is within the specialty to be performed or supervised by the specialty contractor, or a contractor preparing shop or field drawings for work that the specialty contractor has contracted to perform; (8) a person furnishing drawings, specifications, instruments of service, or other data for alterations or repairs to a building or its grounds that do not change or affect the structural system or the safety of the building, or that do not affect the public health, safety, or welfare; (9) a person who is employed by a postsecondary educational institution to teach engineering, architectural, or landscape architectural courses; in this paragraph, “postsecondary educational institution” has the meaning given in AS 14.48.210 ; (10) an officer or employee of an individual, firm, partnership, association, utility, corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or limited partnership, who practices engineering, architecture, land surveying, or landscape architecture involved in the operation of the employer's business only, and further if neither the employee nor the employer offers engineering, architecture, land surveying, or landscape architecture services to the public; exclusions under this paragraph do not apply to buildings or structures whose primary use is public occupancy; (11) a person while involved in revegetation, restoration, reclamation, rehabilitation, or erosion control for disturbed land that the board determines does not affect the public health, safety, or welfare; (12) a person while maintaining or directing the placement of plant material that the board determines does not affect the public health, safety, or welfare; (13) an employee, officer, or agent of a regulatory agency of the state or a municipality when reviewing drawings and specifications for compliance with the building codes of the state or a municipality if the drawings and specifications have been sealed and signed by an architect, engineer, land surveyor, or landscape architect or the preparation of the drawings and specifications is exempt under this section from the requirements of this chapter; in this paragraph, “building codes” includes codes relating to building, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, fire safety standards, and zoning; (14) a person who is designing fire protection systems and is authorized by the Department of Public Safety to design fire protection systems. (b) The requirement to be registered as a landscape architect under this chapter only applies to a person who practices an aspect of landscape architecture that the board has determined affects the public health, safety, or welfare.

The law belongs to the people. Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 590 U.S. (2020)