MA Plumbing Approvals

Why Massachusetts approval matters

In Massachusetts you can’t just buy a bathtub or faucet online and have it installed. The state plumbing code (248 CMR) says only products on the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters’ Product-accepted list can be used in plumbing work. Your local plumbing inspector enforces that at inspection and can fail a fixture that isn’t approved. Every fixture in the gallery above carries our Massachusetts Approved badge, and we check our list against the state’s every month.

Search the official Massachusetts Accepted Plumbing Products list

Pros & Cons

MA-approved fixtures through Counterra

• Pro: Meets 248 CMR, so you’re ready for inspection.
• Pro: Installed by a licensed plumber under a permit.
• Pro: No surprise tear-outs or re-inspection fees.
• Con: Fewer choices than the whole internet.
• Con: A new or imported model may have to wait for Board acceptance.

Buying any fixture online

• Pro: Huge selection.
• Con: It may not be on the state’s accepted list.
• Con: The inspector can fail it, and you pay to remove it and buy another.
• Con: Returns on heavy tubs are slow and costly.

What does Massachusetts allow?

Current as of October 16, 2026.

• Only Product-accepted products. “Only products and materials that have been listed by the Board as Product-accepted shall be used for plumbing and gas fitting work performed in the Commonwealth.” (248 CMR 3.04(1))
• The state keeps the list. “The Board shall maintain a list of Product-accepted materials or products.” (248 CMR 3.04(1)(a)) Manufacturers apply model by model, and a product can’t be installed until the Board votes to accept it. (248 CMR 3.04(1)(b))
• Permits and inspection. Plumbing permits go to the local plumbing inspector, who grants or denies them and performs the inspections. (248 CMR 3.05)
• Licensed plumbers only. Plumbing work has to be done by a Massachusetts-licensed plumber with a permit. (M.G.L. c. 142; 248 CMR 3.00)

Before you buy online

If a tub or faucet online looks too good to be true, there may be a reason: it might not have met Massachusetts criteria. If it isn’t on the state’s accepted list, your inspector can fail it, and then you’re paying to tear it out and replace it.

Counterra uses these same Massachusetts criteria when we choose fixtures, and we’ll confirm a model’s status with you before it’s installed.

Why Massachusetts reviews products. The review protects homeowners’ health and safety. The Board requires manufacturers “to provide information/testing to ensure their products meet applicable standards and are safe for public use,” and it can withdraw a product’s acceptance if continued use “would pose a threat to the public’s health, safety, or welfare.” (248 CMR 3.04(1), 3.04(1)(c))

How the review works.

1. The manufacturer applies to the Board for “each individual item or model number,” with an application and a fee. (248 CMR 3.04(1)(b)1, 3.04(1)(b)4)
2. The manufacturer meets any testing or standards the Board requires, and may be asked to appear at the Board meeting. (248 CMR 3.04(1)(b)4) The Board only recognizes testing from laboratories certified by neutral, third-party bodies. (248 CMR 3.04(6))
3. The Board votes. If it accepts the product, the product is added to the Product-accepted list. (248 CMR 3.04(1)(b)2)
4. Only then can it be installed: “No product that is subject to a product acceptance request shall be installed before the Board has voted to grant the product-acceptance request.” (248 CMR 3.04(1)(b)3)