How to get an electrician license in Colorado

Journeyman level 8,000 hours on the job + state exam What's a journeyman?

Licensing office Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA, Division of Professions and Occupations) · (303) 894-7800 [9]

The license pathway in Colorado

1. 1

   Electrical apprentice (registered)

   • None to register. PSI gives a separate exam that it says Colorado law requires of apprentices registered six or more years.

   Anyone working in the electrical trade without a Colorado license is an apprentice and must be registered with the Board. You work under the direct supervision of a licensed Colorado electrician, and your employer must register you within 30 days of hiring you. [2][4][7]

2. 2

   Residential wireman

   • 4,000 hours on the job
   • 2 years of experience
   • Yes, PSI Residential Wireman exam: 90 scored questions, 240 minutes, 70% to pass
   • $78 PSI exam fee
   • Every 3 years; 24 hours CE

   Lets you wire one- to four-family homes without direct supervision. You qualify with 4,000 hours of residential-only experience over at least 2 years, or at least 2 years of accredited training. [2][6][7][8][9]

3. 3

   Journeyman electrician

   • 8,000 hours on the job
   • 4 years of experience
   • 288 hours (safety, the National Electrical Code and related training)
   • Yes, PSI Journeyman Wireman exam: 90 scored questions, 240 minutes, 70% to pass
   • $78 PSI exam fee
   • Every 3 years; 24 hours CE

   The main working license. You need 8,000 hours over at least 4 years, with 2,000 of them in commercial, industrial or similar work, plus 288 hours of classroom training and a passing exam score. [1][2][8][9]

4. 4

   Master electrician

   • 10,000 hours on the job
   • 5 years of experience
   • Yes, PSI Master Electrician exam: 90 scored questions, 240 minutes, 70% to pass
   • $78 PSI exam fee
   • Every 3 years; 24 hours CE

   Needed to be the responsible electrician for a contracting company. The basic route is 10,000 hours over at least 5 years; there are shorter routes for electrical engineering graduates, trade school graduates, and licensed journeymen with planning, layout and supervision experience. [1][2][6][9]

5. 5

   Electrical contractor (business registration)

   • Every 3 years (expires September 30)

   A business doing electrical contracting must register with the Board and hold or employ a licensed master electrician as its responsible person. It must also show it complies with workers' compensation and unemployment insurance laws. [1]

Who needs a license in Colorado

Colorado licenses electricians at the state level through the State Electrical Board, part of DORA's Division of Professions and Occupations. All electrical work must be done by a master electrician, journeyman electrician, residential wireman, or a properly supervised electrical apprentice.

An apprentice is anyone employed in the electrical trade who does not hold a Colorado license. Apprentices must stay registered until they earn a full, unrestricted Colorado license. A residential wireman who works on a commercial job site must also be registered as an apprentice and be supervised there. [3][4][5]

The license ladder

• Apprentice: registered with the Board by your employer; works under the direct supervision of a licensed Colorado electrician.
• Residential wireman: 4,000 hours of residential-only experience in at least 2 years, or at least 2 years of accredited training. Lets you work without direct supervision on one- to four-family dwellings.
• Journeyman electrician: 8,000 hours in at least 4 years, at least 2,000 of them in commercial, industrial or substantially similar work, plus 288 hours of classroom training.
• Master electrician: 10,000 hours in at least 5 years; or an electrical engineering degree plus 2,000 hours of construction experience in at least 1 year; or an electrical trade school or community college diploma plus 8,000 hours in at least 4 years; or the journeyman requirements plus 2,000 more hours in at least 1 year, including planning and layout and supervising apprentices while you hold a journeyman license.

The Board says you cannot jump from apprentice or residential wireman straight to master if you are using experience to qualify. All experience must be documented on the Board's Affidavit of Experience, signed by the electrical contractor that supervised the work. You cannot verify your own hours. [1][5][6][7]

The 288 classroom hours

Every journeyman applicant must show at least 288 hours of training in safety, the National Electrical Code (NEC) (the national wiring standard) and related subjects, documented by a transcript. There is no grandfathering. Training can come from an accredited college or university, an established industry training program, or another provider that follows Board rules. The Board does not pre-approve courses.

Board Rule 1.7(D)(1) says an hour is at least 50 minutes of structured instruction, and lists required subjects: grounding and bonding, NEC changes, wiring methods, theory and calculations, and 10 to 40 hours of OSHA-based safety training.

A 2025 change: Senate Bill 25-165, signed June 3, 2025, changed the law so the 288 hours must be completed during the last eight years of your training or experience (it had been four). The bill also lets the Board credit older training if you take at least 4 extra hours on the current or previous NEC. The Board's rule now also says eight years, but its October 2025 apprentice guide still says four, so confirm with the Board how it applies to you. [1][3][5][8]

The exam

PSI gives Colorado's residential wireman, journeyman and master exams on computer at test centers in Colorado. Each has 90 scored questions in 240 minutes, and you need 70% (63 correct) to pass. Your score is shown right after the exam.

The NEC book and a formula page are provided at the test center; you cannot bring your own materials or mark the book. PSI's bulletin says that from August 1, 2026, questions follow the 2026 NEC, and the 2023 book is available on request until December 1, 2026. The exam fee is $78 and a retest is $73.

PSI's bulletin says Colorado law also requires apprentices who have been registered for six or more years to take an exam; PSI gives a separate "6 plus year apprentice" version of the journeyman exam for this. [2]

Fees and renewal

The PSI exam costs $78 ($73 for a retest), paid to PSI. The Board's own license and registration fees are shown on its applications and forms; all fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

All Colorado electrician licenses and electrical contractor registrations expire on September 30 every 3 years. Residential wiremen, journeymen and masters with an active license need at least 24 hours of continuing education (CE) each 3-year period, taken from a CE provider that has attested to the Board. If you were first licensed by exam during the current period, CE starts after your first renewal. [1][2][6][9]

Union and open-shop apprenticeships

You can earn your hours and classroom training through a registered apprenticeship or by working for any registered electrical contractor and taking approved classes separately. On the union side, the Denver JATC is run jointly by IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local 68 and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA); a JATC is a joint apprenticeship and training committee. On the open-shop (non-union) side, IEC Rocky Mountain runs a four-year program.

The state's Apprenticeship Colorado directory lists every registered program. Starting January 1, 2027 (House Bill 25-1284), a contractor may not register you with the Electrical Board if you are in a registered construction apprenticeship for a non-electrical occupation; apprentices trained directly by their contractor are not affected. [3][10][11][12][13]

If you're licensed in another state

Colorado offers two routes. Reciprocity covers journeyman licenses only: under the National Electrical Reciprocal Alliance (NERA), journeymen from Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming can get a Colorado journeyman license without the written exam. You must have earned the license by passing a state exam, held it at least 1 year, and keep it active and in good standing.

Endorsement is open to all license types if your license was issued and regulated by a state (not a city or county) and earned by passing an exam on the NEC edition currently used in Colorado. You need a Verification of Licensure from your state board.

If you trained abroad, the Board's guide asks for one year of in-country electrical construction experience and familiarity with the NEC; up to three years of foreign experience can count toward a journeyman license and up to four toward a master license. See also our guide to license reciprocity and the Utah electrician license. [1][6]

Career changers and solar experience

No experience is needed to start as an apprentice; you are paid by your employer while you train. The state's apprentice guide lists things programs may ask for: some educational background, an aptitude test to check math skills, a valid driver's license, reliable transportation and the physical ability to do the job.

Under SB 25-165, some solar work now counts as practical experience: 2,000 hours as a NABCEP-certified PV (solar) installation professional, up to 2,000 hours working under one, or up to 4,000 hours as a NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners) professional with extra documentation the Board reviews. For the last two routes, every 2 hours you work count as 1 hour of experience. The Board may also give work-experience credit for military training or PV (photovoltaic) installation training. Ask the Board how your background will be credited before you apply. [4][8]

Steps to get licensed in Colorado

1. Get hired and register as an apprentice

   Find work with an electrical contractor registered with the Board, create an apprentice record in DPO Online Services, and make sure your employer attaches you to its registration within 30 days of your start date. [4][7]

2. Log hours and complete 288 classroom hours

   Work at least 8,000 hours over at least 4 years under a licensed electrician, with 2,000 hours in commercial or industrial work, and finish 288 hours of approved electrical training. Each employer signs an Affidavit of Experience for your hours. [1][8]

3. Pass the PSI exam

   Register with PSI and take the journeyman exam (90 scored questions, 4 hours, 70% to pass, NEC book provided). The exam fee is $78. [2]

4. Apply for your license

   Apply online through DPO Online Services with your passing result, Affidavits of Experience and training transcript. Applications expire one year after you submit them. [1][6]

5. Renew every 3 years

   Licenses expire September 30 every 3 years. Complete 24 hours of continuing education each license period (not required until after your first renewal if you were licensed by exam during the current period). [1][9]

Where to get the hours

Programs that train electricians in or for Colorado, from their own official pages. Listed by type, not ranked.

• Union

  Denver Joint Electrical Apprenticeship & Training Committee (IBEW Local 68 / NECA)

  The union-side program in the Denver area, sponsored jointly by IBEW Local 68 and NECA. It offers inside wireman and telecommunications installer apprenticeships, with paid work for signatory contractors and classroom training. [10]

• Union

  Electrical Training Alliance training center locator (IBEW/NECA JATCs)

  Finds the IBEW/NECA joint apprenticeship and training committee (JATC) training center nearest you. [14]

• Open shop

  IEC Rocky Mountain electrical apprenticeship

  A four-year electrical apprenticeship program for Colorado and Wyoming run by the Independent Electrical Contractors' Rocky Mountain chapter, accredited by Apprenticeship Colorado. [11]

• State program

  Apprenticeship Colorado (state apprenticeship agency)

  Colorado's State Apprenticeship Agency within the Department of Labor and Employment. Its directory lists every registered apprenticeship program in Colorado, with length, qualifications and selection criteria; you apply to programs directly. [12]

• School

  Red Rocks Community College electrical program

  Offers electrical training including a 288-hour course option that the college says meets the state classroom requirement toward the journeyman license. [15]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask