Cosmetology / Barber License from Rhode Island to Colorado: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Colorado accept a Rhode Island cosmetology license?
A cosmetology license transfers from Rhode Island to Colorado by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations), verify your Rhode Island license, and meet Colorado's endorsement requirements. Exams are not retaken if you passed a written and practical exam accepted by your licensing state (at least 1,000 hours of work experience in the two years before applying can substitute for the practical), or if you have held a current, valid license with a substantially similar scope of practice for at least one year; applicants who do not meet endorsement requirements must take all or part of the Colorado written and practical exams.
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
The number that defines this move: Rhode Island licensed you at 1,000 training hours, and Colorado requires 1,500 — a 500-hour deficit on paper. That does not usually mean going back to school. It means proving the gap is covered another way: most boards in Colorado's position accept documented licensed work experience, supplemental hours, or their own exams. The requirements below are the exact menu Colorado offers.
What's different between Rhode Island and Colorado
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Colorado. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Rhode Island to Colorado (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Colorado to Rhode Island (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Rhode Island matter?
Rhode Island gets Colorado's most common result: 38 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get the same one, so for most movers the origin does not change the answer.
The others get: compact enacted — not yet issuing; until it issues, licensure by endorsement (12).
- CLC membership
Colorado has enacted the Cosmetology Licensure Compact; Rhode Island has not.
- Application fee
Rhode Island lists $25 for the reverse move; Colorado has no verified fee figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Training hours
Colorado's first-time-applicant standard is 1,500 training hours for the standard license; Rhode Island's is 1,000.
Colorado's is 500 training hours higher than Rhode Island's.
- Exam rules on record
Colorado and Rhode Island carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Colorado (this move): Exams are not retaken if you passed a written and practical exam accepted by your licensing state (at least 1,000 hours of work experience in the two years before applying can substitute for the practical), or if you have held a current, valid license with a substantially similar scope of practice for at least one year; applicants who do not meet endorsement requirements must take all or part of the Colorado written and practical exams
- Rhode Island (the reverse move): Rhode Island does not re-examine out-of-state applicants — the license is granted on acceptance of credentials, with verification sent directly from the original licensing state that the applicant passed written and practical examinations acceptable to the Department
What changes, Rhode Island → Colorado
| Rhode Island (current) | Colorado (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| CLC status | Licensure by endorsement | CLC enacted — not yet issuing |
| Training hours | 1,000 | 1,500 |
| Application fee | $25 (application by verification (endorsement) fee, same as the examination application fee) | endorsement application fee is displayed in the DPO Online Services portal at application; no public fee schedule page for this profession |
| Processing time | no published timeline; out-of-state licensees licensed by examination may practice for up to three months on a non-renewable temporary permit, provided they apply for and obtain the Rhode Island license within that period | no timeframe published; review begins only after all state license verifications arrive (board warns California verifications alone can take up to 3 months) |
| Licensing authority | Rhode Island Department of Health — Board of Hairdressing and Barbering | Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Colorado sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Colorado's current requirements on the Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current, unrestricted cosmetologist license in good standing in another state or U.S. territory.
- Request verification of licensure be sent directly to the office from every state in which you have ever been licensed.
- Attest to graduation from a school approved by the licensing state's school-approval agency.
- Training hours must equal or exceed Colorado's 1,500 contact hours, or total at least 65% of them plus five hours of documented licensed work experience for every missing training hour.
- Alternatively, instead of the school, hours and exam attestations, verify that you have held a current, valid license with a substantially similar scope of practice for at least one year.
- Report any disciplinary actions taken against you in any other jurisdiction.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Rhode Island required 1,000 hours but Colorado wants 1,500 — do I need more school?
Not necessarily. The 500-hour gap can usually be bridged without re-enrolling: Colorado's options are listed in the requirements on this page (experience substitution and examination are the common routes). Contact the Colorado Office of Barber and Cosmetology Licensure (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations) with your license history before paying for school hours.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-10-29.
- Colorado DPO — Barber and Cosmetology Applications and Forms (endorsement instructions) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- 4 CCR 731-1 Barber and Cosmetology Licensure Rules, Rule 1.2(A) cosmetologist hours (Colorado SOS CCR, 2021 compiled version; Rule 1.2(A) not amended since) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- 4 CCR 731-1 — Colorado SOS CCR rule page (current version effective 10/30/2025; version history) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Colorado SOS eDocket 2022-00290 — adopted Rule 1.4 Licensure by Endorsement (SB 22-116; one-year licensure alternative, Rule 1.4(B)(3)(b)) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Colorado SOS eDocket 2023-00193 — adopted rules eff. 08/14/2023 (Rule 1.4(E) military spouse license) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Cosmetology Licensure Compact — official commission site (compact not yet active) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- 216-RICR-40-05-4 — Barbers, Hairdressers/Cosmeticians, Manicurists, Estheticians, and Instructors ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- 216-RICR-10-05-2 — RIDOH fee structure (hairdresser/cosmetologist fees) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- RIDOH — Barbering, Hairdressing and Cosmetology licensing page ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-10-29
How we verify · All sources · Corrections log · spot an error? hello@licensereciprocity.com