Transfer Your Electrician License to Colorado: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations) ↗
Colorado grants journeyman reciprocity to electricians licensed by examination in 14 named partner states (Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming). Come from one of them and the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations) waives its journeyman exam once you show a license held at least a year and can document 8000 hours of experience; come from anywhere else and you apply and sit the exam. No Colorado written exam is required for a journeyman who holds a current license from one of the named NERA reciprocal states, earned by a state-administered exam and held at least 1 year; applicants from non-reciprocal states must qualify and pass the Colorado journeyman exam. Fee: DORA does not publish the reciprocal journeyman fee on a standalone page; fees are set administratively and shown inside the online application. Aggregator figures (e.g. a $100 processing fee) could not be confirmed on an official page, so left null.
Moving to Colorado from a specific state?
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Verdict
Reciprocity with 14 states
Colorado's reciprocity is a bilateral list, and the list governs — not your years on the tools. If your license comes from a state Colorado names below and you earned it by exam, the journeyman exam is waived; if it does not, no amount of experience substitutes for sitting the test. Two cautions specific to electrical reciprocity: the list is directional (it names who Colorado accepts, which says nothing about the reverse), and a license you were grandfathered into rather than examined for is generally not eligible.
NERA member. Colorado adheres to NERA bylaws and names 14 reciprocal states for the journeyman license; master-level applicants use License by Endorsement, not NERA. Partner lists are bilateral and differ between members. Recent legislation (HB24-1263 / SB25-165) updated Colorado electrician licensure administration but did not change the NERA journeyman-reciprocity framework.
Colorado requirements at a glance
| Exam | No Colorado written exam is required for a journeyman who holds a current license from one of the named NERA reciprocal states, earned by a state-administered exam and held at least 1 year; applicants from non-reciprocal states must qualify and pass the Colorado journeyman exam |
|---|---|
| Training hours | 8,000 hours |
| Additional requirements |
|
| Fees | DORA does not publish the reciprocal journeyman fee on a standalone page; fees are set administratively and shown inside the online application. Aggregator figures (e.g. a $100 processing fee) could not be confirmed on an official page, so left null |
| Processing time | The board does not publish a processing time; a reciprocal certificate is issued without a written exam once requirements are met and fees paid |
Step by step
- Confirm Colorado's current requirements on the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations) website — rules change.
- Submit the reciprocity/endorsement application to the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations) (application linked on this page).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a current, active journeyman or master electrician certificate in good standing, held for at least 1 year in the licensing state.
- Original certificate must have been earned by passing a state-administered examination — grandfathered (non-exam) licenses are not eligible for reciprocity.
- NERA reciprocity applies to the journeyman license only; master electricians must instead apply by License by Endorsement.
- Document journeyman experience (Colorado uses 8,000 hours / 4 years as its journeyman standard; 10,000 hours for master).
- Pay the fees (DORA does not publish the reciprocal journeyman fee on a standalone page; fees are set administratively and shown inside the online application. Aggregator figures (e.g. a $100 processing fee) could not be confirmed on an official page, so left null) and allow The board does not publish a processing time; a reciprocal certificate is issued without a written exam once requirements are met and fees paid.
Official links
Coming from a specific state?
Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Colorado:
Frequently asked questions
Does my electrician license transfer to Colorado?
Colorado grants journeyman reciprocity to electricians licensed by examination in 14 named partner states (Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming). Come from one of them and the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations) waives its journeyman exam once you show a license held at least a year and can document 8000 hours of experience; come from anywhere else and you apply and sit the exam. No Colorado written exam is required for a journeyman who holds a current license from one of the named NERA reciprocal states, earned by a state-administered exam and held at least 1 year; applicants from non-reciprocal states must qualify and pass the Colorado journeyman exam. Fee: DORA does not publish the reciprocal journeyman fee on a standalone page; fees are set administratively and shown inside the online application. Aggregator figures (e.g. a $100 processing fee) could not be confirmed on an official page, so left null.
Will I have to retake the journeyman exam in Colorado?
No Colorado written exam is required for a journeyman who holds a current license from one of the named NERA reciprocal states, earned by a state-administered exam and held at least 1 year; applicants from non-reciprocal states must qualify and pass the Colorado journeyman exam.
What does licensing in Colorado cost an out-of-state electrician?
DORA does not publish the reciprocal journeyman fee on a standalone page; fees are set administratively and shown inside the online application. Aggregator figures (e.g. a $100 processing fee) could not be confirmed on an official page, so left null (DORA does not publish the reciprocal journeyman fee on a standalone page; fees are set administratively and shown inside the online application. Aggregator figures (e.g. a $100 processing fee) could not be confirmed on an official page, so left null).
How long does Colorado take to process the application?
The board does not publish a processing time; a reciprocal certificate is issued without a written exam once requirements are met and fees paid — The board does not publish a processing time; a reciprocal certificate is issued without a written exam once requirements are met and fees paid.
Which states does Colorado have electrician reciprocity with?
Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming (14 states, verified 2026-07-21 against the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations)). The list is bilateral, so a state Colorado recognizes does not necessarily recognize Colorado in return.
How many experience hours does Colorado require?
8000 hours of documented on-the-job experience for the journeyman license; out-of-state hours generally count toward this minimum.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- Colorado DPO — Electrical Applications and Forms (reciprocity requirements and reciprocal-state list) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Colorado DPO — Electrical Board homepage ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]