Electrician License from Michigan to Colorado: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Colorado accept a Michigan electrician license?
An electrical license transfers from Michigan to Colorado by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations), verify your Michigan license, and meet Colorado's endorsement requirements. 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.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Colorado publishes no reciprocity list covering Michigan, but the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations) licenses out-of-state electricians by endorsement, so this move runs on the board's case-by-case judgment rather than an automatic waiver. If you hold a master license, check the board's separate master-level rules — master electricians typically endorse rather than transfer through journeyman reciprocity. Ask the board, in writing, exactly which exam or experience requirement it will waive before you rely on it.
What's different between Michigan 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
Michigan to Colorado (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Colorado to Michigan (the reverse move): Full re-application.
The two directions differ: Michigan and Colorado do not give each other's licensees the same route.
- Does coming from Michigan matter?
Michigan gets Colorado's most common result: 23 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: reciprocity agreement (14) and no state license to transfer (13).
- Reciprocity agreements
Colorado's reciprocity agreement list names 14 states, not including Michigan.
Michigan's row names no reciprocity agreement states.
- Application fee
Michigan lists $40 for the reverse move; Colorado has no verified fee figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Experience hours
Colorado's first-time-applicant standard is 8,000 hours of documented experience for the journeyman license; Michigan's is 8,000.
The two standards are the same.
- Exam rules on record
Colorado and Michigan carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Colorado (this move): 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
- Michigan (the reverse move): Michigan does not reciprocate with any state; every applicant, including an already-licensed out-of-state electrician, must pass the Michigan journeyman (or master) examination. Out-of-state experience may be submitted to qualify to SIT the exam but does not waive it
What changes, Michigan → Colorado
| Michigan (current) | Colorado (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Experience hours | 8,000 | 8,000 |
| Application fee | $40 (Journeyman electrician license fee is $40 for a 1-year license, paid at application. The PSI examination fee is separate and set by the testing service. Master license fee was not separately published on the pages reviewed) | 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 | LARA/BCC does not publish a processing-time range; timing depends on exam scheduling and application review | The board does not publish a processing time; a reciprocal certificate is issued without a written exam once requirements are met and fees paid |
| Licensing authority | Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) — Bureau of Construction Codes, Electrical Division / Electrical Administrative Board | Colorado State Electrical Board (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 State Electrical Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations) (application linked below).
- 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 listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does this route work for a master electrician?
Not necessarily — master licenses move on separate terms. Some boards keep their own master reciprocity list; otherwise they review the master license individually. Confirm the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations)'s master-level experience and exam requirements, which are separate from the journeyman track this site's grid tracks.
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)
- Michigan LARA/BCC — Electrical Examination, Licensing/Registration & Application Information ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
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