Electrician License from New Hampshire to Colorado: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Colorado accept a New Hampshire electrician license?
Yes — Colorado has a reciprocity arrangement covering New Hampshire license holders. Apply to the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations) under its reciprocity/endorsement track; it typically waives the journeyman exam and complete Colorado's remaining requirements.
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Reciprocity agreement
New Hampshire is on Colorado's journeyman reciprocity list, which puts this move on the fast track: Colorado waives its journeyman exam for electricians who earned a qualifying New Hampshire license by examination, held it at least a year, and meet the experience hours. Two conditions decide whether you actually qualify — your New Hampshire license must have come from an exam, not a grandfather clause, and it must be current. The list is also revocable; the verification date on this page is when we last confirmed New Hampshire on it, and the Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations) is the live source.
What's different between New Hampshire 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
New Hampshire to Colorado (this page): Reciprocity agreement.
Colorado to New Hampshire (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The two directions differ: New Hampshire and Colorado do not give each other's licensees the same route.
- Does coming from New Hampshire matter?
Coming from New Hampshire matters here: only 14 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get this result for a move into Colorado.
The others get: licensure by endorsement (23) and no state license to transfer (13).
- Reciprocity agreements
Colorado's reciprocity agreement list names 14 states, including New Hampshire.
- Experience hours
Colorado's first-time-applicant standard is 8,000 hours of documented experience for the journeyman license; New Hampshire's is 8,000.
The two standards are the same.
- Exam rules on record
Colorado and New Hampshire 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
- New Hampshire (the reverse move): No New Hampshire exam is required to license a journeyman by endorsement if you hold a current license in a listed qualifying jurisdiction and have at least 1 year of professional experience in the journeyman category (Plc 313.24); applicants from non-listed jurisdictions must license by examination (verify 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and pass the NH journeyman exam)
What changes, New Hampshire → Colorado
| New Hampshire (current) | Colorado (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Experience hours | 8,000 | 8,000 |
| Application fee | OPLC application/license fees are published only on the board's fee page (the application states 'SEE WEBSITE FOR FEES'); the official fee schedule was access-restricted and could not be retrieved as of 2026-07-21 - see https://www.oplc.nh.gov/find-board/electricians-board/electricians-license-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 | OPLC does not publish a processing time for endorsement/reciprocal applications | 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 | New Hampshire Electricians' Board (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification) | 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 reciprocity 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
What could disqualify me even though New Hampshire is on Colorado's list?
A New Hampshire license you were grandfathered into rather than earning by exam, a license held less than a year, or falling short of the experience-hour minimum. Colorado's reciprocity is conditional, not automatic.
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)
- NH OPLC - New Changes for Reciprocity (Plc 313.24 Electricians' Board qualifying jurisdictions) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NH OPLC Electricians' Board - Journeyman/Master/Reciprocal Application (8,000-hour journeyman requirement; reciprocity section) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
How we verify · All sources · Corrections log · spot an error? hello@licensereciprocity.com