Colorado electrician license requirements

This guide summarizes what Colorado requires to work as an electrician, with a link to the state's own source for every requirement. Rules change; check the linked source before you apply.

Apprentices

Electrical apprentices must register with the State Electrical Board; the employing contractor must register the apprentice within 30 days. (source)

Journeyman level: experience and exam

8,000 hours of experience earned in no less than 4 years, including 2,000 hours of commercial/industrial work, plus 288 hours of classroom education. (source)

Journeyman licensure by the examination method requires passing a state exam that the Division of Professions and Occupations arranges and grades. (source)

Master level

10,000 hours of experience earned in no less than 5 years, with alternative routes via an electrical engineering degree, trade school, or journeyman hours plus 2,000 more. (source)

Contractor license

Electrical contracting requires registration as an Electrical Contractor with the state, with a licensed master electrician as the company's responsible individual. (source)

Renewal, continuing education and fees

Electrician licenses and electrical contractor registrations expire on September 30 every 3 years. (source)

Master electricians, journeyman electricians and residential wiremen must complete at least 24 hours of CE each three-year license period. (source)

Licensed in another state

Through the National Electrical Reciprocal Alliance (NERA), Colorado has journeyman reciprocity with Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. (source)

Check a license

Colorado's public license lookup: https://apps.colorado.gov/dora/licensing/Lookup/LicenseLookup.aspx

Pay for electricians in Colorado

Statewide figures for Electricians (SOC 47-2111), all employers, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS):

• Median hourly wage: $29.92 (BLS OEWS)
• Median annual wage: $62,230 (BLS OEWS)
• 10th percentile: $21.88 (BLS OEWS)
• 90th percentile: $45.27 (BLS OEWS)
• Estimated employment: 17,010 (BLS OEWS)

Release: May 2025 (source)

These are benchmarks, not job offers. A listing on Mountain West Trades shows the pay that employer posted.