Do you need a license to be an electrician in Colorado?

You need a license or an apprentice registration. Colorado lets anyone work as an apprentice, but the employer has to register the apprentice with the Colorado State Electrical Board within 30 days of hire, and a licensed electrician has to supervise the work directly. To do electrical work on your own, you need a residential wireman, journeyman or master license from the board.

At least four years. The Colorado State Electrical Board requires 8,000 hours of experience earned over at least four years, with 2,000 of those hours in commercial or industrial work, plus 288 hours of classroom training. After that, you pass the PSI journeyman exam and apply for your license.

The PSI license exam costs $78, and each retest costs $73. The Colorado State Electrical Board charges a separate application fee, which you pay by credit card in DPO Online Services when you apply. Your 288 hours of classroom training can carry tuition too, depending on the program.

Yes, for journeyman licenses. Colorado has journeyman reciprocity with 14 states, including Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming, for electricians who earned their license by exam and have held it for at least a year. Master licenses don't transfer by reciprocity, and electricians from other states can apply by endorsement if their license was earned by testing on the current National Electrical Code.

Colorado electrician licenses expire on September 30 every three years and renew in DPO Online Services. You need 24 hours of continuing education each three-year license period, including at least 4 hours on National Electrical Code changes, and no more than 4 hours of safety courses count. If you miss the deadline, the board gives you a 60-day grace period with a late fee.