LicensebyState

Colorado to Alaska: residential contractor license reciprocity

No credit· Start overVerified September 17, 2026· 12 sources

Colorado does not issue a statewide residential contractor license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Alaska's standard path for out-of-state applicants.

Your origin state does not issue a statewide license at this level, so there is no license to transfer. The destination's standard out-of-state path is shown; expect to meet it in full.

Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.

Registration and residential endorsement earned from scratch (every state)

Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.

A builder arriving in Alaska with a contractor license from another state gets no credit for it. Alaska's contractor law, AS 08.18 and 12 AAC 21, contains no reciprocity provision, no endorsement of out-of-state credentials and no examination waiver, the division publishes no verification-of-licensure form, and Alaska is not one of the states that accepts the NASCLA Accredited Examination in place of its own. Every applicant follows the same two steps: the business registers as a General Contractor with Residential Endorsement with its bond, insurance and fees, and the person who will hold the endorsement completes the 16-hour cold climate course and passes the Alaska residential contractor endorsement examination through PSI. That examination is open-reference, 100 questions in 240 minutes with 70 percent to pass, and it is built around arctic structural and thermal construction, so it tests material that a license from a warmer state will not have covered. The division does not require board approval to sit the examination and does not publish a processing time; it says an application generally takes several weeks once the complete packet is in.

12 AAC 21.680(3) accepts a passing score on the PSI residential contractor endorsement examination 'or other examination approved by the department', and AS 08.18.025(b)(4) accepts the Alaska craftsman home program 'or its equivalent' or a postsecondary course in arctic engineering 'or its equivalent'. Neither the division's website nor its forms name any other approved examination or any specific equivalent course beyond the three providers listed on Form 08-4161, so an applicant holding an out-of-state residential builder credential or a cold-climate building course from elsewhere should write to [email protected] or call (907) 465-2050 and ask whether it will be accepted before paying PSI. Alaska sets no minimum trade experience or apprenticeship hours for a contractor registration at any tier, so documented out-of-state years shorten nothing.

At a glance

Trade exam
Required
Law / code exam
Not required
Out-of-state hours
Do not count

What you must already have

  • Your qualifying exam must have been passed within the last 1 year.AS 08.18.025(b)(3) and 12 AAC 21.680(3). PSI also states that examination results are valid for one year. If the endorsement later lapses for more than two years the examination must be passed again, and after five years a completely new application is required (12 AAC 21.695).
  • You must have no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints on your record.
  • The endorsement is held by a person and assigned to a registered general contractor. The holder must be the sole proprietor, one of the partners, an employee, authorized board member or officer of the corporation, or an employee or authorized member of the LLC, and may be assigned to no more than two general contractors.12 AAC 21.690. If the general contractor the endorsement is assigned to fails to renew or is deactivated, the division reissues the endorsement as unassigned and the holder may reassign it to another registered general contractor on the division's assignment form (#08-4465).
  • Alaska sets no minimum trade experience, apprenticeship or supervisory hours for a contractor registration or for the residential contractor endorsement. Nothing in the application asks how long the applicant has worked in construction.

What you'll do to get licensed in Alaska

  1. 1Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Alaska Residential Contractor Endorsement Examination, administered by PSI Services LLC: 100 questions, 240 minutes, 70 percent to pass. It is open reference, so code books and the Alaska Centralized Regulations may be brought into the test center along with a silent nonprinting calculator. Content runs from sitework, foundations, concrete, masonry, plan reading and carpentry to advanced cold climate home building techniques, American Wood Council framing fundamentals, seismic and wind loading, OSHA safety and the Alaska regulations for the residential endorsement. Division approval is not needed to sit it; the candidate registers with PSI directly and files the passing result with the endorsement application..
  2. 2Other. Proof of satisfactory completion, within the two years before the endorsement application, of the Alaska craftsman home program or its equivalent, or a postsecondary course in arctic engineering or its equivalent. The program page describes this as a 16-hour cold climate course. Form 08-4161 lists the providers the division has on record: At Your Pace Online LLC, Alaska Craftsman Home Program Inc and Wisdom and Associates Inc..
  3. 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($150). $150 examination fee paid to PSI Services LLC when the examination is booked. It is nonrefundable and nontransferable and stays valid for one year from the date of payment. An examination review, if requested after a failure, costs a further $150 and lasts one hour. The figure comes from the candidate bulletin the division publishes, which is the 2017 edition, so confirm the current amount with PSI on (800) 733-9267 before paying..
  4. 4Application fee. Pay the application fee ($100). $100 nonrefundable application fee. It is charged twice on this route: once on the General Contractor with Residential Endorsement registration application (#08-4819) and once on the Contractor Residential Endorsement application (#08-4161), because the registration and the endorsement are separate filings. The fee is never refunded, including where an application is abandoned after 12 months without correspondence..
  5. 5License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($250). $250 registration fee, also charged separately on the registration and on the endorsement, making $350 due with each of the two applications. Construction contractor registrations and residential endorsements run on a two-year cycle and expire on September 30 of even-numbered years whatever date they were issued, except that one issued within 90 days of an expiration date runs to the next cycle..
  6. 6Surety bond. Post a surety bond ($20,000). $20,000 surety bond for a general contractor with a residential contractor endorsement who performs exclusively residential work; a general contractor who also takes commercial work posts $25,000. The bond runs to the State, covers taxes, labor and material claims and judgments for negligent or improper work, and must remain in effect for three years until canceled by the surety, the principal or the department. A cashier's check cash deposit, a time certificate of deposit or a savings passbook held in trust for the State may be filed instead, using the division's Assignment of Cash Deposit form. The bond document must reach the division within 30 days of issuance and must carry the business name exactly as it appears on the application, including any DBA..
  7. 7Insurance. Carry the required insurance. Public liability and property damage insurance covering Alaska contracting operations, with limits of at least $20,000 for damage to property, $50,000 for injury including death to any one person and $100,000 for injury including death to more than one person (AS 08.18.101). Workers' compensation coverage from a carrier admitted in Alaska, or a self-insurance certificate, is also required if the business uses employee labor or is a corporation or LLC. Like the bond, the certificate must reach the division within 30 days of issuance with the business name written exactly as on the application..
  8. 8Business license. Obtain a business license. A corporation, LLC or other registered entity must be on file with the division's Corporations Section, with its Alaska entity number on the application, before the contractor application is processed. A State of Alaska business license under AS 43.70 is obtained after the professional registration is issued; the registration does not take its place, and the DBA name on the two must match. All advertising, contracts and signage must then carry the contractor's registered name, registration number, mailing address and physical address, or direct customers to a website that carries them (AS 08.18.051)..
  9. 9Continuing education. Complete continuing education. A renewal condition rather than an entry requirement: a residential contractor endorsement holder documents 16 contact hours of approved continuing competency activity each licensing period. At a first renewal it is eight hours for each complete calendar year the endorsement was held, and nothing at all if it was held for less than a full calendar year. No more than eight hours may come from business topics such as management, marketing, finance, safety, CPR and first aid; up to 16 may come from technical topics such as construction codes, materials and energy, remodeling and construction techniques. The division audits a share of renewals, so certificates should be kept..
  10. 10Other. With the endorsement application: a notarized signature, an Authorization for Release of Records form (#08-4161a), the name and registration number of the licensed general contractor the endorsement will be assigned to, and a copy of the official PSI examination result. A United States Social Security number must be on file before any professional license is issued, or a signed exemption request form in its place..

Published fees on this path total $500, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

What you'll need to buy or arrange

Exam preparation

Most boards contract PSI, Prov, or ICC for exams. Check which code edition the exam is written to before buying a prep course.

  • Trade exam
  • Exam fee · $150

Continuing education

Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.

  • Other
  • Continuing education

Surety bond

A license or contractor bond is bought from a surety, not the state. Price is a small percentage of the bond amount and depends on your credit.

  • Surety bond · $20,000

Liability insurance

Some states require proof of general liability or workers' compensation coverage at licensing time.

  • Insurance

Business registration

If you plan to contract in your own name, budget for a business license or entity registration on top of the trade license.

  • Business license

How Alaska licenses residential contractors

Alaska residential contractor · “General Contractor with Residential Contractor Endorsement”

Statewide license

Verified September 17, 2026· 6 sources

Issued by Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing (Construction Contractors Program)

Alaska licenses homebuilders statewide through the Construction Contractors Program in the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing, part of the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. The credential comes in two pieces. The registration is held by the business: an individual, partnership, corporation or LLC registers as a General Contractor with Residential Endorsement, posts a $20,000 surety bond, files public liability and property damage insurance, and pays a $100 application fee and a $250 registration fee. The residential contractor endorsement itself is held by a person and assigned to that registered general contractor, and it is what unlocks residential work: no general contractor may build or bid a privately owned residential structure of one to four units, or alter one by more than 25 percent of its value, unless the contractor holds the endorsement or has an endorsement holder assigned to it. To earn the endorsement an individual completes a 16-hour cold climate course and passes the Alaska residential contractor endorsement examination on arctic structural and thermal construction. The endorsement holder must be the sole proprietor, a partner, an employee, director or officer of the corporation, or an employee or member of the LLC, and may be assigned to no more than two general contractors at a time.

Moving to AlaskaLeaving Alaska

Why Colorado has nothing to transfer

Colorado residential contractor · “Residential / Home Builder contractor license (Class C in most jurisdictions)”

Licensed by cities and counties

Verified September 17, 2026· 18 sources

Colorado issues no statewide residential or home builder contractor license. DORA's consumer page says plainly that general contractors are not licensed at the state level and tells consumers to check with their city, and the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department's exam notice states that "Colorado does NOT have a state license for the building or mechanical trades." Homebuilding is licensed instead by each city, county or regional building department, most of which use a Class C tier for one- and two-family dwellings; Denver calls it Residential Contractor Class C, Colorado Springs calls it Building Contractor C (Home Builder), Fort Collins splits it into Classes D1 and D2, and Aurora calls it Residential Building Contractor. The license is normally issued to the contracting business and is qualified by a named individual who holds the supervisor certificate, so an arriving builder usually applies for the personal certificate first and the company license second. Almost every licensing jurisdiction accepts the same underlying credential - the ICC National Standard Residential Building Contractor (C) examination - which makes the exam, rather than an out-of-state license, the thing that actually travels. A license must be obtained in each jurisdiction where the builder will pull permits, and a few places, such as unincorporated Douglas County, require only registration and no exam at all.

How local licensing works in Colorado

How local licensing works. There is no state contractor board, so each city, county or regional building department writes its own contractor ordinance under its building code. Class letters mean different things in different places, and holding a license in one Colorado jurisdiction does not let you pull permits in the next one. Most jurisdictions build the residential tier around the ICC National Standard Residential Building Contractor (C) examination, which is open book, multiple choice and delivered by Pearson VUE; the same exam appears under different ICC exam IDs (W13, F13, G13) because each jurisdiction adopts a different edition of the building code and requires a current one. Passing an ICC exam is not itself a license - it is a credential you then present to each building department, which also verifies your experience.

Denver. Licensing is two steps. The individual first earns a Residential Contractor Class C supervisor certificate, which covers erecting, adding to, altering or repairing one- and two-family dwellings, U occupancy buildings and attached single-unit dwellings (IRC townhouses). It requires two years of field work as a journeyman carpenter or construction foreman with foundation, framing and roofing experience, documented with notarized letters, plus ICC exam #F13 National Standard Residential Building Contractor C. The certificate costs $60 and renews every three years. The business then applies for the Residential Contractor Class C license, $250 for three years. Denver states that it "does not accept or reciprocate contractor licenses and/or certificates from other counties or states."

Colorado Springs, El Paso County and nearby towns (Pikes Peak Regional Building Department). PPRBD licenses for unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado Springs, Fountain, Manitou Springs, Green Mountain Falls, Monument, Palmer Lake, Calhan and Woodland Park. Building Contractor C (Home Builder) covers one- and two-family dwellings up to three stories plus accessory structures, and R-2 buildings of up to eight units and two stories; the license fee is $150 with a $50 non-refundable application fee. Building Contractor E covers residential accessory structures and interior nonstructural remodeling, $75. Applicants file three reference forms documenting experience, a liability insurance certificate naming PPRBD, a workers' compensation certificate or rejection of coverage, a Colorado certificate of good standing and a name-based judicial record check; the Licensing Committee and Board of Review act on each file. PPRBD accepts ICC National Standardized or ICC Colorado Standard exams passed on or after January 1, 2016 and states that "no out-of-state exams will be accepted."

Aurora. Residential Building Contractor "Requires ICC Residential Building Contractor 'C' Certification"; the supervisor license fee is $131 and the license fee is $235, and registration plus three job references are also required. Remodeling contractors register with three years of documented experience instead of taking an exam.

Fort Collins. The residential-only classes are D1 (single-family attached and detached, no more than two dwelling units, townhouses), D2 (detached garages and Group U Division 1 occupancies up to 1,000 sq ft), E(R) nonstructural residential alterations and MM. All of them require ICC exam G13, plus three project verifications, each with the permit and the final inspection or certificate of occupancy, signed by someone unconnected to the applicant's company. General liability of $1,000,000 per person and $2,000,000 per accident and aggregate is required. A new license with supervisor certificate is $300 for two years, including a $75 non-refundable application fee.

Boulder. Class C covers construction, alteration, wrecking or repair of any detached one- and two-family dwelling or townhome and requires the ICC C Contractors certificate. Boulder states that it "does not accept reciprocal licenses from other jurisdictions," and its license covers work inside city limits only. Fee amounts are published in Boulder's contractor license application and schedule of fees.

Jefferson County. For unincorporated Jefferson County, a Class C license (labeled 2018 G13) covers one- and two-family dwellings and accessory buildings. The county accepts "proof that you have passed an appropriate ICC exam within the last 3 years or ... a copy of a valid license issued from an ICC participating jurisdiction." The fee is $50 and the license renews annually.

Arapahoe County. Building Contractor Class C (residential) costs $180 and requires an ICC Class "C" certification or an equivalent certification from a recognized state or national certification entity. General liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate must name the county.

Lakewood. Contractors register with Public Works; class A-3 Residential covers new construction and remodeling. The registration page does not impose an exam on general contractors but asks A-1 and A-2 applicants to attach any ICC certifications held. The fee is $150 for the first probationary year and $400 for each subsequent three-year renewal.

Douglas County. Unincorporated Douglas County requires registration rather than a license and states that it "has no testing requirements." Registrants file the application, workers' compensation proof or an exemption statement and business liability insurance naming the Building Division; registration fees are currently waived and applications are processed in about two business days.

Out-of-state holders. No Colorado jurisdiction reviewed grants a residential contractor license on the strength of another state's license. Denver and Boulder say so expressly, and PPRBD will not accept out-of-state exam results. The practical route is to pass the ICC National Standard Residential Building Contractor (C) exam on a code edition the jurisdiction currently accepts, gather documented project experience and references, and then apply separately in each city or county where you intend to build. Jefferson County is the clearest exception: it will take a current license from another ICC participating jurisdiction in place of the exam. Confirm the class, exam code year and fee with the building department before applying, because these change independently in every jurisdiction.

Moving to ColoradoLeaving Colorado

Common questions

Do I have to take the Alaska residential contractor exam if I'm licensed in Colorado?
Yes. Alaska requires the trade exam on this path.
What does it cost to get a Alaska residential contractor license from Colorado?
Published fees on this path total $500, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
Do my Colorado work hours count in Alaska?
No. Alaska does not credit out-of-state hours on this path.
Does it work the other way, from Alaska to Colorado?
Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Alaska to Colorado, the mechanism is not applicable.

Sources

  1. Construction Contractor Professional Licensing - Bond and Insurance Quick Facts · Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (CBPL) · Other · verified September 17, 2026
  2. Construction Contractors - Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing · Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (CBPL) · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  3. Construction Contractors FAQs - Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing · Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (CBPL) · Faq · verified September 17, 2026
  4. Applications and Forms - Alaska Construction Contractors Program · Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (CBPL) · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  5. Statutes and Regulations - Construction Contractors (AS 08.18 and 12 AAC 21), September 2023 · AS 08.18.011, .013, .021, .024, .025, .031, .041, .051, .071, .101; 12 AAC 21.650, .660, .680, .690, .695, .700 · Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (CBPL) · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
  6. Form 08-4819 - General Contractor with Residential Endorsement Registration Application (rev. 09/03/2025) · Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (CBPL) · Form · verified September 17, 2026
  7. License Expiration Dates - Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing · Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (CBPL) · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  8. National Organizations - Alaska Construction Contractors Program · Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (CBPL) · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  9. Alaska Residential Contractor Endorsement Examination - PSI Candidate Information Bulletin · PSI Services LLC for the Alaska Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing · Other · verified September 17, 2026
  10. Form 08-4161 - Contractor Residential Endorsement Application (rev. 04/19/2024) · Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (CBPL) · Form · verified September 17, 2026
  11. Residential Endorsement Exam Information - Alaska Construction Contractors Program · Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (CBPL) · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
  12. NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors · National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies · Other · verified September 17, 2026

Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.

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