Colorado to Massachusetts: residential contractor license reciprocity
Colorado does not issue a statewide residential contractor license, so there is nothing to transfer. Here is Massachusetts'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.
Restricted (one- and two-family) CSL by examination, plus HIC registration (all states)
Your out-of-state credentials give no advantage. You meet the destination's requirements from scratch.
An out-of-state residential builder or remodeler gets no credit in Massachusetts for the license itself: the Board states that Massachusetts does not recognize out-of-state contractor licenses, and neither 780 CMR 110.R5 nor the candidate handbook provides any reciprocity, endorsement or examination-waiver route. What does carry across is the work history. Eligibility to sit the Restricted Construction Supervisor examination needs three years, a total of 36 months of full-time work, in building construction or design within the past ten years, and the Board accepts W-2, Schedule C or 1099 forms or a letter of attestation from an engineer, architect, employer, military supervisor or licensed contractor as proof, without requiring the work to have been done in Massachusetts. A vocational program or a bachelor's degree counts as one year and a degree in architecture, engineering, science or a related technology field counts as two, up to a maximum of two years. The applicant registers with PSI, pays a $23 application fee and a $65 examination fee, and sits a 60-question open-book examination against the Massachusetts State Building Code: 180 minutes, 70% to pass, results given immediately. A candidate who passes mails the score report and the $150 license fee to the Division of Occupational Licensure, and the license card follows in about 30 days. Anyone who will also work on existing owner-occupied homes of one to four units registers separately as a Home Improvement Contractor through the MA Contractor Hub.
There is no separate business-and-law examination in Massachusetts. Massachusetts administrative responsibilities under 780 CMR are a scored content area inside the Restricted examination itself (5 of the 60 questions), alongside plan reading, energy efficiency, sitework and foundations, concrete and masonry, moisture protection, structural framing, roofing and exterior walls, associated trades, interior environment, fire protection and OSHA safety. The examination is open book but candidates must bring their own copies of the International Residential Code, the Massachusetts amendments and the other listed references. A first license runs three years and renews for two-year terms at $100, with 10 hours of continuing education per renewal cycle. One route skips the examination and it is not an out-of-state route: 780 CMR 110.R5.2.1 lets a person holding a current Massachusetts building official certification under 780 CMR 110.R7 apply without testing. Municipalities may add their own license requirements for categories the state code does not cover, so check with the building official for the city or town before starting work.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Required
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Out-of-state hours
- Count toward eligibility
- Typical processing
- About 30 days
What you must already have
- You must document at least 3 years of qualifying work experience.The experience need not be continuous and need not have been gained in Massachusetts. Education substitutes for up to two of the three years: a three- or four-year vocational school program in building construction, or a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree, counts as one year; a degree in architecture, science, engineering or a related technology field counts as two. Union affiliation alone is not accepted, and active military service relevant to construction may be counted.
- At least 18 years old on the day of the examination, and of good moral character as determined by the Board of Building Regulations and Standards.
- Has not already passed an examination in, or held a license in, the same license class. The exception is an applicant whose license has been expired for more than two years, or who has been ordered to re-examine after a hearing.
- A notarized signature on the examination registration form confirming that the information given is true and that all Massachusetts state tax returns have been filed and state taxes paid.
What you'll do to get licensed in Massachusetts
- 1Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Massachusetts Restricted Construction Supervisor examination, administered by PSI: 60 questions, 180 minutes, 70% to pass (a cutscore of 42), open book, taken at a PSI center in Auburn, Charlestown, Fall River, Lawrence or West Springfield or at any PSI center elsewhere in the United States. Results are given immediately and there is no limit on retakes. PSI takes up to two weeks to review an examination application, and the approved application stays on file for two years..
- 2Application fee. Pay the application fee ($23). Non-refundable examination application fee paid to PSI when the registration form and the experience documentation are filed..
- 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($65). Non-refundable examination fee paid to PSI when the examination is scheduled. An appointment can be moved without losing the fee if the notice reaches PSI two days before the test date..
- 4License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($150). Initial Restricted Construction Supervisor license fee, mailed with the passing score report to the Division of Occupational Licensure within one year of passing the examination (801 CMR 4.02(39)(b)). The first license runs three years; renewals are $150 less, at $100 for a two-year term, and a renewal filed more than one year but less than two years after expiry carries a $100 late fee. A license more than two years past expiry cannot be renewed and the examination must be taken again..
- 5Other. Documentation of the three years of experience filed with the examination application: W-2, IRS Schedule C or 1099 forms covering the equivalent of three years of full-time work, or, instead of tax records, a letter of attestation from an engineer, architect, employer, military supervisor or licensed contractor. Where education is used for part of the experience, a copy of the diploma or degree is filed as well..
- 6License fee. Pay the license or certificate fee ($150). Home Improvement Contractor registration fee, required of anyone who solicits, bids on or performs work on an existing owner-occupied Massachusetts home of one to four units. The registration is filed and paid online through the MA Contractor Hub; paper applications and paper certified checks are returned. The registration renews every two years for $100, and each supplemental card for an officer, partner or employee costs $10..
- 7Other. Mandatory payment into the Residential Contractor's Guaranty Fund, made with the Home Improvement Contractor registration application and set by headcount on the date of application: $100 for fewer than four employees, $200 for four to ten, $300 for eleven to thirty and $500 for more than thirty (201 CMR 14.19). The amount shown is the smallest band. It is normally paid once rather than at every renewal, it is refunded if the registration is denied, and it funds payments of up to $25,000 to homeowners holding unpaid judgments against a registered contractor. ($100).
- 8Background check. Complete a background check. Criminal record check on the Home Improvement Contractor registration: before approving an application or renewal the director refers the applicant to the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services, which reports back only a conviction for gross fraud or cheat at common law (M.G.L. c. 142A, § 9(e)). The construction supervisor license has no separate background check, but the Board may require an applicant to disclose any conviction or civil finding made by a court or by a licensing board in another jurisdiction..
- 9Business license. Obtain a business license. A corporation or LLC formed outside Massachusetts must complete the foreign corporation registration with the Secretary of the Commonwealth before it can obtain a Home Improvement Contractor registration; state law requires the certificate of registration to be filed within ten days after the company starts to transact business in Massachusetts. A contractor trading under a business name also files a business certificate with the clerk of the city or town where the business is based and uploads a copy. A corporation or partnership registering as an HIC must designate one individual as responsible for its work, and that person and the company are jointly and severally liable for the fees and for compliance..
- 10Continuing education. Complete continuing education. Renewal condition rather than an entry requirement: a Restricted construction supervisor completes 10 hours of Board-approved continuing education in each two-year renewal cycle, made up of four hours of code review and at least one hour each of workplace safety, business practices and workers' compensation, energy and, in the first renewal cycle only, lead safe practices, with the balance as approved electives. No more than six of the hours may be taken online; the rest must be classroom based. Courses should be finished at least 60 days before the license expires, and a certificate used for one renewal cannot be used again..
- 11Insurance. Carry the required insurance (if applicable). Neither the Construction Supervisor License nor the Home Improvement Contractor registration requires a surety bond, a financial statement or proof of general liability insurance. Massachusetts protects homeowners through the Guaranty Fund and the written-contract rules of M.G.L. c. 142A instead. Workers' compensation obligations still apply to the business independently of these credentials, and owners and lenders commonly require liability coverage by contract..
- 12Other. Contract rules that apply once registered: every residential contracting agreement over $1,000 must be in writing and carry the contractor's registration number, and any deposit taken before work begins is capped at the greater of one third of the contract price or the actual cost of special-order materials (M.G.L. c. 142A, § 2). Working without a registration is a prohibited act under M.G.L. c. 142A, § 17..
Published fees on this path total $388, 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 · $65
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
Continuing education
Renewals usually need approved CE hours, often on the latest NEC. Reciprocal licensees are rarely exempt.
- Continuing education
Liability insurance
Some states require proof of general liability or workers' compensation coverage at licensing time.
- Insurance · if applicable
How Massachusetts licenses residential contractors
Massachusetts residential contractor · “Construction Supervisor License, Restricted (one- and two-family dwellings), plus Home Improvement Contractor registration”
Statewide license
Massachusetts splits residential contracting between two credentials that do different jobs, and a remodeler usually needs both. The Construction Supervisor License (CSL) is the competency credential: the Board of Building Regulations and Standards issues it, it is won by passing an open-book examination on the Massachusetts State Building Code, and it is held by a person, not by a company - M.G.L. c. 143, § 94(i) directs the Board 'to issue licenses to individuals engaged as construction supervisors', so there is no entity license and no qualifying party arrangement of the kind most states use. Every building permit application must name the construction supervisor who will supervise the work, and give their signature, license number and license category. The homes-only CSL is the Restricted (one- and two-family dwellings) class, which covers construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, removal and demolition of one- and two-family dwellings and their accessory buildings, of any size. The Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) registration is the separate consumer-protection filing, run by the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation: anyone who solicits, bids on or performs work on an existing owner-occupied home of one to four units must register, pay into the Residential Contractor's Guaranty Fund, and put the registration number in every contract. The registration involves no examination, no experience review and no competency test at all, and the agency states plainly that an HIC registration 'is different from a Construction Supervisor License (CSL) and they are not interchangeable'. For someone arriving with an out-of-state license the answer is the same at both levels: the Board states that 'Massachusetts does not recognize out of state contractor licenses', so there is no reciprocity, no endorsement and no examination waiver, and the Massachusetts examination has to be taken.
Why Colorado has nothing to transfer
Colorado residential contractor · “Residential / Home Builder contractor license (Class C in most jurisdictions)”
Licensed by cities and counties
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.
- Denver (Community Planning and Development)
- Colorado Springs / El Paso County (Pikes Peak Regional Building Department)
- Aurora (Building Division)
- Fort Collins (Planning and Development Services)
- Lakewood (Public Works)
- Boulder
- Jefferson County (Division of Building Safety)
- Arapahoe County (Building Division)
- Douglas County (Building Division)
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Massachusetts residential contractor exam if I'm licensed in Colorado?
- Yes. Massachusetts requires the trade exam on this path.
- What does it cost to get a Massachusetts residential contractor license from Colorado?
- Published fees on this path total $388, not counting exam vendor fees or bonds.
- Do my Colorado work hours count in Massachusetts?
- Yes. Documented out-of-state experience counts toward Massachusetts's eligibility requirements.
- How long does the application take?
- The board's published or typical processing time is about 30 days.
- Does it work the other way, from Massachusetts to Colorado?
- Not necessarily. Reciprocity is directed. Going from Massachusetts to Colorado, the mechanism is not applicable.
Sources
- 201 CMR 14.00 - Home Improvement Contractor Arbitration and Guaranty Fund · 201 CMR 14.19 · Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
- 780 CMR 110.R5 - Licensing of Construction Supervisors (Tenth Edition, Massachusetts State Building Code) · 780 CMR 110.R5 · Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
- 801 CMR 4.02 - Fees for licenses, permits and services to be charged by state agencies (item 39, Construction Supervisor License) · 801 CMR 4.02(39) · Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance · Admin Rule · verified September 17, 2026
- Construction Supervisor Licensing Candidate Handbook (examination eligibility, fees and content outlines) · Massachusetts Division of Occupational Licensure / PSI Services LLC · Form · verified September 17, 2026
- Continuing education for construction supervisors · Massachusetts Division of Occupational Licensure, Board of Building Regulations and Standards · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Construction Supervisor Licensing - Board of Building Regulations and Standards · Massachusetts Division of Occupational Licensure, Board of Building Regulations and Standards · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Learn about different Construction Supervisor Licenses · Massachusetts Division of Occupational Licensure, Board of Building Regulations and Standards · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- When is a Construction Supervisor License required? (includes the Board's out-of-state position) · Massachusetts Division of Occupational Licensure, Board of Building Regulations and Standards · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Home Improvement Contractor Program - Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation · Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- Home Improvement Contractor Registration and Renewal · Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation · Agency Page · verified September 17, 2026
- MGL Chapter 142A, Section 1 - Home improvement contractor definitions · M.G.L. c. 142A, § 1 · Massachusetts General Court · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- MGL Chapter 142A, Section 9 - Registration of contractors or subcontractors · M.G.L. c. 142A, § 9 · Massachusetts General Court · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
- MGL Chapter 143, Section 94 - Board of Building Regulations and Standards; powers and duties · M.G.L. c. 143, § 94(a), (i), (m), (n) · Massachusetts General Court · Statute · verified September 17, 2026
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.