Nebraska to Colorado: journeyman electrician license reciprocity
Colorado has a reciprocity agreement with Nebraska: a Nebraska journeyman electrician can get a Colorado license without retaking the trade exam.
Reference only, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the licensing board before you apply. Full disclaimer.
NERA reciprocal agreement with Nebraska (journeyman)
A signed state-to-state agreement. The trade exam is waived; you apply, prove your history, and pay the fee.
Colorado follows the bylaws of the National Electrical Reciprocal Alliance (NERA) and lists Nebraska as a journeyman reciprocity state. A Nebraska journeyman (or master working as a journeyman) whose license is current, active, and in good standing, was obtained by passing a state-administered exam, and has been held for at least one year receives a Colorado Journeyman Electrician license without written examination. Licenses granted by grandfathering without an exam do not qualify. Reciprocity applicants do not need to document experience hours.
At a glance
- Trade exam
- Waived
- Law / code exam
- Not required
- Agreement
- Active
What you must already have
- Your Nebraska license must be active and in good standing.
- Your Nebraska license must have been obtained by examination, not by reciprocity or grandfathering.
- You must have held your Nebraska license for at least 1 year.
What you'll do to get licensed in Colorado
- 1Application fee. Pay the application fee. Application fee paid in DPO Online Services (amount not published on the public pages; non-refundable).
- 2Other. Verification of Licensure form completed by the issuing state board.
How Colorado licenses journeyman electricians
Colorado journeyman electrician · “Journeyman Electrician”
Statewide license
Issued by Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations)
Colorado issues a statewide Journeyman Electrician license through the State Electrical Board within DORA's Division of Professions and Occupations. There are three routes: examination (8,000 hours over at least four years, 288 hours of classroom education, and the PSI-administered Colorado exam), endorsement of an active state-issued license obtained by exam on the NEC edition Colorado currently uses, and reciprocity for journeymen from the 14 NERA member states. Endorsement and reciprocity both issue the license without a Colorado exam. Applications are filed through DPO Online Services; licenses expire September 30 every three years.
Common questions
- Do I have to take the Colorado journeyman electrician exam if I'm licensed in Nebraska?
- No. The trade exam is waived on this path under the agreement with Nebraska.
- How long do I need to have held my Nebraska license?
- At least 1 year before applying.
Sources
- 3 CCR 710-1 - State Electrical Board Rules and Regulations · 3 CCR 710-1, Rule 1.7 (Application for Licensure) · Colorado Secretary of State (Code of Colorado Regulations) · Admin Rule · verified September 14, 2026Current version effective 2026-07-15. Rule 1.7 sets 8,000 hours / 4 years for journeyman and 10,000 hours / 5 years for master by examination, the endorsement conditions (active license in another state, apprenticeship or required experience, comparable written state exam on the current NEC), journeyman reciprocity for NERA member states or states with a Board agreement, and states that a Colorado master electrician's license may not be granted by reciprocity.
- Colorado Revised Statutes Title 12, Article 115 - Electricians · C.R.S. §§ 12-115-107(2)(i), 12-115-113 · Colorado General Assembly · Statute · verified September 14, 2026§12-115-113(1): the Board shall issue a license by endorsement to a person licensed in another jurisdiction with substantially equivalent credentials and qualifications; (2): by reciprocity where a reciprocal agreement exists; (3): the Board may define substantial equivalence by rule. §12-115-107(2)(i) authorizes reciprocal agreements with other states' electrical boards.
- Colorado Electrical Applications and Forms - Licensure Requirements (Examination, Endorsement, Reciprocity) · Colorado DORA, Division of Professions and Occupations · Agency Page · verified September 14, 2026Lists experience hours by license type, the endorsement conditions, and the NERA journeyman reciprocity states. Fees are not shown; the page says fees are in the online application.
- Colorado Electrical Homepage - State Electrical Board · Colorado DORA, Division of Professions and Occupations · Agency Page · verified September 14, 2026Board rulemaking hearing May 27, 2026 on adopting the 2026 NEC; licenses expire September 30 every three years.
- DPO Journeyman Electrician (JW) Initial Application Preview · Colorado DORA, Division of Professions and Occupations · Form · verified September 14, 2026Linked from dpo.colorado.gov/Electrical/Applications. States the three methods (examination, reciprocity, endorsement), that the current NEC in use in Colorado is the 2023 NEC, that reciprocity applicants need no experience documentation, and that Texas is not a reciprocal state.
Verified dates are when a person last opened each source and confirmed the facts above. Cite the board, not us.