LicensebyState

Moving to Colorado as a journeyman plumber: every state's rule

Colorado has reciprocity agreements with 0 states. Everyone else follows its standard out-of-state path: endorsement.

Colorado journeyman plumber · “Journeyworker Plumber”

Statewide license

Verified September 16, 2026· 5 sources

Issued by Colorado State Plumbing Board (DORA Division of Professions and Occupations)

Colorado issues a statewide Journeyworker Plumber license (its name for the journeyman level) through the State Plumbing Board in DORA's Division of Professions and Occupations; the Board also licenses Residential Plumbers (two years / 3,400 hours) and Master Plumbers, registers apprentices, and registers Plumbing Contractors, which must hold or employ a licensed master plumber. By examination a journeyworker needs four years (6,800 hours) of documented practical experience verified on Affidavit of Experience forms by plumbing contractors or employers, a $120 application fee, and a passing score of 70% on the PSI-administered Colorado journeyworker exam (100 multiple-choice questions, 240 minutes) based on the International Plumbing Code and International Residential Code (2021 editions until November 1, 2026, then the 2024 editions the Board adopted in 3 CCR 720-1 effective August 14, 2026). Out-of-state licensees who meet Board Rule 1.4(B)(1)(a) may instead be licensed by endorsement without the Colorado exam; the Board publishes no reciprocal agreements with any state. The current license period ends on the last day of February 2027; from the cycle beginning March 1, 2027, Colorado issues and renews plumbing licenses for three years. Renewal requires eight hours of continuing education per license year (waived until after the first renewal for new exam licensees).

Every origin state

Endorsement 32No credit 18
Every state's path into Colorado
StateMechanismNoteVerified
AlabamaEndorsement2026-09-16
AlaskaEndorsement2026-09-16
ArizonaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
ArkansasEndorsement2026-09-16
CaliforniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
ConnecticutEndorsement2026-09-16
DelawareNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
District of ColumbiaEndorsement2026-09-16
FloridaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
GeorgiaEndorsement2026-09-16
HawaiiEndorsement2026-09-16
IdahoEndorsement2026-09-16
IllinoisNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
IndianaEndorsement2026-09-16
IowaEndorsement2026-09-16
KansasNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
KentuckyEndorsement2026-09-16
LouisianaEndorsement2026-09-16
MaineEndorsement2026-09-16
MarylandEndorsement2026-09-16
MassachusettsEndorsement2026-09-16
MichiganEndorsement2026-09-16
MinnesotaEndorsement2026-09-16
MississippiNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
MissouriNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
MontanaEndorsement2026-09-16
NebraskaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
NevadaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
New HampshireEndorsement2026-09-16
New JerseyNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
New MexicoEndorsement2026-09-16
New YorkNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
North CarolinaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
North DakotaEndorsement2026-09-16
OhioNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
OklahomaEndorsement2026-09-16
OregonEndorsement2026-09-16
PennsylvaniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
Rhode IslandEndorsement2026-09-16
South CarolinaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
South DakotaEndorsement2026-09-16
TennesseeNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
TexasEndorsement2026-09-16
UtahEndorsement2026-09-16
VermontEndorsement2026-09-16
VirginiaEndorsement2026-09-16
WashingtonEndorsement2026-09-16
West VirginiaEndorsement2026-09-16
WisconsinEndorsement2026-09-16
WyomingNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16

Getting licensed in Colorado from scratch

No license yet, or nothing that transfers? This is how Colorado issues a journeyman plumber license to a first-time applicant.

Verified September 23, 2026· 8 sources

Journeyworker Plumber license by examination

Colorado's Journeyworker Plumber license (its name for the journeyman level) goes to applicants who document 6,800 hours (four years) of practical plumbing experience and pass the Colorado Journeyworker Plumber exam, which PSI administers for the State Plumbing Board. Anyone doing plumbing work in Colorado without a license must be registered as an apprentice with a registered plumbing contractor, so these hours are normally earned as a registered apprentice. Each employer documents your hours on the Board's Affidavit of Experience form; you cannot verify your own experience. You pass the exam first, then apply in DPO Online Services and upload the passing result with the affidavits. There is no separate law or business exam.

The exam has 100 scored multiple-choice questions in 240 minutes, plus up to 10 unscored questions with 30 minutes added for them; 70 correct answers (70%) pass, and scores are given at the test center. PSI provides the International Plumbing Code and International Residential Code at the test center; you may not mark them or bring other materials, and formulas are not provided. Questions follow the 2021 IPC and IRC until November 1, 2026, when they move to the 2024 editions the Board adopted in August 2026; the 2021 books are available on request until February 1, 2027, and Colorado amendments are not tested. Experience earned outside Colorado counts when documented on the same affidavits. The Board also licenses Residential Plumbers after 3,400 hours, and residential experience counts toward the journeyworker hours. Water conditioning installers and principals are registered separately.

Trade exam
Required
Law / code exam
Not required
Exam given by
PSI
Exam format
Open book
Passing score
70%
Renewal
Every 3 years
Continuing education
24 hours per cycle

Who can apply

  • You must document at least 6,800 hours of qualifying work experience.Four years of practical plumbing experience (one full-time month equals 163 hours), with commercial, residential and industrial hours broken out on Affidavit of Experience forms signed by the master plumber or an authorized signer of each plumbing contractor or employer. Applicants cannot verify their own experience.

Other ways to qualify

Each of these replaces the requirements above. You only need one.

Community college or trade school plumbing program (up to one year of credit)

A graduate of a community college or trade school plumbing program approved by the Board receives up to one year of credit toward the experience requirement. Board rules require a program of at least two years and credit classroom training hour for hour, up to one year (2,000 hours). An official transcript is uploaded with the application, and education already credited toward a Residential Plumber license cannot be used again.

  • Completion of a community college, trade school or accredited high school vocational plumbing program of at least two years
  • You must document at least 3 years of qualifying work experience.The program is credited as up to one year of the four-year experience requirement; the remaining practical experience is documented on Affidavit of Experience forms.

Military plumbing training (up to one year of credit)

Plumbing training or experience in the military is credited at one month for every six months, up to one year of the experience requirement. Details of the training are submitted with the application for the Board to evaluate.

  • Military plumbing training or experience, credited at one month for every six months, up to one year
  • You must document at least 3 years of qualifying work experience.Remaining practical experience when the full one year of military credit applies.

Steps to get licensed

  1. 1Trade exam. Pass the destination's trade exam. Colorado Journeyworker Plumber exam (PSI), passed before you submit the license application: 100 scored questions in 240 minutes, 70% to pass.
  2. 2Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($78). PSI examination fee, paid when you register for the exam; non-refundable, non-transferable and valid for one year from payment.
  3. 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($73) (if applicable). PSI retest fee, charged for each retake if you do not pass.
  4. 4Application fee. Pay the application fee ($120). Journeyworker Plumber application fee (DPO Licensing Guide: 'currently $120'), paid by credit card in DPO Online Services after you pass the exam; non-refundable. Incomplete applications expire after one year..
  5. 5Other. Affidavit(s) of Experience completed by each current and former employer.
  6. 6Other. Official transcript, if you substitute plumbing education for part of the experience (if applicable).
  7. 7Other. Answer the application's general and criminal history screening questions; criminal convictions must be reported on every application, with the Felony Conviction Form where it applies.

Published fees on this path total $198, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

Keeping it active

Every 3 years with 24 hours of continuing education per cycle and a $120 renewal fee.

Eight hours for each license year (March 1 through February 28), taken from providers on the Board's attesting CE provider list. Within every 24 months at least four hours must cover the plumbing code and no more than two hours may be safety training, and you attest at renewal that you have read the current Colorado Plumbing Code. CE is not required for the first renewal of a license issued by examination.

The current license period ends on February 28, 2027. Under C.R.S. 12-155-112, licenses are issued and renewed for three years starting with the cycle that begins March 1, 2027; until then they expired on the last day of February of odd-numbered years. A license issued within 120 days before an expiration date is issued with the next expiration date. The renewal fee is the amount listed in the DPO Licensing Guide.

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

Continuing education

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

  • Continuing education

Sources for this section

  1. 3 CCR 720-1 - Plumbing Rules and Regulations (State Plumbing Board) · 3 CCR 720-1, Rule 1.4 (Applications and Licensing); Rule 1.2 (Standards) · Colorado Secretary of State (Code of Colorado Regulations) · Admin Rule · verified September 23, 2026
  2. Colorado SOS eDocket - Tracking Number 2026-00212 (3 CCR 720-1 Rule 1.2 permanent rule adopted 2026-06-24) · Colorado Secretary of State (Code of Colorado Regulations eDocket) · Other · verified September 23, 2026
  3. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 12, Article 155 - Plumbers (Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 12) · C.R.S. §§ 12-155-110, 12-155-111, 12-155-112, 12-155-116, 12-155-118 · Colorado General Assembly · Statute · verified September 23, 2026
  4. Colorado Plumbing Applications and Forms - Plumbing Licensure Requirements (Examination and Endorsement) · Colorado DORA, Division of Professions and Occupations · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  5. Colorado Plumbing Continuing Education · Colorado DORA, Division of Professions and Occupations · Agency Page · verified September 23, 2026
  6. DPO Journeyworker Plumber (JP) Initial Application Preview · Colorado DORA, Division of Professions and Occupations · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  7. DPO Plumbing Licensing Guide (PDF linked from the Plumbing Applications page) · Colorado DORA, Division of Professions and Occupations · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  8. Colorado State Plumbing Board Candidate Information Bulletin · PSI Services LLC (for the Colorado State Plumbing Board) · Form · verified September 23, 2026

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