LicensebyState

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

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

Colorado master plumber · “Master Plumber”

Statewide license

Verified September 16, 2026· 6 sources

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

Colorado issues a statewide Master Plumber license through the State Plumbing Board in DORA's Division of Professions and Occupations. By examination an applicant must document five full-time years (8,500 hours) of practical plumbing experience on Affidavit of Experience forms, pay a $140 application fee, and score 75% on the PSI-administered Colorado master exam (120 multiple-choice questions, 270 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). A master plumber may perform and supervise all plumbing work and is the responsible individual for a registered Plumbing Contractor, which is the separate business registration (with $100,000 property damage and $300,000 general liability insurance and workers' compensation compliance) needed to contract for plumbing work; a master may be responsible for only one company. Out-of-state master plumbers may be licensed by endorsement under Board Rule 1.4(B)(1)(a) without the Colorado exam; the Board has no reciprocal agreements. The current license period ends on the last day of February 2027, after which licenses run for three years; renewal requires eight CE hours per license year.

Every origin state

Endorsement 38No credit 12
Every state's path into Colorado
StateMechanismNoteVerified
AlabamaEndorsement2026-09-16
AlaskaEndorsement2026-09-16
ArizonaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
ArkansasEndorsement2026-09-16
CaliforniaEndorsement2026-09-16
ConnecticutEndorsement2026-09-16
DelawareEndorsement2026-09-16
District of ColumbiaEndorsement2026-09-16
FloridaEndorsement2026-09-16
GeorgiaEndorsement2026-09-16
HawaiiEndorsement2026-09-16
IdahoEndorsement2026-09-16
IllinoisEndorsement2026-09-16
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 JerseyEndorsement2026-09-16
New MexicoEndorsement2026-09-16
New YorkNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
North CarolinaEndorsement2026-09-16
North DakotaEndorsement2026-09-16
OhioEndorsement2026-09-16
OklahomaEndorsement2026-09-16
OregonNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
PennsylvaniaNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
Rhode IslandEndorsement2026-09-16
South CarolinaEndorsement2026-09-16
South DakotaEndorsement2026-09-16
TennesseeNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
TexasEndorsement2026-09-16
UtahEndorsement2026-09-16
VermontEndorsement2026-09-16
VirginiaEndorsement2026-09-16
WashingtonNo creditno state license to transfer2026-09-16
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 master plumber license to a first-time applicant.

Verified September 23, 2026· 9 sources

Master Plumber license by examination

Colorado's Master Plumber license is earned by documenting five full-time years (8,500 hours) of practical plumbing experience and passing the Colorado Master Plumber exam, which PSI administers for the State Plumbing Board. Colorado does not require you to hold a journeyworker license first: the hours count however they were earned, including experience used for a Residential or Journeyworker Plumber license. Each employer documents your hours on the Board's Affidavit of Experience form, and you cannot verify your own experience. You pass the exam first, then apply in DPO Online Services with the passing result and the affidavits. There is no separate law or business exam.

The master exam has 120 scored multiple-choice questions in 270 minutes, plus up to 10 unscored questions with 30 minutes added for them. The Board's Applications page states that masters need 75%, while PSI's candidate bulletin lists 84 correct answers out of 120 (70%); confirm the current passing standard with DPO (303-894-7800) or PSI before testing. PSI provides the International Plumbing Code and International Residential Code at the test center; you may not mark them or bring other materials. Questions follow the 2021 IPC and IRC until November 1, 2026, then the 2024 editions. The master license is held by an individual. To contract for plumbing work, a business registers separately as a Plumbing Contractor with a licensed master plumber as its responsible individual, who may serve only one company; the registration requires workers' compensation and unemployment insurance compliance, and the DPO Licensing Guide lists property damage insurance of at least $100,000 and general liability of at least $300,000.

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

Who can apply

  • You must document at least 8,500 hours of qualifying work experience.Five full-time years of practical plumbing experience (one full-time month equals 163 hours), including all prior experience, documented on Affidavit of Experience forms signed by the master plumber or an authorized signer of each plumbing contractor or employer. No Colorado journeyworker license is required.

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). Education already credited toward a Residential or Journeyworker 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 4 years of qualifying work experience.The program is credited as up to one year of the five-year experience requirement.

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.

  • Military plumbing training or experience, credited at one month for every six months, up to one year
  • You must document at least 4 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 Master Plumber exam (PSI), passed before you submit the license application: 120 scored questions in 270 minutes.
  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 ($140). Master Plumber application fee (DPO Licensing Guide: 'currently $140'), 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 $218, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.

Keeping it active

Every 3 years with 24 hours of continuing education per cycle and a $140 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. A licensee holding several Board licenses completes CE for the most advanced one.

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 Plumbing Contractor (PC) 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. DPO Master Plumber (MP) Initial Application Preview · Colorado DORA, Division of Professions and Occupations · Form · verified September 23, 2026
  9. 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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