State ladder: apprentice → journeyman → master
Colorado State Plumbing Board (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations) runs plumbing licensing in Colorado. Below: the exact ladder, the transfer doors into Colorado from all 50 states, the renewal and lapse lines, and the master-of-record rule for opening a company — every figure from the board's own publications, checked October 22, 2026.
State ladder: apprentice → journeyman → master Checked in part Checked October 22, 2026
Checked in part. Hours, apprentice registration, renewal/CE, and the under-two-year reinstatement rule were confirmed on primary statute/rule text (C.R.S. 12-155-108, -110, -112; 3 CCR 720-1.4) on 2026-10-22. Current DORA license/exam fee amounts were NOT confirmed on a primary DORA fee schedule in this pass (secondary sources list a $75 PSI exam fee and roughly $120 journeyman license fee), so fee fields are null. Note the statute frames 6,800/8,500 hours as the MAXIMUM experience the Board may require; Board rule 3 CCR 720-1.4 sets the required hours at exactly those numbers.
| The ladder | Colorado |
|---|---|
| Journeyman credential | Journeyworker Plumber |
| Total hours required | 6,800 |
| Classroom hours | not published |
| Apprentice registration | Required — hours count only while registered |
| Exam | PSI (Board-contracted examination vendor) — Exam fee not confirmed on a primary DORA page in this pass — see partialNote. |
| License fee | Not published |
| Renewal | Every 2 years — expires February 28 of odd-numbered years |
| Continuing education | 8 hours per 12 months (16 hours per 2-year renewal cycle), per C.R.S. 12-155-112(3) |
| Master credential | Master Plumber |
Registration, in the board’s terms: All plumbing apprentices must be registered with the Board within 30 days after initial employment; the employer is responsible for the registration, and no apprentice may be registered until the registration fee is paid (C.R.S. 12-155-108(2)). No state classroom-hour total is set in the statute or Board rule reviewed — a graduate of a Board-approved community college or trade school plumbing program receives one year of work-experience credit (C.R.S. 12-155-110(1)(b)), so classroomHours is null.
Master Plumber: 8,500 hours of practical experience (Board rule 3 CCR 720-1.4; statutory maximum in C.R.S. 12-155-110) and passage of the master plumber examination.
8,500 hours is total practical experience, i.e. 1,700 hours (about one year) beyond the 6,800-hour journeyworker threshold on the rule's numbers — not a second full apprenticeship.
Licenses expire February 28 of odd-numbered years. C.R.S. 12-155-112 governs renewal, fees, reinstatement, and continuing education.
Reinstatement: A license expired for less than two years may be reinstated by complying with the renewal requirements, including completing eight hours of continuing education for every twelve months that have passed since the last renewal or reinstatement (C.R.S. 12-155-112(2)(c),(3)(a)).
Past the line: A license expired for two years or more falls outside the under-two-year reinstatement subsection; Board reinstatement guidance requires re-applying and retaking and passing the full written examination.
Colorado endorses journeyman licenses from: none. Colorado issues licenses by endorsement where the applicant proves credentials/qualifications substantially equivalent to Colorado's requirements for licensure by examination. No named partner states or formal reciprocity agreements were found in the primary text reviewed, so accepts is empty.
| Licensed in | Door into Colorado | |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Alaska | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Arizona | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Arkansas | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| California | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Connecticut | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Delaware | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| District of Columbia | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Florida | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Georgia | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Hawaii | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Idaho | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Illinois | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Indiana | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Iowa | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Kansas | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Kentucky | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Louisiana | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Maine | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Maryland | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Massachusetts | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Michigan | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Minnesota | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Mississippi | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Missouri | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Montana | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Nebraska | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Nevada | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| New Hampshire | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| New Jersey | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| New Mexico | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| New York | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| North Carolina | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| North Dakota | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Ohio | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Oklahoma | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Oregon | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Pennsylvania | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Rhode Island | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| South Carolina | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| South Dakota | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Tennessee | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Texas | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Utah | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Vermont | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Virginia | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Washington | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| West Virginia | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Wisconsin | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
| Wyoming | No endorsement — exam route | Run the pair → |
Included in the $49 PlumberLicenseCheck Kit
One payment. Yours to keep. The checkers above stay free either way.
The seat: Master Plumber / Registered Plumbing Contractor. Plumbing contracting is performed by registered plumbing contractors working under licensed plumbers; apprentices working for plumbing contractors must be Board-registered, and journeyworker/residential work sits under master-level supervision in the statutory scheme (C.R.S. 12-155-108). A specific state insurance minimum for the contractor registration was not published in the primary text reviewed.
Statewide Board licensing; Colorado has no separate city journeyman license replacing the state ladder, though local permits/inspection apply.
Run the owner gate for your situation →
Rules as published by Colorado State Plumbing Board (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations) and the statutes it administers, checked October 22, 2026. Board: https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/colorado/3-CCR-720-1.4
