The Colorado Journeyman Electrician Guide

What Is the Colorado Journeyman Electrician License?

In Colorado, electricians are licensed by the Colorado State Electrical Board, part of the Division of Professions and Occupations under DORA. The Board licenses residential wiremen, journeyman electricians, and master electricians, and it contracts with PSI to administer computer-based examinations. The governing law is CRS Title 12, Article 115, with the Board rules in 3 CCR 710-1.

The journeyman license authorizes you to perform electrical installations for hire under the direction of a licensed master electrician, and to supervise up to three apprentices. Contractors and employers across the state require the journeyman credential for field electricians. Colorado participates in the NERA reciprocity compact with 14 states for electrician licensing.

The Requirements

• Apprentice registration: Register as an electrical apprentice with a licensed Colorado electrical contractor first — the employer must register you with the Board within 30 days (fee about $30). Legal electrical work hours count only while registered.
• Experience: 8,000 hours of documented electrical experience over at least 4 years, of which 2,000 hours must be commercial/industrial (or substantially similar) work completed over at least 2 years. Experience is attested on the official Affidavit of Experience signed by the supervising contractor.
• Classroom education: 288 hours of classroom education (safety including OSHA, NEC and applications, grounding/bonding, wiring methods, theory/calculations) completed within the 8 years before applying (window extended by SB25-165, effective March 30, 2026 — previously 4 years). No grandfathering: the classroom requirement applies to all candidates. Keep transcripts/certificates.
• Pass the exam first: You must PASS the state journeyman exam before filing the license application — the online application requires attaching your passing exam result.
• Application: File the Initial License by Examination application online through DPO Online Services (apps2.colorado.gov/dora/licensing) with your exam result, experience affidavits, classroom transcripts, and background questions. License application fee is about $100.

Academic credit: an ABET-accredited electrical engineering degree or an approved community college/trade school program can substitute for up to one year of experience. Board rules also credit certain military training. Criminal convictions are reviewed under a 3-year lookback window (HB24-1004).

Exam Format: Open Book, PSI

The Colorado journeyman exam is <strong>open book</strong> and computer based. Colorado adopted the NEC 2026 effective <strong>August 1, 2026</strong> — the code book is provided at the testing center (NEC 2023 is provided on request until November 1, 2026). The exam is a single scored section:

Up to 10 additional unscored pretest questions may be administered with extra time. The exam is computer based at PSI testing centers across Colorado. Because the code is in your hands, the exam rewards <strong>code navigation</strong> — knowing which chapter covers which topic, using the index efficiently, and reading sections including exceptions and tables.

What the Exam Covers

The official PSI content outline for the Colorado journeyman exam allocates the 90 questions across 13 subject areas:

• Grounding and Bonding — 14 questions: the largest block — Article 250 system and equipment grounding, bonding requirements, and grounding electrode systems.
• General Electrical Knowledge — 11 questions: definitions, code administration, and broad electrical theory.
• Electrical Calculations — 9 questions: load calculations, voltage drop, and sizing math.
• Services, Feeders, and Branch Circuits — 9 questions: service entrances and equipment (Article 230), feeders (215), and branch circuits (210).
• Conductors and Cables — 8 questions: ampacity, conductor types, and cable installations (Article 310 and Chapter 3).
• Overcurrent Protection — 6 questions: fuses, breakers, and their proper application (Article 240).
• Motors — 6 questions: motor circuits, controllers, and protection (Article 430).
• Special Equipment — 6 questions: signs, cranes, elevators, and other special equipment (Articles 600–695).
• Electrical Devices — 5 questions: receptacles, switches, and lighting devices (Articles 404/406/410).
• Raceways and Boxes — 5 questions: conduit and box fill, raceways, and fittings (Chapter 3–4 territory).
• Special Occupancies — 5 questions: hazardous locations and other special occupancies (Chapters 5–6).
• Transformers — 4 questions: transformer installation and protection (Article 450).
• Photovoltaics — 2 questions: PV system installations (Article 690).

Colorado leans heavily on grounding and bonding, general electrical knowledge, and calculations — nearly 34 of the 90 questions come from those three areas. Notice that Colorado tests fewer state-specific specialty topics than some states: the exam is overwhelmingly NEC-focused.

How to Prepare

1. Register as an apprentice first. You cannot legally accumulate experience hours in Colorado without apprentice registration filed by a licensed contractor — and unregistered hours will not count toward your 8,000.
2. Track your commercial/industrial hours. You need 2,000 of your 8,000 hours in commercial or industrial (or substantially similar) work over at least 2 years. Record every period on the official Affidavit of Experience and get the supervising contractor to sign it with their license number.
3. Bank your 288 classroom hours. Complete Board-approved education covering safety (OSHA), the NEC, grounding/bonding, wiring methods, and calculations within the 8-year window. Keep your transcripts — no grandfathering.
4. Learn the chapter map and the index. Know where every exam topic lives — grounding in Article 250, services in 230, wiring methods in Chapter 3, overcurrent protection in 240 — before you open a single practice question.
5. Drill with the code open. Answer practice questions with the NEC beside you, verify the exact section and table, and review every explanation — especially the exceptions.
6. Simulate under exam conditions. Full-length, timed, open-book runs of 90 questions in 240 minutes at least once a week in the final month build the pacing discipline that open-book exams reward.

Journeyman Practice covers the Colorado exam with code-referenced questions, adaptive difficulty, and timed simulations. Start with free NEC practice questions to see the format.

Retaking the Exam

If you fail the Colorado journeyman exam, you can retake it. PSI retest fee is $73 (the initial exam fee is $78). Exam fees are non-refundable and non-transferable and your exam approval is valid for one year. The Board reviews your full application — passing the exam does not by itself guarantee the license.

After Licensure: The Path to Master

Licensed journeyman electricians work in residential, commercial, and industrial electrical construction across Colorado. The journeyman years are also the runway to the master license: the Board requires a Colorado journeyman license plus additional experience before you can sit for the master exam, which opens the door to contracting. Journeyman, master, and residential wireman licenses all renew every 3 years on September 30 (next cycle: September 30, 2026) and require 24 hours of continuing education — at least 4 hours on NEC code changes and no more than 4 hours of safety. Licenses issued in the current cycle are exempt from CE for the first renewal.

Ready to Start?

Learn to navigate the NEC 2026, drill code-referenced free practice questions, and take a timed Colorado simulation before you walk into the PSI testing center.