How to become an electrician in Colorado

The path in Colorado, step by step

Colorado licenses electrical work at the state level through the Colorado State Electrical Board, Division of Professions and Occupations (DORA). These are the steps it lays out, in order.

1. Register as an electrical apprentice and log hours under a licensed electrician.
2. Complete 288 classroom hours and 8,000 hours to sit for the journeyman exam.
3. Gain the extra hours, including planning, layout and supervision, needed for the master license.
4. Apply online and pass the master electrician exam.
5. Register your electrical contractor business with the master as responsible individual and proof of workers' comp and unemployment compliance.
6. Renew and complete 24 hours of continuing education every 3-year period.

The full license guide, with every fee and form: electrical license in Colorado.

Finding an apprenticeship in Colorado

Colorado runs Registered Apprenticeship through its own State Apprenticeship Agency, recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor to register and oversee programs there. Its staff are state employees, and it may use the federal paperwork or forms of its own. Apprenticeship.gov lists the Colorado State Apprenticeship Agency as the contact.

Either way, a registered program means paid work with a mentor, raises as you progress, classroom instruction and a credential recognized in every state. Search open spots in the Apprenticeship Job Finder.

Across the country. Most electricians learn the trade in a 4 or 5 year apprenticeship. Each year brings about 2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training plus some classroom instruction.

License levels and exams in Colorado

The license to aim for: Master Electrician license with Electrical Contractor registration.

Trade exam. Yes. A state electrical exam for each license level.

Keeping it. Every three years. Residential wiremen, journeymen and masters complete at least 24 hours of continuing education each 3-year license period.

Coming from another state. Journeyman reciprocity through the National Electrical Reciprocal Alliance with Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. Endorsement is possible for other state-issued licenses earned by testing on the current code.

What electricians earn in Colorado

The median electrician in Colorado earned $29.92 an hour in May 2025, 33rd of 51 states, with 17,010 on payrolls. The national median was $30.38.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of electricians in Colorado earned under $23.50 an hour and a tenth under $21.88. At the top, a quarter earned over $37.73 and a tenth over $45.27.

Every state, the neighbors and what a business should charge: electrician salary in Colorado.

Jobs ahead in Colorado

Colorado's labor market office projects jobs for electricians growing from 18,060 in 2022 to 21,130 in 2032, a change of 17%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 2,010 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 17% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 6.5% projected nationally, ranking 11th of the 50 states in the file.

These are the state's own long-term projections, published together on Projections Central for the occupation group electricians.

Starting your own electrician business in Colorado

To contract on your own in Colorado, the license is the Master Electrician license with Electrical Contractor registration.

Insurance. Proof of compliance with workers' compensation and unemployment insurance laws for the contractor registration.

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Colorado median of $29.92 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $123.13 per billable hour. Try your own in the electrician labor rate calculator.

The full checklist is in how to start an electrical business. The free Koira Office plan gives you a website on a Koira address, estimates customers sign with a deposit, invoices with card payments and your day's jobs in one place, with no per-person fee. See the plans.