How to become a plumber in Colorado

The path in Colorado, step by step

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

1. Register as a plumbing apprentice with the state.
2. Log practical experience under licensed plumbers and get employer affidavits.
3. Apply online for the master plumber exam once you have 8,500 hours.
4. Pass the PSI exam with at least 75 percent.
5. Register your plumbing contractor business with the state.
6. Renew every two years and complete 8 hours of continuing education each license year.

The full license guide, with every fee and form: plumbing 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 plumbers learn the trade in a 4 or 5 year apprenticeship, with about 2,000 hours of paid on-the-job training plus some classroom instruction each year.

License levels and exams in Colorado

The license to aim for: Master Plumber license with Plumbing Contractor registration.

Trade exam. Yes. A multiple-choice PSI exam based on the International Plumbing Code, International Fuel Gas Code and board rules. Masters need 75 percent to pass.

Keeping it. Every two years. Licenses and contractor registrations expire on the last day of February in odd-numbered years. Licensed plumbers need 8 hours of continuing education each license year.

Coming from another state. Licensees from other states may qualify by endorsement if their credentials are substantially equivalent and they passed a comparable state plumbing exam.

What plumbers earn in Colorado

The median plumber in Colorado earned $30.40 an hour in May 2025, 30th of 51 states, with 10,080 on payrolls. The national median was $30.67.

At the bottom of the range, a quarter of plumbers in Colorado earned under $25.18 an hour and a tenth under $22.97. At the top, a quarter earned over $37.86 and a tenth over $48.19.

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

Jobs ahead in Colorado

Colorado's labor market office projects jobs for plumbers growing from 10,700 in 2022 to 11,960 in 2032, a change of 11.8%. Counting people who retire or change careers, that is about 1,090 openings a year.

Jobs are projected to grow 11.8% from 2022 to 2032, faster than the 2.3% projected nationally, ranking 16th 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 plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters.

Starting your own plumber business in Colorado

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

Pricing comes next. Paying yourself the Colorado median of $30.40 an hour, the labor rate calculator's starting numbers (one person, 2 unbilled hours a day, $90,000 of overhead, 15% profit) come to $123.98 per billable hour. Try your own in the plumber labor rate calculator.

The full checklist is in how to start a plumbing 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.