Do you need a state license in Colorado?
Colorado does not issue a statewide handyman license. Any license you need comes from the city or county where the job is, so the rules can change from one town to the next.
Denver licenses contractors through Community Planning and Development, and Moffat County requires all contractors to be registered. In unincorporated Jefferson County, a building contractor needs a county license for work that requires a county building permit. Check with your city or county.
How to get set up in Colorado, step by step
- Check the building department in each city or county where you work.
- Get any local contractor license or business license they require.
- Leave plumbing and electrical work to state-licensed trades.
- Pull permits where the local code requires them.
What it costs in Colorado
There is no state license fee for handyman work in Colorado. Ask the city or county where you work about any local fees.
Good to know in Colorado
- Plumbers and electricians must be licensed or registered with the State of Colorado.
Once you are cleared to work
The license lets you take the work. Getting the work is the next job.
- Register the business. If you work under a name other than your own, register it where your state asks (often the Secretary of State, sometimes the county), and keep the name the same on your license, your truck and your invoices.
- Claim your Google Business Profile. It is the listing people see when they search for a handyman near them. Fill in your service area, hours and real photos of your work.
- Put up a website that shows the license. Customers look for it before they call. Koira builds a contractor website for you and keeps it current.
- See where you stand. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where this comes from
Every fact on this page comes from the official pages below, checked October 8, 2026. Fees and rules change, so confirm with your city or county before you file.
More for your trade: how handyman businesses run on Koira.