Transfer Your Engineering License to Colorado: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Colorado State Board of Licensure for Architects, Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (Dept. of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations) ↗
Yes — Colorado issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You apply to the Colorado State Board of Licensure for Architects, Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (Dept. of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations), which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against Colorado's own statute rather than re-testing you. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Colorado grants endorsement 'without further examination' and has no separate state jurisprudence exam. Application fee: Colorado's public board pages do not display a static PE endorsement fee; the amount appears only inside the downloadable application form and at checkout in the DPO Online Services system, so it is left null pending confirmation on an official page (contact [email protected]). Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Comity is Colorado's normal route for an already-licensed engineer, and the word describes what the Colorado State Board of Licensure for Architects, Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (Dept. of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations) actually does: it extends professional courtesy to your existing PE license after confirming your record meets Colorado's practice act, rather than re-examining you. The lever that makes this smooth is your NCEES Record — NCEES compiles your transcripts, experience, references, and FE/PE results and transmits them straight to Colorado, and a Model Law Engineer designation speeds many boards further. One prerequisite is absolute: your current license must be active and unencumbered, so clear any open disciplinary matter before you file.
Read the exam line on this page closely before you assume the move is exam-free. Most boards add nothing to the FE and PE, but a few require a state-specific examination — seismic, surveying, or a statutes-and-rules review — that comity does not waive, and where Colorado requires one it is listed above rather than folded silently into the process.
Endorsement (a.k.a. comity/reciprocity) licensure without re-examination for those licensed in good standing elsewhere. Underlying standard is a bachelor's degree from an EAC/ABET-accredited program plus qualifying progressive experience (commonly four years). Colorado does not require CE for PE renewal. Board sits inside DORA's Division of Professions and Occupations; applications are filed through the DPO Online Services system.
Colorado requirements at a glance
| Exam | FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Colorado grants endorsement 'without further examination' and has no separate state jurisprudence exam |
|---|---|
| Additional requirements |
|
| Fees | Colorado's public board pages do not display a static PE endorsement fee; the amount appears only inside the downloadable application form and at checkout in the DPO Online Services system, so it is left null pending confirmation on an official page (contact [email protected]). Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES |
| Processing time | DORA's Division of Professions and Occupations publishes no comity turnaround; endorsement is reviewed administratively once written verification from the original state (or the NCEES Record) is received |
Step by step
- Confirm Colorado's current requirements on the Colorado State Board of Licensure for Architects, Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (Dept. of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations) website — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Colorado State Board of Licensure for Architects, Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (Dept. of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations) (application linked on this page).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold an active PE license in good standing in another U.S. jurisdiction with qualifications substantially equivalent to Colorado's current requirements (or those in effect when you were first licensed).
- Submit an NCEES Record, or file official sealed transcripts plus a sealed experience-verification/summary directly.
- Have the original licensing state send written verification of how you qualified for licensure and your current license status.
- Pay the fees (Colorado's public board pages do not display a static PE endorsement fee; the amount appears only inside the downloadable application form and at checkout in the DPO Online Services system, so it is left null pending confirmation on an official page (contact [email protected]). Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES) and allow DORA's Division of Professions and Occupations publishes no comity turnaround; endorsement is reviewed administratively once written verification from the original state (or the NCEES Record) is received.
Official links
Coming from a specific state?
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Frequently asked questions
Does my PE license transfer to Colorado?
Yes — Colorado issues a new Professional Engineer license by comity to an engineer already licensed in another state. You apply to the Colorado State Board of Licensure for Architects, Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (Dept. of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations), which verifies your ABET-accredited degree, experience, exam record, and good standing against Colorado's own statute rather than re-testing you. FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Colorado grants endorsement 'without further examination' and has no separate state jurisprudence exam. Application fee: Colorado's public board pages do not display a static PE endorsement fee; the amount appears only inside the downloadable application form and at checkout in the DPO Online Services system, so it is left null pending confirmation on an official page (contact [email protected]). Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES.
Do I retake the FE or PE exam to get licensed in Colorado?
FE and PE exam results transfer through your NCEES Record and are not retaken; Colorado grants endorsement 'without further examination' and has no separate state jurisprudence exam.
What does PE licensure in Colorado cost an out-of-state applicant?
Colorado's public board pages do not display a static PE endorsement fee; the amount appears only inside the downloadable application form and at checkout in the DPO Online Services system, so it is left null pending confirmation on an official page (contact [email protected]). Transmitting an NCEES Record costs $175 for the first board and $100 for each additional board, paid separately to NCEES.
How long does the Colorado State Board of Licensure for Architects, Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (Dept. of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations) take to act on a comity application?
DORA's Division of Professions and Occupations publishes no comity turnaround; endorsement is reviewed administratively once written verification from the original state (or the NCEES Record) is received.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- Colorado State Board of Licensure (AES) - Engineer and Intern Applications and Forms ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- NCEES - Records Program (comity licensure) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]