Transfer Your Plumber License to Colorado: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)
Last verified: 2026-07-21 · source: Colorado State Plumbing Board — Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), Division of Professions and Occupations ↗
Colorado publishes no named partner list, but the Colorado State Plumbing Board — Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), Division of Professions and Occupations evaluates out-of-state plumbers for endorsement individually, crediting a comparable exam or documented experience. Colorado has no bilateral state-to-state reciprocity; it licenses out-of-state plumbers by endorsement, accepting successful completion of a comparable state plumbing examination (based on a plumbing-code edition adopted by the Colorado board) in lieu of the Colorado examination, provided the applicant currently holds an active license in the endorsing state and meets the apprenticeship/experience requirement; applicants who cannot document a comparable exam must qualify and pass the Colorado examination. Application fee: Application/endorsement fee not verifiable on the official DPO site (dpo.colorado.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated access on 2026-07-21); fees are paid through DPO Online Services.
Moving to Colorado from a specific state?
Pick your current state — the checker returns your exact pathway.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Colorado works case-by-case rather than from a published partner list, so the Colorado State Plumbing Board — Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), Division of Professions and Occupations's judgment on your specific license, exam history, and documented experience decides the outcome. Where the pathway is equivalency-based, the board is measuring your home state's standards and experience requirements against its own. Get any exam waiver or experience credit confirmed in writing before you rely on it — discretionary approvals are exactly the kind of thing that shifts between reviewers.
Colorado has no formal reciprocity agreements and names no partner states. Its endorsement pathway (rule 3 CCR 720-1.4 under C.R.S. 12-155-116) recognizes an out-of-state license when the applicant completed a comparable apprenticeship/experience and passed a comparable state plumbing exam based on a code edition the board has adopted. Master plumbers transfer under the same endorsement rule (master requires ~8,500 experience hours); no separate row is created for the master tier. The DPO website blocked automated retrieval on 2026-07-21, so the fee schedule could not be captured and the codified regulation text was read on Cornell LII. No national plumber verification database exists; verification_system_url points to Colorado's DORA license lookup.
Colorado requirements at a glance
| Exam | Colorado has no bilateral state-to-state reciprocity; it licenses out-of-state plumbers by endorsement, accepting successful completion of a comparable state plumbing examination (based on a plumbing-code edition adopted by the Colorado board) in lieu of the Colorado examination, provided the applicant currently holds an active license in the endorsing state and meets the apprenticeship/experience requirement; applicants who cannot document a comparable exam must qualify and pass the Colorado examination |
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| Additional requirements |
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| Fees | Application/endorsement fee not verifiable on the official DPO site (dpo.colorado.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated access on 2026-07-21); fees are paid through DPO Online Services |
| Processing time | No board-stated processing time |
Step by step
- Confirm Colorado's current requirements on the Colorado State Plumbing Board — Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), Division of Professions and Occupations website — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Colorado State Plumbing Board — Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), Division of Professions and Occupations (application linked on this page).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Currently hold an active plumbing license issued by the endorsing state.
- Complete a state- or federally-approved/registered apprenticeship program, or the required years/type of experience for the comparable Colorado license (residential ~3,400 hrs; journeyworker ~6,800 hrs; master ~8,500 hrs).
- Show successful completion of a comparable state plumbing examination based on a plumbing-code edition adopted by the Colorado State Plumbing Board.
- Meet the requirements of section 12-155-116, C.R.S.
- Pay the fees (Application/endorsement fee not verifiable on the official DPO site (dpo.colorado.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated access on 2026-07-21); fees are paid through DPO Online Services) and allow No board-stated processing time.
Official links
Coming from a specific state?
Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Colorado:
Frequently asked questions
Does my plumbing license transfer to Colorado?
Colorado publishes no named partner list, but the Colorado State Plumbing Board — Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), Division of Professions and Occupations evaluates out-of-state plumbers for endorsement individually, crediting a comparable exam or documented experience. Colorado has no bilateral state-to-state reciprocity; it licenses out-of-state plumbers by endorsement, accepting successful completion of a comparable state plumbing examination (based on a plumbing-code edition adopted by the Colorado board) in lieu of the Colorado examination, provided the applicant currently holds an active license in the endorsing state and meets the apprenticeship/experience requirement; applicants who cannot document a comparable exam must qualify and pass the Colorado examination. Application fee: Application/endorsement fee not verifiable on the official DPO site (dpo.colorado.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated access on 2026-07-21); fees are paid through DPO Online Services.
Will I have to take Colorado's plumbing exam?
Colorado has no bilateral state-to-state reciprocity; it licenses out-of-state plumbers by endorsement, accepting successful completion of a comparable state plumbing examination (based on a plumbing-code edition adopted by the Colorado board) in lieu of the Colorado examination, provided the applicant currently holds an active license in the endorsing state and meets the apprenticeship/experience requirement; applicants who cannot document a comparable exam must qualify and pass the Colorado examination.
What will licensing in Colorado cost an out-of-state plumber, and how long does it take?
Application/endorsement fee not verifiable on the official DPO site (dpo.colorado.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated access on 2026-07-21); fees are paid through DPO Online Services; processing No board-stated processing time.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- Colorado State Plumbing Board Rules 3 CCR 720-1.4 — Applications and Licensing (license by endorsement text) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Colorado DPO — State Plumbing Board (homepage / applications) ↗ (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]