State license

Colorado Journeyman Electrician License

Written by a licensed IBEW journeyman electrician

Last updated: October 24, 2026

Colorado licenses journeyman electricians at the state level. The Colorado State Electrical Board issues the license after you pass a PSI exam. You need 8,000 hours earned in no less than 4 years, and 288 hours of classroom education. The exam has 90 scored items and you need 70% to pass.

The facts, from the source

Who licenses: Colorado State Electrical Board, Division of Professions and Occupations, DORA (dpo.colorado.gov)
Exam vendor: PSI (test-takers.psiexams.com)
Exam (questions/time): 90 scored items, 240 minutes plus 30 minutes for non-scored items. Single Journeyman Wireman exam with compensatory scoring. (test-takers.psiexams.com)
References: The NEC book and a Formula Page are provided at the test center. No writing, highlighting, underlining or indexing, and no other materials. (test-takers.psiexams.com)
Passing score: 70% (63 items) correct (test-takers.psiexams.com)
NEC edition: 2026 NEC for exams effective 8/1/2026. A 2023 book is available on request until 12/1/2026. (test-takers.psiexams.com)
Experience required: 8,000 hours earned in no less than 4 years, 2,000 of them commercial or industrial, plus 288 hours of classroom education for all applicants. (dpo.colorado.gov)
Fees: Exam $78. Retest $73. Valid one year, nonrefundable. (test-takers.psiexams.com)
Reciprocity: Journeyman reciprocal agreements (NERA): Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming. The license must have been gained by a state-administered exam. The certificate is issued without the written exam. (dpo.colorado.gov)

What’s on the exam

Items per area: General Electrical Knowledge 11; Services, Feeders, and Branch Circuits 9; Grounding and Bonding 14; Overcurrent Protection 6; Conductors and Cables 8; Raceways and Boxes 5; Special Occupancies 5; Special Equipment 6; Electrical Devices 5; Motors 6; Transformers 4; Photovoltaics 2; Electrical Calculations 9 (90 total).

Confirm these with the board

License and application fees: not published in the materials we checked
Credit for trade school or community college toward the experience hours: confirm with the board (not stated on the board pages we could read)
Reciprocity conditions such as how long the out-of-state license must have been held: confirm with the board (not stated on the board pages we could read)

Colorado State Electrical Board (DORA, Division of Professions and Occupations) ↗

Partly verified October 24, 2026: some items couldn’t be confirmed from official sources and are listed above

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Facts on this page trace to primary sources or first-hand IBEW Local 134 experience — see sources & methodology.