Contractor licensing in Colorado

What the state requires, which trades are treated differently, and what you will be asked for whatever the answer is.

The short answer

Colorado has no state contractor license. General contractors are licensed by the city or county they build in, and the requirements differ between them. Electricians and plumbers are licensed by the state.

No trade is singled out: the same answer applies across the board.

Last verified 2026-09-27 · City and county building departments

Trades with their own rules

None. Colorado applies the same rule to every trade.

Everything else

These 29 trades fall under Colorado's general position above — set by each city. There is no separate rule for any of them, which is why there is no separate page.

Checking a license

Registry DORA license lookup
Worth knowing Covers the trades the state licenses. A general contractor will not be in it, because there is nothing to be in it for.
Where this comes from. Colorado Revised Statutes title 12 art. 115 (electrical) and art. 155 (plumbing); general contracting is not licensed at state level — the source. Checked 2026-09-27. This is a reference, not legal advice: if a contract turns on it, read the statute.

What you will be asked for anyway

No state requirement does not mean no paperwork. Every hiring contractor and property manager worth working for asks for the same four things before anybody starts, and asks again every time one expires.

If you are the contractor

Your compliance pack, sent in one link.

Keep them in one place and answer the next contractor who asks in about six seconds — with a page showing your carrier, policy number, cover and expiry, that updates itself when you renew. Free, and whoever you send it to needs no account.

Set up your compliance pack
If you are hiring one

Check the certificate before they start.

Colorado has no general contractor license to look up. What you can always check is the insurance, the bond, and whether either has lapsed since the day it was emailed to you. That last part is where it usually goes wrong: a PDF attached in March says nothing about July.

Keep a roster current

Cities that add their own rules

Where the state is quiet, municipalities fill the gap, and they do not agree with each other. If you work across a metro you are dealing with several sets at once.