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Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07

Twenty four hours, five competencies

Colorado Electrician Continuing Education: 24 Hours

Colorado asks for 24 hours of continuing education in each three year license period, and it tells you how to spend at least four of them. With the current period ending on September 30, 2026, this is the page to check before you renew.

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On this page
  1. The requirement, quoted
  2. The five competencies
  3. The first renewal exemption
  4. Who can give you the hours
  5. Records and audits
  6. Who does not need it
  7. Where this cycle stands
  8. Questions people ask
  9. What this page cites

The requirement, quoted

From the Board's continuing education page: all Master Electricians, Journeyman Electricians and Residential Wireman with an Active Colorado license must complete at least 24 hours of Continuing Education (CE) during each three-year license period.

Two limits sit inside that 24. At least four CE hours must be completed in the National Electrical Code Changes competency. No more than four CE hours may be completed in the safety competency, and there is no minimum in that category.

The Board's homepage states the same requirement in the same terms, so this one is not in dispute anywhere.

The five competencies

The rule and the Board's CE page name five.

The code changes minimum is the interesting one this cycle. Colorado's state code moved to the 2026 National Electrical Code on July 15, 2026, so the code changes hours you take now are hours on an edition that has only just landed.

The first renewal exemption

The Board prints an exemption people forget they have: this requirement does not apply for the first renewal of a license for which, as a condition of issuance, the applicant successfully completed a licensing examination.

So if you passed the PSI exam to get the license you now hold, and this is your first renewal on it, the 24 hours do not apply to that renewal.

That is worth checking against your own record rather than assuming either way, because the exemption is written around the examination being a condition of issuance.

Who can give you the hours

The Board's wording is precise and it is not the word approved. All CE must be taken from a CE provider that has attested to the Board that their courses and instructors meet the requirements laid out in Board Rule.

Attestation is a claim made by the provider, not a Board endorsement of a course. The Board publishes two provider lists as spreadsheets, one for the 2023 to 2026 cycle and one for 2026 to 2029, both linked from its CE page.

We are not a continuing education provider and we do not appear on either list. The practice material on this site is study material, and it does not count toward your 24 hours.

Records and audits

Two more sentences from the Board's page, and both are about proof.

Compliance audits are conducted after each license period. Licensees must maintain their own CE records for at least seven years.

Seven years is longer than two full license periods, so the certificate you throw away this autumn is one you could be asked for in 2033. Keep them in one place, with the provider name, the competency and the hours on each.

Who does not need it

The requirement attaches to active individual licenses. No CE requirement is published for the electrical apprentice registration, and none attaches to the electrical contractor registration itself, because the registration is a business record.

Rule 3 CCR 710-1.13.D lets a licensee go inactive without CE, with the condition that an inactive licensee may not practice. Reactivation then follows the same timelines as reinstatement.

And CE turns up in the reinstatement rules as a penalty as much as a duty. A license expired more than 60 days but less than 2 years is reinstated by completing twenty-four hours of continuing education.

Where this cycle stands

The current license period expires on September 30, 2026, and the Board says renewal runs through November 30, 2026.

If you have not taken your hours, the four code changes hours are the ones to book first, because they have a floor and the others do not. If you have taken them, pull the certificates now rather than during an audit.

And if your hours were taken on the 2023 edition while the state has moved to 2026, that is a conversation to have with your provider about what the next cycle's code changes hours will cover.

Questions people ask

How many CE hours does Colorado require for electricians?

24 hours during each three year license period for active master electricians, journeyman electricians and residential wiremen. At least four of those hours must be in the National Electrical Code changes competency.

How much safety CE can I count?

No more than four hours. The Board says there is no minimum in the safety category, only that cap.

Do I need CE for my first renewal?

Not if the license was issued on condition that you passed a licensing examination. The Board's page exempts the first renewal of such a license from the 24 hour requirement.

Are Colorado CE providers board approved?

The Board's own wording is that providers attest to the Board that their courses and instructors meet the requirements in Board Rule. It publishes provider lists by cycle, and it does not use the word approved for individual courses.

How long do I keep my CE certificates?

At least seven years. The Board says licensees must maintain their own CE records for that long, and that compliance audits are conducted after each license period.

Do apprentices need continuing education in Colorado?

No requirement is published for the apprentice registration. The CE rule applies to master electricians, journeyman electricians and residential wiremen with an active Colorado license.

Put it to the test

Thirty free questions, timed, with the working shown

Every miss comes back with the arithmetic worked out and the code section named, so you learn the trap and not just the answer. No account.

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All questions here are original. They are not actual exam questions, and no question bank can promise you a pass.

What this page cites

If your notes still say 2023

The 2023 to 2026 section crosswalk maps every section that moved, both directions, $29 once.

NEC and National Electrical Code are registered trademarks of the National Fire Protection Association.

Trojan Digital Marketing is an independent company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NFPA, the Colorado State Electrical Board, PSI, or any licensing authority, school or union.

The Colorado examinations are open book only in the sense that PSI puts a book on the desk. PSI provides the National Electrical Code and a formula page at the test center, bars writing, highlighting, underlining and indexing on them, and allows no other materials. The questions have followed the 2026 edition since 1 August 2026, and the 2023 book is provided on request until 1 November 2026.

All practice questions are original. They are not actual exam questions.

Built and maintained by Jeff Clerisier, Trojan Digital Marketing.

Every rule here is cited to the section it comes from, and corrections are logged in public with the date. This is study material rather than electrical advice, and it does not replace your own code book or your inspector.

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