Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07
For people who learned on 2023
2023 to 2026 NEC in Colorado: What Actually Changed
Colorado moved its code to the 2026 edition in July and its exam in August, so a lot of people are holding knowledge organized around a book they will never see again. This page is about what that costs you, what it does not cost you, and what we refuse to guess at.
Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed
On this page
What we will not print, and why
Plenty of pages will hand you a list of changes between the 2023 and 2026 editions, article by article, with numbers. We are not going to, and the reason is simple enough to check.
Our Colorado source file records the edition years, the adoption dates and the rule filings. It does not carry an article by article comparison of the two editions, and no Colorado state source we read publishes one. The Board does not publish a change list. The Secretary of State filing says only that the purpose is to adopt the current 2026 National Electrical Code.
Writing that list from memory is how errors get into a study plan and stay there. So we print what the state prints, tell you where the state is silent, and point you at your own copy for the rest.
The other half of the reason is legal. The National Electrical Code is copyrighted by the National Fire Protection Association. We cite section numbers and describe what a rule covers. We do not reproduce code text and we do not reproduce tables, here or anywhere else on this site.
The state's own answer to how much changed
Colorado does not publish a change list, but it does publish a judgment about edition changes generally, and it is written into the continuing education rule.
Every active master electrician, journeyman electrician and residential wireman has to complete at least 24 hours of continuing education in each three year license period, and at least four of those hours must be in the National Electrical Code Changes competency.
A state that sets a floor for code changes training has decided that editions differ enough to need dedicated hours. That is the most direct thing any Colorado source says about the size of the gap between editions, and it is worth more than an unsourced list.
The other four competencies name the subjects the state cares about: grounding and bonding, wiring methods, theory and calculations, and safety related to the electrical industry with a four hour cap.
What your 2023 study still buys you
More than people fear.
The structure of the book is the same shape. Chapters run in the same order, articles are organized into parts, and the relationship between a general rule and its exceptions has not been rewritten.
The arithmetic is the arithmetic. Load calculation method, conductor sizing logic, ampacity correction and adjustment, box and raceway fill, motor circuit sizing, transformer protection, voltage drop: those are ways of thinking, and they survive an edition.
And the reading habits transfer completely. Reading a table heading before a row, checking whether a rule applies to a dwelling or to any occupancy, noticing the word other than in a sentence. That is most of what passes an exam.
What does not transfer
Page numbers, first. The copy at the test center is a different physical book from yours, and Colorado does not let you bring yours anyway.
Any section number you memorized rather than understood. We are not going to tell you which numbers moved, because our file does not carry that comparison, so treat every number you are confident about as one to re-check in a 2026 copy.
And any tab layout you built. That is the harder loss, and it is not caused by the edition change. Colorado has always barred writing, highlighting, underlining and indexing on the supplied references, and always barred other materials. The book rules page is about that.
How to rebuild the map, by subject
Take a 2026 copy and work through the subjects that carry the marks, finding each one by heading rather than by number, and writing down where it landed.
Grounding and bonding. Wiring methods and materials. Conductor ampacity and the correction and adjustment rules. Branch circuit and feeder calculation. Overcurrent protection. Motors and their separate sizing rules. Boxes, conduit bodies and fill. Special occupancies and special equipment.
Those eight are our ordering, drawn from where trade exam candidates lose marks, not from any published Colorado outline. There is no published content outline for the Colorado papers, and the exam content page says so plainly.
Then test the map under a clock. Our topic sets are written to the 2026 numbering, which is the edition Colorado now tests, and the timed practice test shows you the pace.
The one Colorado addition we can name
The readable version of Board rule 1.5 incorporates the National Electrical Code by reference and as may be amended by the Board, and adds one Colorado specific requirement rather than a list of code amendments.
Under C.R.S. 12-115-107(3), permit applicants for electric vehicle power transfer infrastructure in multifamily buildings must comply with the Colorado Energy Office's EV power transfer infrastructure requirements in the Model Electric Ready and Solar Ready Code, effective March 1, 2024 or later.
That requirement sits alongside the code rather than inside it, and it is the only Colorado specific electrical requirement of that kind we found in a published rule text. The Board also held a separate policy hearing on EV power infrastructure on March 25, 2026, with written comments due March 20 and no public testimony taken at the meeting.
What nobody can tell you yet
The adopted text of the new Rule 1.5 has not been read, by us or by anyone quoting it to you from a link.
The adopted rule, the redline and the proposed rule attachment for tracking number 2026-00171 are Word files on the Secretary of State's server. They would not convert to readable text and a direct download was blocked when we tried on 5 and 7 September 2026.
So the literal wording of the rule that put Colorado on the 2026 edition is unconfirmed, and whether Colorado adopts it with or without amendments is unconfirmed with it. Nobody should be telling you Colorado adopted the 2026 NEC without amendment, including us. What is confirmed is the filing metadata, the effective date of July 15, 2026 and the purpose sentence.
If you need certainty for a job rather than for an exam, ask your inspecting authority, and read the amendments page for the rest of it.
Questions people ask
What changed between the 2023 and 2026 NEC in Colorado?
Colorado adopted the 2026 edition effective July 15, 2026 and the exam followed on August 1, 2026. No Colorado state source publishes an article by article list of the differences, and we do not print one we cannot source.
Why will you not list the changed sections?
Because our Colorado source file carries no article by article comparison, and because the code is copyrighted by the National Fire Protection Association. We cite section numbers and describe rules, and we do not reproduce code text or tables.
Does my 2023 study still count?
Most of it. The chapter structure, the calculation methods and the reading habits carry over. Memorized page numbers and unchecked section numbers do not, and Colorado never let you bring your marked book anyway.
How does Colorado expect licensees to learn the changes?
Through continuing education. The Board requires at least four of your 24 hours per three year period to be in the National Electrical Code Changes competency, taken from a provider that has attested to the Board.
Did Colorado amend the 2026 code?
Unknown. The adopted rule text is a Word file that would not convert and could not be downloaded, so the wording is unconfirmed. The readable older rule text incorporates the code by reference and adds an EV power transfer requirement for multifamily buildings.
Which book should I study from now?
The 2026 edition. That is what the questions are written to since August 1, 2026, and what PSI hands you at the test center. You cannot bring your own copy either way.
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.
All questions here are original. They are not actual exam questions, and no question bank can promise you a pass.
What this page cites
- Secretary of State eDocket 2026-00171 The filing adopting the 2026 National Electrical Code effective 07/15/2026, its purpose sentence, and the Word files for the adopted and redline text. Read 7 September 2026. source
- State Electrical Board continuing education page The 24 hour requirement, the four hour minimum in the National Electrical Code Changes competency and the five competencies. Read 7 September 2026. source
- 3 CCR 710-1.5, incorporation by reference The readable rule text incorporating the code by reference and adding the EV power transfer infrastructure requirement for multifamily buildings. Text current through Register Vol. 48, No. 11, June 10, 2025. source
- PSI candidate information bulletin 3395 The paragraph moving examination questions to the 2026 edition effective 8/1/2026 and the supplied book rules. Bulletin updated 6/18/2026. source
- C.R.S. 12-115-107, board powers and duties The Board's authority over standards, the two-thirds vote needed to depart from the code, and the EV power transfer subsection. source
The 2023 to 2026 section crosswalk maps every section that moved, both directions, $29 once.