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Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07

The exam you do not choose

Colorado 6 Year Apprentice Exam: Who Has to Sit It

Colorado has a fourth PSI examination that exists because of one sentence in statute. If you have been a registered apprentice for six years with the hours behind you, sitting the journeyman paper stops being a decision and becomes a duty.

Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed

On this page
  1. The sentence that creates it
  2. The paper itself
  3. What happens if you do not sit it
  4. Aligned with the license renewal cycle
  5. Why the state built it this way
  6. How to prepare when you did not choose to be here
  7. The other side of it: you already qualify
  8. Questions people ask
  9. What this page cites

The sentence that creates it

C.R.S. 12-115-115(4)(a)(I): an apprentice who has been registered for at least six years, has completed eight thousand hours of practical training, and meets all other journeyman electrician license requirements specified in section 12-115-110 shall take the journeyman electrician license examination at least every three years in alignment with the license renewal cycle until the apprentice receives a passing score.

Three conditions have to be true together. Six years registered. Eight thousand hours of practical training. And meeting the other journeyman requirements, which includes the 288 classroom hours.

When they are, the duty is not to pass. It is to sit, at least every three years, until you pass.

The paper itself

PSI lists it as CO Journeyman Wireman (6 plus Year Apprentice Exam): 90 Scored Items, 240 Minutes, 70% (63 Items) Correct to Pass.

That is the same format as the standard journeyman paper. Up to 10 non-scored items add 30 minutes, and the fee is $78 with a retest at $73.

Since August 1, 2026 the questions are consistent with the 2026 National Electrical Code, and PSI supplies that book and a formula page. You may not write, highlight, underline or index on them, and you may not use any other materials.

What happens if you do not sit it

C.R.S. 12-115-115(5) lets the Board suspend an apprentice registration for failure to report hours or to take the required examination.

A suspended apprentice registration is not a small thing. The registration is what lets you work at the trade under supervision in the first place, and your employer's ability to put you on a job depends on it.

The same subsection provides for learning disability accommodations, so if that applies to you it is a conversation to have with the Board rather than a reason to skip a sitting.

Aligned with the license renewal cycle

The statute ties the three year sitting requirement to the license renewal cycle, and that cycle expires on September 30 every three years.

The current cycle expires 9/30/2026, with renewal open through 11/30/2026. So the calendar that governs licensees also governs this duty.

If you are inside the six year group and you have not sat the paper in this cycle, that is the date to work backwards from.

Why the state built it this way

The plain reading is that Colorado does not want people parked at apprentice level indefinitely while holding the hours of a journeyman.

The scale of that group is visible in the state's own data. 15,520 apprentice registrations were active in September 2026, against 12,549 active journeyman licenses. Another 44,049 apprentice registrations are expired and 32,304 are cancelled.

We are not going to tell you how many people sit this particular paper each year, because no figure is published. Not by the Board, not by DORA, not by PSI.

How to prepare when you did not choose to be here

Two things are true at once: you did not pick the date, and the paper does not care.

Start with a timed diagnosis rather than a book. The free diagnostic ranks your weak subjects in 24 questions, which is the fastest way to find out whether six years of field work has left gaps in calculation or in code navigation.

Then work lookup speed, because that is the skill Colorado's room rules actually test. You get a clean book you have never marked. The drill is built for that, and the topic sets are written to the 2026 numbering.

And read the book rules before you buy tabs for a book you will not be allowed to bring.

The other side of it: you already qualify

If the statute applies to you, then by definition you have six years registered, eight thousand hours and the other journeyman requirements met.

That is the whole licensing bar except the exam. Passing this paper does not just clear the duty, it clears the route to the license application, which the Board's preview says needs a passing score anyway.

The journeyman page has the application requirements, including the employment condition and the affidavit of experience.

Questions people ask

Who has to take the six year apprentice exam in Colorado?

An apprentice registered for at least six years who has completed eight thousand hours of practical training and meets all other journeyman license requirements. C.R.S. 12-115-115(4)(a)(I) makes it compulsory.

How often do I have to sit it?

At least every three years, in alignment with the license renewal cycle, until you receive a passing score.

What happens if I refuse?

C.R.S. 12-115-115(5) lets the Board suspend an apprentice registration for failure to take the required examination or to report hours.

Is it a different paper from the journeyman exam?

PSI lists it separately as CO Journeyman Wireman (6 plus Year Apprentice Exam), with the same 90 scored items, 240 minutes and 63 correct to pass as the standard journeyman paper.

What does it cost?

$78 for the examination and $73 for a retest, the same as the other three Colorado papers, with the fee valid for one year from the date of payment.

How many people sit this exam?

No figure is published by the Board, DORA or PSI. What is published is that 15,520 apprentice registrations were active in the September 2026 state data.

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.

Start the free practice testSee the $79 question bank

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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