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Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07

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Colorado NEC Edition in Force: The 2026 Code, July 15

This page is about the code that governs installations and inspections in Colorado, which is a different question from the code the exam uses. They match today. They did not match for seventeen days in July, and several published texts still have not caught up.

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On this page
  1. The answer, with its filing
  2. How Colorado adopts a code
  3. The adoption trail for this edition
  4. Where official texts still print an older edition
  5. How the code reaches an inspection
  6. Where a local code applies instead
  7. The exam edition is a separate question
  8. Questions people ask
  9. What this page cites

The answer, with its filing

The 2026 National Electrical Code, effective July 15, 2026.

Colorado adopted it by amending Rule 1.5 of 3 CCR 710-1, the incorporation by reference rule, under Secretary of State tracking number 2026-00171. The filing's purpose sentence reads: the purpose is to adopt the current 2026 National Electrical Code (NEC).

The Secretary of State's rule version list confirms the current version of 3 CCR 710-1 is the permanent rule effective 07/15/2026. The version before it was effective 03/30/2026 under tracking number 2025-00606.

How Colorado adopts a code

C.R.S. 12-115-107(2)(a) says the Board shall be governed when appropriate by the standards in the most current edition of the national electrical code, or by any modifications to the standards made by the board after a hearing is held, and that those standards are the minimum standards governing electrical work in the state.

The same subsection sets the bar for departing from the code: the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all appointed members of the board is required to set any standards that are different from those set forth in the national electrical code.

The Board has nine members, so a departure from the code needs six of them and a hearing. That is a high bar, and it is why Colorado's rule reads as an incorporation rather than a rewrite.

The adoption trail for this edition

The filing dates, as printed on the eDocket. Notice filed 04/14/2026. Rulemaking hearing 05/27/2026 at 9:00 AM MDT on Zoom. Adopted 05/27/2026. Attorney General opinion 06/11/2026. Published in the Colorado Register 06/25/2026, volume 49, publication number 12. Effective 07/15/2026. Inserted into the Code of Colorado Regulations 08/07/2026.

The Board's own homepage carries the rulemaking notice with the same purpose sentence, but does not state anywhere on the page which edition is currently in force. That is worth knowing before you go looking for a plain answer on the Board's site.

Where official texts still print an older edition

Four published texts disagree with the filing, and all four were checked in September 2026.

Cornell's copy of Rule 1.5 still reads National Electrical Code, 2023 Edition with an August 1, 2023 effective date, and adds that the rule does not include later amendments to or editions of that book. The page carries no currency statement at all. What it does carry is an amendment history, the last line of which is 46 CR 20, October 25, 2023, effective 11/14/2023.

Justia's copy reads the same 2023 text, marked current through Register Vol. 48, No. 11, June 10, 2025.

A Secretary of State PDF of the rule series reads National Electrical Code, 2020 Edition with an August 1, 2020 date, and an older version of the same PDF reads 2014 Edition with a July 1, 2014 date.

The Board's own three license application previews say the current NEC code in use in Colorado is the 2023 NEC.

The first three are publisher texts that trail the filing. The fourth does not have that excuse, and it is a live Board document. The timeline page prints the whole conflict and does not resolve it.

How the code reaches an inspection

C.R.S. 12-115-120(3)(a) ties the two together: if the work meets the minimum standards set forth in the national electrical code referred to in section 12-115-107(2)(a), the inspector shall issue a certificate of approval.

The Board performs electrical inspections in locations throughout the state that are not inspected by a local authority, and a valid Colorado State Electrical permit must be obtained prior to installing electrical wiring in those places. An electrical contractor is required to obtain permits for the work done by the company, and a homeowner doing work at their own residence must obtain a permit too.

On timing, the Board says an inspector will normally schedule your inspection within three days, that inspections should be requested no later than 3 p.m. the day before, and that the site should be accessible from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Where a local code applies instead

The statute allows local programs. C.R.S. 12-115-120(1)(a)(I) excepts a town, city, county, city and county, or qualified state institution of higher education with a building department that meets the minimum standards of article 115 and processes permit applications and inspections, in which case the individual applies to that building department.

C.R.S. 12-115-120(2)(a) makes a parallel exception for a jurisdiction having its own electrical code and inspection program equal to the minimum standards in article 115. Subsection (7) still requires state inspection of public schools regardless of local authority.

The state also reviews those local programs. Its contemporaneous review procedures require any county, city, town or qualified state institution of higher education conducting its own inspections to ensure reviews of electricians and electrical apprentices are compliant with state electrical licensing and apprentice ratio laws.

Denver is the jurisdiction where this matters most, and it is the one we could not read. The Denver page says what is confirmed and what is not.

The exam edition is a separate question

The code in force governs installations. The exam edition governs your test date, and it is set by PSI's bulletin rather than by the rule.

They agree today. Both are the 2026 edition. They did not agree between July 15 and August 1, 2026, when the state code had moved and the exam had not.

If you are studying, follow the exam edition page. If you are wiring, follow this one and your local authority.

Questions people ask

Which NEC edition does Colorado use?

The 2026 National Electrical Code, effective July 15, 2026, adopted by amending Rule 1.5 of 3 CCR 710-1 under Secretary of State tracking number 2026-00171.

Why does the rule text online still say 2023?

Because published rule texts lag behind filings. Cornell publishes the 2023 edition text with an amendment history ending 11/14/2023 and no currency statement, Justia marks its copy current through June 10, 2025, and the new rule was only inserted into the Code of Colorado Regulations on August 7, 2026.

Can Colorado change the code it adopts?

Yes, but not easily. C.R.S. 12-115-107(2)(a) requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all appointed members of the nine member Board, after a hearing, to set any standard different from the National Electrical Code.

Who inspects electrical work in Colorado?

The State Electrical Board inspects in locations that are not inspected by a local authority. Cities, counties and qualified state institutions of higher education can run their own programs under C.R.S. 12-115-120, and the state still inspects public schools.

Does the exam use the same edition as the code?

Today, yes, both are the 2026 edition. Between July 15 and August 1, 2026 they did not match, because the code moved first and the exam followed.

Does Denver use the state edition?

Denver posted items titled New electric standards to be effective Aug. 1 and New electric standards adopted on August 1 for 2026, against the state's July 15 date. Neither page would load for us, so we record the titles and confirm nothing further.

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What this page cites

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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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