Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07
A guide to DORA's search
Colorado Electrical License Lookup: How to Verify
Colorado licenses people and registers companies, and both show up in one free public search run by the Division of Professions and Occupations. This page explains what the search returns, what the letter codes mean, and the questions it cannot answer.
Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed
On this page
Where the search lives
DORA's public license lookup is at apps2.colorado.gov, linked from the State Electrical Board's applications page. It is free and needs no account.
Licensees use a different door for renewal and record changes, at the apply or renew portal. That page returned a 403 to us on 7 September 2026, which is a fetching problem rather than an outage, but it is worth knowing the two doors are separate.
We are not the Board and we do not host a copy of its data. Use the state's own search so you see the current record rather than a snapshot.
The codes you will see
DORA's roster generator prints the internal license type codes, and they are what a result is labelled with.
APE is Electrical Apprentice. RW is Residential Wireman. JW is Journeyman Electrician. ME is Master Electrician. EC is Electrical Contractor.
Then the permits: RWWP, JEWP and MEWP are residential wireman, journeyman and master electrician work permits, and METPE is a Master Electrician Temporary Permit for Emergency Situations. All four come from C.R.S. 12-115-114.
The license types page explains what each one allows.
What to check on a result
Two things decide whether the record in front of you is any use.
Is it active? The state's data carries a lot of statuses beyond active and expired, including active with conditions, revoked, suspended, suspended for child support, voluntary surrender, surrendered, cancelled, summary suspension and inactive.
Is the grade right for the work? A residential wireman is scoped to one, two, three and four family dwellings. A journeyman has no dwelling limit but no planning or layout authority. A master adds planning, laying out and supervising. C.R.S. 12-115-109(2) bars work beyond the authorization of the license held.
The status worth knowing about companies
Electrical contractor registrations carry a status the other credentials do not: Need Master Hire, Cannot Practice. 321 registrations sat in it in the September 2026 state data.
It means the company has lost the licensed master electrician who served as the responsible individual, and it cannot work until it attaches another one.
If you are hiring a contractor, or taking a job with one, that status is the one to look for. The contractor page explains how it happens.
Why an apprentice should check too
Your apprentice registration depends on your employer being a registered electrical contractor, because C.R.S. 12-115-103 defines an apprentice as somebody working in the employment of one under direct supervision.
The employer files your registration within 30 days of your start and notifies the Board within 30 days when you leave. If the company's registration lapses or freezes, that is your problem as well as theirs.
Check the company before you take the job, and check again if you hear the renewal was missed. Renewal runs to September 30 every three years, with the current cycle open through 11/30/2026.
The whole dataset, if you want it
Colorado publishes its licensing records as open data, in a dataset called Professional and Occupational Licenses in Colorado. That is where the counts on this site come from.
In the September 2026 pull: 12,549 active journeyman electricians, 7,441 active masters, 2,032 active residential wiremen, 4,789 active electrical contractor registrations and 15,520 active apprentice registrations.
The expired columns are larger than people expect. 20,325 expired journeyman records, 5,865 expired master records, 4,438 expired residential wireman records, 7,321 expired contractor registrations and 44,049 expired apprentice registrations.
Where the search stops
It covers state credentials. It does not cover local registrations, and most Colorado cities have one.
Colorado Springs and El Paso County register electrical contractors through Pikes Peak Regional Building Department with a $50 fee. Thornton registers them under Class D with no fee for a two year term. Lakewood registers them as Class B for three years. Arvada requires registration with the City as an electrical contractor. Adams County registers with no fee.
It also does not cover Denver's own electrical certificates, which are examined through Pearson VUE and which we could not read the rules for. And it says nothing about permits or inspections, which run through the Board or through a local authority.
When the record is wrong
Ask the Board. It is at 1560 Broadway, Suite 1350, Denver, CO 80202, on 303-894-7800, fax 303-894-2310, at [email protected].
Note one small conflict if you are working from an older document: the published text of Rule 1.5 gives the Board's address as Suite 110 with a phone number of (303) 894-2300. That rule text is older, and the Board's own current page gives Suite 1350.
Rule 3 CCR 710-1.13 also requires a licensee to report an address change within 30 days, and restricts a contractor from advertising under anything other than the registered company name.
Questions people ask
How do I look up a Colorado electrician license?
Use DORA's free public license lookup at apps2.colorado.gov, linked from the State Electrical Board's applications page. No account is needed.
What do the codes on a Colorado license record mean?
APE is an electrical apprentice, RW a residential wireman, JW a journeyman electrician, ME a master electrician and EC an electrical contractor registration. RWWP, JEWP and MEWP are work permits, and METPE is a master electrician temporary permit for emergency situations.
How can I tell if an electrical company can legally work?
Look for the status. Colorado carries a status called Need Master Hire, Cannot Practice for a registration that has lost its responsible master electrician, and 321 registrations were sitting in it in September 2026.
Is the Colorado license lookup free?
Yes. The public search costs nothing and needs no account. Colorado publishes the underlying records as open data as well.
Does the lookup show city registrations?
No. It covers state credentials. City registrations in Colorado Springs, Lakewood, Thornton, Arvada and elsewhere are held by those jurisdictions, and Denver's own electrical certificates are separate again.
How do I contact the State Electrical Board?
1560 Broadway, Suite 1350, Denver, CO 80202, phone 303-894-7800, fax 303-894-2310, email [email protected]. An older published rule text gives Suite 110 and (303) 894-2300, which is out of date.
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
- DORA public license lookup The state's free public search for licenses and registrations, linked from the Board's applications page. source
- DORA roster generator license type codes Prints the nine electrical license type codes exactly as the licensing system uses them. Read 5 September 2026. source
- Colorado open data, professional and occupational licenses The dataset behind the active, expired and other status counts for every Colorado electrical credential. Read 5 September 2026. source
- State Electrical Board permit and inspection information The Board's current address, phone, fax and email. Read 7 September 2026. source
- 3 CCR 710-1.13, renewal and reinstatement The 30 day address change duty and the restriction on advertising under a name other than the registered one. Text current through Register Vol. 48, No. 11, June 10, 2025. source
The 2023 to 2026 section crosswalk maps every section that moved, both directions, $29 once.