About the Colorado Master Electrician license
Colorado licenses electricians through the Colorado State Electrical Board. The Master Electrician is the senior credential. Per the Board's licensing rules (3 CCR 710-1.7) it requires a total of 10,000 hours of qualifying electrical experience earned over no less than five years — in practice, for someone who already holds a Colorado journeyman license (8,000 hours / 4 years minimum), that generally means at least one additional year (roughly 2,000 hours) of qualifying journey-level experience beyond the journeyman minimum, consistent with the statutory master-electrician pathways in C.R.S. 12-115-110. Then you pass a more demanding exam that adds heavier load-calculation, design, and code-application content. A holder at this level can typically pull permits, supervise journeymen and apprentices, design installations, and serve as the qualifying individual for a licensed contracting business.
The exam is National Electrical Code (NEC) based, because Colorado adopts the NEC as its electrical code. It is an open-book exam, but PSI provides the code book — you do not bring your own. Effective August 1, 2026, all Colorado Master Electrician exam questions are written to the 2026 NEC (verified against the PSI Colorado electrical candidate information bulletin, updated 6/18/2026). PSI will still provide the 2023 NEC book as the physical test-center reference upon request only through October 31, 2026 — after that date the 2023 book is no longer offered, so PSI supplies the 2026 NEC plus a formula page. You may not write on, highlight, underline, tab, or index the reference, and you may not bring any other materials. Because you cannot pre-mark the book, success depends on knowing the code's layout cold so you can turn to the governing section fast under time pressure — practice navigating a clean, unmarked 2026 NEC before test day. Confirm the current rule on the PSI candidate information bulletin.
Know these scope facts cold, because the exam asks them in plain-language form: the license is held by the individual, not the company; most installations require a permit and inspection before concealment (rough-in) and again at final; you must work within the classification you hold; and performing electrical work without the required license, or beyond your scope, is a violation that can cost you the license and carry civil penalties.
How Colorado licensing works
- Experience: documented hours in the trade (apprentice and journeyman time). The Board's rule sets Master Electrician experience at 10,000 hours earned over no less than five years (3 CCR 710-1.7) — for a candidate coming from a Colorado journeyman license (8,000 hours/4 years), this generally means roughly one additional year of qualifying journey-level experience beyond the journeyman minimum (see the alternative master pathways in C.R.S. 12-115-110). Verify your specific pathway and hours with the Board before applying.
- Education: approved instruction hours or completion of an approved apprenticeship program count toward the journeyman experience that underlies the master credential.
- Application: submit the application, fees, and proof of experience (often signed off by a supervising/master electrician or employer) to the board before you are approved to sit.
- Exam vendor: PSI. The Master Electrician exam is 90 scored questions (plus up to 10 unscored pretest items) with a 4-hour (240-minute) time limit, and the passing score is 70 percent (verified against the PSI Colorado electrical candidate information bulletin and the Colorado State Electrical Board, 2026-07-15). It covers the NEC, calculations, theory, and Colorado rules. Always re-confirm the current cut score, question count, and time limit on the candidate information bulletin before your test date.
- Renewal: Colorado electrical licenses renew on a three-year cycle and require 24 hours of Board-approved continuing education each cycle, including National Electrical Code update hours (the first renewal after passing the exam is exempt from the CE requirement). Confirm the current CE breakdown and renewal deadline with the Board before you renew.
Colorado adopted the 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) statewide through the Colorado State Electrical Board (3 CCR 710-1), and PSI wrote exam questions to that edition through July 31, 2026. As of August 1, 2026, every Colorado electrical exam question is based on the 2026 NEC (verified against the PSI Colorado electrical candidate information bulletin, updated 6/18/2026) — if you are studying now, study the 2026 code, not the 2023 edition. Local jurisdictions such as Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs may add amendments to the base edition. Ampacities, GFCI/AFCI scope, working-clearance distances, and receptacle-spacing rules all changed between the 2023 and 2026 editions — before you rely on any value in this guide or elsewhere, confirm it against the 2026 NEC and the current PSI bulletin.
This is the opening of the full study guide. The complete guide continues into code navigation, worked calculations and solved exam questions.
