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How to become a plumber in Colorado
Colorado's State Plumbing Board licenses plumbers and registers apprentices: anyone employed in the plumbing trade without a Colorado plumber's license must be registered as an apprentice and is directly supervised by a licensed Colorado plumber. For the journeyworker license the Board's page gives 4 years (6,800 hours) of practical experience as the most it requires, and the master license five full-time years (8,500 hours); a residential plumber license takes 2 years (3,400 hours). Each license by examination follows a written exam given in English through PSI, a private testing agency. Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Colorado earned a median $63,240 a year in May 2025 ($30.40 an hour).
Plumber licensing in Colorado
The licensing authority is Colorado State Plumbing Board (Division of Professions and Occupations). The pages each row was read from are listed under the table, with the date each was read.
| License | What it takes | Experience | Exam | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbing Apprentice (registration) | The apprentice registers online and the employing plumbing contractor attaches the registration, within 30 days of hire. The apprentice carries the registration card while working and is directly supervised by a licensed Colorado plumber. | — | — | not published |
| Residential Plumber | 2 years (3,400 hours) of practical experience, verified on the Board's Affidavit of Experience by current and former employing plumbing contractors (applicants cannot verify their own); then the written exam, given in English through PSI, a private testing agency (70% to pass). | 3,400 hrs (at least 2 yrs) | Residential plumber written exam (PSI, 70% to pass) | not published |
| Journeyworker Plumber | 4 years (6,800 hours) of practical experience (the Board's page gives this as the most it requires), verified on the Board's Affidavit of Experience by current and former employing plumbing contractors (applicants cannot verify their own); then the written exam, given in English through PSI, a private testing agency, on the International Plumbing Code, the International Fuel Gas Code and the Board's rules (70% to pass). | 6,800 hrs (4 yrs as published) | Journeyworker plumber written exam (PSI, 70% to pass) | not published |
| Master Plumber | Five full-time years (8,500 hours) of practical experience, verified the same way (one month of full-time experience counts as 163 hours); then the written exam, given in English through PSI, a private testing agency (75% to pass). | 8,500 hrs (at least 5 yrs) | Master plumber written exam (PSI, 75% to pass) | not published |
Reciprocity. Plumbers licensed in another state may be licensed by endorsement with a state or federally approved apprenticeship or the required experience, documented by letters verifying the experience, a comparable state exam based on Colorado's currently adopted code, and a state-issued (not city or county) license held for at least six months.
Renewal. Every two years (licenses expire on the last day of February of odd-numbered years), with at least 8 hours of continuing education in each year of the license period: at least 4 hours on codes in every 24 months, no more than 2 on safety, from providers that have attested to the Board. A license first earned by exam needs none until after its first renewal.
Licensing sources: Colorado State Plumbing Board: applications and licensure requirements (retrieved 2026-09-24) · Colorado State Plumbing Board: apprentice information (retrieved 2026-09-24) · Colorado State Plumbing Board: continuing education (retrieved 2026-09-24). Requirements change; confirm with Colorado State Plumbing Board (Division of Professions and Occupations) before you act.
Years to this license at your hours a week → · Every fee here, itemised and totalled → · Compare time and cost across trades and states →
Common questions
Do you need a license to work as a plumber in Colorado?
Colorado's State Plumbing Board licenses plumbers and registers apprentices: anyone employed in the plumbing trade without a Colorado plumber's license must be registered as an apprentice and is directly supervised by a licensed Colorado plumber. For the journeyworker license the Board's page gives 4 years (6,800 hours) of practical experience as the most it requires, and the master license five full-time years (8,500 hours); a residential plumber license takes 2 years (3,400 hours). Each license by examination follows a written exam given in English through PSI, a private testing agency.
What does it cost to get licensed as a plumber in Colorado?
Fees are set by the issuing authority; each tier's fee, where published, is in the table above.
How long does it take to become a plumber in Colorado?
You can be licensed as Journeyworker Plumber after 6,800 hours of on-the-job training; higher tiers take longer. The pages read give this as 4 years (6,800 hours). The time-to-journeyman calculator turns the hours into years at your own hours a week. Residential Plumber, a separate license, takes 3,400 hours.
How much do plumbers make in Colorado?
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Colorado earned a median $63,240 a year in May 2025, $30.40 an hour. That median is 1% below the national figure of $63,800, and Colorado ranks 30 of 51 by pay for this trade.
How much do apprentice plumbers make in Colorado?
In fiscal 2023 (October 2022 to September 2023), among registered apprentices in Colorado under the occupation titles the U.S. Department of Labor maps to plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, 591 apprentices started, at a median $20.70 an hour across the 589 whose starting wage DOL counts. Those who completed that year were paid a median $42.03 an hour at completion (168 completers with an exit wage DOL counts). Wages are in that year's dollars.
What plumbers earn in Colorado
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Colorado earned a median $63,240 a year in May 2025, $30.40 an hour. 10,080 people held the job, 3.5 for every 1,000 jobs in the state. That median is 1% below the national figure of $63,800, and Colorado ranks 30 of 51 by pay for this trade.
The full wage spread in Colorado
| Point | Hourly | Annual | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $22.97 | $47,770 | A tenth of the workforce earns less than this. |
| 25th percentile | $25.18 | $52,370 | A quarter earn less. |
| Median | $30.40 | $63,240 | Half earn less, half earn more. |
| 75th percentile | $37.86 | $78,740 | A quarter earn more. |
| 90th percentile | $48.19 | $100,240 | A tenth earn more than this. |
| Mean | $33.22 | $69,090 | The average. Pulled up by the top earners. |
Annual figures are the hourly rate times 2,080 hours, BLS's full-time year. Overtime is inside the survey's earnings but not separated out.
Pay by metro area in Colorado
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO employs the most plumbers of the 7 metro areas based in Colorado that BLS publishes, 5,750, at a median $63,900 a year. The best-paid is Boulder, CO at $64,890.
| Metro | Employed | Median annual | 10th pct | 90th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 5,750 | $63,900 | $48,640 | $102,770 |
| Colorado Springs, CO | 1,060 | $60,510 | $46,070 | $87,730 |
| Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | 800 | $60,610 | $45,070 | $93,320 |
| Greeley, CO | 520 | $59,350 | $46,790 | $81,180 |
| Boulder, CO | 420 | $64,890 | $49,470 | $101,270 |
| Grand Junction, CO | 300 | $61,430 | $45,170 | $91,580 |
| Pueblo, CO | 150 | $64,700 | $44,550 | $112,390 |
Metropolitan statistical areas as BLS publishes them in the same May 2025 estimates. A metro that crosses a state line is listed only under its primary state, so part of a neighboring state's metro can sit outside this table. Areas outside any metro are not shown.
Colorado against its neighbors on the pay ladder
| # | State | Median annual | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Louisiana | $63,680 | 8,360 |
| 28 | North Dakota | $63,560 | 1,620 |
| 29 | Ohio | $63,330 | 16,390 |
| 30 | Colorado | $63,240 | 10,080 |
| 31 | Wyoming | $62,410 | 1,140 |
| 32 | Vermont | $62,170 | 980 |
| 33 | Arizona | $62,070 | 11,810 |
The complete ranking is on the Plumbers and pipefitters page.
Against the national figure
| Figure | Colorado | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Median annual | $63,240 | $63,800 |
| Median hourly | $30.40 | $30.67 |
| 10th percentile, annual | $47,770 | $44,150 |
| 90th percentile, annual | $100,240 | $108,420 |
| Employed | 10,080 | 465,840 |
Apprenticeships in Colorado
U.S. Department of Labor records list 1,196 registered apprentices active in Colorado in fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024) under the occupation titles DOL maps to plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (SOC 47-2152). The file's fiscal 2024 records largely stop after February 2024. In fiscal 2023, the latest year the file holds in full, 591 apprentices started, at a median $20.70 an hour across the 589 whose starting wage DOL counts. Those who completed that year were paid a median $42.03 an hour at completion (168 completers with an exit wage DOL counts).
Find a registered program: DOL's Apprenticeship Finder → · What those wages come to at your hours a week → · Every state's count and wages for this trade →
Wages are DOL's own hourly figures in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Which wages DOL counts, which titles count and how the state is assigned are on the data page.
Other trades in Colorado
Electricians ($62,230) · HVAC technicians ($65,200) · Welders ($58,590) · Truck drivers (CDL) ($61,500) · Lineworkers (power-line installers) ($103,980) · Elevator installers ($123,360) · Ironworkers ($58,830) · Sheet metal workers ($57,880) · Carpenters ($62,830) · Brickmasons and blockmasons ($65,260) · Auto service technicians ($61,280) · Diesel mechanics ($70,480) · Heavy equipment operators ($62,620) · Machinists ($60,200)
See all 15 ranked by pay in Colorado.
The pay and employment figures on this page are the May 2025 BLS estimates, apart from the apprenticeship figures, which are DOL's; the licensing detail is read from the pages listed in the licensing section, each with the date it was read. See how the numbers are built.