Bathroom Remodel — Colorado license requirements

01 The project

The starting point is the work itself — Bathroom Remodel in Colorado. The job determines which trades are involved, and the trades determine which license classifications may be required.

02 Jurisdiction

This project is evaluated for Colorado — the two-layer state with no statewide general contractor license at all (a verified absence, not a gap). The state regulates exactly two trades, plumbing (C.R.S. Art. 155) and electrical (Art. 115), through DORA's Division of Professions and Occupations; general construction licensing is entirely local with six researched regimes, and the permit / inspection authority flips state ↔ local by job-site county. There is no statewide dollar threshold, bond or general-liability figure — each a verified absence — and registration conditions are workers' compensation + unemployment evidence only. Colorado jurisdiction page.

03 Trade → license

Relations below are recorded per state — only this jurisdiction's classifications are shown.

Trades involved: Plumbing, Electrical, Tile, Framing, Drywall, Painting.

• Component basis MASTER-PLUMBER — Master Plumber (MP) confirmed S-CO-12-155-120 rule CO-PERMIT-BEFORE-WORK
  The plumbing PERMIT limb: only a 'qualified applicant' may pull it — a master plumber who is also a registered plumbing contractor (incl. sole proprietor) or one directly employed by a registered contractor; the homeowner qualifies for their own home (§12-155-120(11)). Permit BEFORE work, double fee if work started first (both rule sets).
• May require PLUMBING-CONTRACTOR — Plumbing Contractor (business registration) confirmed S-CO-12-155-108 rule CO-PLUMBING-CONTRACTOR
  Plumbing is a STATE trade: the business performing it must be a registered plumbing contractor with a full-time master plumber in charge (§12-155-108(3)); the individual holds a Residential (1–4 family ≤2 stories), Journeyworker or Master license (rule CO-PLUMBING-LICENSE). WC + UC evidence at registration; no bond, no GL figure (CONFLICT-CO-002 beside it). The PRIME contractor for general/remodeling scope is a LOCAL license (Denver C / Aurora Remodeling / Fort Collins E(R) with the $15k verification / JeffCo general) — see the six REQ-CO-LOCAL-* rows (research §N.3).
• May require ELECTRICAL-CONTRACTOR — Electrical Contractor (business registration) confirmed S-CO-ELEC-APPS rule CO-ELECTRICAL-CONTRACTOR
  Electrical rough/finish (vanity circuits, GFCI, exhaust fan, heat) is state electrical work under the current NEC — licensed electrician + registered contractor. Permit authority for BOTH trades depends on the job-site county (DPO local-program lists — rule CO-INSPECTION-AUTHORITY).

04 Scope

What the official sources say about the work involved — typed assertions, never a boolean "covers". Interpretations are marked as such.

• Officially included MASTER-PLUMBER Planning Laying Out Installing Repairing And Supervising Plumbing Apparatus (may_perform) C.R.S. §12-155-103(4) S-CO-12-155-103
  The full-scope plumbing credential: the only one that can BE the plumbing contractor's master-in-charge and the only registered master who may pull a state permit as a sole proprietor (SCOPE-CO-PULL-PERMIT).
• Officially included MASTER-PLUMBER Plumbing Within The Building Or Five Feet From The Foundation (may_perform) C.R.S. §12-155-103(8)(a)–(b) S-CO-12-155-103
  The trade-field definition: what counts as 'plumbing' statewide, with the five-feet boundary and the three official exclusions — the same boundary every plumbing credential works inside (research §E).
• Officially included PLUMBING-CONTRACTOR Undertaking Planning Laying Out Supervising Installing Or Repairing Plumbing For Others (may_perform) C.R.S. §12-155-103(10) / §12-155-108(3) S-CO-12-155-103
  THE business-side scope: doing plumbing FOR ANOTHER (for compensation) is registration work — 'undertakes OR OFFERS TO UNDERTAKE' covers bids too. Homeowner self-performance on own property is outside it (REQ-CO-HOMEOWNER-001) (research §C/§E).
• Officially included MASTER-PLUMBER State Or Local Plumbing Permit As Qualified Applicant (may_pull_permit) C.R.S. §12-155-120(11) / §12-155-120(1)(c)(II)(A) S-CO-12-155-120
  Permit power is the NARROWER gate: a master license alone does not unlock a permit — registration (or direct employment by a registered contractor) does, and the homeowner qualifies for their own home. Electrical/photovoltaic state permits may instead be obtained by a homeowner, an electrical contractor or a photovoltaic installer (DPO permit information) (research §C/§E).

05 Requirements

06 Rule: CO-PERMIT-BEFORE-WORK

DPO verbatim: 'A valid Colorado State Electrical permit must be obtained prior to installing electrical wiring' and 'A valid Colorado State Plumbing permit must be obtained prior to installing plumbing.' Both board rule sets: 'Any work commencing prior to the purchase of a permit is subject to twice the prescribed permit fee.' The permit applicant must be a 'qualified applicant' (§12-155-120(11)). State permits are valid 12 months with ONE 6-month extension. Missing facts yield NOT_DETERMINED.

Rule confidence: confirmed. Missing inputs produce NOT_DETERMINED — never a forced answer. Sources: S-CO-DPO-PERMITSS-CO-CCR-720-1S-CO-CCR-710-1

07 Rule: CO-PLUMBING-CONTRACTOR

C.R.S. §12-155-108(3): a plumbing contractor must be registered — fee + workers' compensation and unemployment compensation evidence + be or employ a full-time master plumber in charge of all plumbing work ('A master plumber shall not be responsible for more than one plumbing contractor at a time'). Definition §12-155-103(10): any business that undertakes OR OFFERS TO UNDERTAKE plumbing work for another. NO bond and NO general-liability figure in the statute (verified absences). Missing facts yield NOT_DETERMINED.

Rule confidence: confirmed. Missing inputs produce NOT_DETERMINED — never a forced answer. Sources: S-CO-12-155-108S-CO-PC-PREVIEW

08 Rule: CO-ELECTRICAL-CONTRACTOR

DPO Electrical Applications verbatim: to perform electrical contracting in Colorado you must be a registered Electrical Contractor — hold or employ a LICENSED MASTER electrician as the responsible individual, sign the Acknowledgment of Responsibility Form, 'The selected Master Electrician may be the responsible party for one company only', and evidence workers' compensation + unemployment compensation compliance. NO bond, NO general-liability figure (verified absence). Missing facts yield NOT_DETERMINED.

Rule confidence: confirmed. Missing inputs produce NOT_DETERMINED — never a forced answer. Sources: S-CO-ELEC-APPS

09 Rule: CO-LOCAL-LICENSE

General construction licensing in Colorado is LOCAL (DPO: 'For local requirements, contact the city and/or county government in the area in which you work'). The caller states (a) whether the job is permittable work for compensation and (b) whether that jurisdiction issues a contractor license. WHICH regime (classes, fees, exams) is per jurisdiction — the six researched rows — and without a jurisdiction the specifics are NOT_DETERMINED.

Rule confidence: confirmed. Missing inputs produce NOT_DETERMINED — never a forced answer. Sources: S-CO-ELEC-APPSS-CO-DENVER-APPLYS-CO-FC-LIC

10 Rule: CO-INSPECTION-AUTHORITY

DPO verbatim: 'The State does not inspect in local jurisdictions having its own Electrical Inspection Program. You are responsible for determining the correct inspection authority.' The caller states whether the job-site county runs its own local program (from the DPO county lists). Without that LOCATION fact the answer is NOT_DETERMINED — never guessed. §12-155-120(1)(a) exempts local-program jurisdictions from state plumbing inspection; §12-115-107(2)(a) lets localities enforce more stringent electrical standards.

Rule confidence: confirmed. Missing inputs produce NOT_DETERMINED — never a forced answer. Sources: S-CO-DPO-PERMIT-INFOS-CO-DPO-PERMITS

11 Who does what — local prime, state trades, one permit gate

A remodel splits across Colorado's two layers: the GENERAL/prime contract is a local credential, while the plumbing and electrical portions are state trades with their own licenses and registrations — never collapsed into one answer (rule CO-LOCAL-LICENSE):

Local fee examples above are labeled LOCAL and never statewide: Denver Plumbing A $160 (2-yr), Aurora Form A105 license fees, Fort Collins Master Plumber $200, Larimer biennial classes, JeffCo $50/yr. Permit fee amounts are NOT_VERIFIED — the double-fee rule is verified, the prices are not.

12 Permit and inspection layer

The state decides WHO MAY WORK at the two state trades; the job-site county decides who permits and inspects. DPO verbatim: "The State does not inspect in local jurisdictions having its own Electrical Inspection Program. You are responsible for determining the correct inspection authority." In DPO-listed counties: "If the county where your job site is located is listed below, do not continue with the permit application process…" State plumbing inspectors cover the 27 counties with no local program. S-CO-DPO-PERMIT-INFO

A permit is per JOB, a credential is per WHO: "A valid Colorado State Electrical permit must be obtained prior to installing electrical wiring" / "A valid Colorado State Plumbing permit must be obtained prior to installing plumbing", and work started first costs twice the prescribed permit fee (3 CCR 720-1 / 710-1). Local building permits (roofing, mechanical, general) follow each jurisdiction's own schedule — LOCAL_AUTHORITY_REQUIRED. S-CO-DPO-PERMITS

Verify the credential that actually applies on the official lookup before relying on any outcome here: DORA License Lookup (covers every DPO credential) — Denver publishes its own Contractor License Search for local classes. S-CO-DPO-HOME

Evidence

Verification