To get a Professional Engineer license in Colorado, you need a qualifying engineering degree, four to twenty years of progressive experience depending on that degree, passing scores on the FE and PE exams, a clean background check, and an approved application to the Colorado State Board of Licensure for Architects, Professional Engineers, and Professional Land Surveyors. Colorado PE license requirements are set by C.R.S. § 12-120-204, and once you are licensed, you renew every two years on October 31 of odd-numbered years. Colorado does not require continuing education for PEs.
Education and Experience
Colorado offers several paths to licensure, and the one you qualify for depends on your degree. A four-year ABET-accredited engineering degree is the most common qualifier and requires at least four years of progressive engineering experience under a licensed PE. That experience has to show increasing responsibility and must be documented and verified by your supervising engineer.
A four-year Board-approved engineering technology degree requires eight years of progressive experience, with education counting toward the total. A four-year engineering or related-science degree from a program the Board has not approved pushes the experience requirement to ten years. If you hold a four-year engineering degree but never took the FE exam, the requirement jumps to twenty years.
A master’s or doctoral degree in engineering can offset up to one year of the required experience, but it counts toward the total rather than replacing supervised practice. Whatever path applies to you, the Board expects experience documentation to describe the projects, your specific role, and the engineering skills you used.
The FE and PE Exams
Every candidate has to pass two exams from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). Colorado administers both as computer-based tests.
The Fundamentals of Engineering exam comes first. It covers core engineering principles across disciplines, runs about six hours, and costs $225 paid directly to NCEES.1NCEES. FE Exam Most people take it right after finishing their degree, while the material is still fresh. Some licensing pathways in Colorado require you to be enrolled as an Engineer Intern before you sit for the FE, so confirm which path applies to you before registering.
After you pass the FE and build up the required experience, you take the Principles and Practice of Engineering exam. It is discipline-specific, lasts about eight hours, and tests your ability to handle real engineering problems in your field.2Divisions of Professions and Occupations. Architects, Engineers and Land Surveyors Exam Information NCEES charges $250 for most PE disciplines; the PE Structural exam is $350 per section.3NCEES. PE Exam The state may charge a separate application fee on top of the NCEES fee.
Application, Fingerprinting, and Background Check
Once your education, experience, and exams are in place, you file your application with the Colorado State Board of Licensure. The forms live on the Division of Professions and Occupations (DPO) website, and the fees are printed on the forms themselves.4Divisions of Professions and Occupations. Colorado Architect, Engineer and Land Surveyor Applications and Forms Your package needs personal information, transcripts, documented work experience, and references from licensed engineers who can speak to your competence.
Fingerprinting and a criminal background check are required. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the FBI both run checks through the Colorado Applicant Background Services (CABS) program. You submit electronic fingerprints through one of two approved vendors: IdentoGO Fingerprint Services or American Bioidentity. The DPO will not issue your license until it has both check results, so hold off on fingerprinting until the rest of your application is ready.5Divisions of Professions and Occupations. Colorado DPO Fingerprinting and Background Check
The Board reviews each application thoroughly and the process takes several weeks. Expect follow-up if any part of your documentation is incomplete. One timing detail worth knowing: applicants issued a license within 120 days of the upcoming renewal expiration receive a license with the next cycle’s expiration date, which can spare you an early renewal.4Divisions of Professions and Occupations. Colorado Architect, Engineer and Land Surveyor Applications and Forms
If You Are Already Licensed Elsewhere
Engineers licensed in another state can apply by endorsement under C.R.S. § 12-120-213, which ties into Colorado’s occupational credential portability program. You have to show that your original license came from requirements comparable to Colorado’s, including the FE and PE exams and the experience thresholds.
Submitting an NCEES Record simplifies the process by packaging your exam results, education, and experience verifications in a format every state board accepts.6NCEES. Records Program The Board may also want verification that your home-state license is active and in good standing. Fingerprinting and background checks apply to endorsement applicants the same way they apply to first-time applicants.5Divisions of Professions and Occupations. Colorado DPO Fingerprinting and Background Check The Board can deny endorsement if your qualifications fall short of Colorado’s standards.
What the License Lets You Do: Seal, Signature, and Responsible Charge
Once licensed, you have to seal engineering documents you prepare or that were prepared under your responsible charge. Colorado accepts crimp-type, rubber-stamp, and computer-generated seals. The outer circle is nominally 1⅝ inches (41 mm) in diameter and the inner circle nominally 15/16 inches (24 mm). Your license number goes in the center where the template reads “NUMBER,” and the word “NUMBER” itself should not appear on the finished seal.7Cornell Law Institute. 4 CCR 730-1.5 – Rules of Professional Engineering Practice
Responsible charge means the degree of control you maintain over engineering decisions, whether you make them yourself or supervise someone who does. It covers selecting design methods, choosing materials, and developing testing techniques for work that could affect public safety. If you adopt work previously engineered by someone else, you have to do enough independent review and calculation to confirm it meets practice standards before you sign and seal it. Sealing a document makes you fully responsible for it, professionally and legally.8Cornell Law Institute. 4 CCR 730-1.2 – Abbreviations and Definitions
Electronic signatures carry the same legal weight as handwritten ones in Colorado, but they have to meet specific security requirements. An electronic signature must be unique to you, verifiable, under your sole control, and linked to the document so that any change invalidates the signature. Public key infrastructure or signature dynamics technology can satisfy those requirements.8Cornell Law Institute. 4 CCR 730-1.2 – Abbreviations and Definitions
Practicing engineering or using the title “Professional Engineer” without a valid Colorado license is illegal. Under C.R.S. § 12-120-205, the Board can assess fines against anyone who does. Licensed engineers who falsify documents or produce negligent designs face Board discipline, up to suspension or revocation.
Renewal Every Two Years, No CE Required
Colorado PE licenses expire on October 31 of odd-numbered years, and renewal is required to keep practicing. The renewal window opens roughly four to five weeks before the expiration date. You can check your specific expiration by logging into your DPO Online Services account.4Divisions of Professions and Occupations. Colorado Architect, Engineer and Land Surveyor Applications and Forms
Colorado does not require Professional Engineers to complete continuing education to renew.9Divisions of Professions and Occupations. Colorado AES CE Most states mandate Professional Development Hours, but Colorado’s Board has not. Architects and Professional Land Surveyors licensed in Colorado do have CE requirements, so if you hold more than one license, check each one separately.
No CE mandate is not the same as no professional obligation. The Board can investigate complaints about incompetent practice, and the absence of a CE requirement is not a defense to a negligence claim.
Reinstating a Lapsed License
If your Colorado PE license lapses, you can reinstate it, but the requirements get steeper the longer it has been expired. For licenses expired more than two years, the Board may require you to demonstrate current competency to practice, which can include additional review of your qualifications.
To start, submit the reinstatement application and fee to the Division of Professions and Occupations. The DPO will evaluate your eligibility and tell you how to proceed; the Division can be reached at 303-894-7800. Renewing on time, even in a year when you are not actively practicing, is far simpler than restoring a license that has already lapsed.