Colorado · Concrete licensing · official-source guide
Colorado has no state license for concrete work, so the issuing authority is local. Denver Community Planning and Development licenses it as a Specialty Class D license with a Concrete and Foundations supervisor certificate, and the headline requirement is two years of documented field experience covering both flatwork and foundations, with no test. Colorado Springs, Aurora and Fort Collins each license separately.
State-level license
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Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-10-26. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Colorado does not license concrete contractors at the state level. The Legislative Council Staff of the Colorado General Assembly publishes a running list of regulated professions, and it states that over 100 professions and occupations are currently required to be licensed, certified or registered in Colorado. Electricians appear on that list, regulated by the State Electrical Board under section 12-115-110. Plumbers appear under the State Plumbing Board. Both boards sit inside the Division of Professions and Occupations at the Department of Regulatory Agencies, which runs the electrical program out of 1560 Broadway, Suite 1350 in Denver. Concrete contractors, flatwork contractors, masons and general building contractors are absent from that list. There is no statewide concrete license, no state concrete exam and no state roster of concrete contractors to be listed on. Authority sits with cities and with regional building departments instead. Denver issues its own Specialty Class D license for concrete and foundations. Colorado Springs and the rest of El Paso County are served by the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department. Aurora and Fort Collins each run separate programs with separate paperwork. For a flatwork and foundation business, that changes how you plan. Your license is tied to a jurisdiction, not to the state. A crew pouring a driveway in Denver on Monday and footings in Aurora on Tuesday is working under two different credentials. Nothing you hold in one Colorado city transfers automatically to the next, and nothing you hold in another state transfers in. Decide which metros you sell in first, then license for those, because the license list sets the map of work you can legally bid.
Sourcescontent.leg.colorado.gov 1dpo.colorado.gov 2denvergov.org 3
Denver is the one Colorado jurisdiction with a license written specifically around concrete. Community Planning and Development issues it as a Specialty Class D license, and the matching supervisor certificate is called Concrete and Foundations. Denver defines the scope as combined excavating, shoring, piles, caissons and drilled shafts and cast-in-place concrete, including placement of reinforcing steel, bar supports and welded wire fabric for reinforced concrete construction. All of that work has to be done under the on-site supervision of a Class D Concrete and Foundations supervisor certificate holder. Denver also publishes narrower certificates that a concrete business may want alongside it. Concrete Reinforcing Steel Placers covers placement of reinforcing bars, pre or post tensioning steel, bar supports and welded wire fabric. Masonry covers laying and forming all types of masonry under a Class D Mason supervisor. Pre-Cast Concrete Building Units covers erection of pre-cast concrete structural units. Prefabricated Patios, Carports, Canopies and Awnings with Foundations covers installing those units into foundations, including the excavation and cast-in-place concrete that goes with them. Read those scopes closely before you bid. The wording is what you are allowed to pull permits for, and it is also the wording that tells a general contractor whether your license covers the item on their schedule. A masonry retaining wall and a basement footing are not the same certificate in Denver even though both are concrete work. Denver licensing is a two-step process. The supervisor certificate comes first, then the company license. Denver will not accept a license application until the supervisor certificate has been approved.
Denver asks for documented field experience rather than a written test for concrete work. The minimum for a Class D Concrete and Foundations supervisor certificate is two years of field experience in the trade, and Denver asks applicants to include documentation for both flatwork and foundation experience. Experience is proved with notarized letters that show what work you did, when you did it and where it happened, and Denver tells applicants to list as many projects as needed to cover the required time. Under the testing heading for Concrete and Foundations, Denver states that no test is required. The same holds for Masonry, Concrete Reinforcing Steel Placers and the prefabricated patio certificate: two years of field experience, notarized letters, no test. That is a different path from the one Denver uses for electrical and plumbing, where a state license from the Division of Professions and Occupations substitutes for the Denver supervisor certificate entirely. For a concrete business, the practical work is assembling the paper trail. Letters have to be notarized, they have to name projects, and they have to cover the full two years. If the supervisor certificate holder is not an owner, officer, partner, member or sole proprietor of the company, Denver also wants a letter on company letterhead naming that person as the supervisor of record for the license type, signed by an owner or officer. Denver further requires that anyone signing for the license be listed on current Secretary of State filings, or that you supply notarized meeting minutes or a notarized list of current owners instead.
Denver publishes its contractor licensing fees as a flat schedule rather than a sliding scale. A Specialty Class D license costs $250.00, the same as a General Contractor Class A, a Building Contractor Class B and a Residential Contractor Class C license. Those construction licenses are renewed every three years. A supervisor certificate costs $60.00 and is also renewed every three years on the same schedule as the license it backs. Duplicate licenses and duplicate certificates cost $25.00 each, and a change of personal name on a license or certificate costs $25.00. If you are taking out more than one license type, Denver requires each license to be paid for separately. Mail-in and in-person applicants make checks payable to the Manager of Finance. Online applicants pay through e-permits once the license application is approved. Timing matters when you are quoting work. Denver states that applications submitted online, by mail or in person all take roughly 14 to 20 business days to review. An approved applicant then has 90 days to actually procure the license, and failing to do that means filing a new application. Renewal opens 30 days before a license expires and stays open up to one year after expiration. Plumbing is the exception to the simple picture: Denver requires you to renew your state plumbing contractor card and master plumber card with the Department of Regulatory Agencies before renewing the Denver plumbing contractor license. Concrete has no state card to chase, so the three-year Denver cycle is the only clock a flatwork and foundation company has to watch in the city.
Public sidewalks, curb and gutter and curb cuts sit under a different Denver license than private flatwork, and a concrete company that misses this one loses jobs it already sold. Denver requires a right-of-way license for work in the public right of way or on other public property of the city. The Cement Sidewalk Contractor license covers laying sidewalks and driveways, making curb cuts, laying curb and gutter, and installing minor drainage structures within or connected to the public ways and places. The minimum to apply is five years of verifiable experience in the trade, and Denver states that no test is required. The license costs $50.00 and is renewed annually, which is a tighter cycle than the three-year building licenses. Denver also requires a bond and an insurance certificate. The Cement Sidewalk Contractor bond form is written in the penal sum of ten thousand dollars, $10,000. The right-of-way insurance requirements set commercial general liability at $1,000,000 each occurrence, a $2,000,000 general aggregate limit, a $2,000,000 products and completed operations aggregate limit, $1,000,000 for personal and advertising injury and $50,000 fire damage for any one fire. Business automobile liability is set at a $1,000,000 combined single limit covering owned, non-owned and hired vehicles. The City and County of Denver has to be named on every policy as an additional insured, and the certificate has to show the insurance will not be cancelled without thirty days written notice to the Manager. Denver also requires street cut pavement repair markers on all street patch restorations, including patches in public alleys and patches restored with concrete pavement.
Sourcesdenvergov.org 1denvergov.org 2denvergov.org 3denvergov.org 4
Denver splits right-of-way work into separate licenses, and a concrete contractor whose scope creeps past sidewalk and driveway work needs to know which one applies. Excavation Contractor covers work relating to excavation in a public street or alley or other public property, again with five years of verifiable experience and no test. The insurance sheet adds a requirement for excavation contractors only: coverage for collapse and underground hazard, explosions coverage and contractual liability. Paving Contractor is its own license and costs $125.00. Structural Contractor costs $100.00. Special Contractor and Sewer Contractor each cost $50.00. ROW General is the broad one, covering sewer layer, sewer contractor, sidewalk contractor, structural contractor, paving contractor, excavator contractor and special contractor work under a single license, and it costs $200.00. ROW General demands five years of verifiable experience in each respective trade, plus a State of Colorado licensed master plumber or a Denver certified drain layer supervisor in your employ at all times, plus an employee trade license verification form and an equipment schedule. Every one of these right-of-way licenses renews annually. Each has its own bond form, and all of them point to the same right-of-way insurance requirements sheet. The cost comparison is worth running before you apply. A company that pours residential driveway aprons and nothing else is better served by the $50.00 Cement Sidewalk Contractor license than by the $200.00 ROW General license with its plumber or drain layer staffing condition. A company bidding full street reconstruction is looking at the opposite answer.
The Pikes Peak Regional Building Department licenses contractors for Colorado Springs and the surrounding jurisdictions, and its structure is unlike Denver's. Concrete work falls under Building Contractor D, which the department calls Building Contractor D (Specialty) under code section RBC203.5. It is issued by the Board of Review to contractors working as something other than a Building Contractor A, B or C, for labor or for labor and material involving only a single trade, and the published examples include foundation repair, masonry and retaining walls. Pikes Peak requires a passing exam. The department accepts ICC National Standardized or ICC Colorado Standard exams taken and passed on or after January 1, 2017, and states plainly that no out-of-state exams will be accepted. A non-refundable $50 application and processing fee is due when the application is submitted, payable by cash, check, Visa, Mastercard or Discover, and that fee is separate from the license fee. The department also requires verifiable project history: you must have held a supervisory position such as project manager on every project submitted, all projects must be permitted and verifiable, and you must give a minimum of three references applicable to the type of work done. Applicants consent to a name-based judicial record check. Renewal is limited to the examinee, who can renew online through a contractor web account or on a notarized paper form. The department also offers a voluntary suspension: a contractor on voluntary suspension need not carry insurance, but must continue to pay all license or registration fees.
Pikes Peak Regional Building Department writes its insurance minimums into the code itself at RBC201.7, which makes them easy to quote to an insurance agent before you apply. Table RBC201.7 sets general liability policy limits by license category. Building Contractor D, single trade, which is the classification covering foundation repair, masonry and retaining wall work, is set at 1,000,000 each occurrence and 2,000,000 general aggregate. Building Contractor A, Building Contractor B or C, wrecking, moving, sign, fire suppression and the electrical, fire alarm, mechanical, plumbing and water conditioning categories all carry the same 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 limits. The department requires a certificate of insurance signed by a licensed agent, and Pikes Peak Regional Building Department must be listed as an additional insured. Your contractor business name on the insurance certificate has to match the name in your license record, and if you work under trade names, those trade names must also appear on the certificate. Each policy needs an endorsement requiring the carrier to notify the building department at least ten calendar days before any reduction or cancellation takes effect. A lapse, cancellation or reduction is cause for automatic suspension of the license or registration. Workers compensation is handled as a separate certificate: the department requires a certificate of workers compensation coverage if the contractor has employees, through the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment Division of Workers Compensation. If insurance has lapsed, been cancelled or reduced for longer than six months, the department treats the license differently than a simple renewal, so do not let a policy drift.
Sourcespprbd.org 1pprbd.org 2
Aurora runs its own program through the Building Division and publishes a single fees and requirements sheet. Aurora states that to work in the city as a contractor you need the appropriate license to build, construct, alter, repair, add to, demolish or move any building or structure. The published license types are Commercial Building Contractor, Residential Building Contractor, Mechanical Systems, Roofing, Demolition, Limited Building Commercial, Mobile Home Installer, Remodeling, Residential Elevator, Sign, Swimming Pool, Fire Alarm Systems, Fire Extinguishing Systems, Fire Sprinkler Systems, Underground Fire Service Line, Fuel Tank, Emergency Responder Radio Coverage and Right of Way Contractor. There is no concrete or flatwork class on that list, so a concrete business has to match its scope to an existing type and confirm it with the Building Division. Several types are registration based rather than exam based: Limited Building Commercial, Remodeling, Demolition, Sign, Swimming Pool, Residential Elevator and Right of Way Contractor each require registration with the Building Division plus three years of documented experience. Commercial Building Contractor requires ICC General Building Contractor A or B certification. Residential Building Contractor requires ICC Residential Building Contractor C certification. Fees are split in two: a supervisor license fee of $131.00 plus a license fee that is $392.00 for Commercial Building Contractor, $235.00 for Residential Building Contractor and $164.00 for most other types, including Right of Way Contractor. Aurora also requires registration and three job references in addition to the listed requirements. Aurora does not issue separate plumbing or electrical contractor licenses and instead relies on the state credential being on file.
Aurora treats right-of-way work as its own license with its own financial requirements, which matters for any concrete crew touching sidewalk, curb or driveway approach work in the city. The Right of Way Contractor license requires registration with the Building Division and three years of documented experience. The supervisor license fee is $131.00 and the license fee is $164.00. Aurora publishes three insurance and bonding requirements for right-of-way contractors: general liability of $1,000,000 each occurrence, property damage of $1,000,000 each occurrence, and an irrevocable license and permit bond of $20,000 with a minimum of two years required. Compare that with Denver, where the equivalent sidewalk license carries a $10,000 bond and is renewed annually, and the gap in bonding cost between two adjacent metros becomes a real line item. Aurora also points concrete contractors toward the state for several adjacent trades. Fire sprinkler work requires proof of current state certification as a fire suppression system contractor through the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. Underground supply lines from public water lines to system risers require registration as a fire suppression system contractor, underground, with that same state division. Aboveground and underground fuel storage tank work requires certification through the Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety. None of those are concrete licenses, but a foundation contractor doing site work on a commercial build can end up adjacent to all of them, and Aurora will expect the right credential on the permit. Aurora offers online renewal for contractor and supervisor licenses.
Fort Collins licenses by class and requires an exam for most of them, which makes it the most test-oriented of the big Front Range programs for building work. The city states that all contractors working in Fort Collins need a license, with exemptions for owners working on their own single-family residence under conditions and for certain small projects not requiring a permit. General contractor classes run from Class A, any building or structure, down through Class B at five stories, Class C1 at three stories, Class C2 for multi-family, Class D1 for single-family and townhouses, Class D2 for detached garages and small additions, Class E for nonstructural alterations and Class MM for small detached structures. Notably for a concrete business, Fort Collins builds concrete into the general contractor exams rather than issuing a concrete license. Class A and Class B applicants must pass the ICC National Standard Building Contractor A exam G11 over the 2018 IBC and the Concrete Manual covering concrete quality and field practices, 2021 IBC and ACI 318-19. Class C1, C2 and E applicants take the ICC National Standard Building Contractor B exam G12 plus the same Concrete Manual material. Exams are administered by Pearson VUE, and results must be from the most recent or current code year. The specialized trade list covers awnings, demolition, fire alarm, fire sprinkler, fireplace appliance, flammable fuel, gas piping, HVAC, roofing, refrigeration, signs, solar, framing and wireless telecommunications. Concrete is not among them, so confirm your scope with the city before bidding.
Sourcesfcgov.com 1fcgov.com 2
Fort Collins publishes flat license fees. A new license or reinstatement with supervisor's certificate costs $300, and the license and supervisor's certificate renewal costs $225. Master plumber registration costs $200 whether new, renewed or reinstated, and exempt registration also costs $200. A right-of-way license costs $130 new, renewed or reinstated, and that application fee is paid on receipt of the approval email. General liability insurance is required for every license and registration. The minimum is a $2,000,000 general aggregate for all license types other than right of way, and a $1,000,000 general aggregate for a Right of Way Contractor license. The City of Fort Collins must be listed as certificate holder, and for right-of-way licenses as certificate holder and additional insured. Right-of-way contractors also post a bond of $100,000, or $250,000 if directional boring, using the template in the application packet, and the license stays current only while bond and insurance stay current and the city receives original continuation certificates each year. Two more Fort Collins rules catch concrete subcontractors. First, every contractor engaged in business in Fort Collins must obtain a city business license in addition to any required contractor license. Second, licensed contractors may employ workers or hire subcontractors, but subcontractors must hold the proper city license or registration. A general contractor cannot simply absorb an unlicensed concrete sub under their own class. The city also flags that specific sales and use tax requirements apply to contractors before a project starts, and publishes contractor sales and use tax guidance separately from the licensing pages.
Sourcesfcgov.com 1fcgov.com 2
The Colorado Department of Revenue treats concrete contractors under a set of special tax rules, and those rules turn on how your contract is written. Department guidance for contractors and retailer-contractors defines a contractor as any person or entity performing construction work on real property for another party under an agreement, and the listed examples include building contractors, road contractors, grading and excavating contractors, and any subcontractor performing that kind of work. A flatwork or foundation sub is squarely inside that definition. For a lump-sum contract, the contractor is the consumer of the materials. You pay sales tax when you buy the concrete, rebar and forms, or use tax if the seller did not collect sales tax, and the department states that a contractor does not need a sales tax license for lump-sum contracts. Time-and-materials contracts flip that: a contractor entering into time-and-materials contracts must have a sales tax license, and a retailer-contractor must obtain a sales tax license, may purchase items for resale tax-free, and must keep detailed records showing collection and payment of all applicable sales and use taxes. Tax-exempt projects have their own step. A contractor must apply for an exemption certificate before starting work on any tax-exempt construction project, and the exemption covers construction and building materials. Local tax adds another layer. The department administers some city, county and special district taxes, but home rule cities administer their own, so you contact those cities directly. Building permits can also evidence that local use tax has been paid or is required to be paid.
Sourcestax.colorado.gov
Denver writes the consequence directly into its building code, and the rule is simpler than most contractors expect. Section 121.2 of the 2025 Denver Building Code states that licenses shall be required for any work requiring a permit, and that electrical and plumbing contractors must register with the agency. The code lists only two exceptions: public utility companies working on their own distribution equipment, and work performed by an owner and occupant of a single unit dwelling under a permit authorized by the owner-occupier provision. Everything else needs a license. Section 107.1 makes it unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to erect, construct, enlarge, reconstruct, alter, repair, move, improve, remove, convert, demolish, equip, occupy, inspect or maintain any building, structure or equipment, or cause or permit the same to be done, contrary to the code. The building official can issue a Notice of Violation or an Order to Comply against the property owner or against any person engaged in the work or causing the work to be performed. Section 107.3 provides that where no definite fine is stated, a person convicted of a violation shall be fined, imprisoned, or both, within the limits established by Section 1-13 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code, and a separate violation is deemed committed on each calendar day a violation continues. The building official may also record the notice or order in the real property records with the Clerk and Recorder, which puts the violation on the chain of title until it is corrected and released.
Sourcesdenvergov.org
Colorado has no state concrete license, so there is no state license number for a concrete company to put in its ads, on its trucks or on its written estimates, and no state agency setting advertising wording for this trade. What governs your claims instead is the scope language of the local license you actually hold. In Denver, a Class D Concrete and Foundations license is what lets you present yourself as licensed for excavating, shoring, piles, caissons, drilled shafts and cast-in-place concrete including reinforcing steel placement, with the on-site supervision condition attached. It does not let you present yourself as a mason, which is a separate Class D certificate, and it does not let you present yourself as licensed for public sidewalk or curb work, which is the separate Cement Sidewalk Contractor right-of-way license. Claiming a scope you do not hold is a licensing problem in each jurisdiction rather than a state advertising problem. Denver does put license numbers on documents in one place we can confirm: the code requires a contractor's company name and license number on drawing sheets submitted with permit applications, and names and license numbers of other contractors on certain permit applications. A cleaner habit for a concrete company is to state the city your license is issued by and the class, since a Denver Class D and a Pikes Peak Building Contractor D are different credentials that a buyer can verify in different places. We did not find a published Colorado or municipal rule requiring the license number in general advertising, on vehicles or on estimates for this trade, so that is left out here rather than guessed at.
Reciprocity is thin in Colorado because the licenses are municipal. Denver's contractor licensing page states that Denver does not accept or reciprocate contractor licenses or certificates from other jurisdictions. The one substitution Denver does allow is a Colorado electrical or plumbing license in place of a Denver supervisor certificate, which does nothing for concrete. Pikes Peak Regional Building Department says no out-of-state exams will be accepted and only honors ICC National Standardized or ICC Colorado Standard exams passed on or after January 1, 2017. Aurora requires its own registration plus three job references on top of any ICC certification. Fort Collins requires its own packet, its own exam proof and a separate city business license. Renewal cycles differ too: Denver construction licenses and supervisor certificates renew every three years while Denver right-of-way licenses renew annually, and Fort Collins right-of-way licenses depend on original continuation certificates arriving each year. Verification is the part worth putting in front of buyers. Denver runs a public contractor license search through Community Planning and Development. Pikes Peak Regional Building Department runs a contractor and mechanic search that lets anyone search by contractor, licensee or business name, or browse by department including Building Contractors, and by license type. Aurora publishes a contractor lookup tool on its contractor licensing page so a customer can see which contractors are licensed to work in Aurora. Point customers at the right one for the city the job is in, and the licensing question stops being an objection.
Sourcesdenvergov.org 1pprbd.org 2pprbd.org 3auroragov.org 4denvergov.org 5denvergov.org 6
These are common details other guides publish about Colorado, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
No. Colorado's published list of regulated professions includes electricians under the State Electrical Board and plumbers under the State Plumbing Board, both inside the Division of Professions and Occupations. Concrete, flatwork, masonry and general building contractors are not on it. Licensing happens through cities and regional building departments instead.
Denver issues a Specialty Class D license with a Concrete and Foundations supervisor certificate. Its scope is combined excavating, shoring, piles, caissons and drilled shafts and cast-in-place concrete, including placement of reinforcing steel, bar supports and welded wire fabric. All work must be supervised on site by the certificate holder.
Two years of field experience in the trade, with documentation for both flatwork and foundation experience. Denver requires notarized letters showing what work you did, when and where, and tells applicants to list as many projects as needed to cover the two years. List every qualifying project rather than a summary.
No. Under the testing heading for Concrete and Foundations, Denver states that no test is required. The same applies to Masonry, Concrete Reinforcing Steel Placers and the prefabricated patio certificate. Denver relies on notarized experience letters instead, which means the application stands or falls on your documentation.
The Specialty Class D license fee is $250.00 and construction licenses are renewed every three years. A supervisor certificate is $60.00, also on a three-year cycle. Duplicate licenses and certificates cost $25.00. Each license type is paid for separately if you hold more than one.
When the work is in the public right of way or on other public property. The scope covers laying sidewalks and driveways, making curb cuts, laying curb and gutter, and installing minor drainage structures connected to public ways. It needs five years of verifiable experience, costs $50.00 and renews annually.
The Cement Sidewalk Contractor bond is written in the penal sum of $10,000. Right-of-way insurance requires commercial general liability of $1,000,000 each occurrence with a $2,000,000 general aggregate, and business automobile liability at a $1,000,000 combined single limit. Denver must be named as an additional insured on every policy.
Pikes Peak Regional Building Department issues Building Contractor D (Specialty) for single-trade work, with published examples including foundation repair, masonry and retaining walls. A passing ICC National Standardized or ICC Colorado Standard exam from January 1, 2017 or later is required, plus a nonrefundable $50 application fee and three references.
Table RBC201.7 sets Building Contractor D single trade general liability at 1,000,000 each occurrence and 2,000,000 general aggregate. The department must be an additional insured, your trade names must appear on the certificate, and a certificate of workers compensation coverage is required if you have employees.
No. Aurora's published license types run from Commercial and Residential Building Contractor through Roofing, Demolition, Limited Building Commercial, Remodeling and Right of Way Contractor, with no concrete or flatwork class. Match your scope to an existing type and confirm with the Building Division. Most types cost $131.00 plus $164.00.
A city license or registration in your own name: Fort Collins states that subcontractors must hold the proper city license or registration, and every contractor doing business there also needs a city business license. New license with supervisor's certificate costs $300, renewal $225, and general liability runs $2,000,000 general aggregate.
Yes, through the city that issued it. Denver runs a public contractor license search. Pikes Peak Regional Building Department runs a contractor and mechanic search by name, department or license type. Aurora publishes a contractor lookup tool. There is no statewide concrete roster, because there is no statewide license.
We can review the local market, your current search visibility, and paid-search fit before recommending any marketing work.