Colorado · Roofing licensing · official-source guide
Colorado does not license roofing contractors at the state level; the Department of Regulatory Agencies confirms roofers and general contractors are unlicensed trades. Denver and Colorado Springs each require their own contractor license for roofing work, and Colorado Springs also requires an ICC exam. State law separately bans insurance deductible waivers and roofing contractors acting as public adjusters.
State-level license
No — see local details
Public lookup
Not published
Verified against agency sources on 2026-09-18. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Colorado does not issue a state roofing contractor license. The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) states plainly on its consumer protection page for home repair that not all trades are licensed in Colorado, and names roofers and general contractors specifically as occupations the state does not license. This puts roofing in a different category from trades such as electricians and plumbers, which Colorado does license through DORA's Division of Professions and Occupations. For roofing, the state instead relies on a narrower law, the Residential Roofing Services statute at Title 6, Article 22 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, which regulates how roofing contracts are written and what a roofing contractor may and may not do around insurance claims, rather than requiring a credential to operate. DORA's home repair guidance also flags that county and city governments can and do step in where the state does not, telling consumers to check with their city before hiring an unlicensed professional. That local layer is where actual licensing requirements for roofing contractors in Colorado are found. The two largest cities in the state, Denver and Colorado Springs, both require a license or certificate before a contractor can pull a roofing permit or advertise roofing services, and neither city license substitutes for the other. A roofing contractor working across the Front Range typically needs separate credentials in each jurisdiction where work is performed. Homeowners and commercial property owners should not assume that a Colorado business license or a Secretary of State filing means a roofer is licensed to do the work; it means the opposite, that no state trade license exists to check.
Sourcesdora.colorado.gov
Colorado's Residential Roofing Services law, codified at 6-22-101 through 6-22-105 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, was enacted in 2012 as Senate Bill 12-038 and amended in 2026. The general assembly's stated purpose is consumer protection in three specific ways: requiring a written contract before roofing work begins, giving property owners a right to cancel and get deposits back under defined conditions, and banning roofing contractors from paying, waiving, or promising to waive a property owner's insurance deductible. The law defines who it covers narrowly. A roofing contractor is any individual, sole proprietorship, or business entity that performs or offers to perform roofing work on residential property in Colorado for pay. Residential property is limited to detached one- or two-family dwellings and to multi-unit buildings of three stories or less with separate egress; it excludes new construction and, in most cases, attached single-family buildings governed by a condominium or homeowners association. Roofing work covers construction, reconstruction, alteration, maintenance, and repair of a roof, but the law carves out an exception for jobs priced at $1,000 or less per contract, which fall outside its requirements entirely. This statute is a consumer-contract law, not a licensing law. It does not create a credential, does not require an exam, and does not involve any state board approving or disciplining roofing contractors. Its obligations attach automatically to anyone who performs residential roofing work in Colorado for compensation above the $1,000 threshold, licensed by a city or not. A contractor can be fully licensed by Denver or Colorado Springs and still violate this statute by using a noncompliant contract.
Sourcesolls.info
Before doing any roofing work covered by the statute, a Colorado roofing contractor must give the property owner a written contract signed by both parties. Section 6-22-103 of the Colorado Revised Statutes lists what that contract must state at minimum: the scope of the roofing services and materials to be provided; the approximate dates of service; the approximate cost based on damage known when the contract is signed; the contractor's physical address, email address, and phone number; and, if applicable, the identity and contact information of the contractor's surety and liability insurer. The contract must also spell out the contractor's cancellation and refund policy, including a rescission clause letting the property owner cancel within seventy-two hours of signing and get a full refund of any deposit. If the property owner intends to pay for the work using proceeds from a property and casualty insurance policy, the contract must include a written statement that the contractor cannot pay, waive, rebate, or promise to pay, waive, or rebate any part of the insurance deductible for that claim. Separately from the listed terms, the law requires the contract to include, in bold-faced type on its face, a statement that the contractor will hold any payment from the property owner in trust until roofing materials are delivered to the site or until the contractor has performed a majority of the roofing work. These requirements apply regardless of whether the roofing contractor holds a Denver, Colorado Springs, or other city license; they are separate from, and in addition to, any local licensing conditions.
Sourcesolls.info
Colorado law gives property owners a specific right to cancel a residential roofing contract when payment depends on an insurance claim. Under 6-22-104, if a property owner signs a contract expecting to pay for roofing work from a property and casualty insurance policy, and the insurer later denies the claim in whole or in part, the property owner may rescind the contract within seventy-two hours of receiving the insurer's written denial notice. That right does not extend to a partial denial tied to supplemental roofing services if the additional damage could not reasonably have been identified at the time of the original inspection or contract. To cancel, the property owner must give the roofing contractor written notice at the address listed in the contract within the seventy-two-hour window, and the statute recognizes electronic notice, mailed notice, or personal delivery as valid, each with its own effective-date rule. Once a contract is rescinded this way, the roofing contractor has ten days to return any payments, deposits, or evidence of debt collected from the property owner. The law does allow the contractor to keep a portion of the money already paid if work was actually performed in a workmanlike manner consistent with industry standards, but only enough to cover that completed work, and the contractor keeps any common-law right to be paid the reasonable value of materials already ordered and installed before the rescission. This rescission right is separate from, and in addition to, the general seventy-two-hour cancellation clause every roofing contract must contain under 6-22-103.
Sourcesolls.info
Colorado law directly bans a practice sometimes used to win roofing jobs: covering the customer's insurance deductible. Section 6-22-105(1) of the Colorado Revised Statutes says a roofing contractor whose payment will come from a property and casualty insurance policy shall not advertise, promise, pay, waive, or rebate all or part of the insurance deductible owed by the property owner on that claim. This applies whether the offer is made verbally, in an ad, or as part of contract negotiations. The statute attaches real consequences to a violation. First, under 6-22-105(2)(a), if a roofing contractor breaks this rule, the property owner's insurer is not obligated to honor the contractor's repair cost estimate when settling the claim, which can leave the homeowner without enough insurance money to cover the job. Second, under 6-22-105(2)(b), either the property owner or the insurer can sue the roofing contractor in court to recover damages caused by the violation. Because 6-22-103 also requires every roofing contract to include a written statement telling the property owner this practice is illegal, a contractor who both offers to waive the deductible and fails to disclose the prohibition is exposed on two separate provisions of the same statute. The rule exists because deductible waivers were used historically to inflate the appearance of contract value relative to what the insurer would actually pay, distorting the claims process. It applies statewide and does not depend on whether the roofing contractor holds a Denver, Colorado Springs, or any other city license; a fully licensed contractor is bound by it the same as an unlicensed one.
Sourcesolls.info
Colorado law also draws a hard line between roofing contractors and licensed public insurance adjusters. Section 6-22-105(3) of the Colorado Revised Statutes states that a roofing contractor soliciting roofing services in Colorado shall not claim to be, or act as, a public insurance adjuster adjusting claims for losses or damages. That role is reserved for individuals licensed under section 10-2-417 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, and the roofing statute expressly preserves a licensed public adjuster's ability to hold himself or herself out that way. The line the law draws is narrower than a blanket ban on talking to insurers. A roofing contractor with a valid contract to perform roofing work on a property may still discuss the scope of repairs with the property owner's insurer on the owner's behalf; what the contractor cannot do is present as, or perform the functions of, a licensed adjuster evaluating and negotiating the overall claim. The Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI), the state agency that licenses public adjusters, reinforces this distinction in its own consumer guidance after major storms, reminding homeowners that public adjusters are licensed by DOI, typically work for a percentage of the claim, and are optional to hire. DOI advises consumers who do hire one to confirm the license first. For a roofing contractor, crossing this line by presenting quasi-adjuster services as part of a sales pitch creates exposure under state insurance law that exists independently of, and in addition to, any city roofing license or certificate the contractor holds in Denver, Colorado Springs, or elsewhere in the state.
Hail is a routine, seasonal risk in Colorado, and the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) publishes storm-specific consumer guidance aimed largely at roofing claims after major hail and wind events. DOI's advisories, issued after storms like the one that struck Yuma, Wray, and Akron in eastern Colorado, walk homeowners through starting an insurance claim promptly, documenting and mitigating damage with tarps or plastic sheeting before repairs begin, and understanding that many Colorado homeowners' policies carry a wind or hail deductible set as a percentage of the coverage amount rather than a flat dollar figure. DOI also warns specifically about door-to-door and phone solicitation by roofing and other construction contractors in the days after a storm, describing this pattern as a known fraud risk and pointing consumers to Better Business Bureau guidance on so-called storm chasers. Its practical advice is to check references, favor Colorado-based contractors, get all promises in writing, and read every contract carefully before signing, particularly around who controls the timeline and the deposit. DOI's guidance also flags that a contractor's first repair estimate is not always final; additional damage often surfaces once work starts, and any supplemental cost must be documented and submitted to the insurer for review rather than simply added to the bill. None of this DOI guidance functions as a licensing requirement, since roofing itself is not state-licensed, but it sits alongside the Residential Roofing Services Act's contract and rescission rules as the state's primary consumer-facing response to storm-driven roofing sales pressure, and it is the source most Colorado homeowners are pointed to during active hail season.
Sourcesdoi.colorado.gov
Denver requires a contractor to hold both a supervisor certificate and a contractor license before performing licensed work, including roofing, in the City and County of Denver. Denver's Community Planning and Development department, which administers Contractor Licensing, describes it as a two-step process: an applicant must already hold a supervisor certificate, or a Colorado state electrical or plumbing license, or employ someone who holds one, before applying for the contractor's license itself. The supervisor certificate is tied to a specific trade or specialty, and the license holder is responsible for supervising the work performed under it. Denver's contractor license application requires the applicant, or the supervisor of record if different from the applicant, to submit a signed application, a Supervisor Statement of Responsibility, current Secretary of State filings for the business, and trade-specific documents; electrical, plumbing, and fire protection A and B contractors must also submit current State of Colorado trade cards for those regulated trades. Applications can be submitted online through Denver's e-permits system, by mail, or in person at the Contractor Licensing counter in the Wellington Webb Municipal Building, and online or mailed applications take roughly fourteen to twenty business days to review. Once issued, a Denver contractor license can be renewed starting thirty days before it expires and for up to one year after expiration before it must be reinstated through a separate process. This structure applies to a roofing contractor the same as any other specialty trade working in Denver: the roofing-specific requirements sit inside this general framework rather than replacing it, and a roofer cannot obtain a Denver contractor license without first holding the matching supervisor certificate.
Denver licenses roofing work as a Class D specialty certificate, and it splits the trade into several distinct certificate types rather than issuing one generic roofing credential. The certificate types that cover roofing include Roof Covering/Waterproofing - Commercial and Residential, Roofing-Shingles - Residential Only, Roofing - Green Roof Systems Only, and Metal Roof Installer, each with its own scope of work and its own supervisor certificate. The broadest of these, Roof Covering/Waterproofing, covers installation of commercial and residential roof coverings, valleys, gutters, downspouts, and waterproofing, and requires an applicant to document two years of field experience covering all aspects of residential and commercial roofing systems, with a minimum of twenty-four projects spread across twenty-four different months, at least seventy-five percent of which must involve different types of low-slope roofing on commercial buildings. The narrower Roofing-Shingles - Residential Only certificate has the same two-year, twenty-four-project documentation standard but is limited to residential shingle roofing systems. The Green Roof Systems certificate instead requires two years of experience installing vegetated rooftop systems, and allows a bachelor's degree in the design of planted outdoor spaces to substitute for up to one year of that experience, or an active Green Roof Professional accreditation in place of notarized experience letters. None of Denver's roofing supervisor certificates currently require a written test; all are experience-verification credentials supported by notarized letters from employers or clients documenting the specific projects, dates, and addresses that establish the applicant's field experience over the prior ten years. Work under any of these certificates must be performed under the on-site supervision of the certificate holder.
Sourcesdenvergov.org
Colorado Springs and the rest of El Paso County are regulated for construction licensing by the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department (PPRBD), a joint city-county agency separate from Denver's system and separate from any state process. PPRBD licenses roofing work under its Building Contractor D (Specialty) category, described in the Regional Building Code as covering single-trade contracting including, among other specialties, roofing, siding, masonry, and foundation repair. Unlike Denver's roofing certificates, PPRBD requires applicants for a roofing contractor license to pass a written exam; PPRBD's licensing FAQ confirms the department accepts International Code Council (ICC) exam results dated 2012 or later, and applicants must pass the required exam before applying for the license, not after. PPRBD's own guidance for roofing contractors states the full licensing process, from a complete application and passing exam result to issued license, takes approximately six to eight weeks, and notes the process cannot be expedited because the Regional Building Code requires license requests to be published in a local newspaper at least two weeks before issuance. PPRBD explicitly does not reciprocate roofing or other contractor licenses held in other jurisdictions, including Denver; a contractor licensed in Denver must apply separately and pass PPRBD's exam to work under permit in Colorado Springs or unincorporated El Paso County, and the reverse is also true. PPRBD's guidance is direct that it is a violation of the Regional Building Code to advertise or contract for work requiring a permit without holding the license first, and that an active license must be in place before any permit, including a roofing permit, can be issued.
Sourcespprbd.org 1pprbd.org 2
The Pikes Peak Regional Building Department sets specific minimum insurance requirements for every contractor license category it issues, including the Building Contractor D (Single Trade) category that covers roofing. Under Table RBC201.7 of the Regional Building Code, a Building Contractor D license holder performing single-trade work such as roofing must carry general liability insurance with limits of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate, the same minimum PPRBD requires across its other contractor categories, from Building Contractor A through electrical, mechanical, and plumbing contractors. Before PPRBD will issue or renew a license, the contractor must file a certificate signed by a licensed insurance agent showing that both the required general liability coverage and workers' compensation coverage, where the contractor has employees, are in force, naming Pikes Peak Regional Building Department as the certificate holder. For a roofing contractor specifically, the certificate's description of operations must state that re-roofing work is either included in or not excluded from the policy; a certificate that is silent or that excludes re-roofing does not satisfy the requirement. A contractor with no employees must instead file a rejection of workers' compensation coverage consistent with Colorado Department of Labor and Employment rules. PPRBD also enforces a specific penalty tied to jumping the gun on roofing work: stocking roofing materials on site before a permit is issued counts as starting the work, and when that happens PPRBD adds a penalty equal to two times the normal permit fee to the base permit cost. Coverage lapses, cancellations, or reductions trigger automatic suspension of the license until a new certificate is filed.
Sourcespprbd.org 1pprbd.org 2
Penalties for unlicensed roofing work in Colorado come from city and county code rather than from a single statewide statute, since roofing itself carries no state license to violate. In the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department's jurisdiction, covering Colorado Springs and El Paso County, the Regional Building Code makes it a violation to advertise or to contract for any work that requires a building permit, including roofing, without first holding the appropriate contractor license; PPRBD's own guidance states this plainly and ties an active license to the ability to pull a permit at all, since a permit cannot be issued to an unlicensed party. PPRBD backs this with a concrete financial penalty for the most common way roofing contractors jump ahead of their license or permit status, which is delivering and stacking roofing materials at the job site before a permit is approved. Because stocking materials on site counts as starting the work under the Regional Building Code, PPRBD adds a penalty equal to two times the base permit fee once this occurs, on top of requiring the permit itself. Denver's Building and Fire Code similarly conditions the right to perform and advertise licensed work on holding the matching supervisor certificate and contractor license, and Denver requires license holders to keep their license and insurance status current or risk suspension. Statewide, the Residential Roofing Services Act layers its own separate consequences onto a roofing contractor regardless of city license status: violating the deductible-waiver ban under 6-22-105 exposes a contractor to a lawsuit from the property owner or the insurer, and failing to return a canceled contract's deposit within ten days under 6-22-104 exposes the contractor to a claim for that money. None of these penalty schemes require the roofing contractor to be state-licensed first, because no such state license exists to revoke.
Sourcespprbd.org 1olls.info 2
Because Colorado does not license roofing at the state level, there is no single statewide database where a customer can look up a roofer's license, and the Department of Regulatory Agencies' general license lookup tool does not include roofing contractors for that reason. Verification instead happens at the city or county level where the work will be performed. In Denver, contractor licenses and supervisor certificates are administered through the city's e-permits system, the same online portal contractors use to apply for and renew their licenses; Denver's Community Planning and Development department is the office of record for confirming whether a specific roofing contractor holds an active Class D roofing certificate and contractor license. In Colorado Springs and the rest of El Paso County, the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department maintains contractor license records for anyone licensed to pull permits in that jurisdiction. A customer working with a roofing contractor anywhere else in Colorado should ask directly which city or county issued the contractor's license, since a license from Denver carries no weight in Colorado Springs and vice versa, and many smaller Colorado municipalities and counties have no roofing-specific licensing program at all. Regardless of local license status, every Colorado roofing contract covered by the Residential Roofing Services Act must independently disclose the contractor's surety and liability insurer, giving a second, statute-required way to confirm insurance coverage even where no license exists to check. Confirming both the local license and the insurer named on the contract is the most reliable verification path available in Colorado today, and it is more informative than any single lookup tool would be.
Sourcesdora.colorado.gov 1denvergov.org 2pprbd.org 3olls.info 4
Even without a state roofing license, Colorado law and local building codes still require a roofing contractor to carry several forms of coverage and registration to legally operate anywhere in the state. General liability insurance is required by every city or county that licenses roofing work at all; the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department sets its minimum at $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate for its Building Contractor D roofing category, and requires the policy's description of operations to specifically address re-roofing coverage. Workers' compensation insurance is required under Colorado Department of Labor and Employment rules for any roofing contractor with employees, and a contractor with no employees must file a formal rejection of coverage rather than simply going without proof either way. A roofing business operating in Colorado also needs standard state and local business registration: a filing with the Colorado Secretary of State appropriate to its business structure, and a Colorado sales tax license from the Department of Revenue if it sells and installs roofing materials, since materials sold to a customer are generally subject to state and local sales tax. Every roofing contract covered by the Residential Roofing Services Act, regardless of license status, must also name the contractor's surety and liability insurer directly in the written contract, which functions as a form of mandatory disclosure even though it is not itself a licensing requirement. Finally, a contractor working in more than one Colorado city needs to track each jurisdiction's insurance certificate and license renewal separately, since Denver, Colorado Springs, and other municipalities each set their own requirements and do not share compliance records with one another.
Sourcespprbd.org 1olls.info 2
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. The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies states directly that roofers and general contractors are not among the occupations the state licenses, unlike electricians and plumbers. Roofing licensing in Colorado happens at the city or county level instead.
A Denver roofing contractor needs a Class D specialty supervisor certificate matching the specific roofing work performed, plus a Denver contractor license, issued through Community Planning and Development's two-step contractor licensing process.
No. Denver's Roof Covering/Waterproofing, Roofing-Shingles Residential Only, and Green Roof Systems certificates all rely on documented field experience rather than a written test.
Roofing contractors in Colorado Springs and El Paso County need a Building Contractor D (Single Trade) license from the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, which does require passing an approved ICC exam.
No. The Pikes Peak Regional Building Department does not reciprocate contractor licenses from Denver or any other jurisdiction, so a separate application and exam are required.
No. Section 6-22-105 of the Colorado Revised Statutes bans roofing contractors from paying, waiving, or promising to waive any part of a property owner's insurance deductible.
No. State law bars a roofing contractor from claiming to be or acting as a public insurance adjuster; that role is reserved for adjusters licensed under section 10-2-417.
Every covered roofing contract must include a seventy-two-hour rescission clause, and a separate seventy-two-hour window to cancel applies after an insurer denies a related claim.
The Pikes Peak Regional Building Department requires Building Contractor D license holders, including roofers, to carry at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 general aggregate in general liability coverage.
PPRBD's own guidance puts the full process, from a complete application and passed exam to an issued license, at approximately six to eight weeks.
Check directly with the city or county where the work will happen. Denver verifies through its e-permits system, and the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department keeps its own contractor records, since no statewide roofing license exists to check.
Both jurisdictions make it a code violation to advertise or contract for permitted work, including roofing, without the required license, and PPRBD adds a penalty equal to twice the permit fee if materials are stocked before a permit is issued.
We can review the local market, your current search visibility, and paid-search fit before recommending any marketing work.