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Checked against primary sources 2026-09-07

Two bodies, two dates

Colorado Code and Exam Dates: The 17 Day Gap in 2026

Colorado's electrical code and Colorado's electrician exam are set by different organizations and they changed edition seventeen days apart. Four other official texts still print an older edition. This page prints all of it and resolves none of it.

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On this page
  1. The gap, in two lines
  2. How the code date was set
  3. How the exam date was set
  4. Five official texts, and they do not agree
  5. Why the fifth one matters most
  6. And Denver moved on a third date
  7. What to do with a conflict you cannot resolve
  8. Questions people ask
  9. What this page cites

The gap, in two lines

July 15, 2026. The Colorado state electrical code became the 2026 National Electrical Code, by amendment of Rule 1.5 of 3 CCR 710-1 under Secretary of State tracking number 2026-00171.

August 1, 2026. PSI examination questions became consistent with the 2026 National Electrical Code, under candidate information bulletin 3395.

Seventeen days. A candidate whose test date fell inside that window sat a 2023 edition examination while the 2026 edition was already the enforceable state code.

No source we found addresses that window directly. The two dates simply come from two documents produced by two organizations for two purposes, and neither document mentions the other.

How the code date was set

The filing's own purpose sentence reads: the purpose is to adopt the current 2026 National Electrical Code (NEC). It appears twice on the filing.

The dates on the filing, as printed. Notice filed 04/14/2026. Hearing 05/27/2026 at 9:00 AM MDT, held on Zoom, described as a final opportunity for stakeholders to testify before the Board determines on proposed revisions to Rule 1.5. Adopted 05/27/2026. Attorney General opinion 06/11/2026. Published in the Colorado Register on 06/25/2026, volume 49, publication number 12. Effective 07/15/2026. Inserted into the Code of Colorado Regulations on 08/07/2026.

Note the last one. The rule took effect on July 15 and was inserted into the published code on August 7, three weeks later. That lag is part of why so many published texts are behind.

How the exam date was set

PSI's bulletin 3395 is printed as Updated 6/18/2026, seven days after the Attorney General opinion and a week before Colorado Register publication.

Its post-switch paragraph begins Effective 8/1/2026: all examination questions are consistent with the 2026 National Electrical Code book, and it carries the November 1, 2026 cutoff for providing the 2023 book on request.

The bulletin still prints the pre-switch paragraph naming the 2023 book above it, unmarked as superseded. So the single most important document for a candidate contains both editions, and the reader has to know which paragraph applies to their date.

Five official texts, and they do not agree

This is the part to read carefully if you are relying on a link somebody sent you. All five of these were checked in September 2026.

1. The Secretary of State eDocket filing. 2026 National Electrical Code, effective 07/15/2026.

2. Cornell's published text of 3 CCR 710-1.5. Still reads National Electrical Code, 2023 Edition, with an effective date of August 1, 2023, and adds that the rule does not include later amendments to or editions of the 2023 edition. The page carries no currency statement. It prints an amendment history instead, and the last line of that history is 46 CR 20, October 25, 2023, effective 11/14/2023, which is where both of those dates come from.

3. A Secretary of State PDF of the same rule series. Reads National Electrical Code, 2020 Edition, with an August 1, 2020 effective date. An older version of the same PDF reads 2014 Edition with a July 1, 2014 date.

4. Justia's published text of 3 CCR 710-1.5. Also the 2023 Edition, effective August 1, 2023, marked current through Register Vol. 48, No. 11, June 10, 2025.

5. The Board's own license application previews. All three individual license previews, live on 7 September 2026, say the current NEC code in use in Colorado is the 2023 NEC.

We are not resolving this. Items 2, 3 and 4 are publisher texts that trail the filing. Item 5 is the Board's own live document and it does not have that excuse.

Why the fifth one matters most

Because it is not a stale copy of a rule. It is the form an applicant fills in, and it is being used today.

The Board's endorsement test asks whether an out of state license was gained by testing on the current National Electrical Code in use in Colorado. The residential wireman preview turns that into a direct question: have you passed a state licensing examination based on the 2023 NEC, adding that licenses not issued by testing, or by testing on a different version of the NEC, are not eligible for endorsement.

On the rule filing, the current code in use in Colorado has been the 2026 edition since July 15, 2026. On the Board's own application, it is the 2023 edition. An applicant licensed on the 2026 edition and an applicant licensed on the 2023 edition cannot both be right.

If you are applying by endorsement, call the Board on 303-894-7800, ask which edition the test is being applied against, and get the answer in writing. The reciprocity page carries the rest.

And Denver moved on a third date

Denver Community Planning and Development posted an item titled New electric standards to be effective Aug. 1 for 2026, and a second item titled New electric standards adopted on August 1, against the state's July 15 date.

Both pages are on denvergov.org and neither would load for us. The titles are what we saw in search results, and we are recording them as titles rather than as confirmed content.

Denver's own examinations are a separate matter again. The ICC bulletin dated June 3, 2026 lists Denver electrical signal exams written to the 2014 National Electrical Code. The Denver exams page has that in full.

What to do with a conflict you cannot resolve

Work out which document actually governs the thing you are doing.

Sitting an exam? PSI's bulletin governs, and it says the 2026 edition since August 1, 2026.

Doing work that gets inspected? The state code governs where the state inspects, and C.R.S. 12-115-120(3)(a) ties the inspector's certificate of approval to the code referred to in section 12-115-107(2)(a). Where a city or county runs its own program under 12-115-120(1)(a)(I), ask that authority.

Filing an endorsement application? Ask the Board, because the Board's own documents disagree.

And when somebody sends you a link that says 2023 or 2020, work out what that page is actually current to before you argue with them. Most of the time you are both reading real documents.

Questions people ask

When did Colorado adopt the 2026 NEC?

July 15, 2026, by amendment of Rule 1.5 of 3 CCR 710-1 under Secretary of State tracking number 2026-00171. The rule was adopted on May 27, 2026 and inserted into the Code of Colorado Regulations on August 7, 2026.

When did the Colorado exam move to the 2026 NEC?

August 1, 2026, under PSI bulletin 3395. That is seventeen days after the state code moved, because the two dates come from two different organizations.

What happened to people who tested in that 17 day window?

They sat a 2023 edition examination while the 2026 edition was already the enforceable state code. No source we found addresses that window directly.

Why do some official Colorado pages still say 2023 or 2020?

Published rule texts lag behind filings. Cornell prints the 2023 edition with an amendment history ending 11/14/2023 and no currency statement, Justia prints the 2023 edition current through June 10, 2025, and a Secretary of State PDF prints the 2020 edition.

Do the Board's own forms say 2023?

Yes. All three individual license application previews said the current NEC code in use in Colorado is the 2023 NEC when we read them on 7 September 2026, against the rule filing that adopted the 2026 edition in July.

Which one should I follow?

It depends what you are doing. PSI's bulletin governs your exam. The state code governs work where the state inspects, and a local program governs where a city or county runs its own. For an endorsement application, ask the Board and get the answer in writing.

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What this page cites

If your notes still say 2023

The 2023 to 2026 section crosswalk maps every section that moved, both directions, $29 once.

NEC and National Electrical Code are registered trademarks of the National Fire Protection Association.

Trojan Digital Marketing is an independent company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NFPA, the Colorado State Electrical Board, PSI, or any licensing authority, school or union.

The Colorado examinations are open book only in the sense that PSI puts a book on the desk. PSI provides the National Electrical Code and a formula page at the test center, bars writing, highlighting, underlining and indexing on them, and allows no other materials. The questions have followed the 2026 edition since 1 August 2026, and the 2023 book is provided on request until 1 November 2026.

All practice questions are original. They are not actual exam questions.

Built and maintained by Jeff Clerisier, Trojan Digital Marketing.

Every rule here is cited to the section it comes from, and corrections are logged in public with the date. This is study material rather than electrical advice, and it does not replace your own code book or your inspector.

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