Colorado: who needs a license to work on your chimney or fireplace?
Checked Jul 2026·Laws as cited·Not in the Sep 2026 verification pass
Public recordCO LAW
For consumer remedies, home-sale rules and carbon monoxide law, see Colorado chimney & fireplace laws — know your rights. That page was verified more recently than this matrix.
Stove & insert installation: is a credential required in Colorado?
#stove-installNONE- Credential
- No installer credential and no state mechanical license (Pass 1 carve-out state) — and NO statewide residential building code at all (local adoption only), so the manufacturer-listing rule exists only where a city/county adopted a code. What Colorado DOES have is a STATEWIDE emissions gate on the installer: AQCC Regulation No. 4 (5 CCR 1001-7) — on/after 5/15/2020 no person may 'advertise to sell, offer to sell, sell, or install' a new wood-burning stove unless it meets 40 CFR 60.532(b)/(c) (2015 NSPS), and only certified/pellet/approved devices may be sold or installed; extra fireplace restrictions in the 7-county Denver metro. Local layer bans go further (Pitkin County device-count limits and certified-only rules; other mountain towns ban new wood devices)
- Issuing body
- Colorado AQCC / CDPHE Air Pollution Control Division (Reg 4); city/county building depts (codes + permits where adopted)
- Statute
- AQCC Regulation No. 4 (5 CCR 1001-7); C.R.S. § 25-7-106.3 (woodburning stove certification authority)
- Dollar threshold
- none
- Exam
- n
- Local overlay
- y — the license AND the code are local (Denver, Colorado Springs/PPRBD); mountain-town wood-device bans (Pitkin County et al.)
- Confidence
- high · checked 2026-07-22
- Sources
Gas fireplace service: is a credential required in Colorado?
#gas-fireplace-serviceNONE- Credential
- HEADLINE CARVE-OUT: statewide fuel-gas piping is licensed-plumber work via the State Plumbing Board permit regime (C.R.S. § 12-155-120; Colorado fuel gas code § 12-155-106), BUT the statutory 'gas piping' definition expressly EXCLUDES 'the installation of gas appliances where existing service connections are already installed' (§ 12-155-103(2)) — so gas-fireplace service and log-set installs on existing stubs are CREDENTIAL-FREE at state level (same as chimney work) while NEW gas-line runs need a licensed plumber; the 'plumbing' definition itself (§ 12-155-103(8)) excludes gas (separate defined term); LP: Division of Oil & Public Safety runs installation permits/state inspections (7 CCR 1101-15) but NO LP installer license exists; real licensing boundary is GEOGRAPHIC: Denver 'Gas Service Contractor' license (ICC F33 Master Gas Pipefitter supervisor exam) + Gas Service Journeyman (F34) — gas/liquid fuel piping, controls, conversion burners, venting; Colorado Springs/PPRBD Mechanical A/B + H-C-1 'Gas Piping Contractor' ('gas piping systems and gas appliances not connected to duct systems' = the exact gas-hearth class) with 'Heating Mechanic I (Fitter)' employee cards
- Issuing body
- state: CO State Plumbing Board (DORA/DPO — new piping only); local: Denver CPD; Pikes Peak Regional Building Dept.
- Statute
- C.R.S. §§ 12-155-103(2)/(8), 12-155-106, 12-155-108, 12-155-120; 3 CCR 720-1; C.R.S. § 8-20-402 + 7 CCR 1101-15 (LP)
- Dollar threshold
- none (activity-based; homeowner own-home exemption in § 12-155-120)
- Exam
- y in Denver/PPRBD (ICC F33/F34 exams; PPRBD fitter proficiency); n statewide for existing-connection appliance work
- Local overlay
- y — Denver + PPRBD ARE the regime, not an overlay; elsewhere county/municipal permits or nothing
- Confidence
- high (carve-out + local classes); medium-high (§ 12-155-120 text via excerpt) · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
What insurance does Colorado require of contractors?
#insurance- Regime
- none statewide for chimney/gas-hearth work (local licensing: Denver + PPRBD); state plumber registration for NEW gas piping only
- Liability minimum
- NONE at state level — plumbing-contractor registration (C.R.S. § 12-155-108) requires only evidence of WC + unemployment compliance, no GL (absence verified); Denver contractor licenses require a current COI (GL + WC with 30-day cancellation notice to the city) but dollar minimums are UNPUBLISHED — UNVERIFIED; PPRBD insurance requirement UNVERIFIED
- Bond
- none — no state contractor/plumber bond (§§ 12-155-108/-120 absence); no Denver or PPRBD license bond found
- Guaranty fund
- NONE — no recovery/guaranty fund of any kind in Colorado (absence verified by targeted search); remedies = Construction Trust Fund statute (civil theft/treble) + CCPA treble damages to $500k
- Workers' comp threshold
- 1 employee incl. part-time/family (C.R.S. § 8-44-101 insurance mandate; exclusion/rejection framework tied to § 8-40-302); sole props/working general partners excluded by default; corporate officers/LLC members may reject coverage via filed election; fines up to $500/day uninsured
- How to verify
- TWO public CDLE databases (cdle.colorado.gov/dwc/verify-WC): active-coverage lookup AND on-file rejection-of-coverage elections — the election database is a rare solo-operator artifact; DPO plumber/contractor lookup dpo.colorado.gov; PPRBD license-status search pprbd.org; Denver GL COI = DESK document
- Confidence
- high (state absences + WC); medium (Denver/PPRBD amounts) · checked 2026-07-10
- Sources
Download the full licensing matrix (CSV) · All states
Before anyone goes on your roof
What should you ask a chimney company in Colorado?
- Is your company a member of the National Chimney Sweep Guild (NCSG)?
- Does the technician coming to my home hold an individual NCSG certification, and which one?
- Does the technician hold a National Fireplace Institute (NFI) certification — and for which fuel: wood, gas, or pellet?
- What other certifications does the technician hold (for example, CSIA), and can I check them on the issuer's own roster?
- What state or local license or registration covers this work here, and what is the number?
- Will you send a certificate of insurance, dated and naming your company, before work starts?
- Which NFPA 211 inspection level — Level 1, 2, or 3 — are you performing, and why that level?
- Will you show me what you found — photos or video of the flue — in writing?
We take no fee from any certification body, guild, or contractor, and are not paid to mention anyone named.