Exam Requirements

A Fort Collins written exam is required in order to obtain a supervisor certificate for all general contractor licensing categories and many of the specialized trade contractor licensing categories.

The City of Fort Collins adopted the 2006 IBC (International Building Code) July 1, 2008 for commercial and multi-family construction. As as result of this new code adoption, we will no longer provide a City of Fort Collins supervisor certificate exam for the following license/certificate categories; Class A, Class B, Class C-1, Class C-2 and Class E. An applicant for any of the aforementioned license/certificates must provide documentation of a passed ICC (International Code Council) administered exam. A list of approved ICC testing centers is available from the ICC website: www.iccsafe.org

The City of Fort Collins offers the following exams based on the 2003 International Residential Code, the City of Fort Collins Amendments and contractor licensing information:

• General Contractor Classes D1 & D2 (4 hour exam)
• Miscellaneous & Minor Structures (4 hour exam)

Pending updated exams to the 2006 IBC, the following City of Fort Collins specialty trade exams will remain based on the 1997 Uniform Building Code, Volume 1, the City of Fort Collins Amendments to the 1997 UBC (35pgs) and contractor licensing information:

• Cast-in-Place Concrete (2 hour exam)
• Wood Framing (4 hour exam)

The following exam is currently based on the 2003 International Mechanical Code, the 2003 International Fuel Gas Code, the Code amendments and contractor licensing information:

• HVAC (4 hour exam)

The following exam is currently based on the 2003 International Fuel Gas Code, the City of Fort Collins amendments and contractor licensing information:

• Gas Piping (4 hour exam)

The following exam is currently based on 2003 International Residential Code, 2003 International Mechanical Code, the City of Fort Collins amendments and contractor licensing information:

• Refrigeration (2 hour exam)

The Solar Energy exam is based on the ICBO’s Guideline for Solar Energy Installations.

No exams are required for the following specialized trade contractor licenses:

• Alarm Systems (requires a background investigation and police department approval)
• Awnings
• Demolition
• Fire Sprinkler Systems (requires fire department approval)
• Signs
• Special Fire Extinguishing (requires fire department approval)
• Flammable Fuel Facilities (requires fire department approval)
• Wireless Telecommunication Systems (WTS)

A first-time exam fee of $75 must be paid prior to taking an exam. The minimum passing score is 75%. An applicant who does not pass the exam on the first try may retake an exam covering the same license category at the next available test date. A fee of $50 is charged for any subsequent re-examination. An applicant is limited to two (2) attempts on exams covering the same license category within any six month period unless the applicant can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the Building Official, that they have completed additional coursework covering the building code, or other applicable codes, or unless they receive approval from the Building Review Board.