Denver licenses roofers through the city, and its rules name state electrical and plumbing licenses but no state roofing license. In Denver the company needs a contractor license, and before it can get one, you or someone you employ must hold a Specialty Class D roofing supervisor certificate. The shingle certificate has no exam: you prove two years of field experience with notarized letters instead.
Denver licenses the company only after someone holds a supervisor certificate
Denver’s contractor licensing page sets out the order: “A license applicant must hold a supervisor certificate or a state electrical or plumbing license, or employ someone who holds a supervisor certificate, before applying for a contractor’s license.” For a roofing company that certificate is a Class D, and the person who holds it is your qualifier. Roofing License Requirements by State, and How Qualifiers Work covers how qualifiers work in general and what happens when one leaves.
If nobody in your company holds a certificate yet, apply for the certificate first and the contractor license second. If you’re still setting the company up, Starting a Roofing Company: What It Costs and How to Land the First Jobs covers the rest of the startup list.
A residential shingle roofer can meet only the shingle certificate’s rules
Denver’s Class D list has four roofing certificates:
- Roofing-Shingles, Residential Only. It covers “Installation of residential only roofing systems” and asks for two years of experience “in all aspects of residential roofing systems.”
- Roof Covering/Waterproofing, Commercial and Residential. It covers “Installation of commercial and residential roof coverings, including valleys, gutters, downspouts and waterproofing.” At least 75% of the projects you document “must be different types of low-slope roof systems on commercial buildings.”
- Metal Roof Installer. It covers “Installation of metal roofs only” and asks for two years in the trade.
- Roofing, Green Roof Systems Only.
A roofer who mostly replaces shingle roofs on houses can’t meet the low-slope commercial rule, so the shingle certificate is the one to apply for. Siding and Waterproofing/Damp Proofing are separate certificates on the same list, so check it if you also sell siding.
Whichever certificate you hold, Denver requires the work to be “done under the on-site supervision of” a holder of that certificate. Plan your crews so a certificate holder can supervise every Denver job. If you’re out selling most days, your lead installer could apply for a certificate of their own.
Notarized letters take the place of an exam
Under Testing, Denver’s shingle, roof covering and metal roof certificates all say no test is required. The city checks your work history in notarized letters instead, and for the shingle and roof covering certificates that means at least 24 projects from 24 different months.
The letters “must come from owners or officers of current or previous employers, or clients that have hired you to do work.” Each letter lists your exact duties, the projects, the equipment you used, the start and end month and year, and the address of each project.
If you already run your own company, this line decides who writes your letters: “If you are the owner of the company, you must go to previous employers or clients that you have done work for as you cannot be your own reference.” They have to come from the companies you worked for before, or from the homeowners and builders who hired you.
Start the list before you apply. Write down who hired you for each job, with the job’s address and date. Then ask those people for letters and get each one notarized.
Denver reviews in about 14 to 20 business days, and you pay after approval
You can apply online or by mail, and Denver reviews a certificate application in about 14 to 20 business days. You pay only after approval and have 90 days to do it. The dollar amounts for the certificate and the contractor license sit on a separate fee page on denvergov.org, so look them up there before you budget.
If the city turns you down, you can apply a second time with more documentation. A second rejection starts a six-month wait before you can apply for the same certificate type, so send every letter you have on the first try.
The two credentials renew on different schedules. Supervisor certificates renew every three years. A contractor license can be renewed starting 30 days before it expires and up to one year after, and once it lapses past that window you have to reinstate it. Put both expiry dates on the office calendar.
Add the license to your permit account before the first job
Denver permits run through the city’s Accela ePermit portal. Before you pull a permit there, add your license to your account under “My Account” and then “Add a License.”
Denver also runs a public contractor license search. Once you’re approved, look your company up there and check that the listing is correct.
Outside Denver, ask the building department before you bid
Several contractor-licensing sites say Colorado leaves roofing licenses to cities and counties, though one says the state’s Department of Regulatory Agencies issues them, so take each city’s word over any of these sites.
Before you bid a roof in a new town, call its building department. Ask what license or certificate a roofer needs to pull a permit there, and whether it gives an exam.
Local Services Ads ask for a state license only where local law applies
Google’s Local Services Ads requirements for roofing list a “Business license on state level” and an “Owner license on state level.” Each is marked as applying “Where applicable by local law.” With no state roofing license among Denver’s prerequisites, what Google asks you for depends on the local rule where you work.
Renewals count here as well. A family exterior remodeling company that also does roofing wrote on r/smallbusiness that its Local Services account was suspended for a time because new licensing wasn’t submitted in time. Upload a renewed license as soon as you have it. Google Local Services Ads for Roofers: Budget, Cost per Lead and Disputes covers the rest of the screening.
Call yourself licensed only in the cities that licensed you
If your website says “licensed and insured,” a homeowner in Denver can check it against the city’s public license search. Use “licensed” only for the cities where you hold a license, and name the city.
Do these before your first Denver permit
- Pick the Class D certificate that matches the roofs you install. For a residential shingle roofer that is Roofing-Shingles.
- List your past jobs with addresses and dates, then collect notarized letters from past employers or clients. Your own company can’t be a reference.
- Look up the current fees on Denver’s fee page, apply for the certificate, and pay within 90 days of approval.
- Apply for the contractor license once someone in the company holds the certificate.
- Make sure a certificate holder can supervise every Denver job on site.
- Add the license to your Accela account and check your listing in the city’s license search.
- Put the certificate and license renewal dates on the calendar.
- Call the building department in every other Colorado city you plan to work in.
With the license you can pull permits in Denver, but homeowners still have to find your company before you have a roof to permit. Run the free Google Maps heatmap: pick your Google profile and a search, and in a few minutes you’ll see your rank at 49 points around your office.