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HB 1431

Competency for Occupational Licensure Portability

2026 Regular Session

Colorado allows regulators to accept demonstrated competency, including foreign credentials, in place of traditional work-practice time for licensure by endorsement.

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Bill Summary · HB 1431

Summary of Colorado HB 26-1431 (2026 Session) — Competency for Occupational Licensure Portability

Purpose and Intent

  • The bill aims to enhance occupational credential portability by allowing regulators to recognize demonstrated competency for licensure, certification, or endorsement across jurisdictions.
  • It expands eligibility for Colorado licensure by endorsement to include individuals licensed, certified, registered, or enrolled in good standing not only in the United States or its territories, but also from other countries, in alignment with demonstrated competency standards.
  • It builds on existing “endorsement” pathways by explicitly permitting regulators to accept substantially equivalent experience or credentials and to require competency demonstrations in lieu of traditional practice periods.

Key Provisions and Changes

Eligibility Expansion

  • Under current law, Colorado already allows endorsement-based licensure/certification for applicants licensed in another state or U.S. territory or through federal pathways. HB 26-1431 adds:
    • Individuals who are licensed, certified, registered, or enrolled in good standing to practice a particular profession or occupation in another country to be eligible for accreditation in Colorado, provided they meet specified criteria.

Competency Demonstration instead of Practice Time

  • The bill maintains a rule-based framework where regulators can determine what constitutes substantially equivalent experience or credentials.
  • Regulators may require an applicant seeking licensure, certification, or registration by endorsement to demonstrate competency in the profession or occupation, rather than mandating a mandatory prior period of practice.
  • Key language emphasizes:
    • Regulators may specify by rule what constitutes substantially equivalent experience or credentials.
    • Regulators must allow demonstrated competency as an alternative to the prerequisite period of work/practice in the field.
  • Important caveat: This competency-focused pathway does not apply to certifications, registrations, or licenses issued under an Interstate Credential Compact (i.e., separate streamlined processes under compact agreements).

Exceptions and Scope

  • The competency-based approach can be used in lieu of traditional work-practice requirements unless prohibited by statute.
  • The provision clarifies that the competency demonstration is not intended to override other statutes that might limit endorsement pathways; where a statute prohibits such demonstration, that prohibition remains.

Effective Date and Applicability

  • The act is set to take effect 12:01 a.m. on the day after the ninety-day period following final adjournment of the 2026 legislative session (targeting August 12, 2026, barring a referendum).
  • The act applies to applications submitted after the applicable effective date.

Who/What is Affected

  • Colorado regulatory divisions within the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) that oversee professional licensure, certification, registration, and enrollment in various occupations.
  • Applicants for licensure, certification, or registration by endorsement seeking a Colorado credential.
  • Professionals licensed or credentialed in another country, or with substantial foreign credentials, who pursue endorsement-based licensure in Colorado.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Effective Date: Approximately August 2026, subject to potential referendum outcomes.
  • Applicability: Applies to applications filed after the act’s effective date.
  • Regulatory Process: Requires regulators to define by rule:
    • What constitutes substantially equivalent experience or credentials.
    • How competency demonstrations may be evaluated and accepted in lieu of prior practice time.
  • Exclusion: The interstate credential compact pathway remains governed by its own provisions; the competency demonstration does not apply in those contexts if not aligned with the compact.

Notes

  • The bill as introduced does not reflect amendments that may be adopted later. If enacted, the Colorado Revised Statutes would include new language permitting competency demonstrations and foreign (non-U.S.) credential pathways for endorsement.
  • This summary focuses on substantive content and potential impact, with emphasis on portability and competency-based licensure processes.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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