How to Search for Professional Licenses

Many Colorado professions and businesses require licenses, including professions in the healthcare, financial, and building industries, among many others. In Colorado these licenses are required to be publicly available to search. This way, consumers can look up whether a professional they want to do business with is active and current in their trade, and whether they have had any suspensions or disciplinary actions against them.

The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) oversees the state’s professional licensing system, and licensee databases are available on their website. There are several different databases available, depending on the type of license:

Real estate and mortgage broker licenses can be searched via DORA’s Division of Real Estate website at https://apps.colorado.gov/dre/licensing/Lookup/LicenseLookup.aspx. Search by license number, personal name, or business name.

Insurance agents and agencies’ licenses are available on DORA’s Division of Insurance website at https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dora/node/100271.

DORA’s Divisions of Professions and Occupations oversees all other professional licenses. These include:

• All healthcare providers, including medical/dental, nursing, mental health, occupational therapy, counseling and psychiatry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, optometry, audiology, acupuncture, chiropractic, etc.
• Accountants
• Building trade professionals, including architects, engineers, land surveyors, electricians, and plumbers
• Barbers, cosmetologists, and estheticians
• Certain sports professions/businesses including athletic trainers, boxers and boxing promoters/officials, fantasy sports contests, and recreational outfitters
• Funeral homes and crematories
• Private investigators
• Social workers
• Nursing home administrators

All of these licenses can be viewed at https://apps.colorado.gov/dora/licensing/Lookup/LicenseLookup.aspx. DORA also provides a second database that can be used to search public documents related to disciplinary actions against licensees, including those not currently licensed.

Note: Business and professional licenses are different from business registrations and incorporations. To find these, search the Colorado Secretary of State’s Business Database.