Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
For Colorado teaching license renewal, a professional license is renewed every 7 years with 6 semester hours or 90 clock hours of professional development, or a mix (1 semester hour = 15 clock hours), under C.R.S. 22-60.5-110. The Colorado Department of Education decides what counts. College credit must sit on a regionally accredited college transcript, so confirm with CDE in writing first.
Under C.R.S. 22-60.5-110 a Colorado professional teacher license is renewed every 7 years with 6 semester hours or 90 clock hours of professional development, where 1 semester hour equals 15 clock hours.
The rule asks for 6 semester hours or 90 clock hours every 7 years. The legal source is C.R.S. 22-60.5-110.
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal cycle | A professional license is valid for 7 years and is renewed before it expires | [1] |
| Amount | 6 semester hours or 90 clock hours, or a mix | [1] |
| Conversion | 1 semester hour = 15 clock hours | [1] |
| Where college credit comes from | A regionally accredited college or university transcript | [1] |
| Cap in law | No more than six credit hours or ninety clock hours may be required per term | [2] |
| Expired license | Activities within 5 years of the application date | [1] |
Colorado Department of Education (CDE), Educator Talent / Educator Licensing decides how this rule applies to you. We read its published rule and the pages below; each was checked on 15 Nov 2026.
Each course below is ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended for college credit. Whether it counts here is the decision of the college and of Colorado Department of Education (CDE), Educator Talent / Educator Licensing.
Learning, motivation and assessment: the closest fit to classroom practice.
Self-paced online Educational Psychology course (Psychology 120). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Culture, identity and bias in the classroom, a frequent renewal topic.
Self-paced online Psychology of Diversity course (Psychology 112). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Background for teachers supporting students with mental-health needs.
Self-paced online Abnormal Psychology course (Psychology 180). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
A current topic many schools list in their learning goals.
Self-paced online Introduction to Artificial Intelligence course (Computer Science 373). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
A base course if your renewal plan mixes psychology topics.
Self-paced online Introduction to Psychology course (Psychology 110). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →TESU and UoPeople are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit; check their own transfer pages and ask how and when the credit would appear on their transcript.
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
| Option | Price | For this rule | Price checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPI Study PRO | $99 a month, every course | $99 for each month you are subscribed; take as many courses as you finish in that time | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Colorado community college course (Pueblo Community College, in-state with COF stipend) | $183.75 per credit hour | About $1,103 for 6 credit hours, before fees | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Sophia Learning | $99 a month | $99-$198 for two courses, then a college transcript step as well | 15 Nov 2026 |
Clock-hour professional development offered by your district can cost nothing; college credit makes sense when you want the hours to also count toward a degree or a pay-lane move. A college transcript step may carry its own fee.
UPI Study is not a college and is not accredited. ACE and NCCRS review our courses and recommend credit; a college decides whether to give that credit and records it on its own transcript.
Ask CDE Educator Licensing in writing whether undergraduate semester hours from a regionally accredited college, earned through transfer of ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended courses, count toward your professional license renewal before you enrol.
Colorado runs a 7-year cycle for the professional teacher license. Over those 7 years you need 6 semester hours or 90 clock hours of professional development. You can mix them: 3 semester hours plus 45 clock hours meets the rule, because CDE converts 1 semester hour to 15 clock hours.
The law behind the number is C.R.S. 22-60.5-110. It also limits what the state may ask: no more than six credit hours or ninety clock hours per license term. If a page or a provider tells you that you need more than that for a standard professional renewal, check with CDE.
CDE also lists English learner professional learning for teachers who hold an elementary, English, math, science or social studies endorsement. Check your own license record in COOL, the CDE online licensing system, to see whether that applies to you before you plan your hours.
Most Colorado teachers renew with clock hours from their district, workshops and conferences. That route is cheap and fits teachers who are in a classroom every day.
College credit is the better fit in three cases: you are out of the classroom and have no district training, you want the same courses to move you toward a degree, or your district pays more for semester hours. In those cases two 3-credit courses give the whole 6 semester hours.
The catch is the transcript. CDE wants college credit on a regionally accredited college transcript. UPI Study courses are ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended, and they reach a transcript only when a college evaluates them and posts them.
This page covers the professional teacher license. Initial licenses, substitute authorizations and special services licenses have their own renewal or conversion rules on the CDE site. A substitute authorization is not renewed with 6 semester hours in the same way, so read the CDE page for your license type before you buy anything.
If your license has already expired, CDE looks for activities completed within 5 years of your application date rather than inside the old license term.
A Colorado professional teacher license needs 6 semester hours or 90 clock hours of professional development every 7 years, or a mix of the two. One semester hour equals 15 clock hours. The rule is in C.R.S. 22-60.5-110 and CDE applies it. Check the CDE renewal page for your license type before you plan.
Yes, CDE counts semester hours from a regionally accredited college or university. UPI Study courses are ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended, so they count only once a college puts them on its transcript. Ask CDE in writing whether credit earned that way counts for your renewal before you enrol.
CDE uses 15 clock hours for each semester hour. So 90 clock hours equals 6 semester hours, and a 3-credit college course stands in for 45 clock hours. You can combine both kinds of activity in one renewal as long as the total reaches 6 semester hours or 90 clock hours.
No. CDE says volunteer work does not meet the professional development requirement for license renewal. Count only training, workshops, conferences or college courses completed inside your current 7-year license term, or within 5 years of your application if your license has expired.
It depends on the route. A Colorado community college charges about $183.75 per credit hour in state with the COF stipend at Pueblo Community College, so 6 hours is over $1,000. UPI Study PRO is $99 a month for every course, plus any fee the college charges to post the credit.
The Colorado Department of Education, Educator Talent and Licensing office, decides what counts. Write to them before you enrol in any course, describe the course and how it will appear on a college transcript, and keep their written answer with your renewal records.
Ask CDE in writing first, then take two 3-credit courses on PRO and move them to a college transcript.