Colorado works its iron up and down the Front Range — Denver, Aurora and Lakewood, Colorado Springs and Pueblo south of them, Fort Collins north — and over the divide at Grand Junction, and it treats a construction machine unlike almost anywhere else: rather than writing it out of the vehicle system, the state gives it a registered class of its own.
Because the rules that reach a machine differ by machine, we give each one its own Colorado page rather than pretending a single state page could cover all five honestly. Choose the machine you run and the page will take the Colorado specifics from there.
Choose your machine
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Skid Steer insurance in Colorado
Special mobile machinery, and where the lien is actually recorded
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Excavator insurance in Colorado
Two business days, the day you call not counted, plus a continuation notice
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Backhoe insurance in Colorado
Not an exemption at all — special mobile machinery is its own registered class
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Forklift insurance in Colorado
Federal OSHA on private jobs; Colorado runs no plan of its own
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Dozer insurance in Colorado
COR400000, and the common plan that counts a smaller site in
Running something else? We also write trenchers, motor graders, articulated haulers, track loaders, compactors, pile drivers and directional drills — see all equipment we cover.
Who licenses Colorado equipment contractors
Colorado has no statewide general-contractor license — general contractors are licensed by local jurisdictions — while electricians and plumbers are licensed statewide through boards under the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA).
A building department speaks only for its own jurisdiction, so the requirements that hold steady as a machine moves across the state are the statutory ones — and each per-machine page above starts with the one that governs it.
How coverage is placed
Every machine above sits on the same core lines, and only the first is a condition of writing you: the equipment floater for the machines you own, rented and leased equipment for the ones you do not, general liability for damage the work does to others, commercial auto for the trucks and trailers, and workers compensation for the crews. We place them monoline — no package required.
Primary sources
We do not link a Colorado licensing document here. The pages beneath this one carry the statute, permit and safety-authority sources for the rules that actually reach each machine.
The statute, permit and safety-authority sources behind each machine sit on that machine’s Colorado page above, where the rule actually applies.
Colorado equipment insurance FAQs
Do you write equipment coverage for contractors throughout Colorado?
Yes — Equipment Guard Insurance places heavy equipment and contractors equipment schedules statewide, along the Front Range through Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, and west to Grand Junction. It is written monoline, so the machines carry their own policy rather than sitting inside a package.
What machines will you put on a Colorado schedule?
Five machines have their own Colorado page: skid steers, excavators from mini through full size, backhoes, rough-terrain forklifts and telehandlers, and dozers. The schedule itself goes wider, taking trenchers, motor graders, articulated haulers, track loaders, compactors, pile drivers and directional drills.
How does Colorado treat a machine that travels on the highway?
As its own registered class rather than as an exception. Most states simply write self-propelled construction equipment out of ordinary registration; Colorado instead defines special mobile machinery at C.R.S. 42-1-102(93.5) and registers and taxes it as a distinct class. That is an obligation rather than a relief, and the backhoe page works through what it means for a machine that moves between jobs.
Is there a statewide Colorado contractor license?
Not for general contractors. Licensing for general contracting sits with local jurisdictions and their building departments, so the requirement changes as you move between them. Electricians and plumbers are the exception, licensed statewide through boards under the Department of Regulatory Agencies. Machine-level rules, by contrast, apply the same everywhere in the state.
How far ahead does Colorado require notice before excavating?
At least two business days before the work, not counting the day the notice is actually given, under C.R.S. 9-1.5-103. Facility owners and operators owe a positive response inside those same two business days, and a job that runs long needs a continuation notice at the thirty-day mark. Notice goes through the state notification association. The excavator page carries the ticket through to the marks.
Can my other policies stay where they are?
Yes. We write the equipment on its own line and leave everything else alone, so an existing general liability or business policy carries on untouched while the machines are scheduled. That separation is the point of placing equipment monoline.