10 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them, each with the agency, the fee and the official page, and what the Census counts of restaurants in Colorado say.
10 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 21, 2026.
Step 1 of 6Set up the business. Now: Articles of organization (LLC) and the periodic report
0 of 10 items done. Each step opens when the one before it is complete. Progress stays on this device. Members keep a dated, noted plan for each saved location in the workspace.
1Set up the business0 of 3
Colorado files everything online; there is no paper filing for articles. The articles name a registered agent with a Colorado street address. A missed periodic report puts the LLC into noncompliant and then delinquent status.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed whenever the business trades under any name other than the owner’s legal name or the LLC’s registered name; an LLC and a sole proprietor both file with the Secretary of State, not the county. File it before the sales tax license, which asks for the trade name.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed to hire, to open a business bank account and for the state tax registration. Issued at once online.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Register through MyBizColorado or Revenue Online before the first sale and post the license. Each physical location holds its own license. The state rate is 2.9%; state-collected county and city taxes are filed on the same return, but home-rule cities collect their own (next row).
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
A home-rule city’s sales tax license is separate from the state one and is filed with the city, which is also where the liquor, food and other local licenses are handled. Ask the city clerk before signing the lease.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
Colorado has no statewide building code for commercial space; each city and county adopts and enforces its own. Confirm the zoning allows your use before signing; a change of use needs building permits and inspections, and the certificate of occupancy comes before the health license and the liquor license.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Get the permits for your kind of businessOpens after step 3
Submit the plan review application with the menu, the floor plan and the equipment list before building out, then pass the opening inspection. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops, bakeries and ice cream shops are all retail food establishments under the rules. Denver licenses food through its own Department of Public Health and Environment.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Since March 1, 2025 the person in charge at most establishments must hold a food protection manager certificate from an accredited program; the rules allow hours without one for low-risk work such as bar service with the kitchen closed. The person in charge must also answer the inspector’s questions about the operation at every inspection. Denver applies its own code.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Alcohol permitsOpens after step 4
Colorado licenses twice: the local authority posts notice at the premises, holds a public hearing on the needs and desires of the neighborhood and approves first, then the state issues. A hotel and restaurant license needs meals served and at least 25% of gross sales from food; a bar without that ratio holds a tavern license. Premises within 500 feet of a school are refused unless the locality has waived the distance. Allow 90 days or more.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Before the first hireOpens after step 5
Workers’ compensation insurance is required for every employer with one or more employees, part-time, full-time or family, from the first hire. Report each new hire within 20 days. The unemployment account opens through MyBizColorado; the FAMLI account is registered separately with the FAMLI Division.
The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the restaurants already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
The full reportWhether the rules allow a restaurant at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
No account. The restaurant check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Secretary of State business fee schedule; June 2024 press release on the periodic report fee; Secretary of State business fee schedule; IRS EIN page; Department of Revenue sales tax license pages and FYI General 14 (sales tax license and deposit); Department of Revenue guidance on self-collecting home-rule jurisdictions; municipal codes; Office of Economic Development and International Trade business start-up guidance; municipal codes; La Plata County Public Health notice of the 2026 to 2028 license fees under SB25-285; CDPHE retail food program; 6 CCR 1010-2; Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules and Regulations (6 CCR 1010-2), demonstration of knowledge and certified food protection manager sections; Liquor Enforcement Division fee schedule (form DR 8500); C.R.S. 44-3-413 and 44-3-414 (hotel and restaurant and tavern licenses); 2024 Legislative Council liquor licensing handbook; CDLE introductory premium rates table and 2026 chargeable wage base; FAMLI Division premium pages; Division of Workers’ Compensation insurance coverage page; U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023; U.S. Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.
Questions about opening here.
10 items, in order: articles of organization (llc) and the periodic report, statement of trade name (dba), employer identification number (ein), sales tax license and wage withholding account, home-rule city sales tax license, and any municipal business license and zoning approval and certificate of occupancy, and 4 more.
Colorado Secretary of State, Internal Revenue Service, Colorado Department of Revenue, Your city’s finance or tax office, Your city or county planning and building departments and Your county or district public health agency, and 3 more.
With articles of organization (llc) and the periodic report (Colorado Secretary of State, Business Division), then statement of trade name (dba). The steps run structure, tax, space, permits, alcohol and employer, in that order.
Yes, to sell it: hotel and restaurant license, or tavern license. The local license usually comes first.
Each item's fee, renewal cycle and official page are shown to members, as the agency published them on the date checked. Cities and counties add their own fees.
How to open a restaurant in Colorado (2026) | DoorWorthy
