Colorado Liquor License Types and Fees: State and Local Costs, Local Hearing and Renewal Deadlines

A Colorado liquor license comes from two places. The state Liquor Enforcement Division, part of the Colorado Department of Revenue, issues the state license and collects the state annual fee. Your city or county liquor authority decides whether you receive the license and collects its own fees. If you plan to sell beer, wine or spirits, you have to clear both layers. This guide covers the license types, the state and local fees to budget for, the local process and hearing steps, and the renewal deadlines that catch applicants off guard.

Important: This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Liquor law and local rules change, so confirm every figure with the agency named before you sign a lease or commit money. For complex situations, such as ownership transfers, multiple locations or tax questions, consult a Colorado attorney or CPA.

What You Need Before You Apply

Colorado has no general state business license. Your sequence is to form your entity with the Colorado Secretary of State, open a Department of Revenue account if you will collect or withhold tax, and then add the licenses for your activity from the state, your city or county. A liquor license sits on top of that foundation. Gather these materials first:

• Formation documents. An LLC files Articles of Organization for a Limited Liability Company for a $50 filing fee. A corporation files Articles of Incorporation for a Profit Corporation, also $50. Both are filed online through the Secretary of State online filing system.
• A registered agent with a physical Colorado street address where documents can be received during business hours. A P.O. box will not work.
• A trade name, if you will operate under a name other than your entity name. Trade names are filed statewide with the Secretary of State, not the county, for $20 online and $5 to renew.
• A name reservation, which is optional. It costs $25 and holds the name for 120 days.
• Proof of control over the premises, usually a signed lease or deed, plus a clear description of the licensed area. Ask your local authority for its document checklist before you file.
• A Colorado sales tax license from the Department of Revenue if you sell taxable goods. The state sales tax is 2.9% plus special district taxes. Home-rule cities, including Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Boulder and Fort Collins, collect and license their own city sales tax, so the state license does not cover them.
• A budget that covers the annual fees and application costs in the sections below.

Step 1: Pick the Right License Type

The license class controls what you can sell, where you can sell it and what you pay. Each class has its own state annual fee under C.R.S. 44-3-501 and, in most cases, its own local annual fee under C.R.S. 44-3-505. Both are annual costs, so budget for them every year, not just at launch. Where the table says check with local authority, the figure is not set in this guide, and you should confirm it with your city or county.

License type	State annual fee	Local annual fee
Brewery	$300	Check with local authority
Winery	$300	Check with local authority
Cidery	Check with the Liquor Enforcement Division	Check with local authority
Distillery or rectifier	$300	Check with local authority
Limited winery	$70	Check with local authority
Importer	$300	Check with local authority
Wholesaler (liquor or beer)	$550	Check with local authority
Retail liquor store	$100	$150 inside a municipality, $250 outside
Liquor-licensed drugstore	$100	Check with local authority
Beer and wine	$75	$325 inside a municipality, $425 outside (resort hotel $375)
Hotel and restaurant	$75	$500
Tavern	$75	$500
Optional premises	$75	$500
Retail gaming tavern	$75	Check with local authority
Brew pub, distillery pub or vintner's restaurant	$325	$500
Club	$75	$275
Arts	$75	$275
Racetrack	$75	$500
Bed and breakfast permit	$50	$25
Retail establishment permit	Up to $200	$25
Wine packaging permit	$200	Check with local authority
Lodging and entertainment	$75	Check with local authority
Manager's permit	$100	Check with local authority

Beer and Wine License Cost in Colorado

A beer and wine license is the lowest-cost full-service route for many restaurants and small retailers. The state annual fee is $75. The local annual fee is $325 inside a municipality and $425 outside one, or $375 for a resort hotel. That puts the recurring cost at $400 inside a municipality and $500 outside, before the one-time application costs. Confirm the state application and processing fee with the Liquor Enforcement Division, because the state sets it separately from the annual fee.

Retail Liquor Store License Cost

A retail liquor store pays a $100 state annual fee and a local annual fee of $150 inside a municipality or $250 outside. The recurring total is $250 inside a municipality and $350 outside, plus any state application and processing fee and the local application fee.

Step 2: Add Up the Full Startup Cost

Startup costs have three layers. The first is the annual fee in the table above. The second is the local application fee, which a local authority may charge but may not set above $1,000 for a new license or above $100 for a renewal. The third is the state application and processing fee, which the state licensing authority sets. Check the current schedule with the Liquor Enforcement Division, because this guide does not state that figure as settled.

Here is a worked example for a beer and wine applicant inside a municipality in its first year. The state annual fee is $75 and the local annual fee is $325, for $400. The local application fee could be as high as $1,000, which brings the total to as much as $1,400 before the state application and processing fee. If you also need a manager's permit, add $100.

Do not forget the entity costs. An LLC pays the Secretary of State $25 for each Periodic Report. It is due every year in the entity's periodic report month, and a new LLC files no report in its first year. Corporations follow the same $25 Periodic Report rule.

Step 3: Check the 500-Foot Rule Before You Sign a Lease

Under C.R.S. 44-3-313, you cannot file a new application within 500 feet of a location that was denied a license in the same class within the past two years. This is the most expensive mistake a new applicant can make, because a lease signed before the check can leave you with a space you cannot license. Before you commit to a location, ask the local authority whether any nearby denial would block your class.

Step 4: Work Through the Local Authority First

The local authority acts before the state. Under C.R.S. 44-3-312, the standard for approval is whether the neighborhood and the desires of adult inhabitants support the license. The local authority must issue a written decision within 30 days after any hearing. Senate Bill 24-231, signed on 2024-05-18, ended the required hearing for new retail liquor licenses. For other license classes, ask your local authority whether a hearing applies to you.

A typical local process looks like this:

1. Request the local checklist. Each city or county sets its own forms, fees and timing. Ask for the application, the fee schedule and the calendar of any public hearing dates.
2. File the local application with the local application fee. Expect that fee to fall between nothing and the $1,000 cap for a new license, and confirm the exact amount in writing.
3. Respond to any notice the authority issues, and keep proof of your filing date.
4. Attend the hearing if your class requires one. If you are a retail liquor store applicant, the hearing is no longer required under SB24-231.
5. Get the written decision. Keep a copy, because you will need it for the state application.

In Denver, the local licensing agency is the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, so start with that agency for any Denver location.

Step 5: File With the State Liquor Enforcement Division

After local approval, file your state application with the Liquor Enforcement Division, which sits within the Department of Revenue. Use tax.colorado.gov to reach the Department of Revenue and confirm the current filing method. Pay the state annual fee for your class, plus the state application and processing fee you confirmed in Step 2.

At the same time, make sure your tax accounts are in order. If you sell taxable goods, apply for your sales tax license through the Department of Revenue at the sales tax license application page. If you operate in a home-rule city, apply separately with that city for its sales tax license as well.

Step 6: Track Renewal Deadlines

Renewal is where many licensees lose money. Calendar these dates the day you are approved:

• Local renewal: file at least 45 days before your license expires.
• State renewal: file at least 30 days before your license expires.
• Late renewal: under C.R.S. 44-3-302, a renewal filed up to 90 days late may still be accepted, but it carries a $500 late penalty plus a second $500 charge. Confirm with each agency how those amounts apply to its portion of the renewal.
• Local renewal application fee: capped at $100.
• LLC or corporation Periodic Report: $25 each year in the periodic report month. This is separate from your liquor fees.

Set a reminder for the local deadline first, because it comes earliest. A renewal filed late with the local authority can delay the state step, so treat 45 days as your real deadline.

Recent Changes to Colorado Liquor Law

Several recent enactments affect what you can apply for:

• SB24-231 (signed 2024-05-18) created two-year licenses for qualifying licensees, separate lodging and entertainment facility licenses, catering and alcohol shipper licenses, and permission for two noncontiguous manufacturing locations. It also raised the off-premises retailer purchase cap from $2,000 to $7,000.
• SB26-114 created a sales-room permit, effective 2026-08-12, with a 50% cap. Confirm with the Liquor Enforcement Division what the cap measures and whether your business qualifies.

Treat only these enactments as current law. Check with the Liquor Enforcement Division before relying on any other proposal you read about.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Budgeting only the state fee. The local annual fee is often larger. A beer and wine license costs $75 at the state level but $325 or more locally.
• Signing a lease first. Check the 500-foot rule under 44-3-313 before you commit to a space.
• Assuming the state sales tax license covers your city. Home-rule cities such as Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, Boulder and Fort Collins license and collect their own sales tax.
• Assuming every class needs a hearing. SB24-231 ended the required hearing for new retail liquor licenses, but other classes may still require one.
• Missing the 45-day local renewal. A late renewal costs $500 plus a second $500 charge under 44-3-302.
• Using a P.O. box for your registered agent. The address must be a physical Colorado street address.
• Confusing your trade name with your entity name. A trade name is a separate filing with the Secretary of State and does not replace your LLC or corporate name.

Tips for a Smoother Application

• Call your local authority before you file and ask for its checklist, fee schedule and hearing calendar in writing.
• Check the name you want on the Secretary of State business search before you reserve it. Punctuation and capitalization do not make a name distinguishable, so ABC Inc and abc inc are treated as the same name.
• Build a single fee calendar with local and state renewal dates, Periodic Report months and sales tax filing dates.
• Get free or low-cost help from the Colorado Small Business Development Center Network before you sign a lease or hire anyone.

Expected Results

If you complete each step, your application may move through the local authority and then the state. Approval is never guaranteed, because local authorities decide the standard on their own record and the local decision controls the state step. The timeline depends on your local calendar and whether a hearing is required for your class, so ask for an estimate early. Once licensed, your costs should be predictable: a known state annual fee, a known local annual fee, and the renewal deadlines described above, which you may be able to plan for with a fee calendar.

Next Steps

Start with the entity filing, then contact your local authority before you sign a lease. Confirm every figure marked as needing confirmation with the agency named, and budget conservatively until you have written numbers in hand. Because liquor licensing involves both state and local decisions, consider a session with a Colorado attorney or CPA before you commit significant money.

This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Consult a qualified attorney or CPA for your specific situation.