Denver
City and County of Denver, Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection
In short
City and County of Denver, Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection issues 4 permits we publish for Denver, last verified 2026-09-08. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Occupational Privilege Tax | City and County of Denver, Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection | $9.75 per employee, per month worked in Denver — $5.75 withheld from the employee, $4.00 paid by the employer | monthly | 2026-09-08 |
| Kennel License (covers pet hospitals) | City and County of Denver, Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection | $100 application fee, plus a $100 license fee | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-09-08 |
| Sales/Use/Lodger's Tax License | City and County of Denver, Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection | $50 per location, every 2 years; a Special Event Retail Sales License is $5/event | 2 years | 2026-09-08 |
| Retail Food License | City and County of Denver, Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection | A $150 application fee (waived when renewing online), plus $25 for each food-processing activity performed (of 9 listed categories, e.g. cooking raw animal products, cooling, reheating, serving raw/undercooked product). No flat base license fee is published — the total depends entirely on which activities apply. | not stated in the published fee schedule | 2026-09-08 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Occupational Privilege Tax
A Denver-specific payroll tax, distinct from any state tax, triggered once an employee earns at least $500 in a calendar month working in the city.
Kennel License (covers pet hospitals)
Denver's Kennel license category explicitly defines 'pet hospital' as a covered business: 'a business that operates as a veterinary hospital or clinic involved in the diagnosis, treatment, or care of a pet animal' — this is the city-specific requirement beyond Colorado's state veterinary board. The $100/$100 fee figures come from an AI-assisted page summary rather than a manually verified verbatim quote; flagged for re-verification.
Sales/Use/Lodger's Tax License
The Tax Guide PDF is dated 2019, but the Treasury Division's own current application form (Application for Denver Sales, Use, Lodger's Tax License and/or Occupational Tax Registration, linked from denvergov.org/treasury) prices the same licenses identically today: its own fee-proration table charges $50.00 for a full two-year period for a Sales Tax, Sales & Lodger's Tax, Lodger's Tax, or Retailer's Use Tax license. A secondary claim that Denver had dropped this fee is not borne out by the City's own current form and is not repeated here.
Retail Food License
Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE) performs inspections; the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection issues the license. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit is exempt from the license fee but not the application fee. Denver runs its own program rather than a county or regional health district. On food handler/manager certification: Colorado's 2022 Food Code imposes a statewide Certified Food Protection Manager mandate from March 1, 2025, but expressly excludes Denver County, which enforces its own separately governed food code under DRMC chapter 23 rather than the state's model code; DDPHE's own current compliance page lists Denver's food-safety training resources and names no CFPM or person-in-charge certification requirement.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Denver
- Phone
- Not verified — use the website
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Application for Denver Sales, Use, Lodger's Tax License and/or Occupational Tax Registration — Section 9 states licenses run a two-year period and the fee recovers the administrative cost of the account; Section 10's proration table prices a full-period Sales Tax, Sales & Lodger's Tax, Lodger's Tax, or Retailer's Use Tax license at $50.00City and County of Denver, Treasury Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- City and County of Denver — Kennel Business LicenseDenver Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-08
- City and County of Denver — Retail Food License, New ApplicationDenver Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-08
- City and County of Denver Tax Guide, Topic No. 47 — Licenses, Fees and RegistrationCity and County of Denver · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-08
- Restaurant & Food Establishment Compliance — Denver Department of Public Health & Environment's own current compliance page, describing Denver's own food-safety training resources and naming no Certified Food Protection Manager or person-in-charge certification requirementDenver Department of Public Health & Environment · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
Other offices serving Denver
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
Colorado jurisdictions
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