11 permits · verified 2026-10-10
What permits do you need to open a restaurant in Arapahoe County?
In short
A restaurant in Arapahoe County, CO has 3 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 8 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Colorado Secretary of State, Business Division charges $50 one-time filing, online only for the articles of incorporation. 6 of the 11 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-10-10 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.
Permits particular to a restaurant in Arapahoe County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Food Establishment License (annual; restaurants, limited food service, grocery) | Arapahoe County Public Health, Environmental Health | Per ACPH's Retail Establishment License Fee Schedule, effective 9/1/2025: restaurant 0-100 seats $481, 101-200 seats $538, over 200 seats $581; limited retail food service $338; grocery store without deli up to 15,000 sq. ft. $244, over 15,000 sq. ft. $441; grocery store with deli up to 15,000 sq. ft. $469, over 15,000 sq. ft. $894. Effective 1/1/2027: $567, $634, $687; $394; $282, $519; $552, $1,062. Effective 1/1/2028: $682, $763, $826; $475; $340, $624; $664, $1,276. Amounts match C.R.S. 25-4-1607(1.1)(a) as enacted by SB25-285. | annual; the statute sets the fee for each calendar year | 2026-10-10 |
| Special Event (Temporary) Retail Food Licenseonly if it applies to you | Arapahoe County Public Health, Environmental Health | Set by Arapahoe County Public Health as the county public health agency under C.R.S. 25-4-1607(1.1)(b)(II). The amount is not published in SB25-285 or in ACPH's June 17, 2026 retail food overview; contact ACPH Environmental Health for the current special event license fee. | per special event license | 2026-10-10 |
| Retail Food Establishment License | Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability | $244–$1,063 a year for 2026, banded by establishment type and size; the schedule rises in 2027 and 2028 | annual | 2026-09-03 |
| Certified Food Protection Manageronly if it applies to you | Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability | No fee | set by the certifying programme, not by Colorado | 2026-09-03 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
Local permits that apply to every type of business in Arapahoe County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoning Permits and Letters: sign, fence, temporary use, zoning verification (Arapahoe County Zoning Fee Schedule)only if it applies to you | Arapahoe County Public Works and Development, Zoning | Varies — formula on the Arapahoe County page | per permit or letter | 2026-10-10 |
| Building Permit (unincorporated Arapahoe County)only if it applies to you | Arapahoe County Public Works and Development, Building Division | Varies — formula on the Arapahoe County page | per permit | 2026-10-10 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
CO registrations that apply to every type of business
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Articles of Incorporationonly if it applies to you | Colorado Secretary of State, Business Division | $50 one-time filing, online only | perpetual, but a periodic report is due every year | 2026-09-03 |
| General Business License — Colorado position (issued locally)only if it applies to you | Colorado Secretary of State, Business Division | No fee | set by the city or county | 2026-09-03 |
| Sales Tax License | Colorado Department of Revenue, Taxation Division | Varies — formula on the CO page | 2 years — every license expires on 31 December of an odd-numbered year | 2026-09-03 |
| Articles of Organization (LLC)only if it applies to you | Colorado Secretary of State, Business Division | $50 one-time filing, online only | perpetual, but a periodic report is due every year | 2026-09-03 |
| Periodic Reportonly if it applies to you | Colorado Secretary of State, Business Division | $25 a year; $50 more if filed late | annual — due in the entity's own periodic report month | 2026-09-03 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
How much does it actually cost to permit a restaurant in Arapahoe County?
There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 11 records listed for a restaurant in Arapahoe County, CO, 3 apply to every business of this type and 8 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.
6 of the 11 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 2 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:
Retail Food Establishment License (annual; restaurants, limited food service, grocery): Per ACPH's Retail Establishment License Fee Schedule, effective 9/1/2025: restaurant 0-100 seats $481, 101-200 seats $538, over 200 seats $581; limited retail food service $338; grocery store without deli up to 15,000 sq. ft. $244, over 15,000 sq. ft. $441; grocery store with deli up to 15,000 sq. ft. $469, over 15,000 sq. ft. $894. Effective 1/1/2027: $567, $634, $687; $394; $282, $519; $552, $1,062. Effective 1/1/2028: $682, $763, $826; $475; $340, $624; $664, $1,276. Amounts match C.R.S. 25-4-1607(1.1)(a) as enacted by SB25-285.
Special Event (Temporary) Retail Food License: Set by Arapahoe County Public Health as the county public health agency under C.R.S. 25-4-1607(1.1)(b)(II). The amount is not published in SB25-285 or in ACPH's June 17, 2026 retail food overview; contact ACPH Environmental Health for the current special event license fee.
Retail Food Establishment License: $244–$1,063 a year for 2026, banded by establishment type and size; the schedule rises in 2027 and 2028
The other 3 variable fees belong to permits that apply to every type of business here; their formulas are set out on the Arapahoe County permits page and the CO state page.
Which offices issue these permits in Arapahoe County?
Permits for a restaurant in Arapahoe County, CO come from 6 separate offices: Arapahoe County Public Works and Development, Zoning, Arapahoe County Public Works and Development, Building Division, Arapahoe County Public Health, Environmental Health, Colorado Secretary of State, Business Division, Colorado Department of Revenue, Taxation Division, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.
- Arapahoe County Public Works and Development, ZoningIssues 1 permit on this page: Zoning Permits and Letters: sign, fence, temporary use, zoning verification (Arapahoe County Zoning Fee Schedule)6924 S. Lima St., Centennial, CO 80112 · 720-874-6711arapahoe.legistar1.com/arapahoe/attachments/b700c271-3e1a-4f36-a639-85632bae068f.pdf
- Arapahoe County Public Works and Development, Building DivisionIssues 1 permit on this page: Building Permit (unincorporated Arapahoe County)files.arapahoeco.gov/Public%20Works_Development/Building/Contractor%20Licensing/ResoNo.23-155.ContractorLicensingadopted%20...%2043f9.pdf
- Arapahoe County Public Health, Environmental HealthIssues 2 permits on this page: Retail Food Establishment License (annual; restaurants, limited food service, grocery), Special Event (Temporary) Retail Food Licensefiles.arapahoeco.gov/Public%20Health/Health%20Protection_Response/Environmental%20Health/RFE%20Fee%20Change%20Schedule_With%20Effective%20Dates_FNL_ENG%2020250828_v2.pdf
- Colorado Secretary of State, Business DivisionIssues 4 permits on this page: Articles of Incorporation, General Business License — Colorado position (issued locally), Articles of Organization (LLC), Periodic Report1700 Broadway, Suite 550, Denver, CO 80290 · (303) 894-2200www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/business/businessHome.html
- Colorado Department of Revenue, Taxation DivisionIssues 1 permit on this page: Sales Tax License1375 Sherman Street, Denver, CO 80261 · (303) 238-7378tax.colorado.gov/sales-tax-account-license
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Division of Environmental Health and SustainabilityIssues 2 permits on this page: Retail Food Establishment License, Certified Food Protection Manager4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, Denver, CO 80246 · (303) 692-3645cdphe.colorado.gov/dehs/rf/licensing
What does a restaurant need in Arapahoe County that other businesses do not?
Special Event (Temporary) Retail Food License
A restaurant, coffee shop, caterer or other vendor selling food at a special event in Arapahoe County licenses with Arapahoe County Public Health. ACPH's Retail Food Inspection and Enforcement Overview, presented to the Board of Health on June 17, 2026, reports that in 2025 ACPH issued 169 Temporary Food Vendor Licenses spanning 68 special events. Under C.R.S. 25-4-1607(1.1)(b)(II), as enacted by SB25-285, a county or district public health agency establishes the license fees for a retail food establishment at a special event, so this is a county fee rather than one of the state-set annual license fees. The current ACPH amount is not published in either document; contact ACPH Environmental Health for the fee and the application before the event.
Retail Food Establishment License
Colorado now writes these fees into statute on a three-year escalator, so the number depends on the year as well as the business. For 2026 a restaurant or caterer pays $481 up to a hundred seats, $538 to two hundred and $581 above; a limited food service establishment $338; a grocery $244 or $441 by floor area, or $469 and $894 with a deli; a full-service mobile unit $481 and a prepackaged one $338. Every one of those rises on 1 January 2027 and again in 2028, after which the 2028 figures continue until a new schedule is set. Two qualifications matter. The statutory figures are a ceiling: a county or district board of health may charge less, and Denver may set its own by ordinance. And the state itself only licenses in nine counties — Clear Creek, Dolores, Gilpin, Moffat, Ouray, Park, Pitkin outside Aspen, Rio Blanco and San Juan — with local public health agencies doing it everywhere else. Plan review is separate at $155 plus actual cost; the statute caps that at $900 while the department's own page still says $580, so confirm before budgeting.
Shared with other businesses in Arapahoe County
- Retail Food Establishment License (annual; restaurants, limited food service, grocery) — Arapahoe County Public Health, Environmental Health, Per ACPH's Retail Establishment License Fee Schedule, effective 9/1/2025: restaurant 0-100 seats $481, 101-200 seats $538, over 200 seats $581; limited retail food service $338; grocery store without deli up to 15,000 sq. ft. $244, over 15,000 sq. ft. $441; grocery store with deli up to 15,000 sq. ft. $469, over 15,000 sq. ft. $894. Effective 1/1/2027: $567, $634, $687; $394; $282, $519; $552, $1,062. Effective 1/1/2028: $682, $763, $826; $475; $340, $624; $664, $1,276. Amounts match C.R.S. 25-4-1607(1.1)(a) as enacted by SB25-285., annual; the statute sets the fee for each calendar year. Also required for coffee shops and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
- Certified Food Protection Manager — Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability, No fee, set by the certifying programme, not by Colorado. Also required for coffee shops and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
The other 2 local permits in the tables apply to every type of business in Arapahoe County, CO; what each one involves is set out on the Arapahoe County permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across CO and are covered on the CO state page.
How does a restaurant compare with other businesses in Arapahoe County?
A restaurant and a coffee shop in Arapahoe County, CO need exactly the same 4 permits beyond the ones every business needs.
| Business | Its own permits | Shared with a restaurant | Only a restaurant needs | Only it needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coffee shops | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Food trucks | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Retail stores | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Auto repair shops | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Childcare centres | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Contractors and trades | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Fitness studios | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Salons and barbers | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Veterinary clinics | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
Sources
Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits shared with other businesses are listed with their explanations on the retail stores page and food trucks page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Arapahoe County permits page and the CO state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- Senate Bill 25-285, signed act (amending C.R.S. 25-4-1607 and 25-4-1608: retail food establishment fees)Colorado General Assembly · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- ACPH Retail Food Inspection and Enforcement Overview, Board of Health meeting, June 17, 2026Arapahoe County Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Colorado Senate Bill 25-285, chapter 296 of the 2025 session laws — the statutory retail food establishment fee schedule for 2026, 2027 and 2028Colorado General Assembly · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment — retail food licensing, and the nine counties the state licenses directlyColorado Department of Public Health and Environment · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
Related
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.