What permits do you need to open a restaurant in El Paso County Co?

Liquor and Fermented Malt Beverage License (county local licensing, unincorporated areas)

Under Resolution No. 23-73, adopted March 21, 2023, the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners acts as the Local Licensing Authority for liquor and fermented malt beverage licenses in the unincorporated portions of El Paso County. The Clerk to the Board page states that the department 'oversees liquor, medical marijuana, and secure transportation service licensing for unincorporated El Paso County', and the county's application page states: 'If the establishment is within any city or town in El Paso County, please contact that entity for their liquor license process.' The resolution's policy calls for a neighborhood survey and public hearing for new licenses, and for Planning and Community Development to determine zoning compliance. The state share of the fees, per the Colorado Department of Revenue's DR 8500 dated 08/14/26 for a county location, is a $1,100 application fee ($1,200 with concurrent review), an annual state license fee of $500 for a Hotel & Restaurant or Tavern license, $436.25 for Beer & Wine, $117.50 for Fermented Malt Beverage & Wine and $312.50 for a Retail Liquor Store, and a $250 state renewal application fee. The county's Special Events Permit page sets a county fee of $75.00 per event, payable to the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder. The county's local license, renewal and transfer fees are set by the Board's fee schedule referenced in Resolution 23-73; the Clerk to the Board, (719) 520-6430, gives the current amounts.

Retail Food Establishment License (fixed and mobile)

El Paso County Public Health's Retail Food Establishments page states that retail food establishments must be licensed in accordance with C.R.S. 25-4-1610(1)(b), that licenses are tied to the current ownership, location and Colorado Sales Tax License, and that EPCPH licenses facilities including restaurants, mobile food trucks, coffee kiosks, cafeterias, convenience stores, grocery stores and bars. The Board of Health 2024 Fee Schedule (Regulations Chapter 3, approved October 25, 2023, effective January 1, 2024, still the schedule posted on the EPCPH Regulations page with no successor posted) prices the Retail Food Establishment License 'Per Section 25-4-1607 C.R.S.', so the county charges the amounts in that statute. Under C.R.S. 25-4-1607(1.1)(a) as enacted by Senate Bill 25-285 (signed May 30, 2025), the 2026 annual fee is $481 for a restaurant or caterer with 0-100 seats, $538 for 101-200 seats, $581 for over 200 seats, $338 for limited food service, $481 for a full-service mobile food establishment, $338 for a prepackaged-food mobile unit, $244 or $441 for a grocery store under 15,001 or over 15,000 square feet, and $469 or $894 for a grocery with a deli. These amounts rise on January 1, 2027 to $567, $634, $687, $394, $567, $394, $282, $519, $552 and $1,062 respectively. The statute makes these the only annual license fees charged by the state or a local inspection authority, covering all inspections, and allows a county board of health to set lower fees; the county schedule publishes no lower amount. EPCPH requires plan review before new construction or an extensive remodel of a fixed location, and for every new mobile unit not previously licensed in El Paso County; the plan review fee is charged separately, and the current amount is available from EPCPH Environmental Health at (719) 578-3199 option 3.

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 El Paso County Co

• Special Event Retail Food Permit — El Paso County Public Health, Environmental Health Division, $248–$425 Limited menu $248 for one event or $340 for multiple events; full menu $298 for one event or $425 for multiple events (Board of Health 2024 Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2024), per event, or for multiple events under the multiple-event permit. Also required for food trucks and coffee shops; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops 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.