New retail establishment liquor permit application

Step 1.Application process

• Applications for retail establishment liquor permits are filed with the Department of Excise and Licenses no later than 30 days before the date of a desired event. The director of the Department could exercise discretion to waive the 30-day requirement in instances where an applicant has, within the previous two years, been qualified for a retail establishment liquor permit.
• Applicants must list each day alcohol will be served.
• Applicants cannot change the days without at least 15 days' notice to local and state licensing authorities.
• An application cannot be denied solely based on a proposed location’s proximity to public or private schools or the main campus of a college, university or seminary.

Step 2.Conditions

• A permit holder cannot, directly or indirectly, sell alcohol, serve alcohol for more than four hours i a 24-hour period, serve alcohol more than 24 days per year, or serve or distribute alcohol between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. A permit holder cannot allow anyone younger than 18 years old to sell or dispense alcohol or allow anyone 18 to 20 years old to sell or dispense alcohol unless supervised by another person on the premises that is 21 years old or older.

  A permit holder can serve no more than:

  • 12 ounces of malt liquor in any one drink
  • 5 ounces of vinous liquor in any one drink (5 ounces of vinous liquor can be mixed with non-alcoholic beverages for larger drinks by volume but not alcohol content)
  • 1½ ounces of spirituous liquor in any one drink (1.5 ounces of spirituous liquor can be mixed with non-alcoholic beverages for larger drinks by volume but not alcohol content)
  • 12 ounces of pre-mixed alcohol beverage in any one drink

  To be eligible for the retail establishment liquor permit, a business must:

  • Primarily sell goods or services to the public
  • Operate out of a physical building in Colorado
  • Derive less than 50% of gross sales from food sales
  • Have no more than 25 employees
  • Have no more than $5 million in retail sales per year
  • Not sell firearms, motor vehicles, marijuana, gasoline or diesel fuel
  • Not educate K-12 students or provide child care; and
  • Not be a convenience store

Step 3.Gather all required documents

Make sure you have everything from the "Required documents" section below.

Important notes to keep in mind about your documents:

• All materials must be digital files saved as a .pdf or .jpg. Do not include any other file types. The Department of Excise and Licenses cannot accept other file types.
• Use numbers or letters but not characters such as symbols (/ ? < > \ : * | “ ^) or spaces that could cause complications.
  • For example:
    • Good filename: drivers-license-name-2022.pdf
    • Bad filename: last name/ id.pdf
• In some cases, you might need to combine documents and upload them in a single .pdf. You can use a free, online tool to merge documents into a single file. 
• Legal documents must be signed, dated and executed. All pages of large legal documents (such as a lease) must be included in the application.
• All materials must be legible. 
• Incomplete applications will be rejected.

Step 4.Submit an application

To submit your application, please go to this online application, fill it out, attach all required documents and submit online.

Step 5.Pay required fees

State fees: 

$93.25 made payable to the Colorado Department of Revenue

Local fees:

$103.75 made payable to the Manager of Finance

Step 6.City application review and next steps

Excise and Licenses tries to conduct an initial review of a complete application within seven business days. The review process might take longer if it is incomplete or requires police review (if applicable).

• All application-related communications will be sent through email, from [email protected]. Do not respond to these emails as this inbox is not monitored.
• If the application is incomplete, the applicant will receive a "notice of deficiency" email. This allows 14 days for corrections. License endorsement requests and incidents on a background check need police review.
• All applications will be closed if they are not completed within 12 months.

Step 7.License issuance

Step 1.Application process

• Applications for retail establishment liquor permits are filed with the Department of Excise and Licenses no later than 30 days before the date of a desired event. The director of the Department could exercise discretion to waive the 30-day requirement in instances where an applicant has, within the previous two years, been qualified for a retail establishment liquor permit.
• Applicants must list each day alcohol will be served.
• Applicants cannot change the days without at least 15 days' notice to local and state licensing authorities.
• An application cannot be denied solely based on a proposed location’s proximity to public or private schools or the main campus of a college, university or seminary.

Step 2.Conditions

• A permit holder cannot, directly or indirectly, sell alcohol, serve alcohol for more than four hours i a 24-hour period, serve alcohol more than 24 days per year, or serve or distribute alcohol between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. A permit holder cannot allow anyone younger than 18 years old to sell or dispense alcohol or allow anyone 18 to 20 years old to sell or dispense alcohol unless supervised by another person on the premises that is 21 years old or older.

  A permit holder can serve no more than:

  • 12 ounces of malt liquor in any one drink
  • 5 ounces of vinous liquor in any one drink (5 ounces of vinous liquor can be mixed with non-alcoholic beverages for larger drinks by volume but not alcohol content)
  • 1½ ounces of spirituous liquor in any one drink (1.5 ounces of spirituous liquor can be mixed with non-alcoholic beverages for larger drinks by volume but not alcohol content)
  • 12 ounces of pre-mixed alcohol beverage in any one drink

  To be eligible for the retail establishment liquor permit, a business must:

  • Primarily sell goods or services to the public
  • Operate out of a physical building in Colorado
  • Derive less than 50% of gross sales from food sales
  • Have no more than 25 employees
  • Have no more than $5 million in retail sales per year
  • Not sell firearms, motor vehicles, marijuana, gasoline or diesel fuel
  • Not educate K-12 students or provide child care; and
  • Not be a convenience store

Step 3.Gather all required documents

Step 4.Submit an application

• Make checks payable to: Manager of Finance
• Include a current email address in case the Department needs to reach out with questions.
• If renewing, include your business file number.

Step 5.Pay required fees

State fees: 

$93.25 made payable to the Colorado Department of Revenue

Local fees:

$103.75 made payable to the Manager of Finance

Step 6.City application review and next steps

Excise and Licenses tries to conduct an initial review of a complete application within seven business days. The review process might take longer if it is incomplete or requires police review (if applicable).

• All application-related communications will be sent through email, from [email protected]. Do not respond to these emails as this inbox is not monitored.
• If the application is incomplete, the applicant will receive a "notice of deficiency" email. This allows 14 days for corrections. License endorsement requests and incidents on a background check need police review.
• All applications will be closed if they are not completed within 12 months.

Step 7.License issuance

Step 1.Application process

• Applications for retail establishment liquor permits are filed with the Department of Excise and Licenses no later than 30 days before the date of a desired event. The director of the Department could exercise discretion to waive the 30-day requirement in instances where an applicant has, within the previous two years, been qualified for a retail establishment liquor permit.
• Applicants must list each day alcohol will be served.
• Applicants cannot change the days without at least 15 days' notice to local and state licensing authorities.
• An application cannot be denied solely based on a proposed location’s proximity to public or private schools or the main campus of a college, university or seminary.

Step 2.Conditions

• A permit holder cannot, directly or indirectly, sell alcohol, serve alcohol for more than four hours i a 24-hour period, serve alcohol more than 24 days per year, or serve or distribute alcohol between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. A permit holder cannot allow anyone younger than 18 years old to sell or dispense alcohol or allow anyone 18 to 20 years old to sell or dispense alcohol unless supervised by another person on the premises that is 21 years old or older.

  A permit holder can serve no more than:

  • 12 ounces of malt liquor in any one drink
  • 5 ounces of vinous liquor in any one drink (5 ounces of vinous liquor can be mixed with non-alcoholic beverages for larger drinks by volume but not alcohol content)
  • 1½ ounces of spirituous liquor in any one drink (1.5 ounces of spirituous liquor can be mixed with non-alcoholic beverages for larger drinks by volume but not alcohol content)
  • 12 ounces of pre-mixed alcohol beverage in any one drink

  To be eligible for the retail establishment liquor permit, a business must:

  • Primarily sell goods or services to the public
  • Operate out of a physical building in Colorado
  • Derive less than 50% of gross sales from food sales
  • Have no more than 25 employees
  • Have no more than $5 million in retail sales per year
  • Not sell firearms, motor vehicles, marijuana, gasoline or diesel fuel
  • Not educate K-12 students or provide child care; and
  • Not be a convenience store

Step 3.Gather all required documents

Step 4.Submit an application

Applicants can come to the office to submit their documents in person. Customers seeking in-person customer service should make an appointment. To make an appointment, visit the appointments website. The Excise and Licenses office is at 201 W Colfax Ave., on the second floor of the Wellington Webb Municipal Building. 

Customers can pay their fees after they receive an invoice. Visit the online payments process page for more information.

• Make sure that you have a bank account, Mastercard, Visa, or Discover card to pay online. 

Applicants are encouraged to pay their fees online, but in-person payments are available. After receiving an invoice, customers can go to the Community Planning and Development cashier counter on the second floor of the Wellington Webb Municipal Building. Cashiers are available Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

• Cash, checks (payable to “Manager of Finance”), Visa, Mastercard, and Discover card are all accepted.

For questions, email [email protected] or call 311.

Step 5.Pay required fees

State fees: 

$93.25 made payable to the Colorado Department of Revenue

Local fees:

$103.75 made payable to the Manager of Finance

Step 6.City application review and next steps

Excise and Licenses tries to conduct an initial review of a complete application within seven business days. The review process might take longer if it is incomplete or requires police review (if applicable).

• All application-related communications will be sent through email, from [email protected]. Do not respond to these emails as this inbox is not monitored.
• If the application is incomplete, the applicant will receive a "notice of deficiency" email. This allows 14 days for corrections. License endorsement requests and incidents on a background check need police review.
• All applications will be closed if they are not completed within 12 months.

Step 7.License issuance