Home Bakery Permit Requirements in Denver, CO

1. EIN (Employer Identification Number)

   Required if you have employees or operate as an LLC/corporation. Free from the IRS, obtained instantly online.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online application)

   Free

   Immediate (online application)

1. Colorado Cottage Foods Act Exemption (up to $10,000 net revenue per product type)

   Colorado's Cottage Foods Act lets home producers sell eligible non-hazardous foods directly to informed end consumers with no license, permit or inspection. CDPHE's guidance allows net revenue of up to $10,000 per product type - separate $10,000 allowances for, say, blueberry, banana and chocolate chip muffins - not a single $5,000 total cap. Producers must complete a food safety training (the CSU Extension course, a food handler card, or a local public health agency course); the CSU certificate is good for three years. Every product must be packaged and labelled with the producer's name and address, the address where it was made, a current phone number or email, the production date, ingredients, and the disclaimer that it was produced in a home kitchen not subject to state licensure or inspection and may contain allergens, and the same disclaimer must be displayed at the point of sale. Products may be sold only in Colorado, only direct to the end consumer (internet sales are allowed), and cannot be resold, sold to restaurants or grocery stores, or used for catering.

   Official government source

   Free - no license or permit fee. Costs are the food safety training and labelling. A cottage food business is still subject to income and sales tax, and some localities require additional licenses.·No waiting period and no application. Complete the food safety training and set up compliant labelling before your first sale.

   Free - no license or permit fee. Costs are the food safety training and labelling. A cottage food business is still subject to income and sales tax, and some localities require additional licenses.

   No waiting period and no application. Complete the food safety training and set up compliant labelling before your first sale.

2. Colorado Cottage Foods Act — No Registration Required

   Colorado's Cottage Foods Act, administered by CDPHE, requires no permit, licence or registration at any sales level, and there is no registration with the Colorado Department of Agriculture at a $5,000 threshold or any other. The net revenue allowance is up to $10,000 per product type, so a producer making several products has a separate allowance for each. There is no commercial kitchen requirement for cottage food sales. Products must be sold directly by the producer or a designated representative to an informed end consumer, only within Colorado, and may not be resold or sold to restaurants or grocery stores. Packaging, labelling and a point-of-sale disclaimer stating the food was produced in a home kitchen not subject to state licensure or inspection are required.

   Official government source

   $0 — no permit, licence or registration fee. Sales and income tax still apply, and a sales tax licence may be needed if selling taxable goods.·No application or processing time; the exemption applies automatically to qualifying producers.

   $0 — no permit, licence or registration fee. Sales and income tax still apply, and a sales tax licence may be needed if selling taxable goods.

   No application or processing time; the exemption applies automatically to qualifying producers.

3. Colorado Sales Tax License

   Colorado requires a sales tax license to make retail sales of taxable goods. Register with the Colorado Department of Revenue through MyBizColorado or form CR 0100. Most licenses are valid for a two-year period ending at the end of each odd-numbered year. The state license covers state and state-collected local taxes only — Denver is a home-rule city and issues its own separate (free) sales tax license.

   Official government source

   $16 for the two-year license period when applying January–June of an even year, prorated to $12, $8 or $4 later in the cycle, plus a one-time refundable $50 deposit for a new account ($66 total for a first location). The deposit is returned automatically once you have remitted $50 in state sales tax.·Immediate when filed online through MyBizColorado or Revenue Online

   $16 for the two-year license period when applying January–June of an even year, prorated to $12, $8 or $4 later in the cycle, plus a one-time refundable $50 deposit for a new account ($66 total for a first location). The deposit is returned automatically once you have remitted $50 in state sales tax.

   Immediate when filed online through MyBizColorado or Revenue Online

1. Denver: No Business License for a Cottage Food Home Bakery

   Denver has no general business license. Its Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (formerly Excise and Licenses) issues only the roughly 68 categories in its published license directory, and cottage food operations are not among them. Colorado's Cottage Foods Act separately exempts home producers selling directly to informed end consumers from state food licensing and inspection. Denver zoning still applies: selling homemade cottage foods from your home is the 'Fresh Produce and Cottage Foods Sales' home occupation and needs a zoning permit from Community Planning and Development. If you make retail sales that are taxable in Denver, register with the Treasury Division of the Department of Finance for a Retailer's Sales, Use, Lodger's Tax License.

   Official government source

   No Denver business license fee applies because no such license exists. Denver no longer charges a fee for the biennial Retailer's Sales, Use, Lodger's Tax License. The home occupation zoning permit is $20.·There is no city business license to wait for. Denver does not publish a processing-time standard for the home occupation zoning permit; the tax license is registered online through Denver's eBiz Tax Center.

   No Denver business license fee applies because no such license exists. Denver no longer charges a fee for the biennial Retailer's Sales, Use, Lodger's Tax License. The home occupation zoning permit is $20.

   There is no city business license to wait for. Denver does not publish a processing-time standard for the home occupation zoning permit; the tax license is registered online through Denver's eBiz Tax Center.

Official Sources

• Colorado Dept of Agriculture: Cottage Foods
• Colorado Dept of Revenue: Sales Tax
• Denver Excise & Licenses

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