Last updated 2026-07-25
TL;DR
Colorado requires both a state and a local liquor license, issued through the Colorado Department of Revenue's Liquor Enforcement Division. State fees generally fall between about $500 and $2,000+ depending on license class, and local governments add their own fees and application steps. Budget several months for processing and confirm exact figures with your local licensing authority and the state ABC office.
How much is a liquor license in Colorado?
There's no single number here, because Colorado runs a dual licensing system: you need a license from the local licensing authority (city or county) AND a state license from the Colorado Department of Revenue's Liquor Enforcement Division, and both come with their own fees. State application and license fees vary by the type of license you're seeking, and local jurisdictions set their own fees on top of that, so a hotel/restaurant license in Denver will cost differently than a tavern license in a small mountain town. As a rough planning range, expect state-level fees somewhere in the low hundreds to a couple thousand dollars depending on license class, with local fees adding anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand more depending on the city or county. Some license types, like those tied to a state quota system, can carry additional costs if you're buying an existing license on the secondary market rather than applying for a new one directly. The honest answer: confirm with your state ABC authority (the Liquor Enforcement Division) and your specific city or county clerk's office before you build a budget. Fee schedules change, and Colorado's home rule cities and counties have real discretion to set their own local fees [1]. Don't assume what worked for a friend's bar in another county applies to yours. For a broader look at how other states handle license classes and costs, see our state guides for comparison.
What types of liquor licenses does Colorado offer?
Colorado's Liquor Code sets out a range of license types built around how alcohol will be sold and consumed on your premises. The Colorado Liquor Code (Title 44, Article 3 of the Colorado Revised Statutes) is the controlling law, and it separates licenses by business model: retail liquor stores, liquor-licensed drugstores, hotels and restaurants, taverns, clubs, brew pubs, distilleries, and more [2]. For a new restaurant or bar, the two most common on-premise license types are the Hotel and Restaurant license and the Tavern license. A Hotel and Restaurant license generally requires the establishment to derive a meaningful share of revenue from food service, while a Tavern license is built more around a bar-forward business model with less of a food requirement. There's also the Optional Premises license and Beer and Wine license for operations that don't want a full liquor license. Colorado also has a Retail Gaming Tavern license and specialty licenses for arts venues, campuses, and other niche operators. If you're opening a brewery taproom or distillery tasting room, you'll likely be looking at a manufacturer's license with sales privileges rather than a standard retail license, and those come with their own separate rules under the Liquor Code [2]. Because the license type dictates both your state fee tier and what local zoning and quota rules apply, nail down your business model (full-service restaurant vs. bar vs. brewpub) before you file anything. Changing license types mid-application usually means starting the local approval process over.
How do you get a liquor license in Colorado?
You apply at the local level first, then the state level, and both must approve before you can sell. Colorado's system requires local licensing authority approval (your city or county) as a gateway step before the state will issue its license. The general sequence looks like this: file your local application with the city or county clerk's licensing office, which typically includes a public notice/posting period and sometimes a public hearing where neighbors or community members can raise objections. Once local approval is granted, you file with the Colorado Department of Revenue's Liquor Enforcement Division for the state license. Only after both approvals are final can you legally sell alcohol. Expect background checks (for owners and, in some cases, managers), a review of your lease and floor plan, proof of financial standing, and in many jurisdictions a requirement to post a public notice sign outside your location for a set period before the hearing. Some cities also require you to demonstrate the neighborhood's need or desire for the license, particularly for certain license classes, and local licensing boards have discretion here that varies quite a bit by jurisdiction. Timelines run long. Between local posting/hearing requirements and state processing, plan for several months from application to opening, not weeks. If your lease has a hard opening date, back-plan from that date and build in real buffer, because public hearing calendars and background check turnaround are two of the biggest sources of delay outside your control.
How do you obtain a liquor license if you're transferring an existing one?
Buying a business that already has an active liquor license doesn't let you skip the process, it changes what the process looks like. Colorado treats a change of ownership as a transfer of the existing license, which still requires local and state review, though it's often faster than a brand new application because the location and license class are already established. You'll typically need a transfer application at both the local and state level, updated background checks on the new ownership, and confirmation that the premises and license class still match what's on file. If you're changing the concept significantly (say, converting a tavern into a full restaurant), you may need to modify the license type too, which adds steps. One thing worth checking early: some license types in Colorado are subject to quota limits tied to population in a given city or county, meaning new licenses of that type may not be available at all in your area, and a transfer of an existing license may be your only path in. This is where confirming with your local licensing authority before you sign a lease really pays off, because quota availability can make or break your timeline. See our comparisons and quota and transfer resources if you're evaluating whether a fresh application or an existing license purchase makes more sense for your situation.
How do you get a bartending license in Colorado?
Colorado does not require a state bartending license to pour drinks, but many employers and insurers require responsible alcohol service training, and some local jurisdictions have their own rules. Colorado's Responsible Vendor program, administered through the Liquor Enforcement Division, offers training and certification that establishments can use to qualify for certain legal protections under the Liquor Code [3]. In practice, most bartenders in Colorado complete a responsible alcohol service course (commonly known by brand names like TIPS or similar TTB-recognized-style programs) through a private training provider, often required by the bar or restaurant that hires them, not by the state directly. If your establishment participates in Colorado's Responsible Vendor program, having trained staff can actually reduce your liability exposure in certain enforcement situations [3]. So if you're asking "how do I get a bartending license," the real answer in Colorado is: check what your employer requires, complete a responsible vendor training course if asked, and keep your certification current. There's no standalone state-issued bartending license the way there is a driver's license.
Can you serve alcohol without a liquor license in Colorado?
No. Selling or serving alcohol for on-premise or off-premise consumption without the appropriate state and local license is illegal under the Colorado Liquor Code, and doing so can expose you to criminal penalties, fines, and permanent bars on future licensing [2]. There are narrow exceptions. Private events that don't involve the sale of alcohol (a homeowner serving drinks at a private party, for example) don't require a license because no sale is occurring. Nonprofits and certain qualifying organizations can sometimes obtain a temporary or special event permit for a specific date range under Colorado law, which is a separate, lighter-weight process than a full retail license [2]. If you're opening a business, though, there's no gray area: you need both your local and state licenses active before a single drink is sold for money. Operating in the gap between signing your lease and getting approved is one of the most common (and costly) mistakes new operators make. Don't schedule a soft opening that includes alcohol sales until your license is actually in hand.
How much is a liquor license in Florida, for comparison?
Florida runs its liquor licensing very differently from Colorado, which is a useful comparison if you're deciding between states or operating in both. Florida's Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (ABT), part of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, issues state licenses, and Florida uses a quota system for full liquor licenses (the well-known "4COP" license) tied to county population, with a set number issued per county based on population growth. Because Florida's quota licenses are capped by county population and only released periodically (or through a lottery when new quota licenses become available), the open market price for an existing quota license in a built-out county can run into the tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, far above the state's own issuance fee, depending on the county and market conditions. Florida's own annual license fee schedule for the license itself is comparatively modest, but the real cost for a full liquor license in a saturated market is almost always the secondary market price, not the state fee. Colorado, by contrast, doesn't run a statewide quota system the same way for most restaurant and bar license types, though certain classes do have local population-based caps. If you want the Florida-specific numbers and process in full, our Florida bar guide and Florida Bar member search resource cover that state's licensing and professional bar landscape in more depth. (Note: Florida's "Bar" for attorneys and Florida's liquor licensing system are two completely separate things, more on that confusion below.)
Can anyone take the bar exam? (And why this isn't about liquor licensing)
This question shows up in liquor license searches because "bar" is a confusing overloaded word: it means a place that serves drinks, and it means the legal profession's licensing exam. To be clear: the bar exam has nothing to do with getting a liquor license. It's the licensing test attorneys take to practice law in a given state. Eligibility to sit for the bar exam varies by state but generally requires graduation from an ABA-accredited law school (or in a few states, an approved alternative path like reading the law), passing a character and fitness review, and meeting that state's specific application requirements [4]. The National Conference of Bar Examiners coordinates the Uniform Bar Exam used by many states, though each state's board of law examiners sets its own additional requirements [4]. If you landed here trying to open a bar or restaurant and got confused by search results about the legal bar exam, you're in the right place now: this article is about liquor licensing for on-premise alcohol sales, not attorney licensure. For the legal profession side, resources like our California bar and Florida bar guides cover that separate topic if that's actually what you were looking for.
What documents and steps does the Colorado application actually require?
Expect to assemble a fairly thick application packet. Colorado's local and state liquor license applications typically require: a completed application form, your signed lease or proof of property control, a detailed floor plan of the premises, financial disclosure documents showing the source of your funds, fingerprints and background check consent for owners/officers, and proof of your business entity registration with the Colorado Secretary of State. Many local jurisdictions also require a public notice posting at the premises for a set period (commonly around 10 days, though this varies by city and county) before a public hearing, giving neighbors and community members a chance to weigh in on the license request. Some cities require a needs-and-desires showing at that hearing, particularly for license types tied to quotas or in areas with a concentration of existing licenses. Budget real time to gather this. Financial disclosure and background checks are the most common causes of delay, especially if you have multiple investors or an ownership structure with out-of-state entities. Get your corporate paperwork and financing documentation buttoned up before you file, not after.
How long does it take to get a Colorado liquor license, and how do you plan backward from an opening date?
There's no fixed statutory timeline Colorado guarantees, and that's the single biggest risk to a hard opening date. Between local posting/hearing requirements, background check processing, and state review after local approval, total time from filing to an active license commonly runs a few months, and can run longer if your local jurisdiction has a busy hearing calendar or if background checks turn up anything requiring follow-up. If your lease has a target opening date, the smart move is to back-plan: figure out your local jurisdiction's posting period and hearing schedule first (some boards only meet monthly), then add state processing time after local approval, then add buffer for anything that gets kicked back for corrections. Filing your application the same week you sign your lease, rather than waiting until you're mid-buildout, buys you real runway. This is exactly the kind of sequencing problem a structured plan solves better than guessing. LiquorReady's $199 one-time State Liquor License Roadmap walks through your specific state and license type and builds a back-planned timeline from your target opening date, so you're not discovering a hearing-schedule bottleneck three weeks before you wanted to open.
What's the difference between getting a license and obtaining a liquor licence for a transfer, expansion, or second location?
If you're expanding to a second Colorado location, you're not amending your existing license, you're applying for a new one at the new address, subject to that location's own local approval and any quota limits in that jurisdiction. Colorado licenses are tied to a specific premises, not to a business entity across multiple addresses [2]. If you're changing your existing license (adding an outdoor patio, expanding your licensed square footage, changing your license class from Tavern to Hotel and Restaurant), that's typically a modification application at both the local and state level, not a brand new filing from scratch, though it still requires review and approval before you can operate under the new terms. And if you're buying a business with an active license rather than starting fresh, that's the transfer process covered earlier: faster in some respects because the premises and license class are already established, but still requiring full background checks and local/state sign-off on the new ownership. Confirm which of these three situations actually applies to you before you file anything, because they use different forms and different local review timelines.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a liquor license in Colorado?
It depends on license type and jurisdiction. State fees from the Liquor Enforcement Division typically run from the low hundreds to a couple thousand dollars, and local city/county fees add more on top, ranging widely by jurisdiction. Confirm exact current fees with your local licensing authority and the Colorado Department of Revenue before budgeting [1].
How do I get a bartending license?
Colorado doesn't issue a standalone state bartending license. Most bartenders complete a responsible alcohol service training course, often required by their employer, and some establishments participate in Colorado's Responsible Vendor program for added legal protections. Check with your employer and confirm any local requirements in the city where you'll work [4].
How can I get a liquor license in Colorado?
Start with your local city or county licensing authority, since Colorado requires local approval before the state will issue a license. File your local application, complete any public posting/hearing requirements, then apply to the Liquor Enforcement Division for the state license. Both approvals are required before you can legally sell alcohol [1].
How do I get a liquor license for a new restaurant?
Confirm your license type (typically Hotel and Restaurant for a food-forward concept), then file with your local licensing authority first. You'll need a lease, floor plan, financial disclosures, and background checks. After local approval, apply to the state Liquor Enforcement Division. Plan for several months of processing time [1] [3].
How do I obtain a liquor license if I'm buying an existing bar?
That's a license transfer, not a new application. You'll still need local and state approval, updated background checks on new ownership, and confirmation the license class matches your intended use. Transfers are often faster than fresh applications since the premises and license type are already established, but they're not automatic [1].
Can anyone take the bar exam?
This refers to the legal profession's licensing exam, unrelated to liquor licensing. Eligibility generally requires graduating from an ABA-accredited law school (or an approved alternative in a few states) and passing a character and fitness review; requirements vary by state and are set by each state's board of law examiners [6].
How much is a liquor license in Florida?
Florida's state issuance fees for its quota-based full liquor license ("4COP") are relatively modest, but existing quota licenses in built-out counties sell on the secondary market for far more, sometimes tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, because new licenses per county are capped by population [5].
How much is a liquor licence in Florida for a beer and wine only license?
Florida offers lighter license types (like a 2COP for beer and wine) that aren't subject to the same population-based quota as full liquor licenses, generally making them more accessible and cheaper to obtain directly from the state. Confirm current fee schedules with Florida's Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco [5].
Can you serve alcohol without a liquor license?
No, not for a commercial establishment. Selling alcohol without the required state and local license is illegal and can carry fines, criminal penalties, and future licensing bars. Narrow exceptions exist for private, non-commercial gatherings and for qualifying organizations using temporary special event permits [3].
How long does it take to get a liquor license in Colorado?
There's no guaranteed statutory timeline. Between local public notice/hearing requirements, background checks, and state processing after local approval, total time commonly runs a few months. File as early as possible relative to your lease signing and build in buffer for your local jurisdiction's hearing schedule [1].
What's the difference between a state and local liquor license in Colorado?
Colorado requires both. The local license comes from your city or county licensing authority and is usually required first, often involving public notice and a hearing. The state license comes from the Colorado Department of Revenue's Liquor Enforcement Division and can't be issued until local approval is final [1].
Do I need a separate license for each Colorado location?
Yes. Colorado liquor licenses are tied to a specific premises, not a business entity. Opening a second location means filing a new local and state application for that address, subject to that jurisdiction's own approval process and any applicable local quota limits [3].
Sources
- Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Home Rule Authority: Colorado home rule cities and counties have discretion to set their own local fees and requirements
- Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 44, Article 3, Colorado Liquor Code: Colorado Liquor Code defines license types and prohibits sale of alcohol without a license
- Colorado Department of Revenue, Responsible Vendor Program: Colorado's Responsible Vendor program offers training that can reduce liability exposure for licensees
- National Conference of Bar Examiners: Eligibility and requirements for taking the bar exam vary by state and are coordinated in part through the Uniform Bar Exam
- Colorado Department of Revenue - Liquor Enforcement Division: Official forms required for the Colorado liquor license application
- Florida Administrative Code: Florida alcoholic beverage licensing regulations, for comparison to Colorado
- Colorado Revised Statutes Title 12: Statutory basis for professional and occupational licensing including bartending-related regulations in Colorado
- Colorado Department of Revenue - Liquor Enforcement Division: Role of local licensing authorities in approving Colorado liquor license applications