Business Licensing & Operations in Colorado (2026)

Douglas County confines every sexually oriented business to the C Commercial zone district under Zoning Resolution…

Fountain confines adult-oriented businesses to the planned industrial zoning district. Fountain Municipal Code §…

Adams County's Nude Entertainment Ordinance bars anyone under 21 from nude entertainment establishments in the…

Unincorporated Arapahoe County confines sexually-oriented businesses to B-4, B-5, I-1 and I-2 zoning under Land…

Arvada bars adult businesses within 750 feet of a church, school, child care facility, public park, or residential…

Aurora, Colorado confines sexually-oriented businesses to industrial zones and requires a city license, with 1,500-foot…

Boulder County bars adult entertainment establishments from operating within 1,000 feet of any church, school, daycare…

Centennial restricts sexually oriented businesses to a narrow Industrial-zoned strip between I-25, Havana Street…

City Code § 2.4.104 makes it unlawful to operate any sexually oriented business in Colorado Springs without a license…

Denver bans adult businesses citywide except inside its Adult Use Overlay District, where they still need 500 feet from…

El Paso County requires sexually-oriented businesses to sit at least 1,000 feet from residential zoning, schools, parks…

Fort Collins confines adult-oriented businesses to zone districts that specifically allow them under Article 4 and bars…

Greeley bars adult businesses within 1,000 feet of schools, churches, residential zoning, parks or other adult…

Jefferson County limits nude entertainment establishments to 4 p.m. to midnight, Monday through Saturday, bars entry to…

Lakewood bans adult businesses within 750 feet of churches, schools, child care facilities, parks and residentially…

Littleton requires an annual $500 license to operate any adult business and bans locating one within 500 feet of a…

Longmont requires a city license to operate a sexually oriented business, restricts them to the MU-E zoning district…

Loveland requires a city license before any sexually oriented business can operate, and Municipal Code Section 5.40.030…

Sexually oriented businesses need a city operator license under Chapter 5.12 and can only open inside the Commercial…

Section 6.02.A of Mesa County's Land Development Code bars any adult entertainment establishment from locating within…

Pueblo keeps adult entertainment uses at least 500 feet from homes, schools, churches and parks, bars them within 1,000…

Thornton requires every adult bookstore, cabaret, theater, arcade, motel, novelty shop, escort agency, or nude model…

Weld County's Article IX code bans nude entertainment for anyone under 21 and restricts it to 7 a.m. to midnight…

Westminster confines adult businesses to PUD zoning districts only and bans them within 1,000 feet of a church, school…

Since March 1, 2026, no one may own, operate, or let a property host a massage facility in unincorporated Adams County…

Arvada requires every massage parlor to hold a city license from the massage parlor licensing authority, made up of the…

Aurora, Colorado requires a separate license to operate a massage facility and another to work as its manager, with…

Since September 1, 2022, operating a massage business in Colorado Springs without a City-issued massage business…

Denver requires anyone operating a massage business to hold a license from the Department of Excise and Licenses…

No one may own or operate a massage facility in unincorporated Douglas County without a valid license from the County's…

Fountain requires anyone operating a massage parlor within city limits to hold a license from a dedicated…

Every owner, operator and employee of a massage facility in unincorporated Jefferson County must complete a…

Operating a massage parlor in Manitou Springs without a city license is unlawful under Chapter 5.07, which is licensed…

Massage parlors in Pueblo, Colorado must be licensed through the City's Liquor Administrative Hearing Officer under the…

Thornton Code Section 42-376 makes it unlawful to conduct or permit massage at any location in the city without first…

Westminster requires anyone operating a massage parlor to obtain a City license through a public hearing process before…

Lakewood has required a massage business license since November 1, 2022, plus a separate manager's license for anyone…

Littleton requires anyone operating a massage parlor to hold a City Council-issued license under Title 3, Chapter 11…

Denver requires a body artist license and a separate body art establishment license from Excise and Licenses before…

Opening a tattoo or body piercing parlor in Westminster requires a special use permit from the Planning Commission, not…

Tattooing, piercing, branding and scarification businesses in unincorporated Weld County need a body art establishment…

Colorado requires retailers selling cigarettes, vapor products, and other tobacco items to obtain a state retail…

Aurora, Colorado requires a city retail license for vape stores, smoke shops and head shops, caps them at 2,500 square…

Selling ESDs containing nicotine or tobacco products in Boulder without a city license is illegal under Section 4-32-3…

Denver requires a retail tobacco store license to sell vapes, e-cigarettes, or any nicotine product, and the city must…

Selling any non-cigarette tobacco or vape product in Lakewood, Colorado without a City Clerk-issued retailer license is…

Loveland requires every tobacco and vape retailer to hold a State and local license under Municipal Code Chapter 8.08…

Fort Collins doesn't issue a stand-alone "tobacco retailer license," but Municipal Code § 12-96 zones a store selling…

Fountain requires every tobacco product retailer, including vape and e-cigarette shops, to hold an annual city license…

Greeley bans vending-machine sales of tobacco and nicotine products outright, and requires every retailer, including…

Selling cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco or e-cigarette and vaping products in Manitou Springs requires a tobacco…

Selling tobacco or vape products anywhere in Pueblo requires a City tobacco product retailer license, $500 to start…

Boulder requires anyone operating a secondhand store, including consignment sales, to hold a city license under Section…

Denver requires a secondhand dealer license from Excise and Licenses before buying or trading used goods, with a…

Secondhand dealers in Fort Collins need a $100 annual license from the Financial Officer, plus a Chief of Police…

Aurora, Colorado requires a secondhand dealer license for anyone buying or trading used goods worth $30 or more, or…

Longmont requires a city license to buy, trade, sell, or accept secondhand goods on consignment, with fees, exemptions…

Secondhand dealers in Pueblo must hold an annual $50 City license, log every purchase and trade, and forward records to…

Littleton has no separate secondhand-dealer business license, but City Code Section 6-4-155 requires every secondhand…

Adams County requires every pawnbroker to log each contract-for-purchase or purchase transaction in a numerical…

Arvada requires a city license before anyone can operate as a pawnbroker, backed by a $50,000 bond and a $1,000…

Boulder requires anyone in the pawnbroking business to hold a city license under Section 4-17-3(b), post a $5,000…

Anyone doing business as a pawnbroker in Colorado Springs, including buying secondhand goods outright for resale, must…

Denver requires pawnbrokers to hold a director of excise and licenses permit, post a $5,000 bond, and keep detailed…

Pawnbrokers in Fort Collins must hold a City license, currently $300 a year, and post a $2,500 surety bond. The Chief…

Anyone doing business as a pawnbroker inside Fountain city limits must hold a city license under Fountain Municipal…

Greeley requires a city pawnbroker license and a separate manager's certificate before anyone may run a pawnshop, both…

Running a pawnbroker business in Lakewood, Colorado without a City-issued license is unlawful under Municipal Code Ch…

Littleton's firearms retailer licensing chapter, City Code Chapter 3-24, defines 'firearms retailer' to include any…

Loveland requires every pawnbroker to hold a city clerk-issued license before opening, and Municipal Code Section…

Thornton requires anyone running a pawnshop to hold an annually renewable, nontransferable pawnbroker's license from…

Westminster requires anyone acting as a pawnbroker to hold a City license, backed by a $1,000 application fee and a…

Aurora, Colorado requires a city pawnbroker license plus a separate manager's license, a $1,000 bond, and bars any new…

Centennial requires every pawnbroker to hold a City license before opening, and bars a new pawnshop from locating…

Longmont requires anyone carrying on a pawnbroking business to hold a city license, post a $1,000 bond, and keep…

Pawnbrokers in Pueblo must hold a City license costing $100 a year, post a $1,000 bond, keep detailed transaction books…

Arvada's Land Development Code flatly bars repairing or painting cars, motorcycles, trailers, or boats as a home…

Denver zoning bars vehicle repair services as a home occupation, and residential lots may not store automobile parts…

Douglas County's home occupation rules flatly exclude motor vehicle repair and body shop work from what counts as a…

El Paso County flatly excludes auto repair garages, auto detailing and auto body or paint shops from qualifying as a…

Fort Collins flatly excludes vehicle repair, servicing, detailing and towing from the list of businesses a resident can…

Fountain, Colorado flatly excludes vehicle and boat repair from its home-based business program. Fountain Municipal…

Lakewood's Zoning Ordinance flatly prohibits motor vehicle repair, heavy equipment repair, and contractor shops from…

Loveland's UDC flatly prohibits repairing or painting automobiles, motorcycles, trailers or boats as a home occupation…

Manitou Springs zoning code bars body work, mechanical repair, painting, or internal combustion engine repair of motor…

Running a vehicle service or repair business out of a house in unincorporated Weld County is flatly prohibited. Weld…

Westminster's home occupation rules make running an auto repair business from a residence essentially impossible…

Greeley confines home-based auto work to an enclosed garage or building and caps the business to one vehicle under one…

Mesa County allows vehicle and equipment repair as a home occupation only on lots of one acre or more in Urban Zone…

Arvada police, public works parking enforcement, and other chief-of-police designees may impound and tow a vehicle for…

Boulder requires every towing company operating in the city to hold a valid motor carrier permit and follow strict…

Tow companies seeking city-directed, non-consent tows in Greeley must hold a state PUC permit, all required city…

Longmont's police chief, with the city manager's approval, sets binding regulations - covering permits, response times…

Aurora, Colorado makes it unlawful for any wrecker to tow a vehicle from a public street without the owner's consent or…

Boulder County only lets a licensed towing carrier haul a vehicle off public property without the owner's consent, and…

City Code § 10.1.113 requires the person in charge of any towing service to immediately report to the Police Department…

Denver bars towing a vehicle off private property without the owner's or property owner's authorization, requires…

Jefferson County doesn't license tow operators itself, but its Parking at Jefferson County Buildings and Facilities…

In Loveland, Colorado, a property owner or lessee (or their written agent) may have an abandoned vehicle towed from…