Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
Jefferson County food-facility health permits run about $481–$581 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $155. Confirm the exact amount with Jefferson County Public Health - Environmental Health Services (administers the Colorado Retail Food Establishment program) before you budget.
Confirm the authority for your exact address. Some cities run their own health division, and building, planning, fire, sewer/grease and business-license approvals are separate even when Jefferson County Public Health - Environmental Health Services (administers the Colorado Retail Food Establishment program) issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 3.1% change in establishments since 2022 (1,235 → 1,273).
The average foodservice wage here is $507 below the Colorado average ($28,457); Colorado has about 13,675 food & drink establishments statewide.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (NAICS 722, food services & drinking places) — establishments with paid employees. Some small-county payroll figures are withheld by Census for confidentiality.
State-set fees: Colorado retail food license fees are established statewide in statute (SB25-285 raised them 25% for 2026, with further 20% increases in 2027 and 2028); Jefferson County Public Health administers and collects the license and inspects; a county/district board of health may adopt fees LOWER than the statute if it stays in Food Protection Act compliance; 2026 amounts apply to establishments newly licensed on or after Sept 1, 2025
Turnaround: Approx; 2 weeks to review drawings, specifications and menus and meet with the plan-review coordinator (per Jeffco)
Colorado law bars local letter grades; inspection reports posted online.
State-set fee under SB25-285. Colorado's HB25-1295 provides statewide mobile food-truck license reciprocity, but the license/permit must still be issued and fees paid; a commissary/servicing base is required
Fees/payment and forms are on the department site; application steps vary by concept — see the checklist below.
The government permit & plan-review fees below total roughly $974–$1,217 for Jefferson County:
That’s the paperwork only. Add buildout, equipment, deposits and licenses with the cost-to-open calculator. Fees change — confirm current amounts with the department.
Comparison uses the lowest published annual restaurant-permit figure in each county; confirm your exact tier with the department.
U.S. Census 2023 population; County Business Patterns 2022 (NAICS 722).
Plus building, fire, and business-license fees that vary locally — use the cost calculators and the checklist below to budget the full stack.
food establishments here must control fats, oils & grease (FOG) with a grease interceptor or trap, and typically register with the local sewer/wastewater authority. A grease interceptor sized to the adopted plumbing code is required, with a municipal sewer-authority FOG discharge permit.
Size the interceptor with our grease-trap sizing calculator, compare units in the grease-trap catalog, and confirm the local FOG permit with Jefferson County Public Health - Environmental Health Services (administers the Colorado Retail Food Establishment program) (contact above).
Hood fire suppression: commercial cooking under a Type I hood needs a wet-chemical suppression system to NFPA 96, permitted and inspected by the local fire marshal. Type I hood fire suppression must meet NFPA 96 and the fire code adopted by the local fire authority. See do I need a hood? and the hood CFM calculator.
Backflow prevention: An approved backflow preventer with a certified annual test is required by the local water purveyor. A certified backflow assembly (often an RPZ) on the water service, tested annually, is standard — confirm with your water utility.
| Category | Annual fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Caterer | $481 (0-100 seats); $538 (101-200 seats); $581 (over 200 seats); 2026 | State-set: SB25-285 prices caterers on the same seating tiers as restaurants |
| Commissary / central preparation kitchen | not a separately priced Colorado retail-food category; a commissary is licensed under the establishment type matching its operation; Confirm with Jeffco EH (303-232-6301) | No stand-alone commissary fee in the state schedule |
| Bakery / food processing | a retail bakery is licensed as a restaurant or limited food service establishment; wholesale food manufacturing is regulated by the CO Dept of Agriculture, not retail-food licensing; Confirm applicable category | Retail vs; wholesale determines the licensing path in Colorado |
| Bar / limited food service | $338 (Limited Food Service Establishment); 2026 | Bars/limited-menu operations are licensed as Limited Food Service Establishments under SB25-285 |
| Grocery / market with deli | Grocery store: $244 (under 15,001 sq ft), $441 (over 15,000 sq ft); Grocery with deli: $469 (under 15,001 sq ft), $894 (over 15,000 sq ft); 2026 | State-set by square footage; adding a deli/food-prep area roughly doubles the fee |
| Temporary / seasonal event | Colorado issues temporary retail food event licenses and Jeffco requires its own county-issued temporary license (no other county's accepted), but the temporary fee is not on the annual state category schedule; Confirm with Jeffco EH (303-232-6301) | Temporary licensing is handled separately from the annual license categories |
| Pushcart / mobile vending | $481 (Mobile Food Establishment; Full Service); $338 (Mobile Food Establishment; Prepackaged Food); 2026 | State-set under SB25-285; HB25-1295 adds statewide mobile reciprocity, and a commissary is required |
Health-department plan review looks for specific, code-compliant fixtures. Compare spec-filtered options, then confirm counts and sizes with your local requirements. See the full list in what equipment a commercial kitchen requires.
Permit costs and rules change at the county line — compare Jefferson County with its neighbors.
This is a typical sequence — confirm the exact sequence with your authority having jurisdiction.
Official plan-check requirements: plan-check guide →