Denver contractor licenses, permits and local rules

Colorado leaves most home-service licensing to cities and counties, and Denver is one of the cities that takes the job seriously. This page covers what the city's own offices say in October 2026: Community Planning and Development (the permit and contractor licensing office), the Department of Finance (taxes), and the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (streets and wastewater). It is general information, not legal advice, and each item should be confirmed with the office named before you rely on it.

Which rules are Colorado's and which are Denver's

The state licenses electricians, plumbers and commercial pesticide applicators. Our Colorado contractor licenses guide and the Colorado start-up page cover that layer. Everything else on this page sits on top of it and belongs to Denver: the city contractor license, the city permit system, the construction rules, the city sales and use tax, and the head tax. Denver's Contractor Licensing page says the city does not accept or reciprocate licenses or certificates from other counties or states, so a license from a neighboring suburb does not carry over.

Denver licenses general, building, residential and specialty contractors

Denver's fee schedule for contractor licenses lists these classes: General Contractor Class A, Building Contractor Class B, Residential Contractor Class C, Specialty Class D, and the mechanical license types. Each is $250.00 and renews every three years as listed in October 2026. The same schedule lists a Plumbing A license at $160.00 every two years, an electrical license at $0.00 every three years, a supervisor certificate at $60.00 every three years, and a dumpster license at $50.00 every three years.

Most routes begin with a supervisor certificate. Contractor Licensing says it is the first step toward a contractor's license, that you can hold one yourself or employ someone who does, and that each certificate type is applied for separately. Holders of a Colorado electrical or plumbing license can skip the certificate. Licenses renew starting 30 days before they expire and up to one year after; a license expired more than a year goes through reinstatement. You can check any company against the city's contractor license search before you hire it as a subcontractor.

Roofing, siding, fences and decks fall under Class D certificates

Denver sorts the trades that homeowners hire most into Specialty Class D. The certificate list includes Roofing-Shingles (Residential Only), Metal Roof Installer, Roof Covering and Waterproofing, Siding, Fence Structures, Open Deck Installer, Masonry, Drywall and Non-Structural Residential Remodel. The pages we read list two years of field experience, documented by notarized letters, for most of them, and list no exam for most. The roof covering and waterproofing certificate asks for at least 24 projects from 24 different months, with 75 percent on low-slope commercial roofs. The remodel certificate covers non-bearing work on single-family homes, duplexes and townhomes.

Each certificate has its own scope page. Read the one for your trade, because a metal roof certificate does not let you install shingles, and the open deck certificate excludes shade devices and closed roofs. Painting is not on the certificate list we read, which matches the permit exemptions below.

What needs a permit and how to get one

Denver's homeowner permit page lists work that needs no building permit: painting, papering, tiling, floor coverings, refinishing wood floors, countertops, cabinets, replacing like-for-like plumbing fixtures such as faucets and sinks, and patching or replacing one drywall sheet no larger than 4 feet by 8 feet. The page adds that a wastewater, zoning or fire permit can still apply when a building permit does not.

Roofing and siding are on the city's quick permit list, which skips plan review under set conditions. Permits are applied for through the E-permits portal and are no longer issued at the counter. Exterior work in landmark or historic areas, roofs included, cannot be permitted online. Plan the schedule around that if you work in older neighborhoods.

Homeowners can pull their own permits, with limits that matter to you as a contractor. The permit must be for a single-family home, the owner must live there and show photo ID matching the Assessor's records, the owner must stay in the home for at least one year after the work, and the city does not issue homeowner permits to trusts, LLCs or corporations. Roofing and siding permits need no exam, but electrical, plumbing and mechanical work do.

A new rule affects larger jobs. The E-permits page says construction and demolition projects covered by Denver's Universal Recycling and Composting Ordinance, effective September 1, 2026, must pay an administrative fee and a refundable performance security deposit before permits are issued. Ask which side of that line your job falls on before you quote.

Hours, dust, dumpsters and street use

Contractor Licensing publishes a Basic Construction Rules sheet. It cites Denver's municipal code, chapter 36, for noise: weekday hours run 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and weekend hours run 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It requires reasonable steps to keep dust from becoming airborne, a rule that applies on evenings, weekends and holidays too, and it bars dirt or debris in streets, alleys, sidewalks and city dumpsters. It also requires a portable toilet or sanitary facility at each site, runoff and erosion control, and a 6-foot fence around open excavations. Keep the building permit on site, on paper or on a phone.

Dumpsters and roll-offs are a street-use matter. Basic Construction Rules says you need a right-of-way permit from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure before putting a container in a street or blocking an alley. The department's FAQ says the container company pulls that permit, not the customer. Its annual dumpster form requires the plate on the rear upper left corner and placement at least 20 feet from any corner, ramp, alley or entrance, within the parking lane and clear of hydrants and sidewalks. If you run a junk removal truck or rent bins, our junk removal start-up guide covers the business side. For pressure washing, Denver's stormwater page says anything other than rain and snowmelt going down a storm drain can be a pollutant, and it asks residents to report suds and unusual substances to 3-1-1. We found no Denver page written specifically for mobile washers, so ask Wastewater Management how to handle your wash water; our pressure washing guide covers the general practice.

Denver collects its own sales tax and a monthly head tax

Denver is a home rule city, and the Treasury Division runs its own tax licensing alongside the state's. Its Business Tax FAQ lists a general sales tax rate of 5.15 percent, 9.15 percent combined with state, transit and special district taxes. A sales tax license is free, and the page names software, telecommunications and a few other services as taxable. It does not list lawn, cleaning or repair work, and Denver publishes a guide for general contractors and subcontractors that spells out how construction is treated, so read it before you invoice. Our sales tax by state table shows the state layer. A tax license does not let you do business in Denver, and the FAQ says a business license and special industry license may also be required.

The Occupational Privilege Tax is the one that surprises small crews. Denver's tax guide says an employee earning at least $500 in a month for work in Denver owes $5.75, withheld by the employer. The business owes $4.00 per taxable employee and $4.00 for each owner, partner or manager working in Denver. Any entity with activity in Denver owes at least $4.00 a month even without a permanent location, so an out-of-town crew that works in Denver for a month has an account to open.

Weather sets the calendar

NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals put Denver at 14.48 inches of precipitation a year and a 51.2 degree annual average temperature. Snow is where the service calendar splits: the National Weather Service puts the seasonal normal at 47.0 inches at Denver International Airport, with the western suburbs closer to 65 to 70 inches. The normals show Denver's wettest months as May (2.16 inches) and July (2.14), and its driest as December (0.35) and January (0.38), which leaves a long dry window for exterior painting, deck work and washing between storms.

Putting Denver's rules on your site and phone line

List your Denver license class and number on your website and on every estimate, so a homeowner can check it against the city's contractor license search. When hail season brings roofing calls, an AI receptionist can capture the address, ask whether the home is in a landmark district, and book the visit while your crew is on a roof.

Frequently asked questions