Licenses, Renewals, and Ownership Changes

Whether starting a new retail food business or making changes, we support you. Let’s walk through the process of ensuring your establishment is licensed.

Photo showing stoves in a commercial kitchen

Applying for a New License

The Colorado Revised Statutes require that complete plans and specifications must be submitted, reviewed, and approved by the local health department before any construction, remodeling, and/or taking over of an existing facility can begin on a retail food establishment or before a license can be issued.

Plan Reviews Current Regulations

Photo showing a chef tossing vegetables in a pan over a gas stove fire

License Renewals

Invoices to renew licenses will be sent out each mid-November to apply for the following year. Payment is due by December 31 of each year for license renewal for the following year.

Process of Changing Ownership

1. Purchasing an Establishment

If you purchase an establishment that is already owned by a licensed owner, you can be approved to license and operate the establishment in a shorter process.

2. Scheduling an Inspection

Schedule a change-of-ownership inspection appointment. An Environmental Health Specialist will provide you with a list of structural and equipment violations that must be corrected for an application for a new retail food establishment license to be approved.

3. Addressing Violations

All violations on the inspection list must be corrected within 14 days of the inspection.

4. Application Approval

Correction of all violations, payment of the license and all inspection fees, and a State of Colorado Department of Revenue Sales Tax License in the new owner’s name will allow approval of an application for a valid retail food establishment license in the new owner’s name.

Update Owner or Facility Contact Information for Your Business

Complete the Change of Address or Ownership Form and either email it to EnvironmentalHeatlthInspections@adcogov.org or mail it to Adams County Health Department, c/o Environmental Health Office, 7190 Colorado Blvd., Ste. 200, Commerce City, CO 80022.

Change of Address or Ownership Form (Coming Soon!)