Welcome to the Excise and Licenses Home Page. The purpose of Excise and Licenses is to process, issue, renew, suspend, and revoke licenses abiding by methods that are fair, consistent, and efficient while providing excellent service in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Denver.
The Department of Excise and Licenses issues all of the business licenses for the City and County of Denver except those concerning motor vehicles and building/development. The Department determines the qualifications of applicants, conducts background checks, determines which licenses should be issued, collects fees, grants, renews, and denies applications. The Department also ensures compliance with and enforces the ordinances concerning the licenses. The Department holds hearings regarding applications and violations as appropriate. The Department may suspend or revoke a license as appropriate.
The Department serves as the City 's licensing authority for administering the Colorado Liquor and Beer Codes. The department processes and issues all liquor licenses for the city and issues the state licenses after state approval. The city also enforces the liquor code requirements.
The Department administers the alarm ordinance. The Department processes and issues alarm permits and notifies the dispatch center of the status of a user location. The Department keeps track of all false alarms reported by the police and places locations into general response if more than five false alarms are recorded at a particular location. For false Panic/Hold up alarms there is a $50.00 fined assessed against the permit holder. The Department also collects fines from alarm companies who attempt to dispatch emergency response without a valid permit number or with an incorrect number.
The Department of Excise and Licenses processes, issues, renews, suspends and revokes licenses for the City of Denver abiding by methods that are fair, consistent and efficient while providing excellent customer service in a cheerful and helpful manner. The department enforces applicable laws, rules and regulations in a fair and just manner. We treat our colleagues and the public with respect and cooperation at all times.