How to Renew a Colorado Sales Tax License: Online, Mail, and Deadlines

A Colorado sales tax license renewal is due every two years, on December 31 of each odd-numbered year, and the fastest way to complete it is through the Department of Revenue’s Revenue Online portal for $16 per physical location. The most recent deadline fell on December 31, 2025, and renewed licenses cover the two-year period that began January 1, 2026. There is no automatic renewal, so every active license holder has to go through the process.¹

When Your License Expires

Colorado uses a biennial cycle. Every standard sales tax license expires on December 31 of the next odd-numbered year after it was issued or last renewed.² The current cycle runs through December 31, 2027. Even a license issued only months before an expiration date still has to be renewed for the next period.¹

The renewal window typically opens about two months before December 31, so checking Revenue Online in early November of the expiration year is a sensible habit. One caveat worth knowing: if the Department sees no retail sales activity on your account for twelve consecutive months, it can refuse to renew on the theory that you’re no longer in business.²

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

Operating without a current license is a petty offense under Colorado law. On top of any criminal penalty, the state can impose a civil penalty of $50 per day, capped at $1,000. The Department may waive or reduce that amount if you can show the lapse was due to reasonable cause rather than willful neglect.²

If the deadline has already passed, the Department’s guidance is to renew immediately.¹ Delay increases your exposure to the per-day penalty and creates friction with vendors or auditors who verify license status. A lapsed license does not relieve you of the obligation to collect and remit sales tax on transactions that already happened. You still owe the tax.²

What to Have Ready Before You Start

A few items make the online process go faster:

Your Colorado Account Number (CAN), the eight-digit number assigned by the Department. It is not your Social Security number or federal EIN. You can find it on the upper-left portion of your current license as the first eight digits of the Use Account Number.³
Your current license certificate, which has identifying numbers you may need along the way.
Payment of $16 per physical location. Each location requires its own license and its own fee.¹

Your account also has to be in good standing before the system will let you renew. All prior sales tax returns must be filed, and any outstanding balances, penalties, or interest must be cleared. Unfiled returns will block the renewal until those gaps are closed.

Renewing Through Revenue Online

Log in to Revenue Online and look for the “Sales Tax License/Renewal” box on your home screen. Click “File Return” within that box.¹ The label is a little misleading since you are renewing rather than filing a return, but this is the right path.

The system will show your current business information for review. Confirm the business name, mailing address, and contact details. Mailing address updates can be made through the portal; physical location changes cannot and require a separate process. When everything looks correct, continue to payment. You can pay the $16 fee by electronic check or credit card.¹ After you submit, an on-screen confirmation number appears. Save or print it; that confirmation is your proof the renewal entered the processing queue.

Renewing by Mail

For a paper renewal, complete the Renewal Application for Sales Tax License (form DR 0594) and send it to any Department of Revenue Taxpayer Service Center with a check or money order for $16 per location.¹ Paper takes longer to process than online submissions, so if the deadline is close, the online route is the safer choice. Businesses already set up for Electronic Funds Transfer with the Department can also pay by EFT.

After You Renew

Online renewals typically process within a few business days, though end-of-year volume can slow things down. A new physical license arrives by mail at your registered address, and retailers are required to display it in a visible spot at the business location.⁴

While you wait, Revenue Online lets you view and print a digital version of the updated license under the “Letters” tab in your account. That digital copy works as temporary proof of valid licensure if a vendor or auditor asks.

Home-Rule City Licenses Are Separate

A state renewal does not cover every jurisdiction where you do business. The state sales tax license applies only to state-level tax and to local jurisdictions where the state collects on behalf of local governments.⁴ Colorado has dozens of home-rule cities that collect their own sales tax independently, each with its own license, renewal schedule, and fees.⁵

Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora, and Boulder are among the larger self-collecting jurisdictions, but the full list is longer than most owners expect. The Department publishes a complete list in its Sales/Use Tax Rates Publication (DR 1002). If you are not sure whether your city self-collects, check that publication or contact the city. Renewing the state license without handling the local one leaves a compliance gap that can lead to local penalties.

Remote Sellers

Out-of-state retailers face the same licensing requirements once they cross the economic nexus threshold of $100,000 in aggregate retail sales into Colorado in a calendar year.⁶ Below $100,000 in both the current and previous calendar years, with no physical presence in the state, no license is required. Above it, you follow the same biennial renewal cycle, pay the same $16, and face the same good-standing requirement as every other license holder.¹

Nonprofit Certificates Do Not Renew

If you hold a Colorado sales tax exemption certificate for a qualifying 501(c)(3) organization, there is nothing to renew. The certificate does not expire and carries no fee.⁷ Valid nonprofit exemption numbers begin with “98” or “098.” That credential is separate from a sales tax license and does not fall under the biennial renewal cycle.

1
Colorado Department of Revenue – Taxation. Renew Your Sales Tax License
2
FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 39 Taxation 39-26-103
3
Colorado Department of Revenue – Taxation. How to Look Up a Colorado Account Number (CAN)
4
Colorado Department of Revenue – Taxation. How to Apply for a Colorado Sales Tax License
5
Colorado Department of Revenue – Taxation. Local Government Sales Tax
6
Colorado Department of Revenue – Taxation. Sales Tax Guide
7
Colorado Department of Revenue – Taxation. Certificates of Exemption