You can buy alcohol in Colorado seven days a week, including Sundays and holidays. Liquor stores, grocery stores, and convenience stores sell from 8:00 AM to midnight. Bars and restaurants serve from 7:00 AM to 2:00 AM. The state sets those windows as the maximum, and you need to be 21 with valid ID at any checkout or bar.
Store Hours for Off-Premises Purchases
Retail liquor stores, liquor-licensed drugstores, grocery stores, and convenience stores can sell alcohol from 8:00 AM to midnight every day.1Justia. Colorado Code 44-3-901 – Unlawful Acts – Exceptions – Definitions The midnight cutoff catches visitors off guard, since bars keep serving for another two hours. If you want to take something home, you need to be in line before midnight.
Cities and counties can set stricter hours than the state default, so a local jurisdiction could require stores to stop at 10:00 PM. Most Colorado municipalities stick with midnight. No local authority can push closing time later than the state maximum.
Bar and Restaurant Hours
Any establishment licensed for on-premises consumption — taverns, hotel and restaurant licensees, brew pubs, and similar venues — can serve alcohol from 7:00 AM until 2:00 AM every day of the week.1Justia. Colorado Code 44-3-901 – Unlawful Acts – Exceptions – Definitions No alcohol can be served between 2:00 AM and 7:00 AM. Last call is enforced strictly, because bartenders who pour past 2:00 AM risk license violations.
A handful of smaller Colorado towns close service earlier under local rules. Check with the venue if you’re planning a late night somewhere outside a major city.
Sundays and Holidays
Colorado lifted its ban on Sunday liquor sales in 2008. Stores, bars, and restaurants now run the same schedule every day of the week. There are no statewide dry days. Christmas, Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July, and every other holiday follow the ordinary hours under state law. Local jurisdictions technically can restrict certain days, but this is rare and you’re unlikely to hit a day-of-week restriction in any major city or town.
Delivery Hours
If the store is closed, delivery may still be an option for a short window. Bars, restaurants, and other on-premises licensees can deliver and offer takeout between 7:00 AM and midnight. Retail liquor stores can deliver beer, wine, and spirits to your door, with the delivery made by a store employee at least 21 years old, using a vehicle owned or leased by the store, and the driver verifying your age the same way a cashier would.2Justia. Colorado Code 44-3-409 – Retail Liquor Store License Grocery and convenience stores holding a fermented malt beverage and wine retailer license can deliver beer and wine under similar rules.3Justia. Colorado Code 44-4-107 – Fermented Malt Beverage and Wine Retailer License – Fees – Definitions
Where to Buy Beer, Wine, and Spirits
Hours tell you when, but the type of store determines what you can actually buy. Colorado issues different license classes, and spirits are the main dividing line.4Justia. Colorado Code 44-3-401 – Classes of Licenses and Permits – Rules
Retail liquor stores and liquor-licensed drugstores can sell beer, wine, and spirits in sealed containers. These are the most reliable places to find distilled liquor.
Most grocery stores and convenience stores hold a fermented malt beverage and wine retailer license, which covers beer and wine only.3Justia. Colorado Code 44-4-107 – Fermented Malt Beverage and Wine Retailer License – Fees – Definitions This license does not permit the sale of spirits.5Colorado Department of Revenue. Bulletin 22-04 – Fermented Malt Beverage and Wine Retailers Full-strength beer became available in grocery stores starting in 2019, and voters approved wine sales in grocery stores in 2022.
A small number of grocery and big-box stores, around 36 statewide, hold separate liquor licenses that let them sell spirits. Colorado passed legislation in 2025 halting further expansion of hard liquor sales in grocery and big-box stores. If you need vodka, whiskey, or tequila, a dedicated liquor store is the surer bet.
Bars, restaurants, and taverns can serve beer, wine, and spirits on site. They cannot sell sealed containers to take home, except through the takeout and delivery options now allowed under state law.
Age and ID at the Register
You must be at least 21 to buy alcohol in Colorado. Sellers are required to verify your age unless you reasonably appear to be over 50.1Justia. Colorado Code 44-3-901 – Unlawful Acts – Exceptions – Definitions In practice, most stores card anyone who doesn’t clearly look well past that mark.
Acceptable ID must carry a photo and date of birth. Colorado accepts:6LII / Legal Information Institute. Colorado Code 1 CCR 203-2 – Regulation 47-912 – Identification
- A driver’s license or state ID issued by any U.S. state, territory, or foreign country
- A U.S. government-issued ID, including military IDs and permanent resident cards
- A passport or passport card from any country
- A consular ID card from any foreign country
- A verified digital ID
An expired ID is grounds for refusal even if you’re obviously over 21. Bars and retailers can also refuse service to anyone who appears intoxicated or presents identification that looks altered.