Last updated 2026-08-21
TL;DR
Colorado does not have a yellow grease board or a statewide occupational license for used cooking oil collectors. You still form a business with the Secretary of State, follow city FOG and hauler rules, and check whether a processing site needs a solid waste review under CRS 30-20 and 6 CCR 1007-2. Yellow grease prices follow the national fats market. Confirm every fee with the county, CDPHE, and Revenue. Nobody can promise an approval date.
Is there a yellow grease board in Colorado?
No. Colorado does not run a yellow grease board, a used cooking oil board, or any statewide occupational board that licenses grease collectors.
I looked where people actually look. The Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations publishes the profession roster it regulates. Used cooking oil collection is not on that roster. [1] There is no exam. There is no board calendar. There is no state card that says you may buy fryer oil.
People still talk as if a board exists. Other states built real registration lists, and city FOG inspectors can feel like a board when they tell a kitchen no. They are not a board. They are local sewer staff and private buyers.
Other states really did build paper. California's inedible kitchen grease path is the file people try to photocopy onto a Denver route. That photocopy does not create a Colorado license.
If someone sells you a Colorado yellow grease license package, ask them to name the statute. If they cannot point to a DPO license type or a CRS chapter that creates a collector license, you are buying a folder.
Colorado still has paper. It just lives in other offices.
Do you need a license for yellow grease in Colorado?
You do not need a statewide occupational license to collect yellow grease in Colorado. You do need a legal business, and you may need local hauler, health, or sewer program registrations depending on the city.
That is the full state-level answer. It annoys people who want one stamp.
Form an entity with the Colorado Secretary of State under Title 7. [2] Open a sales tax account if you will sell grease, bins, or related goods, using the Department of Revenue license process. [3] Then call the county and the city where you will park trucks and set bins. Ask a narrow question. Ask whether they keep a grease hauler list, and whether that list is for interceptor pump-out, yellow grease, or both.
Yellow grease (used fryer oil you buy as a product) and brown grease (interceptor waste) are different materials. Mix the words and you will file the wrong paper. Some metro pretreatment desks track haulers because restaurants have pumping rules. That list is still not a yellow grease board.
I would not pay a fixer for a phantom state license. Spend the time on offtake and route density instead.
Who actually regulates yellow grease Colorado routes?
Several offices can touch a route. None of them is a yellow grease board.
CDPHE's Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division writes the solid waste rules at 6 CCR 1007-2. [4] Counties issue a Certificate of Designation when a site is a solid wastes disposal site and facility under CRS 30-20-102. [5] City wastewater plants run FOG programs under local sewer ordinances, the federal National Pretreatment Program, and Colorado Regulation 63. [6] [7]
If you only buy used cooking oil, keep it in closed tanks, and sell it to a renderer, many operators treat that as a commodity purchase. If you accept interceptor pump-out, process sludge, or discard off-spec oil, you look more like solid waste. CDPHE and the county get to agree with your story. You do not get the last word.
Air rules can apply if you heat, cook, or render. Colorado Regulation 3 is the Air Pollutant Emission Notice and stationary source permit rule. [8] Confirm with the Air Pollution Control Division before you fire a cooker in a rented bay.
The truck still needs ordinary insurance and, if it is heavy enough, commercial driver rules. That is motor carrier paper. It is not a grease license.
How much does yellow grease cost in Colorado?
There is no Colorado board price. Yellow grease in Colorado costs whatever the fats market and your local renderer will pay or charge that week.
The public reference series is national. USDA's Oil Crops Yearbook tracks U.S. yellow grease prices in cents per pound. [9] EIA tracks how many pounds of yellow grease U.S. biodiesel plants consume as feedstock. [10] Those series move with diesel, soybean oil, and biomass-based diesel credits. They do not post a Denver lot price.
USDA Oil Crops Yearbook tracks U.S. yellow grease in cents per pound, not a Colorado board price.
What you pay a restaurant is a private bid. Some rooms give you the oil for a locked bin and a pickup that actually shows up. Some want a few cents per pound when the book is high. Some want a monthly fee for dock space. I would not lock a long we-pay-you-X-cents deal unless I already had matching offtake. You can lose a month if the book drops and you still owe the kitchen.
What a renderer pays you is also a bid. It is usually tied to a published fats sheet, then cut for moisture, insolubles, and unsaponifiables. High water is how collectors go broke. Nobody has good public data on a Colorado lot price. The closest published numbers sit in those USDA tables. Confirm with two buyers before you quote a restaurant.
If you are the plant buying finished yellow grease, use the current USDA table and your last invoice. Do not use a screenshot from a spike year.
How long does yellow grease take in Colorado?
There is no board clock. Colorado does not publish a yellow grease approval time because there is no yellow grease approval.
Business entity filings with the Secretary of State can move on a short administrative timeline when you file online. That is not a grease permit. I will not quote a processing time. Confirm current turnaround on the SOS site the day you file. Revenue licensing is a separate queue. [2] [3]
Local FOG hauler lists, if your city keeps one, run on that city's calendar. A Certificate of Designation for a real processing site is a county land-use review plus CDPHE. In most Colorado counties that review is measured in months, not days. Confirm with county planning and CDPHE. No one can honestly promise you a date.
On the operations side, restaurants need fryer oil pulled on a cycle that matches fryer load. Many kitchens want weekly service. Some high-volume rooms need it faster. Your renderer will tell you how long a tank can sit before quality falls off.
If a consultant promises statewide approval in two weeks, they are selling a myth.
Is used cooking oil used oil or solid waste in Colorado?
Usually neither, if you are buying fryer oil as a product and it stays in the commodity chain. The labels still matter. Read them.
Federal used oil rules at 40 CFR 279.1 say: "Used oil means any oil that has been refined from crude oil, or any synthetic oil, that has been used and as a result of such use is contaminated by physical or chemical impurities." [11] Straight vegetable fryer oil is not crude-based. Mix it with crankcase oil and you may have bought a used oil problem. Do not mix them.
Federal solid waste rules start with discarded material. 40 CFR 261.2(a)(1) states: "A solid waste is any discarded material that is not excluded under § 261.4(a) or that is not excluded by a variance granted under §§ 260.30 and 260.31 or that is not excluded by a non-waste determination under §§ 260.30 and 260.34." [12] Colorado's site and facility statute uses a parallel discarded-material idea in CRS Title 30, Article 20. [5]
If the kitchen sells you oil, you issue a ticket, and a plant buys it as feedstock, you can argue it was not discarded. If the kitchen pays you to take a waste away, or you dump off-spec product, you look like a hauler of discarded material.
I am not your lawyer. Ask CDPHE in writing how they see your exact flow. Save the reply.
What paper do you file before you pick up the first bin?
File the boring business stack first. Then the local stack. Then the commercial stack.
Start with an entity. Most small collectors use an LLC under Title 7. Add a Colorado trade name if you will operate under a DBA. [2] Register with Revenue if you will make taxable sales. [3] Get an EIN if you do not have one. Open a bank account that is not your rent account. Put auto liability and general liability in force before a bin hits a dock. I cannot quote you a premium. Shop it.
Ask the city whether they keep a grease hauler roster for interceptor pumpers. If you only do yellow grease, say so in the email. Ask the wastewater plant who they want on a manifest if a restaurant mixes you up with their brown grease pumper.
Get a written offtake with a renderer or biodiesel plant. A route with no buyer is a storage problem. If you want a paper checklist in one place, YellowGreasePath sells a $149 one-time Bin + Theft + Renderer Kit at /start. You can also build the same file with a folder and a stapler.
Do not buy four new trucks. One reliable pump truck and bins that lock will beat a fleet you cannot insure.
What do Colorado restaurants and cities require for grease?
Restaurants live under sewer-use rules, not a grease board. Cities care about FOG in pipes.
EPA told municipalities that FOG from food service establishments clogs collection systems, and it published a short fact sheet for pretreatment programs on controlling those discharges. [6] Colorado cities implement that through local ordinances and through Regulation 63 pretreatment. [7]
Denver's utilities rules live in Denver Revised Municipal Code Chapter 56. [13] Other Front Range cities write their own interceptor sizing and pumping schedules. Those rules mostly hit brown grease and interceptors. They still affect you because the kitchen manager treats the grease guy as one person.
Walk in with a one-page service agreement, a pickup schedule, a spill number, and a lock. Do not promise to pump interceptors unless you are actually set up for that waste stream.
If a city asks for proof of disposal, your renderer ticket is the document. Keep it for longer than you think you need.
Do you need a rendering or processing permit in Colorado?
If you only collect and transfer yellow grease to someone else's plant, you are usually not a renderer. If you cook, separate, grind, or run a biodiesel reactor, you left the simple path.
A site that treats or disposes of solid waste can need a Certificate of Designation under CRS 30-20-102. [5] The implementing rule is 6 CCR 1007-2. [4] Confirm with the county and CDPHE before you install a cooker, a centrifuge, or a tank farm that looks like a facility.
If you sell a feed ingredient, Colorado commercial feed law in Title 35 can require feed registration. Confirm with the Colorado Department of Agriculture if that is actually your product. [14]
Heating fats can trigger an Air Pollutant Emission Notice under Regulation 3. [8] Do not guess the emission threshold. Ask the Air Pollution Control Division.
A backyard biodiesel still is how people meet their zoning officer. I would not do it.
What does first-year operations paper look like in Colorado?
First year is tickets, not trophies.
You will generate pickup tickets or bills of lading, renderer settlement sheets, MIU tests if the buyer charges you back, truck inspection files, spill records, and a complaint log. Cities will ask for disposal proof when a restaurant fails an interceptor inspection and tries to hand them your card.
Track moisture. A wet load can wipe a week's margin. Track theft. Unlocked bins on the Front Range walk away. I like a photo of the lock and a numbered seal more than a speech about trust.
Sales tax returns follow whatever Revenue told you when you opened the account. [3] Payroll filings exist the day you have an employee. IFTA and IRP exist the day you run interstate for fuel tax and plates.
Build a binder with tabs for SOS, Revenue, insurance, offtake, tickets, and spills. That binder is the job.
How does Colorado compare to states that license grease haulers?
Colorado is a no-board state. California is not.
CalRecycle runs an Inedible Kitchen Grease program that registers IKG haulers and related businesses. [15] That is a real state list with real enforcement. Colorado has no twin of that program. Alaska also has no board, which is closer to the Colorado fact pattern than anything on the West Coast.
| Question | Colorado | California IKG |
|---|---|---|
| Statewide collector registration | No DPO license [1] | CalRecycle IKG program [15] |
| Business entity filing | Title 7 with SOS [2] | Separate state business file |
| Local FOG and sewer rules | City ordinances plus Regulation 63 [7] | Local rules plus state IKG |
| Processing site | Possible CRS 30-20 certificate [5] | Separate facility rules |
Neighbor paper still matters if the truck crosses a line. Read Arizona's grease path and Idaho's path before you bid a route that leaks over a border. Illinois, Florida, and Alabama built different stacks. Do not drop a California binder on a Colorado dock and assume you are done.
If you haul into Colorado from a licensed state, you still form or qualify a business here. You still obey the city that owns the sewer.
What would I actually do if I were starting in Colorado?
I would pick one renderer along I-25 or I-70 that already buys yellow grease and ask for their inbound spec. I would not build a plant.
I would form the LLC, open the tax account, and insure one truck. I would walk independent restaurants in one metro, not four hundred stops across the mountains. Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins each have enough fryers. Scattered resort towns look pretty and wreck the fuel budget.
I would use used bins that lock. New stainless is a vanity buy in year one. I would refuse interceptor waste until I had a legal home for it.
I would confirm in writing with the city pretreatment contact and with CDPHE that my yellow grease flow is what I think it is. Email is fine. Save the reply.
I would ignore anyone selling a statewide grease license. That product does not exist here.
What wastes money on a Colorado yellow grease startup?
A board application fee paid to a consultant is a waste. A second truck before you have a second full day of stops is a waste. Paying kitchens a high per-pound price with no offtake hedge is how you fund their remodel.
A pretty warehouse is a waste. You need a fenced lot, secondary containment if you store bulk oil, and a neighbor who will not call zoning on day three.
Skipping the spill kit is a false savings. One dock spill into a storm inlet will cost more than the pads.
Buying national price screenshots from a spike year and bidding as if that book still exists is a waste. Use the current USDA table and a live renderer quote. [9]
Call the right desk and ask a narrow question. For a collector license, ask DPO whether any license type covers used cooking oil collection. [1] For a lot that might be a facility, ask CDPHE solid waste and county planning, and cite CRS 30-20-102. [5] For an APEN, ask the Air Pollution Control Division and cite Regulation 3. [8] For taxability of grease sales, ask Revenue in writing. [3]
Write one page. Say what you collect, where it sits, who buys it, and what you do not collect. Attach a photo of the tank.
YellowGreasePath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a service company. Read the statute. Confirm the fee on the agency page the day you pay it.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license for yellow grease in Colorado?
No statewide occupational license exists for yellow grease collectors. Colorado DPO does not list that profession. You still need a Secretary of State entity, and you may need city FOG or hauler registrations. Processing sites can trigger CRS 30-20 review. Confirm with the city and CDPHE for your exact flow.
How much does yellow grease cost in Colorado?
There is no Colorado board price. Collectors and restaurants set private bids. Resale follows the national fats market. USDA's Oil Crops Yearbook tracks U.S. yellow grease in cents per pound. EIA tracks biodiesel plant use. Confirm today's number with two local buyers before you quote a kitchen.
How long does yellow grease take in Colorado?
There is no state grease approval clock. SOS and Revenue filings have their own queues. Confirm turnaround the day you file. A Certificate of Designation for a processing site is a county and CDPHE review that often runs for months. Weekly restaurant pickup is an operations cycle, not a license timeline. No one can promise a date.
Is there a Colorado used cooking oil collector permit?
Not as a statewide DPO license. Some cities and pretreatment programs keep hauler lists, mostly for interceptor (brown grease) pumpers. Yellow grease bought as a commodity may sit outside that list. Ask the wastewater plant in writing and keep the email. Do not buy a consultant folder labeled as a state permit.
Is yellow grease the same as brown grease in Colorado?
No. Yellow grease is used fryer oil. Brown grease is interceptor or trap waste. Cities care more about brown grease because it hits sewers. Mixing the two can turn a commodity load into a waste load. Keep separate tanks, separate tickets, and a renderer that will take only what you actually collected.
Do I need a CDL to haul yellow grease in Colorado?
It depends on the truck, not the grease. Federal CDL rules in 49 CFR 383 generally kick in at 26,001 pounds GVWR, and for certain combinations or placarded hazmat. A small pump truck may sit under that line. Confirm the door rating and ask Colorado DMV before you hire a driver without a CDL.
Do restaurants pay me or do I pay them for yellow grease?
Either, and it changes with the book. When yellow grease is worth more, collectors often pay or offer free bins. When the book is weak, some kitchens still want service more than cash. I would not sign a long per-pound pay rate without matching offtake. Write the price rule in the contract so nobody is guessing on pickup day.
Does Denver have its own grease hauler list?
Denver regulates utilities and FOG through local ordinance, including Chapter 56, and through pretreatment. Whether they keep a yellow grease roster is a question for the current wastewater FOG desk, not a statewide board. Ask them what document they want when a restaurant is asked for proof of disposal. Keep renderer tickets.
Can I make biodiesel from yellow grease on a farm in Colorado?
You can meet zoning, fire, air, and waste rules you did not budget for. Heating and reacting fats can trigger a Regulation 3 APEN. A site that treats discarded material can look like a CRS 30-20 facility. I would sell to a real plant instead. Confirm with CDPHE Air and solid waste before you buy a reactor.
Is stolen restaurant grease a police issue in Colorado?
Theft of oil you already bought, or of a restaurant's oil you contracted to collect, is a property crime for local police. It is not a board complaint, because there is no board. Use locks, seals, photos, and written exclusive contracts. Call law enforcement for a theft, and call the restaurant so they are not blaming your route.
Do I need a Certificate of Designation just to store totes?
Not automatically. A Certificate of Designation applies when the site is a solid wastes disposal site and facility under CRS 30-20. Commodity oil in closed totes may not fit that definition. A transfer yard that treats, discards, or looks like a dump might. Ask CDPHE and county planning with photos and a one-page process description.
Does Colorado sales tax apply to yellow grease sales?
Taxability depends on what you sell and to whom. I will not invent the answer. Apply through the Department of Revenue if you will make sales, then ask Revenue in writing whether your outbound grease invoices are taxable. Keep that written answer with your returns. Confirm the current license steps on the Revenue license page.
Can I haul yellow grease from Wyoming into Colorado?
Crossing a state line does not create a Colorado grease board, and it does not erase Colorado city rules. You still need a legal business posture in Colorado, insurance that covers the trip, and a buyer. If the truck is heavy or you go interstate often, add IFTA and IRP to the checklist. Confirm ports and weight rules with CDOT.
Where do I confirm a fee before I pay it?
Confirm SOS entity fees on the Secretary of State fee or filing page the day you file. Confirm tax license steps with the Department of Revenue. Confirm any city hauler fee with that city. Confirm a Certificate of Designation cost with the county. Ignore verbal quotes from consultants. Yellow grease Colorado fees are not set by a grease board.
Sources
- Colorado Division of Professions and Occupations, Professions list: Colorado DPO publishes the professions it licenses; used cooking oil or yellow grease collection is not a listed DPO profession.
- Colorado Revised Statutes Title 7 (Corporations and Associations), OLLS 2024 CRS PDF: Colorado business entities, including LLCs, are formed under Title 7 with the Secretary of State.
- Colorado Department of Revenue, How to apply for a license: Colorado businesses that make taxable sales apply for a Revenue license through the Department of Revenue process.
- 6 CCR 1007-2, Regulations Pertaining to Solid Waste Sites and Facilities: Colorado solid waste sites and facilities are regulated under 6 CCR 1007-2.
- Colorado Revised Statutes Title 30 (including Article 20 solid wastes sites and facilities), OLLS 2024 CRS PDF: CRS Title 30, Article 20 requires a Certificate of Designation to operate a solid wastes disposal site and facility and defines solid waste for that part.
- 5 CCR 1002-63, Colorado Pretreatment Regulations (Regulation 63): Colorado implements pretreatment requirements, including industrial and commercial wastewater controls, under Regulation 63.
- 5 CCR 1001-5, Regulation Number 3 (APEN and stationary source permitting): Colorado Regulation 3 sets Air Pollutant Emission Notice and stationary source permitting requirements that can apply if fats are heated or processed.
- USDA ERS, Oil Crops Yearbook: USDA ERS Oil Crops Yearbook publishes U.S. yellow grease price series in cents per pound.
- U.S. EIA, Monthly Biodiesel Production Report (inputs tables): EIA reports U.S. biodiesel plant feedstock inputs, including yellow grease, in pounds.
- 40 CFR 279.1, Definitions (used oil): Used oil means any oil refined from crude oil, or any synthetic oil, that has been used and is contaminated by physical or chemical impurities.
- 40 CFR 261.2, Definition of solid waste: A solid waste is any discarded material that is not excluded under the cited variance or non-waste provisions.
- Denver Revised Municipal Code, Chapter 56 Utilities: Denver's municipal utilities code (Chapter 56) is the local ordinance home for sewer-use rules that affect restaurant FOG.
- Colorado Revised Statutes Title 35 (Agriculture), OLLS 2024 CRS PDF: Colorado commercial feed and related agriculture statutes in Title 35 can require registration if a processor sells a feed ingredient.