Last updated 2026-08-19
TL;DR
Colorado does not sell a pet-only crematory license. A pets-only shop sits outside DORA's funeral and human crematory program. You still form a business with the Secretary of State, get local zoning and building sign-off, and usually file air paperwork with CDPHE before a flame retort runs. Consumer prices are set by shops, not the state. Cycle time is a function of the animal and the machine, not a Colorado clock.
Do you need a license for pet cremation in Colorado?
No. Colorado does not issue a dedicated statewide license that says you may cremate pets. A pets-only crematory is not a DORA funeral home or human crematory registration. You still need a real business entity, local zoning approval, building and fire sign-off, and usually an air filing with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment before a flame unit operates.[1][2][3]
People hear the word crematory and assume the funeral board owns it. It does not, not for animals. The Mortuary Science Code sits in Colorado Revised Statutes Title 12, Article 135.[1] That article is built around human remains and the shops that handle them. DORA's Funeral Homes and Crematories program is the human side of this trade.[2]
That is not a free pass to fire a burner in a garage. Counties and cities control land use. CDPHE controls stationary air sources. The Secretary of State takes the entity filing. Revenue takes the sales tax account if you sell urns or other taxable goods.[5][6][7]
If you also want to cremate people, stop and call DORA before you buy anything. Mixed human and pet work is a different legal fact pattern. I would not share a human retort with pets without written board guidance. Confirm that in writing. Do not take a vendor's shrug as the answer.
The longer license walk-through is in the pet cremation license in Colorado guide. Use it when you need the board map without the startup story.
Which Colorado agencies actually touch pet cremation?
DORA does not license a pets-only crematory. The desks that matter are CDPHE air staff, your city or county planning office, the Secretary of State, and the Department of Revenue. PACFA and the veterinary board stay out of a remains-only shop unless you also keep live animals or practice veterinary medicine.[2][3][8][9]
Colorado has 64 counties, and land-use approval runs through those counties and their cities, not through a pet crematory board.[13] That is the part national checklists skip. A yes in Weld County does not move a box in Pitkin County. Home-rule cities add another layer on top of the county map.
Here is the honest desk chart. Print it. Take it to the counter so you do not ask the wrong office for a license they do not sell.
| Desk | What they actually control | Pets-only shop |
|---|---|---|
| DORA Funeral Homes and Crematories | Human funeral homes, human crematories, mortuary science | Usually none |
| CDPHE Air Pollution Control Division | APEN filings and construction permits | Usually in play, confirm |
| City or county planning | Zoning, special use, building | Always |
| Secretary of State | Entity and trade name | Always |
| Department of Revenue | Sales tax license | If you sell taxable goods |
| CDA PACFA | Live pet facilities | Only if you keep live animals |
| State Board of Veterinary Medicine | Veterinary practice | No, if you only cremate |
I would walk into planning and CDPHE before I walked into an equipment showroom. Paper is slower than a sales call. Steel does not care that your special use hearing is in October.
How much does pet cremation cost in Colorado?
Colorado does not publish a pet cremation price list. Families pay whatever a shop posts. Your startup cost is mostly the retort, the room, and the stack, not a state license invoice.
Nobody has a clean public dataset of Colorado retail pet cremation prices. If a blog hands you one statewide average, treat it as a guess. Call three Front Range shops and three mountain or Western Slope shops. Write down private, communal, witnessed, and pickup fees. That afternoon of phone calls beats a national roundup.
On the business side, entity filing amounts sit on the Secretary of State's published fee schedule. Confirm the current Articles of Organization figure there before you write a check.[5] Sales tax license steps are on Revenue's application page. Confirm that fee on the current DR form, not on a screenshot in a Facebook group.[6] Air filing and permit fees move. Confirm them with CDPHE Air Pollution Control Division.[3][4]
The expensive lines are the ones the state does not invoice. Chamber, refractory, afterburner, stack, refrigerated storage, enough electrical service, and a build-out the fire marshal will sign. I would budget the machine and the room first. Then the paper. Paper is slower. Steel costs more.
Do not buy a used unit with no stack history and hope CDPHE shrugs. That is how you own a very heavy paperweight. A cheap chamber with a dirty opacity problem is not a bargain.
If you want a filing checklist for retort, EPA, and vet-partner paperwork, AquamationPath sells a $199 one-time Retort + EPA + Vet-Partner Kit. The filings still go to the agencies above. The kit does not replace them and it does not speed a board clock.
How long does pet cremation take in Colorado?
Colorado does not set a legal burn time for pets. Cycle time is the retort, the load, and whether you promised a private cremation. A cat in a hot, well-sized chamber can finish flame time in well under an hour. A large dog can run past two hours. Cool-down, processing, and the urn add clock time after the burner shuts off.
Communal loads change the math. So does a witness cremation, because you wait for the family. Alkaline hydrolysis is a different clock. That cycle usually runs longer than flame, and then you still have effluent to handle.
Pickup and return is the part families actually feel. Denver to a high-country town in January is not a 40-minute errand. Build the promise around roads and weather, not around a brochure.
I would not advertise same-day ashes unless you already run the machine daily and you control the pickup. Broken promises are how this trade gets ugly. An honest 48-hour window beats a viral one-star story.
How do you register the business and tax accounts?
Form an entity with the Colorado Secretary of State, get an EIN from the IRS, open the tax accounts you actually need, then ask Revenue whether your mix of services and urns requires a sales tax license.[5][6][12]
Most people file an LLC. Articles of Organization are a Secretary of State filing. Confirm the current fee on the official business fee schedule. A statement of trade name is separate if you operate under a name that is not the legal entity name. Periodic reports are easy to forget. Forgotten reports become a mess when a bank or a landlord asks for good standing.[5]
Get the EIN online from the IRS before you open a bank account.[12] If you hire anyone, talk to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment about unemployment insurance and workers' compensation. Colorado is not casual about uninsured employees.[15]
Sales tax is the question people skip. Cremation of an animal is a service. Urns, paw-print kits, and jewelry may be tangible personal property. Revenue's sales tax license page is the starting point. A written answer from a Colorado tax professional is cheaper than a surprise assessment.[6]
I would not run the first six months as a sole proprietor out of a personal checking account. Commingling money is how you lose arguments later. Separate account. Separate card. Boring on purpose.
What air permit does a pet crematory need in Colorado?
A flame pet crematory is a stationary combustion source. In Colorado that usually means you talk to CDPHE about an Air Pollutant Emission Notice (APEN) and whether a construction permit is required. Do not assume a small box is automatically exempt. Ask, in writing.[3][4]
Regulation Number 3 (5 CCR 1001-5) is the stationary source permitting rule set. Exemptions exist. They are fact-specific. Uncontrolled emissions, fuel type, and location all matter. A Front Range ozone area gets less slack than a remote park county. Confirm your status with the Air Pollution Control Division or CDPHE small business assistance staff.[3][4]
Federal incinerator rules sit in 40 CFR Part 60. Pathological waste is defined to include animal remains. Some pathological units have a different federal path than a municipal waste incinerator. That is an applicability question for an air consultant and CDPHE, not a slogan for your homepage.[11]
40 CFR 60.2265 states, "Pathological waste means waste material consisting of only human or animal remains, anatomical parts, and/or tissue, the bags/containers used to collect and transport the waste material, and animal bedding (if applicable)."[11]
If you run alkaline hydrolysis instead of flame, the air conversation shrinks and the water conversation grows. Discharge to a sanitary sewer needs the local treatment plant's blessing. A surface discharge is a different permit world. I would get that letter before I ordered a vessel.
Skip the person who says it is just like a big grill. That person does not sit in the enforcement meeting with you. Pet cremation Colorado operators who treat stack rules as optional do not stay operators.
Where can you put a pet crematory in Colorado?
You put it where the local zoning map allows a crematory, an animal services use, or a light industrial use, and where neighbors will not bury you in hearings. There is no statewide siting statute that plants a pin for you. CRS Title 29 gives local governments authority to plan for and regulate the use of land.[7]
Call planning before you sign a lease. Ask for the use classification in writing. Ask if a special use permit or conditional use is required. Ask about stack height, setbacks, hours, and whether a crematory is even a defined term in that code. If the planner has to invent a category on the phone, you are not ready to write a deposit check.
A Front Range industrial park is a different fight than a rural agricultural parcel. Rural is not automatically easier. County road access, well and septic, and a volunteer fire district that has never seen a retort can slow you down more than a city counter.
Home-based is where people get hurt. If the covenant, the zoning district, or the fire code says no, that is the answer. I would not bet a retort on a hope that the inspector will not notice.
If you are still choosing a state, read how to start pet cremation in Arizona and how to start pet cremation in California. The paper is not interchangeable.
Do you need a veterinary or PACFA license to cremate pets?
No, not for a remains-only crematory that does not treat live animals and does not practice veterinary medicine. The State Board of Veterinary Medicine licenses veterinarians and related practice. Cremating a body that is already dead is not a clinic.[9]
PACFA, the Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act, lives in Title 35, Article 80. It is aimed at boarding, breeding, shelters, rescues, groomers, and similar live-animal facilities. Confirm current license types with the Colorado Department of Agriculture PACFA program. If you only receive deceased animals, you are usually outside that net. If you add boarding or a live intake room, you just walked into PACFA.[8][14]
Vet partnerships are still worth doing right. Written pickup agreements. Who owns the remains at each handoff. Who talks to the client. How identification stays on the body. Clinics will not send you work if your chain of custody looks sloppy.
You do not need a veterinary license to carry a deceased dog from a clinic to your retort. You do need the clinic's authorization and the owner's. Get it on paper. A verbal "just take it" is not a file.
What building, fire, and workplace rules apply in Colorado?
Local building and fire codes apply to the room, the fuel line, the ventilation, and the occupancy. OSHA applies to you as an employer. There is no Colorado pet-crematory building code. There is the code your building official already uses, plus ordinary combustion and remains handling.[10]
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.132(a) says, "Protective equipment, including personal protective equipment for eyes, face, head, and extremities, protective clothing, respiratory devices, and protective shields and barriers, shall be provided, used, and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition wherever it is necessary by reason of hazards of processes or environment..."[10] OSHA 29 CFR 1910.132 requires employers to provide PPE where process or environmental hazards exist.[10]
I would budget for refrigeration that holds a weekend plus a holiday. I would budget for a hoist if you will take large dogs or livestock pets. I would put a floor drain plan in front of the building official early, because nobody loves a surprise trench drain in week twelve.
Fuel is usually natural gas or propane. That pulls in the gas utility and often a mechanical permit. Electrical service for a cold box and an afterburner is not a hobby circuit.
If you have employees, workers' compensation is not optional in the way people hope it is. Confirm coverage rules with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.[15]
How do you price pet cremation if Colorado has no fee schedule?
You set prices by your real cost, by what nearby shops charge, and by how much private versus communal work you actually want. Colorado will not publish a recommended pet cremation fee. That is your menu.
Call around. Private cremation, communal cremation, witnessed service, home pickup, clinic pickup, rush, and after-hours all price differently. Mountain towns eat more windshield time. Charge for it or you will resent the work.
I would not race to the bottom on communal. The people who only want the cheapest communal load are not loyal, and they still call at 9 p.m. Price private cremation so identification labor and chamber time are actually paid for.
Urns and prints can carry margin. They can also create sales tax questions. Keep the service price and the goods price readable on the invoice so you can explain it later.[6]
What records should a Colorado pet crematory keep?
Keep a chain of custody that would still make sense two years later in front of an angry owner and a county attorney. Colorado does not hand pets-only shops a funeral-style record statute. That is not permission to be sloppy.
Log intake, ID tags, photos, owner authorization, communal versus private, start and finish times, operator name, and who received the ashes. Keep the authorization even when the clinic is the one who called. Especially then.
I would retain records longer than you think you need. Memory fades. Microchips and collars get lost. Your log is the business.
If a veterinarian asks you to handle remains, your file should show the clinic, the owner, and the animal. Do not accept a nameless box. Nameless boxes become missing-ash complaints.
What would you actually do first in Colorado?
I would pick the county before I picked the retort. I would sit with planning, the fire marshal, and CDPHE air staff in that order. I would form the LLC and get the EIN while those emails are in flight.[3][5][12]
I would not order equipment until zoning is a written yes, or at least a written path with conditions I can live with. Steel lead times hurt. A denial after delivery hurts more.
I would draft the vet-partner packet early. Authorization form. ID protocol. Pickup hours. Pricing the clinic can explain without calling you twice. Clinics are how most pet cremation Colorado volume actually moves.
If you want a side-by-side with other states, read how to start pet cremation in Alaska and how to start pet cremation in Arkansas. Different boards. Same rule: confirm fees with the living agency, not with a blog. The pet cremation license in California and pet cremation license in Arizona pages show how fast the paper changes once you cross a state line.
AquamationPath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a crematory. The $199 kit is at /start if you want retort, EPA, and vet-partner files in one pile. Confirm every current fee and form with the board that issues it. Nobody here can promise you an approval date.
Can you run a mobile pet crematory in Colorado?
A truck-mounted retort does not dodge zoning or air rules. You still have a home base, a place you park, and a combustion source. CDPHE and the county will want to know where it lives and where it fires. Confirm both in writing before you wrap a chassis.[3][7]
Fuel on a truck, axle weights, and a chamber that can stay upright on a grade are equipment problems. The paper problem is that mobile sounds unregulated. It is not.
I would not sell a driveway cremation until planning and air staff have that exact fact pattern. A yes for a fixed industrial bay is not a yes for a burner on a residential street. Ask the question you actually intend to operate.
What first-year mistakes waste money in Colorado?
Buying the chamber first. Promising same-day return across the mountains. Skipping written authorizations because a clinic always sends the same form. Assuming PACFA or DORA will mail you a starter packet. They will not.[2][8]
Underpricing private cremation. Overbuilding a public memorial garden on land that is zoned industrial and has no public-access condition. Hiring a cousin instead of carrying workers' compensation.[15]
I would spend money on ID systems, refrigeration, and a lawyer who has actually read Title 12 and your county code.[1][7] I would not spend money on a neon lobby in year one. Families remember whether the ashes were the right animal. They do not remember your pendant display.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license for pet cremation in Colorado?
No dedicated statewide pet-only crematory license exists. DORA's funeral and crematory program is built for human remains. You still need a Secretary of State entity, local zoning and building approval, and usually a CDPHE air filing before a flame unit runs. Confirm any mixed human and pet plan with DORA in writing.
How much does pet cremation cost in Colorado?
The state does not publish a pet cremation fee schedule. Families pay shop menu prices, which vary by private versus communal service, witnessing, and pickup distance. Startup cost is mostly equipment, build-out, and stack work. Confirm current SOS, Revenue, and CDPHE filing amounts on those agencies' live pages. Do not trust a single statewide average.
How long does pet cremation take in Colorado?
Colorado sets no legal burn time for pets. Flame time for a cat can be well under an hour in a hot chamber. A large dog can run past two hours. Cool-down, processing, and delivery add more time. Aquamation cycles usually run longer than flame. Pickup roads often dominate the family's clock, not the burner.
Can I run a pet crematory from my house in Colorado?
Only if zoning, covenants, and the fire code actually allow it. Most residential districts will not. A retort is a combustion appliance with fuel, stack, and remains storage issues. Ask planning and the fire marshal in writing before you pour a pad. I would not hide a chamber and hope nobody notices.
Is aquamation legal for pets in Colorado?
A pets-only alkaline hydrolysis unit is not under DORA's human mortuary code. The live issues are zoning, building, and what you do with effluent. A sewer connection needs the local treatment plant's written okay. Flame air rules shrink. Water rules grow. Confirm discharge with the city utility or CDPHE water staff before you buy a vessel.
Do I need a funeral director license for pet cremation?
Not for a pets-only operation. Colorado's Mortuary Science Code in Title 12, Article 135 addresses human remains and the establishments that handle them. If you also offer human cremation, you are in DORA's program and you need to confirm every registration they require. Do not mix species in one chamber without written board guidance.
Does PACFA apply to a pet crematory?
Usually not, if you only receive deceased animals. PACFA in Title 35, Article 80 targets live-animal facilities such as boarding, breeding, shelters, and grooming. Confirm current license types with the Colorado Department of Agriculture. Add a kennel or live intake and you likely just entered PACFA. Remains-only is a different fact pattern.
Do I charge sales tax on pet cremation in Colorado?
Cremation is a service. Urns, prints, and jewelry may be taxable tangible goods. Colorado Department of Revenue decides the line, not a Facebook thread. Start with the sales tax license application page and get a written answer for your actual invoices. Split service and goods on the receipt so you can defend the file.
Can I pick up deceased pets from veterinary clinics?
Yes, if the owner and the clinic authorize it and your chain of custody is real. You do not need a veterinary license to transport a deceased animal for cremation. You do need paper that names the animal, the owner, the clinic, and the service type. Clinics drop vendors who lose tags.
What if I want to cremate both pets and people?
Then you leave the pets-only path and enter DORA's Funeral Homes and Crematories program plus every human-remains rule that comes with it. I would not assume a shared retort is allowed. Ask DORA in writing. Budget as a human crematory that also has an animal question, not the other way around.
Is there a waiting period before I can cremate a pet in Colorado?
The state does not impose a human-style waiting period on pets-only cremation. Your limit is the owner's authorization, any clinic hold, and your own identification protocol. I would still not rush a body with unclear ownership. A short documented hold is cheaper than cremating the wrong animal.
Do I need an air permit for a small pet retort?
Often you at least need an APEN conversation with CDPHE. Small is not a magic exemption. Regulation Number 3 is fact-specific. Location, fuel, and uncontrolled emissions matter. Ask Air Pollution Control Division or small business assistance in writing. Do not take a salesperson's exemption claim as the department's answer.
How many local governments can control siting?
Colorado has 64 counties, and cities add their own zoning on top. Your project lives in one county and often one municipality, but the rule set is local, not statewide. A use that sails through an industrial park can die in a mountain residential review. Start with the planning desk that owns the parcel.
Where do I confirm current Colorado filing fees?
Secretary of State business fee schedule for entity filings. Department of Revenue for the current sales tax license form. CDPHE Air Pollution Control Division for APEN and construction permit fees. None of those amounts belong in a frozen blog table. If a number is not on today's agency page, treat it as stale.
Sources
- Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services, CRS 2023 Title 12 (Mortuary Science Code, Article 135): Colorado's Mortuary Science Code is in Title 12, Article 135 and governs funeral establishments and cremation in the human-remains context.
- Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Funeral Homes and Crematories program: DORA's Funeral Homes and Crematories program is the state regulator for funeral homes, crematories, and mortuary science practitioners.
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, APENs and air permits: Most Colorado sources of air pollution must file an Air Pollutant Emission Notice unless an exemption applies, and some also need a construction permit.
- Colorado Secretary of State, Code of Colorado Regulations 5 CCR 1001-5 (Regulation Number 3): Stationary source permitting and APEN requirements are set in 5 CCR 1001-5, Air Quality Control Commission Regulation Number 3.
- Colorado Department of Revenue, How to apply for a Colorado sales tax license: Businesses that make retail sales in Colorado apply for a sales tax license through the Department of Revenue.
- Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services, CRS 2023 Title 29 (local government land use): Title 29 includes local government land-use authority, including the power of local governments to plan for and regulate the use of land.
- Colorado Department of Agriculture, Pet Animal Care Facilities Act (PACFA): PACFA is the Colorado program that licenses specified live pet animal facilities such as boarding, breeding, and shelters.
- Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Veterinary Medicine: The State Board of Veterinary Medicine licenses the practice of veterinary medicine in Colorado.
- U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 29 CFR 1910.132: Employers must provide and maintain personal protective equipment where process or environmental hazards require it.
- U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR 60.2265 (CISWI definitions): Federal incinerator rules define pathological waste to include human or animal remains, anatomical parts and tissue, and related containers.
- Internal Revenue Service, Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) online: The IRS issues EINs online for business tax accounts.
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census Geographic Entity Guide for Colorado: Colorado is divided into 64 counties for geographic and local-government purposes.
- Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services, CRS 2023 Title 35 (PACFA, Article 80): The Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act is codified in Colorado Revised Statutes Title 35, Article 80.
- Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Workers' Compensation for employers: Colorado employers use the Division of Workers' Compensation employer rules to determine required coverage when they have employees.