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All states › Do I need a license to sell dog treats? › Colorado

Selling homemade dog treats in Colorado: license, registration and fees (2026)

Allowed: Colorado's Department of Agriculture says pet food and treats may be made in a home kitchen; no commercial kitchen is needed. Product registration: $25/yr. License: $75 per company/yr. Tonnage report: some products.

Calculate your Colorado fees Colorado pet food registration

Can you make dog treats in a home kitchen in Colorado?

Allowed Colorado's Department of Agriculture says pet food and treats may be made in a home kitchen; no commercial kitchen is needed. Condition: Use good manufacturing practices and avoid contamination by bacteria or disinfectants. A product made at home can't be called human-grade.Source: ag.colorado.gov · CDA, Animal Food and Pet Treat Registration and Labeling FAQs: “Pet food and treats may be made in a home kitchen. There is no need for a commercial kitchen as long as the products are made using good manufacturing practices and you avoid contamination by bacteria or disinfectants.”

This is Colorado's published guidance, checked October 3, 2026. We don't judge whether any particular product or kitchen qualifies; that's for the agency, Colorado Department of Agriculture.

Colorado registration and license for dog treats

Product registration: $25/yr. License: $75 per company/yr.

What's registeredBoth: an annual company registration for each guarantor (the company named on the label) or Colorado manufacturer, plus registration of each product name sold in packages of 10 lb or less, with its label uploaded for review before distributionSource: ag.colorado.gov · C.R.S. 35-60-103(1); 8 CCR 1202-7 Part 16.
Product registration fee$25 per product name per year for products sold in packages of 10 lb or less, paid each January for the previous year's distribution. Registering the product itself has no form and no fee.Source: ag.colorado.gov · Same amount on the CDA fee schedule (effective 09/23/2026) and the Animal Food and Pet Treat FAQ.
Package-size rule10 lb or less: $25 per product name per year (one fee covers all small sizes), in place of tonnage. Over 10 lb: reported as tonnage instead. Sold in both: $25 for the small sizes, and the larger sizes go in the tonnage report.Source: leg.colorado.gov · C.R.S. 35-60-105(1)(c)(II) and (2). The statute, rule, application and fee schedule document say 10 lb or less; CDA's fee schedule web page says "less than ten pounds". At exactly 10 lb, the statute's "ten pounds or less" applies.
License / firm fee$75 per company per year (company registration); not proratedSource: ag.colorado.gov · Statute: registration is not transferable between persons or business locations (C.R.S. 35-60-104(2)(e)).
Registration periodCompany registration: February 1 to January 31. Small-package fees cover the previous year's distribution.Source: ag.colorado.gov
Renewal dueCompany registration expires January 31; renew online in AgLicense. Small-package fees and product list are due January 31.Source: sos.state.co.us · 8 CCR 1202-7 Parts 16 and 17.2. CDA emails renewal notices before the end of the registration period.
Form or portalhttps://www.ag.state.co.us/elicense/SecurityLogin.aspxSource: ag.colorado.gov · Small-package products are added online in AgLicense (Products, then Add New) with a digital label for each; there is no paper product form. New companies first send the paper Company Registration Application to get an AgLicense account.
License / firm formhttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1bDxJREmAzTvxuYfYT-VeX5sRs8s9Q-rIdMBiLwNZpu8/edit?usp=sharingSource: ag.colorado.gov · Commercial Feed and Pet Food Company Registration Application (Google Doc). Renewals are done online in AgLicense.
What to sendNew companies: the Company Registration Application with the $75 fee (mail with a check, or email it and CDA calls to take card or e-check payment). Then add each small-package product in AgLicense and upload its label. Each January, pay the $25 per small-package product and file any tonnage online.Source: ag.colorado.gov

Tonnage report

Tonnage report required?Yes, for products sold in packages over 10 lb. Leave small-package (10 lb or less) products out of the tonnage report.Source: ag.colorado.gov
How oftenAnnual (filed and paid online in AgLicense each January for the previous year)Source: ag.colorado.gov
DueJanuary 31Source: sos.state.co.us · 8 CCR 1202-7 Part 17.1. Fee depends on tonnage; see the agency.

We show who files and when, not the fee: tonnage fees depend on how much you sell. What a tonnage report is, state by state.

Due dates

Steps

  1. Home kitchen. Colorado's Department of Agriculture says pet food and treats may be made in a home kitchen; no commercial kitchen is needed. Use good manufacturing practices and avoid contamination by bacteria or disinfectants. A product made at home can't be called human-grade.Source: ag.colorado.gov · CDA, Animal Food and Pet Treat Registration and Labeling FAQs: “Pet food and treats may be made in a home kitchen. There is no need for a commercial kitchen as long as the products are made using good manufacturing practices and you avoid contamination by bacteria or disinfectants.”
  2. License. Company registration ($75/yr, Feb 1-Jan 31): $75 per company/yr. License form or portal.Source: ag.colorado.gov
  3. Register each product. $25 per product name per year for products sold in packages of 10 lb or less, paid each January for the previous year's distribution. Registering the product itself has no form and no fee.. Registration form or portal.Source: ag.colorado.gov · Same amount on the CDA fee schedule (effective 09/23/2026) and the Animal Food and Pet Treat FAQ.
  4. What to send. New companies: the Company Registration Application with the $75 fee (mail with a check, or email it and CDA calls to take card or e-check payment). Then add each small-package product in AgLicense and upload its label. Each January, pay the $25 per small-package product and file any tonnage online.Source: ag.colorado.gov
  5. Labels. Moving to AAFCO's new label format? The Pet Nutrition Facts box generator formats the box from your own numbers. We don't review labels.
  6. Tonnage report. Annual (filed and paid online in AgLicense each January for the previous year). Due: January 31Source: sos.state.co.us · 8 CCR 1202-7 Part 17.1. Fee depends on tonnage; see the agency. Tonnage reports by state.
  7. Renew. Company registration expires January 31; renew online in AgLicense. Small-package fees and product list are due January 31.Source: sos.state.co.us · 8 CCR 1202-7 Parts 16 and 17.2. CDA emails renewal notices before the end of the registration period.
  8. Shipping to other states? Each state you sell into has its own rules. Selling dog treats online · fee calculator.

Every Colorado fact, with sources: Colorado pet food & treat registration. Selling in several states? The free calculator adds up the fees, and the $49 Registration Pack turns them into a checklist and renewal calendar.

Other states

Nearby: Selling dog treats in Wyoming · Selling dog treats in Nebraska · Selling dog treats in Kansas · Selling dog treats in New Mexico · Selling dog treats in Utah

Home kitchen, registration and license rules in all 50 states and DC