Cat converter desk license in Colorado and the paper path

Last updated 2026-08-19

Do you need a license for a cat converter desk in Colorado?

Colorado does not issue one statewide cat converter desk license. That does not mean you can open a buy desk on a handshake. You need a formed entity, a Colorado sales tax account if you sell tangible goods here, local business paper (often a secondhand or junk dealer license), and a commodity metals buy book under C.R.S. 18-13-111.^[1]

If you also take in whole vehicles or pull parts off cars, you may fall under Auto Industry Division rules in Title 44, Article 20. That is a separate license. Most desks that buy already-cut converters from the public or shops are not motor vehicle dealers. The line is fact-specific. Confirm with the Auto Industry Division before you advertise that you buy cats off cars.^[7]

People search this because California and a handful of other states run converter buyers through a state book. Colorado does not. The criminal code tells you how to buy commodity metals. Your city tells you whether you need a secondhand license to sit at a counter and pay people. Those are two systems, and you have to satisfy both.

Do not open because a group chat says Colorado is wide open. It is not. C.R.S. 18-13-111 makes it unlawful for a commodity metals purchaser to skip the required book or register.^[1] Local officers will treat a parking-lot cash desk as a theft problem, not a small business.

Want site, banking, and first buys in one sequence? Use how to start a cat converter desk in Colorado. This page stays on the license and the paper.

Who actually regulates a cat converter desk in Colorado?

No single board hands you a catalytic converter dealer card. Four systems share the job. The Secretary of State files your entity. The Department of Revenue licenses sellers. Your city or county licenses the location. The criminal code, enforced by your local police, polices the buy book.^[2][3][1]

C.R.S. 18-13-111 is the statute you will live in. It applies to purchasers of commodity metals. The statute defines that term as "a metal containing brass, copper, copper alloy, aluminum, stainless steel, or magnesium or another metal traded on the commodity markets that sells for fifty cents per pound or greater."^[1] Used converters are bought for platinum, palladium, and rhodium. Desks that ignore 18-13-111 because the unit is not a copper pipe are taking a charging risk. Read the current text. Ask local law enforcement how they apply it to converters.

Title 44, Article 20 is the motor vehicle dealer code. It licenses people who deal in vehicles and related automotive trades.^[7] Buying a loose converter is usually not dealing in motor vehicles. Running a wrecking yard is. If a car ever rolls onto your lot, call the Auto Industry Division before you sign a lease.

DORA's ordinary profession list does not include a scrap or converter buyer credential. Do not wait for a DORA number that is not on the list. Confirm the current list if you want to be thorough.

Cities do the rest. Denver routes secondhand activity through Excise and Licenses. Other Front Range cities write their own secondhand, precious metals, or junk dealer chapters. That local license is the closest thing most operators have to a cat converter desk Colorado credential.

What paper does Colorado expect on every converter buy?

C.R.S. 18-13-111 requires a commodity metals purchaser to keep and preserve a book or register of transactions and to take seller identification.^[1] That is the floor. Your city may also want photos, a hold, or an electronic upload before you ship.

Log, on every lot, the seller's legal name, date of birth, address, ID type and number, date and time, plate and description of the vehicle they used, a plain description of each converter (count, type, any stamped serial or VIN tag), and what you paid. Photograph the ID and the units. If the seller says the cats came off a specific vehicle, take that VIN too. Cities that fight converter theft will ask for it.

How long you keep the book is set in the current statute and in local rules. Do not guess a number from a forum. Read 18-13-111 and the ordinance for your address.^[1]

If you buy only from a licensed shop on a signed account, you may fit an exemption in 18-13-111 for certain commercial sellers. Exemptions are narrow. Keep a commercial account file anyway, with their shop license, a resale certificate if they have one, and invoices. "I thought they were a shop" is a weak day in court.

A clean packet is what keeps you in business after a stolen-cat sting. Some operators build that packet themselves. CatConPath also sells a $179 one-time VIN-Log + Theft-Compliance Kit at /start if you want a prebuilt log structure. Either way, the legal duty sits on you, not on a template.

How much does a cat converter desk cost in Colorado?

License and filing fees are the small line. Colorado Secretary of State charges $50 to file articles of organization for a domestic LLC. A statement of trade name is $20 if you need one. The periodic report is $10.^[2] An EIN from the IRS is free.^[5]

The Colorado sales tax license fee belongs on the Department of Revenue's current sales tax license page, not on a blog. Confirm it there before you budget.^[3][4]

Local secondhand or business licenses do not share one table. Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs, and the unincorporated counties price this themselves. People under-budget because they only price the $50 LLC. Price the city.

Filing or item	Who collects it	Amount
LLC articles of organization	Secretary of State	$50 [2]
Trade name (optional)	Secretary of State	$20 [2]
Periodic report	Secretary of State	$10 [2]
EIN	IRS	$0 [5]
Sales tax license	Department of Revenue	Confirm with DOR [3]
Local secondhand or business license	City or county	Confirm with the clerk
AID dealer license (only if you deal in vehicles)	Auto Industry Division	Confirm with AID [7]

The real money is the site and the first-year float. You need a lockable bay, cameras, a cage, and enough pay capacity to buy inventory you may have to hold. I will not invent a Front Range rent number. Call three landlords.

Skip the handheld XRF in month one if you ship whole converters to a processor who already assays. That tool earns its keep when you pay street price against a grade list. It is a waste with no book of business yet.

Insurance will cost more than your state filings. Workers' compensation is required in the ordinary case if you have employees. Confirm the current employer duty with CDLE and Title 8.^[9]

Nobody publishes a clean figure for what a Colorado cat desk spends in year one. The honest split is a few hundred dollars in unavoidable state filings if you stay simple, then thousands to tens of thousands once rent, cages, cameras, and buy-money show up. Confirm every government fee with the board that collects it.

How long does cat converter desk licensing take in Colorado?

There is no statewide clock and no approval guarantee. Entity filings with the Secretary of State often finish online in a short window, sometimes the same day. That is operational color, not a promise. Check the current SOS processing notes when you file.^[2]

A sales tax license through Revenue's system can also move quickly if the application is clean. Confirm current processing with DOR.^[3]

The slow step is almost always local. Secondhand or junk dealer licenses can involve a background check, a zoning sign-off, and a site inspection. That can be days. It can be weeks. Ask the clerk for the current sequence. Do not advertise buy prices until that license, if your city requires one, is in hand.

AID licenses, if you need one, take longer than a sales tax account. Title 44 dealer files are their own pile.^[7]

Build a calendar with three columns: filed, accepted, allowed to buy. You are not open because you created an LLC. You are open when the city says the location may buy secondhand metal and you have a buy book that matches 18-13-111.^[1]

If someone quotes a guaranteed two-week Colorado converter license, they are selling a myth. The state does not print that license.

Do you need a Colorado Auto Industry Division license to buy converters?

Usually no, if you only buy converters that are already off the car and you do not deal in vehicles or dismantle. Usually yes, or at least you need a hard conversation with AID, if you take in cars, issue used parts, or run a yard.^[7]

Title 44, Article 20 exists to police people who buy and sell vehicles and certain automotive trades. It is not a precious-metals statute.^[7] Misuse of a dealer plate, or a hidden dismantler behind a "we buy cats" banner, is how a desk walks into AID without meaning to.

Call AID with one paragraph on your actual flow. Who sells to you. Whether a car ever rolls in. Where units go next. Ask whether a dealer or wholesaler license is required. Write down who you spoke with.

If AID says you are outside their statute, keep that note in the compliance folder. If they say you are inside, stop buying until the application is done.

California is heavier on this point. Cat converter desk license in California runs through a much thicker state apparatus. Colorado is lighter at the state line and heavier at city hall.

What local licenses hit a cat converter desk in Denver and other cities?

If you set up in Denver, start with Excise and Licenses. Ask specifically about secondhand dealer, junk, and any precious-metals category that they apply to catalytic converters. Denver writes its own code. The fee and the posting rules live on the city's license pages, not in C.R.S. 18-13-111. Confirm both.

Outside Denver, read the municipal code for the actual address. Aurora, Lakewood, Thornton, Fort Collins, Pueblo, and Grand Junction do not copy one template. Unincorporated Adams, Arapahoe, Jefferson, and Douglas counties may only want a sales tax account plus zoning. Or they may surprise you. Call the clerk. Do not guess from a neighboring city.

Pull zoning before you sign a lease. A buy desk with walk-in traffic looks like retail to some planners and like a junkyard to others. Outdoor storage of converters is how you get a theft and a zoning letter in the same week. Keep units indoors and locked. No window display.

Home-based is a bad fit. The zoning map and the neighbors will fight you. Someone will call the police the first time a stranger unloads a hatchback of cats after dinner.

For a state that splits city and state paper differently, cat converter desk license in Arizona is a useful contrast.

What business filings come first for a Colorado cat desk?

File the entity with the Colorado Secretary of State first. A domestic LLC is the usual wrapper. Articles of organization cost $50 on the official fee schedule.^[2] Formation itself sits in Title 7, Article 80.^[12] Then get a free EIN from the IRS online assistant.^[5] Open a bank account that will actually take a scrap or recycling business. Some consumer banks will not.

Apply next for the Colorado sales tax license if you will sell tangible personal property in the state. C.R.S. 39-26-103 requires a license granted by the executive director of the Department of Revenue before a person engages in retail sale.^[4] Wholesale-only shops still usually register. Confirm your facts with DOR.^[3]

Then the city. Then occupancy and insurance binders. Then a test buy from a known commercial account.

Skip the fake tribal license or out-of-state scrap card people try to sell in groups. Colorado will not honor it.

Comparing formation-heavy states? Cat converter desk license in Alabama and cat converter desk license in Alaska show how different the first filings can look.

Can you pay cash for catalytic converters in Colorado?

Read the current text of C.R.S. 18-13-111 and your city code before you take a bill out of a drawer.^[1] Colorado has, at various times, restricted how commodity metals purchasers pay. Municipal codes sometimes ban cash or cap it. I will not quote a dollar cap that may have moved. Confirm the current rule for your address.

Here is what I would actually do: pay identifiable sellers by check or ACH and keep the instrument image with the buy ticket. Cash is how stolen-cat rings like to work. It is also how you fail a records audit.

If a seller will not take a check in their own name, walk. You are not a pawn window.

Federal cash rules still sit in the background. The IRS requires Form 8300 when a trade or business receives more than $10,000 in cash in a transaction or related transactions.^[8] Structure payables so you can explain every lot. If you ever handle large cash, read the current Form 8300 instructions rather than guessing.

What happens if you skip records or buy a stolen converter?

C.R.S. 18-13-111 is a criminal statute. Violations are charged as the class set in the current section.^[1] I am not going to recap that class from memory, because the General Assembly has amended Title 18. Read the penalty subsection yourself.

Buying stolen property is a separate problem under Colorado theft law, including C.R.S. 18-4-401.^[13] A converter taken off a parked truck is stolen goods. Your buy book and photos are how you show you were not in on it.

EPA also cares if your operation pulls converters off vehicles that must keep them. 42 U.S.C. § 7522 prohibits a person "to remove or render inoperative any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle" that was put there to meet Clean Air Act rules.^[6] EPA's Mobile Source Enforcement Memorandum 1A is the long-standing policy document on replacement converters and tampering.^[11] A desk that offers alley cuts is not a recycling shop. It is inviting a tampering case.

Refuse any unit whose seller cannot be identified, any lot offered from a hotel lot, and any seller who wants stamps ground off before the photo. That is not being precious. That is staying out of a felony file.

What do first-year operations look like after the paper is in?

Once you can legally buy, the job is boring on purpose. Same intake every time. Same photos. Same hold if the city or 18-13-111 requires one. Same outbound bill of lading to the processor.^[1]

Staff the counter with people who will turn down a sketchy lot. One greedy buy wipes a year of margin.

Ship on a schedule so you are not sitting on a six-figure pile of palladium in a tin shed. Insure that pile for what it is, not for generic warehouse contents.

Track every VIN or converter serial you were given. When police call (they will), you want a search that takes two minutes.

Pricing is its own mess. Processors pay on assay and on grade lists that move with PGM markets. Do not publish a street price you cannot defend after a bad assay.

Want a neighbor-state operations picture? How to start a cat converter desk in Arizona is a solid next read for people who buy across the line.

How does Colorado compare to nearby states on converter desks?

Colorado is a records-and-city-license state, not a state-converter-permit state. California is heavier. Arizona and New Mexico each run their own scrap and secondhand stacks. Do not copy a Phoenix intake form and assume it satisfies Denver.

There is no federal cat-desk license. EPA still owns tampering and aftermarket converter rules.^[6][10][11] The IRS still owns the EIN and cash reporting.^[5][8]

If you operate near the Wyoming or Kansas line, you can create nexus in two states with one Saturday buy. Keep the paper for the state where the transaction happened.

Wyoming has a thinner municipal layer. Kansas and Nebraska run their own scrap metal statutes. Do not treat any of them as no-license territory. Print the statute. Call the city.

Colorado's advantage is speed on the entity and the tax account. Colorado's trap is assuming that speed means you are done. People comparing stacks often read how to start a cat converter desk in California next because the contrast is sharp.

What insurance and site rules actually matter in Colorado?

File the licenses first, then buy insurance that names the real risk. General liability does not automatically pay when a tote of converters disappears overnight. Ask for a crime or inland marine discussion. If you have employees, Colorado workers' compensation applies in the ordinary case. Confirm with CDLE.^[9]

Cameras should cover the apron, the counter, and the cage. Keep recordings longer than your hold period.

Spend money on a real cage and dull lighting on the street side before you spend it on a logo wall. Thieves follow converters. Design the room for that.

Near the end of year one, renew everything on a calendar. The SOS periodic report is $10 on the state fee schedule. Sales tax accounts and city licenses renew on their own cycles. Confirm each renewal fee with the board that bills you.^[2]

CatConPath publishes this as an independent desk reference, not as a law firm and not as a filing service. The kit mentioned earlier is at /start. The statute and the city clerk still win.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a license for cat converter desk in Colorado?

You do not get one statewide cat converter desk license. You still need a Colorado entity, usually a sales tax license, and often a city secondhand or business license. C.R.S. 18-13-111 also requires a commodity metals buy book and seller ID. If cars come onto the lot, ask the Auto Industry Division whether Title 44 applies. Confirm each item with the board that issues it.

How much does cat converter desk cost in Colorado?

State filings are small. Colorado Secretary of State charges $50 for domestic LLC articles, $20 for a trade name, and $10 for the periodic report. An EIN is free. Sales tax and city secondhand fees are set by those agencies, so confirm them. Rent, cages, cameras, insurance, and buy-money dwarf the filings. Nobody publishes a solid statewide startup total.

How long does cat converter desk take in Colorado?

There is no official statewide timeline and no approval guarantee. SOS entity filings and DOR sales tax accounts often move quickly online, but check current processing notes. City secondhand licenses, background checks, and inspections are the slow step and can take days or weeks. You are not open until the city (if it licenses you) says you may buy.

Is there a DORA license for buying catalytic converters in Colorado?

Not on the ordinary Division of Professions and Occupations list. Converter buying is handled through the criminal commodity metals statute, Department of Revenue tax licensing, local secondhand or junk rules, and Auto Industry Division rules only if you deal in vehicles. Check DORA's current profession list if you want to be thorough, then call your city clerk.

Do I need a sales tax license if I only sell converters to an out-of-state refiner?

Maybe. C.R.S. 39-26-103 requires a license for retail sellers. Wholesale-only and interstate facts are narrower and fact-specific. Most desks still register with the Department of Revenue so invoices and exemption certificates are clean. Do not guess from a forum. Confirm your exact flow with DOR before you ship the first lot.

Can I run a cat converter desk from my house in Colorado?

I would not. Zoning, HOA rules, and neighbor complaints usually kill a home buy desk the first time a stranger unloads converters at the curb. Cities that license secondhand dealers also inspect the site. Use a lockable industrial or commercial bay with indoor storage. Confirm home-occupation rules with the planning desk if you are determined to try it.

What ID do I collect from someone selling a converter?

C.R.S. 18-13-111 requires seller identification for commodity metals purchases. Copy a current government photo ID and log name, date of birth, address, ID number, vehicle plate, and a description of the units. Photograph the ID next to the converters. Your city may demand more. Read the current statute and the local ordinance for your address.

Do police have to be notified of every converter buy in Colorado?

State law centers on the buy book, not on a single statewide daily-report portal. Some cities require electronic reporting or police access to secondhand records. Ask the local licensing desk and the police property unit what they want at your address. Keep the book searchable so a detective can match a VIN or a seller in minutes.

If I only buy from repair shops, can I skip 18-13-111?

Not automatically. The statute has exemptions for certain commercial and dealer sellers, and those exemptions are narrow. Keep a signed commercial account file, copies of their licenses, and invoices. Confirm with local law enforcement how they treat shop-only desks. Skipping the book because "they seemed legit" is how desks get charged.

Does Colorado require a hold period before I ship converters?

C.R.S. 18-13-111 and local secondhand codes can impose hold or preservation duties. The exact number of days has been amended over time, so I will not quote a figure that may be stale. Read the current statute and your city code, then confirm with the clerk or police records unit before you promise a processor next-day freight.

Do I need workers' compensation for a one-person Colorado desk?

A true owner-only shop with no employees is often outside the ordinary workers' comp mandate, but Colorado's Title 8 rules and the exceptions are technical. The moment you hire help, you usually need coverage. Confirm your facts with the Division of Workers' Compensation. Do not skip this because a friend ran unpaid for a year.

Can I buy converters that have no serial number or VIN tag?

Many older units have no useful stamp. That does not let you skip seller ID, photos, and the buy book. Photograph every unit and tie it to a named seller. Lots with ground-off marks, or a seller who wants the stamps removed first, are a walk-away. Stolen-cat cases often start with untraceable, freshly defaced converters.

Sources

1. Colorado General Assembly, C.R.S. Title 18 (incl. 18-13-111): C.R.S. 18-13-111 requires commodity metals purchasers to keep a book or register and take seller identification, and defines commodity metal to include listed metals trading at fifty cents per pound or greater.
2. Colorado Secretary of State, business fee schedule: Domestic LLC articles of organization cost $50, a statement of trade name costs $20, and the periodic report costs $10.
3. Colorado Department of Revenue, sales tax license: Colorado sellers apply for a sales tax license through the Department of Revenue; current fees and processing are posted by DOR.
4. Colorado General Assembly, C.R.S. Title 39 (incl. 39-26-103): C.R.S. 39-26-103 requires a license granted by the executive director of the Department of Revenue before a person engages in retail sale.
5. IRS, Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) online: The IRS issues an EIN at no charge through its online application.
6. U.S. Code, 42 U.S.C. § 7522: 42 U.S.C. § 7522 prohibits removing or rendering inoperative a device or element of design installed on a motor vehicle to meet Clean Air Act requirements.
7. Colorado General Assembly, C.R.S. Title 44 (Article 20 motor vehicle dealers): Title 44, Article 20 is Colorado's motor vehicle dealer and related-trades licensing code administered through the Auto Industry Division.
8. IRS, Form 8300 and reporting cash payments of over $10,000: A trade or business must report cash received of more than $10,000 in a transaction or related transactions on Form 8300.
9. Colorado General Assembly, C.R.S. Title 8 (workers' compensation): Colorado's Title 8 workers' compensation statutes generally require employers to carry coverage when they have employees.
10. U.S. EPA, Clean Air Act vehicle and engine enforcement: EPA enforces Clean Air Act tampering and defeat-device prohibitions against vehicle and engine operations.
11. Colorado General Assembly, C.R.S. Title 7 (Article 80 LLCs): Colorado limited liability companies are formed under Title 7, Article 80 by filing articles of organization with the Secretary of State.
12. Colorado General Assembly, C.R.S. 18-4-401 (theft): C.R.S. 18-4-401 is Colorado's general theft statute and is the charging vehicle when a purchased converter is stolen property.