Do I owe EPR fees Colorado

Check your own case

Choose your role, add your revenue and the packaging you supply, and the checker applies the rules this page describes to your figures. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

The Instica free plan covers the threshold check, exemption tracking, the deadline calendar, packaging templates and fee sources, so you can start without paying. See what the free plan includes

How the checker reaches a result

The checker asks the same questions in the same order for every place, and it stops with a result as soon as a question settles the matter. It never fills a missing answer in for you.

1. Whose brand is on the packaging? If it is another company's brand, you are not the producer for those goods under the roles recorded for Colorado. If you have not said, the checker asks first.
2. Do you sell into Colorado? A place where you report no sales returns not obligated.
3. Does a size limit apply? The checker compares your revenue or packaging weight with each limit on record and, where a limit is not met, returns below threshold.
4. Is an exemption on record for your case? An exemption that is not yet verified is never assumed, and the checker asks for more data instead.
5. Are related companies counted together? Where the rules add up affiliated companies, their figures are combined before the limits are compared.

Who is the producer in Colorado?

The first question is whose duty it is. Colorado assigns the duty by packaging level, and the table shows which roles count as the producer at each level.

• Colorado: for other packaging the producer is the first distributor.
• Colorado: for primary (sales) packaging the producer is the manufacturer or brand owner, licensee, or importer.
• Colorado: for shipping packaging the producer is the packer or shipper.

Find the row that describes you. Where more than one role appears in a row, the checker asks whose brand is on the product before it gives a result.

Does revenue matter in Colorado?

Where a revenue limit applies, Colorado counts realised gross total revenue. The revenue figure is taken over the prior calendar year. Limits are stated in USD; a figure in another currency is converted with a published rate before it is compared. The revenue figure is adjusted as follows: excludes on-premises alcohol sales.

Size limits in Colorado

Some rules switch the duty on or off by size. These are the limits on record for Colorado, each with what happens when you meet it.

The revenue limit: $5,000,000

Colorado: the revenue limit is $5,000,000. Colorado: at the revenue limit of $5,000,000, the producer is exempt below it. Colorado: the revenue limit of $5,000,000 applies to figures below it. Colorado: the revenue limit is counted as follows: realized gross total revenue, prior calendar year, excluding on-premises alcohol sales.

The tonnage limit: 1 short ton

Colorado: the tonnage limit is 1 short ton. Colorado: at the tonnage limit of 1 short ton, the producer is exempt below it. Colorado: the tonnage limit of 1 short ton applies to figures below it. Colorado: the tonnage limit is counted as follows: covered materials used for products sold or distributed in or into Colorado, prior calendar year.

The tonnage limit: 10 short tons

Colorado: the tonnage limit is 10 short tons. Colorado: at the tonnage limit of 10 short tons, a flat-fee band applies. Colorado: the tonnage limit of 10 short tons applies to figures at or below it. Colorado: the tonnage limit is counted as follows: covered materials supplied into Colorado.

Exemptions in Colorado

An exemption removes the duty for a producer that meets its conditions. Some must be applied for; others apply on their own.

Exemption 1

Exemption 1: Exempt from Part 7: revenue under the dollar limit, under one ton of covered materials, state or local government, nonprofit, an agricultural employer with under $5 million in-state consumer sales of its own-brand farm products, a single licensed retail food establishment at a physical location, and builders, construction companies and contractors. Colorado: exemption 1 applies without an application. Colorado: exemption 1 is renewed as follows: Tested each year against the prior calendar year.

What the rules cover in Colorado

A duty applies only to the packaging and the sales channels that the rules cover. This is what is on record for Colorado.

Every case, worked through

Below, the same engine that powers the checker is run on a set of standard cases for Colorado. Each case states the input, the result and the next step. The figures are test inputs set at half, equal to and twice each recorded limit, read as of September 29, 2026; they are not rules.

Revenue of $2,500,000: below the limit

Your own brand is on the goods and your revenue is $2,500,000, half the limit of $5,000,000. The figure is under the $5,000,000 limit, so the engine returns below threshold: the exemption on record applies. Result: below threshold. Next: keep the figures that put you below the limit, and check again as you grow.

Revenue of $5,000,000: exactly at the limit

Your own brand is on the goods and your revenue is $5,000,000, exactly the limit of $5,000,000. The rules for Colorado set a limit that needs a figure this case does not supply, such as a different measure or unit, so the engine asks for more data. Result: more data needed. Next: supply the missing answer in the checker to get a result.

Revenue of $10,000,000: above the limit

Your own brand is on the goods and your revenue is $10,000,000, twice the limit of $5,000,000. The rules for Colorado set a limit that needs a figure this case does not supply, such as a different measure or unit, so the engine asks for more data. Result: more data needed. Next: supply the missing answer in the checker to get a result.

Packaging of 0.5 short tons: below the limit

Your own brand is on the goods and you supply 0.5 short tons of packaging, half the limit of 1 short ton. The figure is under the 1 short ton limit, so the engine returns below threshold: the exemption on record applies. Result: below threshold. Next: keep the figures that put you below the limit, and check again as you grow.

Packaging of 2 short tons: above the limit

Your own brand is on the goods and you supply 2 short tons of packaging, twice the limit of 1 short ton. The rules for Colorado set a limit that needs a figure this case does not supply, such as a different measure or unit, so the engine asks for more data. Result: more data needed. Next: supply the missing answer in the checker to get a result.

Packaging of 5 short tons: below the limit

Your own brand is on the goods and you supply 5 short tons of packaging, half the limit of 10 short tons. The rules for Colorado set a limit that needs a figure this case does not supply, such as a different measure or unit, so the engine asks for more data. Result: more data needed. Next: supply the missing answer in the checker to get a result.

Packaging of 20 short tons: above the limit

Your own brand is on the goods and you supply 20 short tons of packaging, twice the limit of 10 short tons. The rules for Colorado set a limit that needs a figure this case does not supply, such as a different measure or unit, so the engine asks for more data. Result: more data needed. Next: supply the missing answer in the checker to get a result.

Above every limit

Your own brand is on the goods and every figure is above every limit on record. The limit is met, so the engine returns obligated. Result: obligated. Next: register, report and pay as the sections below describe, and prepare your figures in a workspace.

If you owe: what happens next

If the result is obligated, these are the steps on record for Colorado. You register, report and pay yourself; Instica prepares the figures and the files.

Colorado: registration is made with Circular Action Alliance producer portal. Colorado: registration is made by this party: The producer, with CAA. Producers of applicable petroleum and automotive products register with Interchange 360.

Colorado: producers meet the duty through more than one producer responsibility organisation. Colorado: the organisations on record are Circular Action Alliance and Interchange 360 (automotive lubricant packaging, individual programme). Colorado: membership of an organisation is required. Colorado: an authorised representative is not required.

Deadlines on record

• Colorado: the payment deadline is January 1, 2026.
• Colorado: the other deadline is January 1, 2026.

Flat fees on record

• Colorado: for packaging of 1 to 2.5 short tons, the 2026 flat fee is $800.00.
• Colorado: for packaging of 2.5 to 5 short tons, the 2026 flat fee is $1,600.00.
• Colorado: for packaging of 5 to 7.5 short tons, the 2026 flat fee is $2,600.00.
• Colorado: for packaging of 7.5 to 10 short tons, the 2026 flat fee is $3,600.00.
• Colorado: for packaging of 1 to 2.5 short tons, the 2027 flat fee is $900.00.
• Colorado: for packaging of 2.5 to 5 short tons, the 2027 flat fee is $1,800.00.
• Colorado: for packaging of 5 to 7.5 short tons, the 2027 flat fee is $2,900.00.
• Colorado: for packaging of 7.5 to 10 short tons, the 2027 flat fee is $4,100.00.