Is It Legal For Kids to Have a Lemonade Stand in Colorado?

When you're a kid, you try to find ways and methods to get extra change in your pocket. Not all parents are willing to hand over money just because. As the weather gets warmer and kids get out of school, expect to see them working summer jobs. Teens will be working more hours at restaurants, stores, and other businesses.

Like many teens in Colorado, I got my first job when I was 16. Well, it was my first real job. I worked "kid jobs" to make a few bucks when I was younger than that.

I started mowing lawns for neighbors and relatives when I was 10. At one point, I had five clients across a five-mile stretch. I viewed myself as an entrepreneur. I even made a little sign for my bike.

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Is it legal for kids to have businesses like mine? Here is an example.

Lemonade Stands and Colorado

Having a lemonade stand is a famous summer job for kids to earn a few extra bucks. Kids will get a table and sell lemonade and sell them for a buck or a few quarters. It is about as famous of a job as mowing your neighbor's lawn.

With food and beverage regulations getting more extreme across Colorado you might have been wondering if the state of Colorado allows lemonade stands. There are strange laws. Are lemonade stands legal? Do you need a permit to participate in one of America's most famous first jobs?

Yes, it is legal for a kid to have a lemonade stand in Colorado.

Colorado's Lemonade Stand Stance

Some states are more restrictive than others, but Colorado has no problem with your child's entrepreneurial spirit.

In 2019 a law was put in place by Governor Polis that minors can have a lemonade stand without a permit.

The law was created because three minors had their lemonade shut down because they did not have a permit. After the story went viral, a law was set in stone that children could have a lemonade stand if they wished.