Pit bulls are legal to own in most of Colorado, but a few home-rule cities still ban them outright and others require a special permit, so whether pit bulls are legal in Colorado depends entirely on which city you live in. State law bars breed-specific dog regulation, yet cities with home-rule status have kept the power to write their own rules. Before you buy, adopt, or move a pit bull across town, check the ordinance where the dog will actually live.
What State Law Says About Breed Bans
Colorado enacted C.R.S. § 18-9-204.5 in 2004, which prohibits municipalities and counties from regulating dangerous dogs based on breed.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18 Section 18-9-204.5 Any dangerous-dog law a local government passes has to focus on an individual animal’s behavior, not its breed. On paper, this should have ended pit bull bans statewide.
It didn’t. Denver had banned pit bulls since 1989 and challenged the statute. Because Denver holds home-rule status under the Colorado Constitution, the court ruled the city could keep its breed-specific ordinance despite the state law. That precedent left the door open for other home-rule cities to maintain or pass their own restrictions. Cities without home-rule authority are bound by the state’s ban-on-bans and cannot single out any breed.
Which Colorado Cities Still Ban or Restrict Pit Bulls
The map has shrunk in recent years. Denver voters repealed the city’s roughly 30-year ban in 2020 and replaced it with a permit system. Commerce City and Lone Tree dropped their bans in 2021, and Aurora voters repealed a 20-year ban in 2024.2City and County of Denver. Breed-Restricted Permitting The direction is clearly toward fewer bans, but not every city has followed.
As of the most recent available data, Fort Lupton and Louisville still maintain active pit bull bans. Fort Lupton’s ordinance makes it unlawful to own, keep, or transport any pit bull in or through the city, with narrow exceptions for dogs licensed there before the ban took effect. Those grandfathered dogs can stay only if the owner is at least 21, carries $100,000 in liability insurance, keeps the dog properly confined, and posts signs identifying a pit bull on the property. Louisville’s code similarly prohibits pit bull ownership within city limits.
Rules can change from one side of a city boundary to the other. If you’re moving within Colorado or adopting, call the animal control office in your specific city before you bring the dog home.
How Denver’s Breed-Restricted Permit Works
Denver’s system is the most detailed example of what restricted ownership looks like in practice. Under Denver Ordinance Section 8-67, American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, and Staffordshire Bull Terriers are prohibited unless the owner holds a valid breed-restricted permit.2City and County of Denver. Breed-Restricted Permitting No more than two of these dogs may live in a single household.
You start by scheduling an in-person breed assessment with Denver Animal Protection. Staff spend 30 to 45 minutes evaluating the dog’s physical characteristics to decide whether it meets the restricted-breed criteria. The assessment fee is $25 per dog and is nonrefundable.3City and County of Denver. Denver Pit Bull Fact Sheet
If the assessment confirms restricted-breed traits, you submit a permit application with:
- Proof of a current rabies vaccination from a licensed veterinarian
- Proof of a registered microchip implanted in the dog
- Proof of spay or neuter surgery, or an intact permit from Denver Animal Protection
- The permit fee of $30 per animal per year, renewed annually for three years
- A separate $15 Denver pet license
The first year runs $70 per dog and each year after is $45. Denver Animal Protection reviews the application, verifies the microchip at the in-person appointment, and issues the permit once everything checks out.2City and County of Denver. Breed-Restricted Permitting
What Happens If You Don’t Comply
Ignoring breed restrictions can cost you your dog. In Denver, if animal control finds an unpermitted restricted-breed dog, the process begins with a warning and a mandatory order to bring the dog in for an assessment. Officers follow up within 10 days. If you still haven’t applied for a permit by then, you face a court appearance, fines, or removal of the dog from your home.2City and County of Denver. Breed-Restricted Permitting
In cities with an outright ban, the stakes are higher. An impounded dog can be declared abandoned if the owner doesn’t request a hearing within the required window, which can be as short as seven days. Once a dog is deemed abandoned, the city may adopt it out or euthanize it. Even when an owner does contest the impoundment, a court can order destruction if the city shows the dog poses a likelihood of future harm. Failing to pay impound and boarding fees also triggers automatic forfeiture of ownership rights.
Some cities let owners avoid destruction by proving the dog will be permanently relocated outside city limits. Relying on that option means you’re already in legal proceedings, running up daily boarding fees, and betting on a judge’s discretion. Confirming your city’s rules beforehand is the only reliable path.
Insurance Protections for Pit Bull Owners
One of the biggest practical headaches for pit bull owners used to be homeowners or renters insurance. Many insurers refused to write policies for households with pit bulls or charged steep surcharges. Colorado closed that door in 2023 with a law now codified at C.R.S. § 10-4-110.8(16).4Colorado General Assembly. HB23-1068 Pet Animal Ownership in Housing
Under this statute, an insurer cannot refuse to issue, cancel, refuse to renew, or raise the premium on a homeowners or dwelling fire policy based on the breed of dog living in the home. Insurers are also barred from asking what breed your dog is. The only breed-related question they can ask is whether the specific dog has been declared dangerous under Colorado’s dangerous-dog statute.4Colorado General Assembly. HB23-1068 Pet Animal Ownership in Housing The protection applies to both homeowners and renters policies.
If your individual dog has been officially designated as dangerous under C.R.S. § 18-9-204.5, an insurer can factor that into its decisions. The trigger is the dog’s documented behavior, not its breed.
Liability if Your Dog Bites Someone
Owning a pit bull legally doesn’t shield you from what the dog does. Colorado holds dog owners to a strict liability standard when a bite causes serious bodily injury or death. Under C.R.S. § 13-21-124, a victim who is lawfully on public or private property can recover economic damages from the owner without proving the owner knew the dog was aggressive or had ever bitten anyone before.5Colorado Public Law. Colorado Code 13-21-124 – Civil Actions Against Dog Owners A lifelong gentle pet gets the owner no discount.
Economic damages cover medical bills, lost wages, and similar out-of-pocket costs. Non-economic damages, like pain and suffering, require proving negligence or another legal theory. If the victim can show the owner knew about the dog’s dangerous tendencies, a court may order the dog euthanized at the owner’s expense. The statute also carves out defenses for trespassing, provocation, posted “beware of dog” signs on the owner’s property, and bites involving working dogs or professional handlers.5Colorado Public Law. Colorado Code 13-21-124 – Civil Actions Against Dog Owners
A dangerous-dog designation under § 18-9-204.5 applies to any breed. A dog qualifies if it inflicts bodily or serious bodily injury on a person or domestic animal, shows tendencies a reasonable person would find threatening, or has been trained for fighting.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18 Section 18-9-204.5 That label is the one thing that can override the insurance protections above, and it exposes the owner to municipal control requirements like mandatory confinement, muzzling in public, higher insurance minimums, and signage.
Service Animals Are Exempt From Breed Bans
If your pit bull is a trained service animal, federal law overrides local breed restrictions. The Department of Justice has stated that municipalities with breed bans must make an exception for service animals of any prohibited breed, unless the specific animal poses a direct threat based on its individual behavior or history.6U.S. Department of Justice. Frequently Asked Questions About Service Animals and the ADA A city cannot exclude a service dog because of generalizations about the breed.
The same principle applies to air travel. Under the Air Carrier Access Act, airlines must accept service dogs regardless of breed and cannot refuse transport based on other passengers’ or crew members’ discomfort with the animal.7US Department of Transportation. Service Animals The exception is narrow: airlines can deny a service dog that poses a genuine safety threat, is too large for the cabin, or violates a destination’s health entry requirements. The service animal exception does not cover untrained emotional support animals, which no longer carry the same federal protection they once did.