The permit is the cheap part — here's the whole cost picture
Search “well permit cost” and you’ll find guesses. Here’s the grounded version: in Colorado, the permit filing fee is the small number — about $100 for typical exempt household-well paperwork (that figure is the state’s verified fee for a replacement exempt domestic well permit; each form carries its own fee on DWR’s official schedule, checked July 2026). One thing is genuinely free: extending an exempt permit’s expiration date costs nothing, which matters when drilling schedules slip.
The real cost stack
- The permit — ~$100 filing fee, and the state’s review time.
- The hole — drilling dominates everything: Colorado wells commonly run from the low tens of thousands, driven by depth, access, and geology. Get bids; the spread between drillers on the same lot can exceed the permit fee a hundred times over.
- The pump system — sizing, drop pipe, pressure tank, electrical.
- The tests — at a property sale, the water quality and yield testing that lenders ask about is its own line item; our FHA/VA requirements guide covers when it’s actually required.
Where people actually lose money
Not on the fee — on sequence. Drilling before the permit issues, letting a permit expire mid-project (the free extension nobody files), or discovering at closing that the well’s paperwork never followed the property. That last one is the quiet, common one — see the permit transfer guide and the process walkthrough for the order of operations that avoids all three.
Questions people actually ask
How much does a Colorado well permit cost?
The state filing fee for typical household-well paperwork runs about $100 — that's the verified fee for a replacement exempt domestic well permit, and other exempt filings sit in the same modest band. Check your exact form's fee on DWR's official Form Submittal & Fee Schedule before writing the check; fees are set per form.
Does anything at DWR cost nothing?
Yes — extending the expiration date of an exempt or small-capacity permit is free, per the state's fee schedule. If your permit is about to lapse before the driller can get there, the extension costs you a form, not money.
Is the permit the expensive part of getting a well?
Not even close. The permit is roughly $100; drilling a Colorado well commonly runs from the low tens of thousands depending on depth and geology, plus the pump system and, at a sale, the testing. Budget conversations should start with the hole, not the paperwork.
Do I need a permit to use an existing well I just bought?
The permit exists already — what changes is the ownership record. Filing the change-of-ownership form with DWR keeps the permit's standing attached to you; our permit-transfer guide walks through it, and it matters at closings more than buyers expect.