Do You Need a Permit for a Dumpster in Aurora, CO?

Published 2026-10-01 by Front Range Dumpsters

The short answer

In Aurora, a dumpster cannot go on the public street at all, and placement on your own property, including the driveway, “may be considered” through the City’s Temporary Use Permit program. Every other city around Aurora has its own rule, from Denver’s container-company-only street permit to Bennett’s outright ban. Each is below, with what the office publishes and, where it publishes nothing, who we ask.

Aurora

The City’s trash and recycling page answers the question directly: “No, storage pods and dumpsters are not allowed on the public street. These items may be considered for placement on private property, including driveways, through the city’s Temporary Use Permit program.” City Code § 94-106 makes it unlawful to place anything in a sidewalk, street, alley or highway that obstructs it, and under the general penalty in § 1-13 a violation can cost up to $2,650 or 364 days in jail, with each day a separate offense.

The Temporary Use Permit is run by the Permit Center in the Development Services Department, 15151 E. Alameda Parkway, Suite 2400 (303.739.7420, tup@auroragov.org), and applications go through DevPortal.AuroraGov.org. The application fee is $85.25. Note that the permit’s only street item is for signs, advertising and merchandise, so it does not open the street to a dumpster. The City publishes no time limit for a driveway container, so for a long rental we check with the Permit Center first.

Denver

Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure says all dumpsters, roll-offs and other containers in the right-of-way require a permit, either a residential annual permit or a one-time permit, and that the permit is “ONLY obtained by the container company.” The company also needs a Denver ROW Dumpster License number. On a private driveway in Denver, we found no published rule.

Thornton, Broomfield and Lochbuie: written street permits

Thornton handles on-street roll-offs with a Non-Construction Related Traffic Control Permit, and says roll-off dumpsters and on-street containers “do not have associated fees”; the fee waiver is written for single-family homes (Infrastructure, 720-977-6210). Broomfield needs no permit on a driveway or other private property; on the street, a Container Permit is required if it stays more than 24 hours, good for 30 days, or 180 with an active building permit, with reflectors on each side and set distances from intersections, driveways and hydrants (Engineering, 303-438-6380). Lochbuie allows a dumpster on public or private property for up to 72 hours without a permit; after that it needs a Temporary Occupancy/Placement Permit from the Town (303-655-9308).

Commerce City, Federal Heights, Glendale, Brighton and Northglenn

Commerce City, Federal Heights and Glendale each say in their codes that trash dumpsters are not placed in the street without the City’s specific approval. Brighton requires a permit before anyone obstructs a street, alley, sidewalk or right-of-way, applied for through Planning and Community Development (303-655-2017). Northglenn requires a right-of-way permit for any use or storage of equipment or materials in a public right-of-way, pulled by the contractor doing the work (303.450.8984). None of the five publishes a permit written specifically for a residential roll-off, so we call the city before any street placement.

Bennett and the unincorporated county

Bennett’s Town Code § 11-1-30 bans encroachments, “including dumpsters and roll-offs,” from any street, alley or sidewalk unless authorized by law, the Board of Trustees or ordinance, so in Bennett the container goes on the driveway. In unincorporated Adams and Arapahoe counties, including Henderson, Watkins, Strasburg and Byers, Colorado law (C.R.S. 43-5-301) makes it a civil infraction to place “any obstruction whatsoever” on a highway, which includes county roads, and neither county publishes a permit for a dumpster in one. On those roads, it goes on your property.

State highways

Colfax Avenue, Havana Street, Parker Road and the other state highways through the area are under CDOT, which issues Utility and Special Use Permits for work in its right-of-way and publishes nothing about dumpsters. We keep containers off state highways.

Demolition jobs have their own permits

A street permit is not a demolition permit. In Aurora, demolition goes through the Permit Center, with a 2026 flat-rate fee of $402 for a full or partial building. Statewide, CDPHE requires a demolition approval notice for every demolition, houses included, filed ten working days before work begins, after an asbestos inspection by a Colorado-certified inspector; the notice costs $50 plus $5 per 1,000 square feet of footprint.

What we do for you

When you book, we ask where the container will sit. If it is a driveway or lot, we deliver. If it would be in a street, we check the city’s rule before the truck rolls and tell you honestly what they said. Call (720) 343-7409 and we will sort it out in one conversation.

Front Range Dumpsters · 3555 Moline St, Aurora, CO 80010 · (720) 343-7409, answered 24/7.