Commercial Use Authorizations

For questions about CUAs, please call the Permits Office at [phone] x332 or email us at [e-mail]

Definition

Federal regulations prohibit engaging in or soliciting any business in park areas, except in accordance with the provisions of a permit, contract, or other written agreement with the United States. As in other National Park Service areas, commercial visitor services or other commercial activities may be provided only by those holding an authorization from the United States.

A Commercial Use Authorization (CUA) may be obtained from the National Park Service to authorize companies or individuals to conduct business in Colorado National Monument on an annual basis. A CUA provides a group a non-exclusive license to offer services to park visitors.

An organization is considered a business if you provide goods, services, activities, or other things to the public using National Park Service lands. If you receive any form of compensation for the things you provide, you are conducting a business or commercial activity. The National Park Service's definition of a business or commercial organization does not distinguish between commercial and non-profit organizations.

CUA holders have their base of operations outside the park. All of the commercial aspects of the activity must occur outside of National Park Service (NPS) lands. This includes marketing, advertising, use of permanent or temporary structures, and negotiation with customers. Compensation or payment for services may not occur on NPS lands.

Policy

Title 36 Code of Federal Regulations 1.6(a) - Permits and 5.3 - Business Operations states: "Engaging in or soliciting any business in park areas, except in accordance with the provisions of a permit, contract, or other written agreement with the United States, except as such may be specifically authorized under special regulations applicable to a park area, is prohibited."

CUA Permit Requirements

A Commercial Use Authorization (CUA) is a business permit with the National Park Service. It authorizes you to conduct commercial activities and to provide specific visitor services within a National Park Site. Colorado National Monument only issues CUA's for activities that:

• are an appropriate use of national park areas.
• will have minimal impact on park resources and values.
• are consistent with the park's purpose, management plans, policies, and regulations.

You must have a CUA if you or your organization provide services that:

• Take place at least in part in the national park area.
• Use park resources.
• Result in monetary gain.

Each activity requires a separate CUA. Currently, the following activities are permitted under Colorado National Monument's CUA program:

• Climbing/Mountaineering – Day Trips (rock climbing)
• Outdoors Skills Education – survival, boot camp, NOLS, etc.
• Bicycle Tours
• Wildlife Viewing (such as bird watching tours)
• Art Instruction (Painting, Drawing, Photography)
• Hiking – Backcountry (covers all guided hiking inside the monument)
• Fitness – Yoga
• Road Based Commercial Tours- (one or more persons traveling within a single 16+ passenger capacity vehicle on an improved roadway on an itinerary sold for leisure/recreational/educational purposes).
• Guided Interpretive Tours: (one or more persons traveling within a single 1 - 15 passenger capacity vehicle on an improved roadway on an itinerary sold for leisure/recreational/educational purposes).

Road-based tours may operate without a Commercial Use Authorization (CUA) for the 2026 season. A CUA for Road Based Commercial Tours in the monument will be required in 2027. Applications for Road Based Commercial Tours will be accepted December 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027. Applications must be submitted through the National Park Service CUA Portal.

If you are unsure which CUA your activity falls under or have a new activity you would like to provide in the monument, do not apply. Contact the Permits Office at 970-858-3617 x332 or email us at [e-mail] for assistance.

You may not conduct commercial activities in the park without a valid CUA or in a manner inconsistent with the terms of the CUA. You must always carry a copy of your Commercial Use Authorization with you while operating in the park. Show your CUA at the entrance station upon arrival.

All vehicles operating on behalf of the CUA Holder in the park are required to be identified by business name or logo on the exterior of the vehicle, or the CUA office will provide an identifying placard to display on the front dashboard. The placard or exterior identification must be visible at all times. Failure to have identification displayed while guiding may result in a citation.

Application Forms and Further Information

As part of a larger effort to streamline and modernize the National Park Service (NPS) Commercial Use Authorization (CUA) program, the NPS has developed an online system designed to process CUA applications and collect required CUA reports.

All applications for a CUA in Colorado National Monument must be submitted through the CUA website.

If needed, watch the NPS video "How to Apply for a Commercial Use Authorization (CUA) Permit," which shows how a business can apply for a CUA permit through the online system, or visit: Applying for a CUA - Commercial Use Authorizations (U.S. National Park Service)

All required documents and payments need to be submitted through this online system. Please carefully read the application to review conditions, required documents, and insurance requirements.

The 2027 CUA application period for Road Based Commercial Tours in Colorado National Monument is December 1, 2026 - March 31, 2027.

The application period for all other CUA types is December 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027.

Applications can take up to 30 days to be processed from the time of submission of a complete application. Applications are processed in the order they are received and cannot be expedited.

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Fees

The National Park Service is authorized to recover, at a minimum, associated management and administrative costs associated with CUAs.

Application Fees: The online CUA system implements a standard CUA application fee. This is a mandatory, one-time, non-refundable fee submitted when applying for a CUA. The application fee is credited toward the determined management fee due for each activity during the submittal process.

For the first application submitted during a CUA season, the applicant will pay a $350 application fee. That same applicant will pay a $250 application fee for each subsequent application submitted to the same NPS unit during the same CUA season.

The park’s per-person entrance fee will be charged for your clients. Participants may use valid America the Beautiful passes to cover their fees.

Current entrance fees:

• $15 per person
• If any client has an America the Beautiful Annual Pass, the pass will waive the entrance fee for the pass holder and three additional adults.
• If any client has an America the Beautiful Non-Resident Annual Pass, the pass will waive the entrance fee for the pass holder and three additional adults.

**Only clients may use America the Beautiful passes. Guides/drivers/staff may not use personal passes and are exempt from the entrance fee.**

Entrance fees for Road Based Commercial Tours are based on the passenger capacity of the vehicle and are as follows:

• 16 - 25 passenger capacity - $40
• 25+ passenger capacity - $100
• America the Beautiful passes do not apply

Market price management fees will be charged to CUA holders based upon a percentage of the gross receipts earned from park-dependent operations. The CUA holder reports park-dependent gross receipts when they submit the mandatory CUA Annual Report (OMB 10-660). Market price management fees are not applicable to Road Based Commercial Tours in 2027.

The application fee will be deducted from the percentage of gross receipts to determine the market price management fee. The fee is based upon the following:

Market Price Fee (% of gross receipts earned from in-park or park dependent operations)

<$250,000	3% of gross receipts (minus application fee)
$250,000 to $500,000	4% of gross receipts (minus application fee)
>$500,000	5% of gross receipts (minus application fee)

For example, if your gross receipts for the year were $100,000, and activities in Colorado National Monument represented 20% of that, your gross receipts attributable to activities in the monument would be $20,000. 3% of $20,000 is $600. $600 minus your application fee of $350 is $250, so you would be billed $250.

To apply, please visit the website. For questions about CUAs and the application process, please call the Permit Office at 970-858-3617 x332 or email us at [e-mail].

CUA Suspension, Revocation, or Denial

CUA holders and their employees are required to meet the conditions of the CUA while operating within Colorado National Monument. Failure to meet these conditions may result in CUA suspension, restriction, revocation or application denial. Review the Colorado National Monument Commercial Use Authorization Revocation Policy.