Colorado Background Check Laws: Complete 2026 Guide

Colorado regulates background checks through overlapping state and federal laws. The Chance to Compete Act (CRS 8-2-130) bars employers from asking about criminal history on initial job applications, while the Colorado Consumer Credit Reporting Act (CRS 5-18-109) limits most consumer reports to a seven-year lookback with no salary exception.

Overview of Colorado Background Check Laws

Last verified: March 2026. This page reflects current Colorado Revised Statutes and recent legislative changes through 2025.

Table of Contents

• Overview of Colorado Background Check Laws
• Chance to Compete Act: Colorado's Ban the Box Law
• Seven-Year Lookback Period
• Colorado Clean Slate Act: Automatic Record Sealing
• Petition-Based Record Sealing
• FCRA and Colorado Consumer Credit Reporting Act
• Employment Background Checks
• Housing and Tenant Screening
• Professional Licensing Background Checks
• Firearm Background Checks
• Recent Changes to Colorado Background Check Laws
• FAQ
• Sources and References

Colorado has one of the most comprehensive frameworks of background check laws in the United States. The state regulates how employers, landlords, licensing agencies, and consumer reporting agencies use criminal history and credit information. Multiple overlapping statutes at both the state and local level protect individuals from discrimination based on past records.

These laws balance the interests of public safety with the goal of reducing barriers to employment and housing for people with criminal histories. Understanding how they interact is essential for both individuals undergoing checks and the organizations conducting them.

Chance to Compete Act: Colorado's Ban the Box Law

Colorado's Chance to Compete Act (CRS 8-2-130, originally HB19-1025) is the state's "ban the box" law. It restricts when employers can ask about an applicant's criminal history during the hiring process.

Who It Covers

The law was phased in over two years. Starting September 1, 2019, employers with 11 or more employees were required to comply. Since September 1, 2021, all covered employers in Colorado are subject to the act, regardless of size.

Public employers are not covered. CRS 8-2-130(2)(c)(II) provides that "employer" does not include the state, a local government, or a quasi-governmental entity or political subdivision of the state. Public-sector hiring is governed by a separate statute, CRS 24-5-101(3), described under Employment Background Checks below.

What the Law Prohibits

Under the Chance to Compete Act, employers cannot:

• Include criminal history questions on initial job applications
• State in a job advertisement or posting that people with criminal records may not apply or will not be considered
• Require applicants to disclose criminal history at the initial application stage

When Employers Can Ask

The act restricts the initial application stage, not the entire hiring process. CRS 8-2-130(3)(a)(III) bars an employer from inquiring into, or requiring disclosure of, an applicant's criminal history on an initial written or electronic application form. CRS 8-2-130(3)(b) then provides that an employer may obtain the publicly available criminal background report of an applicant at any time.

In practice many employers wait until an interview or a conditional offer before raising the subject, but the statute draws its line at the application form and does not require a conditional offer first.

Penalties for Violations

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) enforces the Chance to Compete Act. Penalties escalate with repeated violations:

• First violation: Warning and order to comply
• Second violation: Order to comply within 30 days and a fine of up to $1,000
• Third or subsequent violation: Order to comply within 30 days and a fine of up to $2,500

Seven-Year Lookback Period

Colorado law limits how far back consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) can report certain information. Under the Colorado Consumer Credit Reporting Act (CRS 5-18-109), CRAs are prohibited from including certain adverse information in a background report if it is more than seven years old.

What the Seven-Year Rule Covers

The following records cannot appear in a consumer report if they are older than seven years from the date of disposition, release, or parole:

• Records of arrest, indictment, or conviction of a crime
• Civil suits, civil judgments, and records of tax liens
• Accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss

How Colorado Differs from the Federal FCRA

A key difference between Colorado's law and the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is which records the seven-year limit covers. Under the federal FCRA, records of criminal convictions are excluded from the seven-year restriction entirely: convictions can be reported indefinitely, regardless of salary. The FCRA's $75,000 salary exception applies to arrest records, civil judgments, civil suits, tax liens, and collection accounts, lifting the seven-year cap on those items for higher-paying positions. It does not create a salary-based cutoff for reporting convictions, since convictions were never subject to the seven-year limit in the first place. Colorado's seven-year rule is broader than federal law on this point: it caps reporting of arrest, indictment, and conviction records at seven years, with no salary exception. This means Colorado is more protective than the FCRA specifically because it extends the seven-year limit to convictions, which federal law leaves unrestricted.

However, the seven-year restriction applies only to reports prepared by consumer reporting agencies. It does not apply to law enforcement background checks, CBI fingerprint-based checks, or FBI records, which can report information going back indefinitely.

Convictions vs. Non-Convictions

Federal law allows reporting of criminal convictions indefinitely, while Colorado state law caps criminal record reporting at seven years. When these rules conflict, the stricter standard generally applies. This means in Colorado, CRAs typically follow the state's seven-year limit on criminal records.

Colorado Clean Slate Act: Automatic Record Sealing

Colorado's Clean Slate Act (SB22-099), signed into law in 2022 and expanded by HB24-1133 in 2024, created an automatic record sealing process for eligible criminal records. This is one of the most significant recent changes to Colorado background check law.

How Automatic Sealing Works

Each quarter, the State Court Administrator compiles a list of eligible criminal records with complete dispositional information. The list is sorted by judicial district. Civil infractions are sent directly to the chief judge of each judicial district for sealing. Other eligible records are forwarded to the district attorney, who has a limited window to object.

Eligibility Waiting Periods

Records are eligible for automatic sealing after the following time periods from the date of final disposition or release from supervision (whichever is later):

Implementation Timeline

The law rolled out in two phases:

• Phase 1 (July 1, 2024): Automatic sealing began for non-conviction records, civil infractions, petty offenses, and misdemeanors
• Phase 2 (July 1, 2025): Automatic sealing expanded to include eligible Class 4, 5, and 6 felony convictions

Offenses Not Eligible for Automatic Sealing

The following convictions cannot be automatically sealed:

• Class 1, 2, and 3 felonies
• DUI and DWAI convictions
• Domestic violence offenses
• Sexual assault and other sex crimes
• Child abuse and exploitation offenses
• Offenses subject to the Victims Rights Act

Impact

The Colorado Judicial Department's initial data review identified more than 140,000 cases eligible for automatic sealing. As of August 2024, more than 100,000 criminal records had already been sealed under the new system.

Effect on Background Checks

Consumer reporting agencies are required to exclude sealed and expunged records from consumer reports. Employers and landlords who receive a report from a CRA should not see sealed records. However, certain government agencies and law enforcement may still access sealed records for specific purposes as allowed by law.

Petition-Based Record Sealing

Individuals who do not qualify for automatic sealing, or who want to expedite the process, can petition the court to seal their records under CRS 24-72-706.

Waiting Periods for Petition-Based Sealing

Requirements

To petition for record sealing, applicants must:

• Have paid all restitution in full
• File a motion in the jurisdiction where the offense occurred
• Pay a processing fee of $65 (fee waiver available for indigent petitioners)

Non-Conviction Records

A simplified sealing process applies when a defendant is acquitted of all charges, completes a diversion agreement, or has charges completely dismissed. In these cases, the court can seal records without requiring the defendant to file a separate civil action. The CBI also automatically seals arrest records when no charges are filed within one year.

District Attorney Objections

For felony offenses that are not drug felonies, the district attorney may object to sealing. If an objection is raised and the defendant requests a hearing, the court will schedule one to determine whether sealing is appropriate.

Reapplication After Denial

If a petition to seal is denied, the individual must generally wait one year before filing a new petition for the same records.

FCRA and Colorado Consumer Credit Reporting Act

Background checks conducted by third-party consumer reporting agencies must comply with both the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Colorado Consumer Credit Reporting Act (CRS 5-18-101 et seq.).

Federal FCRA Requirements

Under the FCRA, employers who use a third-party CRA for background checks must:

1. Provide written disclosure to the applicant that a background check will be conducted
2. Obtain written consent from the applicant before ordering the report
3. Follow the adverse action process if the employer decides not to hire based on the report, including providing a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and a summary of rights, then waiting a reasonable period before taking final adverse action

Colorado-Specific Protections

Colorado's Consumer Credit Reporting Act adds additional protections beyond the federal FCRA:

• Seven-year reporting limit on criminal records with no salary exception
• Medical debt exclusion: CRAs cannot include medical debt information in consumer reports (HB23-1126)
• Sealed record exclusion: CRAs must exclude sealed and expunged records from reports
• Disclosure requirements: If adverse action is taken based on credit information, the employer must disclose that fact and the specific information relied upon in writing

Employment Background Checks

Credit Check Restrictions

The Colorado Employment Opportunity Act (CRS 8-2-126), effective July 1, 2013, restricts employer use of credit reports in hiring decisions.

Employers with four or more employees generally cannot use consumer credit information for employment purposes unless the credit information is "substantially related" to the job in question. Exempt categories include:

• Banks and financial institutions
• State or local law enforcement agencies
• Employers of private domestic servants or farm and ranch labor
• Positions where credit history is substantially related to job duties

If an employer does use credit information and takes adverse action, it must disclose that fact to the applicant or employee in writing, along with the specific information relied upon.

Local Ordinances

Denver and Aurora have enacted additional restrictions on employer credit checks. Both cities ban credit checks for retail and service industry positions, with limited exceptions. Employers in these jurisdictions must comply with both state and local requirements.

Public Employer Hiring Rules

Public employers sit outside the Chance to Compete Act entirely, because CRS 8-2-130(2)(c)(II) excludes the state, local governments, and quasi-governmental entities and political subdivisions from the definition of "employer." A separate statute, CRS 24-5-101(3), governs public-sector hiring, and it works differently from the private-sector rule.

Under CRS 24-5-101(3)(a), unless a statute prohibits employing a person with a specific criminal conviction for a particular position, an agency cannot advertise the position with a statement that a person with a criminal record may not apply, and cannot place that statement on the application. That provision targets that specific statement. It does not by itself prohibit a public agency from asking about criminal history on an application.

The timing rule is narrower than the private-sector rule and applies to local agencies. CRS 24-5-101(3)(b)(I) provides that a local agency shall not perform a background check until the agency determines that an applicant is a finalist or makes a conditional offer of employment. Either milestone satisfies the requirement, so a check may run once an applicant becomes a finalist even if no offer has been made. The Department of Corrections and the Department of Public Safety are excepted from this timing rule, and CRS 24-5-101(3)(b)(II) provides that the exception does not extend to positions within the wildland fire management section of the Department of Public Safety.

Once a local agency has determined that an applicant is a finalist or has made a conditional offer and then learns of a criminal history, CRS 24-5-101(3)(c) bars the agency from relying on an arrest or charge that did not result in a conviction and is not actively pending, a pardoned conviction, a conviction whose records have been sealed or expunged, or a matter covered by a court order of collateral relief.

CBI Name-Based and Fingerprint-Based Checks

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation offers two types of criminal history checks:

• Name-based checks: Searches CBI records by name and date of birth. These are limited by the seven-year reporting restrictions when conducted through a CRA.
• Fingerprint-based checks: Conducted through the Colorado Applicant Background Services (CABS) program. These search both CBI and FBI databases and can return records going back indefinitely. Fingerprint checks are typically required for professional licensing, not standard employment.

Housing and Tenant Screening

Colorado law places specific limits on how landlords can use criminal history and other background information when screening tenants.

Criminal History Restrictions for Housing

Under Colorado law (CRS 38-12-904, originally SB18-057), landlords face these restrictions:

• Seven-year rental and credit history cap: If a landlord uses rental history or credit history as criteria in considering an application, CRS 38-12-904(1)(a) bars the landlord from considering any rental history or credit history beyond the seven years immediately preceding the application date
• Arrest records: Landlords cannot consider any arrest record of a prospective tenant
• Five-year lookback: Landlords cannot consider criminal convictions older than five years from the application date
• Exceptions: The five-year conviction limit does not apply to a conviction record or deferred judgment for unlawful distribution, manufacturing, dispensing, or sale of methamphetamine (CRS 18-18-405), unlawful possession of materials to make methamphetamine and amphetamine (CRS 18-18-412.5), any offense requiring sex offender registration under CRS 16-22-103, or any offense described in part 1 or part 6 of article 3 of title 18, which covers homicide and stalking offenses

Portable Tenant Screening Reports

Under HB23-1099, landlords must accept portable tenant screening reports from prospective tenants. If a tenant provides a qualifying screening report (prepared within the previous 30 days by a consumer reporting agency), the landlord cannot charge an application fee or a separate screening fee.

Screening reports must include verification of employment and income, rental and credit history, and criminal history. If a landlord obtains its own consumer report, it must provide a copy to the prospective tenant.

2025 Updates

HB25-1236 made further changes to tenant screening. Prospective tenants using a housing subsidy are no longer required to include credit history, credit scores, or adverse credit events in their screening report.

Professional Licensing Background Checks

Many professions in Colorado require fingerprint-based criminal history checks as part of the licensing process. The CBI processes nearly 200,000 fingerprint-based background checks annually for this purpose.

How Licensing Checks Work

Applicants for certain professional licenses must submit fingerprints through one of two approved vendors: IdentoGO or Colorado Fingerprinting. These vendors operate fixed and mobile sites across the state. Fingerprints are submitted to the CBI, which processes them through both state (CBI) and national (FBI) criminal databases.

Results are delivered securely to licensing agencies through the CBI's Secure Document Delivery System (SDDS).

Professions Requiring Background Checks

More than 70 professions in Colorado require fingerprint-based licensing checks through the Division of Professions and Occupations (DPO). Common examples include:

• Teachers and school employees
• Healthcare professionals (nurses, physicians, pharmacists)
• Real estate agents
• Child care providers
• Insurance agents
• Financial professionals

Scope of Licensing Checks

Unlike CRA-produced reports, fingerprint-based licensing checks are not subject to the seven-year lookback period. They search the full criminal history database maintained by the CBI and FBI. Licensing boards then apply their own criteria to determine whether a criminal record disqualifies an applicant.

Firearm Background Checks

Colorado operates its own point-of-contact system for firearm background checks through the CBI Firearms InstaCheck Unit. Colorado is one of only 13 states that serve as a state point of contact for the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

How Firearm Checks Work

All firearm purchases and private transfers in Colorado require a background check. Licensed gun dealers submit the check through the InstaCheck system, which queries state (CBI) and federal (NICS) databases. The current fee for a firearm background check is $15.00, as authorized by CRS 24-33.5-424.

Waiting Period

Under HB21-1298, a licensed gun dealer cannot transfer a firearm until the CBI has completed the background check and provided approval. There is no automatic transfer after a set number of days; the dealer must wait for actual approval from the CBI.

Concealed Handgun Permits

Applications for concealed handgun permits require a separate background check through the county sheriff's office, which coordinates with the CBI for processing through CCIC, FBI, and InstaCheck systems.

Recent Changes to Colorado Background Check Laws

Colorado has enacted several significant changes to its background check laws in recent years:

2024-2025 Legislative Changes

• HB24-1133 (2024): Expanded automatic record sealing eligibility and streamlined the sealing process
• HB24-1432 (2024): Repealed the CBI fee for criminal justice record sealing
• HB25-1236 (2025): Updated tenant screening rules, especially for tenants using housing subsidies
• Clean Slate Phase 2 (July 2025): Automatic sealing expanded to include eligible Class 4, 5, and 6 felony convictions

Key Trends

Colorado continues to expand protections for individuals with criminal records while maintaining public safety requirements. The automatic sealing program is the most significant development, removing the burden of petitioning the court for hundreds of thousands of eligible records. Employers, landlords, and licensing agencies should regularly review their screening practices to ensure compliance with these evolving requirements.