Are Autopsy Reports Public in Colorado? (2026)

Yes. In Colorado, an adult autopsy report is generally a public record under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA), and any member of the public may request a copy from the county coroner who performed the exam. The main exception, effective January 1, 2025, is that autopsy reports for deceased minors are no longer open records. Even when a criminal case is open, an adult report stays public unless the coroner gets a district-court order to withhold it.

Are Autopsy Reports Public in Colorado?

Yes. For adults, a Colorado autopsy report is a public record under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA). Any person can request a copy without proving a relationship to the deceased.

This makes Colorado one of the more open states for death-investigation records. Colorado courts and coroner offices treat completed autopsy reports as records subject to disclosure, citing a compelling public interest in how and why people die.

There are limits. Reports for deceased minors became confidential on January 1, 2025, and an adult report can be withheld only if the coroner applies to a district court for an order under CORA's substantial-injury-to-the-public-interest standard, not automatically while a case is open.

The autopsy report also differs from the death certificate. The certificate is the vital record filed with the state, while the autopsy report is the detailed forensic findings produced by the coroner.

Who Performs Autopsies in Colorado? (ME vs Coroner)

Colorado runs a county-based coroner system. Under C.R.S. Title 30-10, each of the 64 counties has its own elected coroner rather than a single statewide medical examiner.

Coroners are elected to four-year terms and must complete medical-legal death investigation training and certification. The actual autopsy is performed by a board-certified forensic pathologist, often under contract or at a regional facility. Denver is the main exception, operating an Office of the Medical Examiner led by an appointed chief medical examiner.

A coroner investigates a death when it involves external violence, suspicious or unexplained circumstances, a sudden death of an apparently healthy person, a death without a physician in attendance, a death in custody, or certain hazardous-disease and industrial-accident cases.

An autopsy is not done for every death. It is ordered when the cause or manner of death needs to be established, including apparently non-natural deaths in regulated facilities and certain fatal vehicle crashes.

Who Can Request a Colorado Autopsy Report?

For an adult decedent, anyone can request the autopsy report. CORA does not restrict adult autopsy reports to next of kin, so journalists, attorneys, researchers, and the general public may all obtain a copy.

Next of kin are treated the same as the public for access purposes, though many coroner offices waive the fee for a single copy to immediate family.

Minors are different. Under HB24-1244, effective January 1, 2025, an autopsy report of a deceased minor is not a public record. It is released on written request only to a defined list of recipients: parents or legal guardians (with a sworn affidavit verifying the relationship), law enforcement and criminal-justice agencies investigating or prosecuting the death, child fatality review teams, public-health and human-services agencies, and treating healthcare providers and facilities.

Litigants are on that list, but a written request to the coroner is not enough. A requesting party in a civil case must first show the court that the report is discoverable under Rule 26(b)(1) of the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure and obtain a specific court order authorizing disclosure, subject to any protective order limiting release of identifying information. Defense counsel, or a defendant who is not represented, needs a specific court order under Rule 16 of the Colorado Rules of Criminal Procedure, and only if discovery has not otherwise been provided.

The general public can receive a minor's full report when the death occurred while the minor was in the custody or under the supervision of the state or a local government. That is broader than a jail cell: the statute names a law enforcement agency, a detention facility, foster care, and a public school.

For a minor, anyone can still make a written request for basic facts: the cause of death, the time, place, and manner of death, and the child's name, age, gender, and race or ethnicity. The coroner must release that information within three business days of receiving the written request, or within three business days of receiving the information, whichever is later. If the information is incomplete when released, the coroner has to say that the missing details remain under investigation or are otherwise unknown.

A person may also petition a district court for the full report, but the test has two prongs and both must be met. The court grants access only on a finding that public disclosure substantially outweighs any harm to the privacy interests of the deceased and the family, and that the information sought is not otherwise publicly available. The second prong does real work, because the basic facts above are already available to anyone who asks.

How to Get an Autopsy or Toxicology Report in Colorado

Submit your request to the county coroner's office that handled the death. Most offices accept requests by mail, email, fax, or an online request form, and procedures vary by county.

Some offices ask for the requester's photo ID, and minor-related requests require documentation showing you are an authorized recipient. Identify the decedent by full name and date of death so the office can locate the case.

Fees are usually low. Many coroner offices provide a report at no charge, especially to next of kin, while others charge a small per-page fee (for example, 25 cents per page) or a flat fee of roughly $20 to $25 for additional copies.

Plan for processing time. A report is typically finalized 8 to 12 weeks after the exam, and longer if toxicology or additional testing is pending. The toxicology report is part of the case file and is released on the same public-record basis as the autopsy report.

No automatic hold for open cases. Because an adult autopsy report is not a criminal-justice record, an open criminal investigation does not by itself block release. To withhold an adult report (most often a homicide victim's), the coroner must apply to a district court for an order under CORA's substantial-injury-to-the-public-interest standard.

Autopsy Report vs Death Certificate in Colorado

These are two different records. The death certificate is the official vital record registered with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and it lists a brief cause-of-death line.

The autopsy report is the coroner's detailed forensic document, including examination findings, toxicology, and the pathologist's conclusions about cause and manner of death.

Access rules differ too. A Colorado death certificate is a restricted vital record, generally limited to family and others with a direct interest, while an adult autopsy report is an open public record under CORA. For more on the broader question, see Are Autopsies Public Records?

Disclaimer: This page is general information, not legal advice. Autopsy-report rules, fees, and procedures vary by county and change over time. Verify the current process with the specific Colorado county coroner's office before relying on it.

Sources

This page draws on the Colorado General Assembly (HB24-1244), the U.S. CDC summary of Colorado coroner law, and Colorado county coroner offices.

UP to Colorado Death Records and back to the hub Death Records by State.