How to Find a Cause of Death in Colorado (2026)

In Colorado, a person's cause of death is recorded on the medical certification of the death certificate and, for investigated deaths, in the coroner's autopsy report. It is not open to the general public. Eligible family members and others with a direct and tangible interest can obtain it from CDPHE, and a genealogical research purpose can count as that interest.

How Do You Find Someone's Cause of Death in Colorado?

You find a cause of death in Colorado by reading the death certificate, which records it on the medical certification, or by obtaining the coroner's autopsy report if the death was investigated. The death certificate is restricted while it is recent, so an eligible family member usually has to order the certified copy from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).

If you are not an eligible requester, your practical options are narrower. You can check the published obituary or newspaper coverage, ask the family, file a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request with the county coroner for an autopsy report, or wait until the record ages into the public domain.

For an overview of how Colorado handles all death records, see our Colorado Death Records guide.

Is the Cause of Death Public in Colorado?

No. The cause of death on a Colorado death certificate is not openly public. Vital records are confidential under Colorado Revised Statutes 25-2-117, so the death certificate and the cause of death it carries are released only to applicants with a direct and tangible interest, not to anyone who asks.

There is no point at which that confidentiality lapses. Neither C.R.S. 25-2-117 nor the state vital records regulation, 5 CCR 1006-1, sets an age at which a Colorado death certificate becomes a public record anyone may order. The access question is always who you are and why you need the record, not how old the death is. The regulation defines a person with a direct and tangible interest as the registrant, a member of the registrant's immediate family, the registrant's legal guardian or custodian, or their legal representatives, and it lets others demonstrate that interest when the information is needed to determine or protect a personal or property right or for genealogical purposes.

The coroner's autopsy report is treated differently. When the deceased was an adult, it is a county record subject to CORA, so members of the public can request it, though the coroner may withhold or redact parts tied to an open investigation. When the deceased was a minor, the opposite rule applies: under C.R.S. 30-10-606.7, an autopsy report prepared in connection with the death of a person under 18 is not a public record at all. For the bigger national picture, see Are Cause of Death Records Public?.

Where the Cause of Death Is Recorded

The cause of death is recorded in two main places in Colorado: the death certificate and, when applicable, the autopsy report. The death certificate is the primary legal record, while the autopsy report is the detailed forensic record behind it.

On the Death Certificate

Every Colorado death certificate includes a medical certification of death. A certifying physician, or the county coroner in coroner cases, completes and signs this section, listing the immediate cause, any underlying conditions, and the manner of death.

This is why a certified copy of the death certificate is the most direct document for confirming how someone died. The informational copy and the certified copy both carry the cause, but only eligible requesters can buy them while the record is restricted.

In the Coroner or Autopsy Report

For sudden, violent, suspicious, or unexplained deaths, the county coroner investigates and determines the cause and manner of death. Under C.R.S. 30-10-606, the coroner makes the inquiry and issues the certificate of death. A forensic autopsy is not merely an option: C.R.S. 30-10-606(2) says the coroner shall perform a forensic autopsy or have one performed as required by C.R.S. 30-10-606.5 or upon the request of the district attorney, and 30-10-606.5(1)(a) sets out the circumstances that require one.

The autopsy report explains the findings in far more detail than the certificate. When the deceased was an adult, it is a county record obtainable through a CORA request to the coroner's office in the county where the death occurred.

Autopsy Reports for the Death of a Minor

C.R.S. 30-10-606.7, effective January 1, 2025, sets a different path when the deceased was under 18. The report itself is not a public record. On written request the coroner releases a copy only to a person or entity on the statutory list, which includes a parent or legal guardian who submits a signed affidavit verifying the relationship, a law enforcement or criminal justice agency investigating or prosecuting the death, state and local child fatality prevention review teams, a treating health-care provider or facility, and parties to a civil or criminal case under a specific court order. The statute also allows public release where the minor died in the custody or under the supervision of the state or a local government, including in a law enforcement agency, a detention facility, foster care, or a public school.

Any other person who submits a written request receives a defined set of facts instead of the report: the cause of death, the time, place, and manner of death, the age, gender, and race or ethnicity of the minor, and the minor's name. The coroner must release that information within three business days of receiving the request or the information, whichever is later, and must say whether anything missing is still under investigation. A requester who wants the full report can petition a district court, which grants access only on a finding that public disclosure substantially outweighs the privacy interests of the deceased and the family and that the information is not otherwise publicly available.

How to Request Records That Show the Cause of Death

To request records that show a cause of death in Colorado, start with the source that fits your situation. Eligible family members usually order the death certificate. An adult's autopsy report goes through a CORA request to the coroner, and a minor's follows the separate process in C.R.S. 30-10-606.7.

To order a certified death certificate from CDPHE, you submit a completed application, a copy of your photo ID, and proof of your eligibility, such as documentation of your relationship or legal interest. CDPHE and county vital records offices apply the direct-and-tangible-interest standard under C.R.S. 25-2-117.

To obtain an adult's autopsy report, send a CORA request to the county coroner's office that handled the death. Identify the deceased, the approximate date of death, and the records you want. The office may charge a research or copy fee and may redact material connected to an active case. If the deceased was a minor, write to the same office but follow C.R.S. 30-10-606.7 instead: a parent or legal guardian encloses a signed affidavit verifying the relationship, and any other requester receives the listed facts rather than the report.

Finding the Cause of Death for Older or Historical Deaths

For older deaths, the practical barrier usually falls away, but not because the record expires. Colorado sets no age at which a death certificate opens to the public, so a historical request still runs through the direct and tangible interest standard. What changes is how you meet it: the state vital records regulation counts a genealogical purpose as a qualifying interest, so a researcher generally explains the research rather than proving a close family relationship.

Colorado began statewide death registration around 1908, and the Colorado State Archives holds historical death records for genealogical and research access.

For the fact and date of a death, the Social Security Death Index is a useful free tool, but it does not include the cause of death. Pairing the index with an obituary, an archive record, or an aged certificate is the usual path for historical cases. To compare other states, start at our Death Records by State hub.

Colorado Cause of Death Records at a Glance

Disclaimer: This page is general information, not legal advice. Access rules, fees, and forms change. Verify current requirements with CDPHE or the relevant county coroner's office before you rely on them.

Sources

This page draws on the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment vital records program, Colorado Revised Statutes 25-2-117, 30-10-606, 30-10-606.5, and 30-10-606.7, the state vital records regulation at 5 CCR 1006-1, the Colorado Coroners Association, and the Colorado State Archives.