Colorado Open Records Act (CORA): Deadlines, Fees, and Denials

The Colorado Open Records Act opens public records to inspection by any person. C.R.S. section 24-72-203(3) sets the timing: records that are not readily available must be made available within a reasonable time, and a reasonable time is presumed to be three working days or less, extendable by up to seven more working days for defined extenuating circumstances.

Information last verified on 2026-09-02 against the Colorado Revised Statutes 2026 as published by the General Assembly's Office of Legislative Legal Services. This article presents general legal information and has not been reviewed by a licensed Colorado attorney.

This page covers Colorado state and local records. Federal agencies are governed by the separate federal Freedom of Information Act; see how to file a FOIA request. For a fifty-state view, see the public records laws by state hub.

What CORA covers

The Colorado Open Records Act sits at C.R.S. section 24-72-200.1 and following. Its definition of public records is deliberately broad, reaching writings, books, papers, photographs, tape recordings, and electronic mail made, maintained, or kept by the state, any state agency, institution, or political subdivision, and any elected or appointed public official, where the record is used in the exercise of functions required or authorized by law or involves the receipt or expenditure of public funds.

The Colorado General Assembly's Office of Legislative Legal Services summarizes the reach plainly: the definition "applies to virtually all levels and types of governments in Colorado, except for the federal government and tribal governments," and includes records kept on a personally owned, private device where they meet the definition.

That last point matters. A county commissioner's text message about county business is not automatically outside CORA because it sits on a personal phone.

Who can request Colorado public records

Any person. Section 24-72-203(1)(a) provides:

"All public records shall be open for inspection by any person at reasonable times, except as provided in this part 2 or as otherwise provided by law, but the official custodian of any public records may make such rules with reference to the inspection of such records as are reasonably necessary for the protection of such records and the prevention of unnecessary interference with the regular discharge of the duties of the custodian or the custodian's office."

"Person" is not limited to individuals. It includes corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and associations. There is no residency requirement, so an out-of-state requester has the same right as a Coloradan, and there is no requirement to state a purpose.

The custodian's rulemaking authority in that same sentence is real but bounded. It authorizes rules protecting records and preventing unnecessary interference with the office's work. It does not authorize rules that defeat access.

The three-working-day rule

Colorado's timing rule is short, and reading it precisely avoids a common misunderstanding.

Section 24-72-203(3) provides that inspection of records not readily available at the time of the request "shall be within a reasonable time after the request," and then supplies the benchmark:

"As used in this subsection (3), a 'reasonable time' shall be presumed to be three working days or less. Such period may be extended if extenuating circumstances exist. However, such period of extension shall not exceed seven working days. A finding that extenuating circumstances exist shall be made in writing by the custodian and shall be provided to the person making the request within the three-day period."

Three points follow:

• Three working days is a presumption, not an absolute cap. It is rebuttable, but the burden of rebutting it sits with the custodian, and the rebuttal has to be written down and handed to you within the three-day period.
• The extension is seven working days, not seven calendar days, and the grounds are defined. Section 24-72-203(3)(b) caps any extension at seven working days, which runs roughly nine to eleven calendar days once weekends are counted. It lists the extenuating circumstances: a broadly stated request encompassing all or substantially all of a large category of records without enough specificity for the custodian to gather them in three days; a broadly stated request of that kind where the agency cannot comply because it must devote its resources to an impending deadline or an unusual period of peak demand, or, for the General Assembly and its staff, because the General Assembly is in session; or a request involving such a large volume of records that the custodian cannot reasonably provide them in three days without substantially interfering with other public service responsibilities.
• Ordinary busyness is not on that list. A custodian who invokes extenuating circumstances should be able to point to one of the enumerated grounds, in writing.

If a record is readily available, the statute contemplates prompt inspection rather than a three-day wait. The three-day presumption exists for records that need to be located or retrieved.

Fees under CORA

Colorado's fee structure is unusually well defined, and knowing the numbers is the difference between a reasonable invoice and an unreasonable one.

Copies. A custodian may charge no more than 25 cents per standard page for a printed copy, or no more than the actual cost of providing a copy, printout, or photograph in a format other than a standard page. Where a specific statutory fee exists for a certified copy or another type of copy, that specific fee applies.

Electronic records are different. A custodian may not charge a per-page fee for providing records in a digital or electronic format, and no transmission fee may be charged for sending records by email. Asking for electronic delivery is therefore the single most effective way to cut a Colorado records bill.

Research and retrieval. A custodian may charge an hourly fee for research and retrieval time only after the first hour, and only if the custodian has posted on its website or otherwise published a written policy specifying the conditions and the amount of any fees. No published policy means no research and retrieval charge.

The hourly cap. C.R.S. section 24-72-205(6)(b) sets a statewide maximum. As of August 2026 that maximum is $41.37 per hour, effective July 1, 2024. The Director of Research of the Legislative Council Staff adjusts it for inflation every five years; the current figure was calculated by inflating the prior $33.58 rate by the change in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood consumer price index between the first half of 2019 and the first half of 2024.

Deposits. Before completing a request that will take more than one hour of research and retrieval time, the custodian may require a deposit equal to the estimated staff time. If the actual time is more or less than estimated, the custodian may require an additional payment or issue a partial refund.

Payment method. If the custodian lets the public pay for any other service or product by credit card or electronic payment, it must allow a records requester to pay a CORA fee or deposit the same way, though it may pass along the processor's service charge.

Colorado has no general public-interest fee waiver. Readers coming from the federal FOIA often expect one, and it does not exist here. The levers that do exist are asking for electronic delivery, narrowing the request so it stays inside the free first hour, and checking whether the custodian actually has a published research and retrieval policy.

Exemptions, and the three kinds

CORA sorts its exemptions into categories that behave differently, and knowing which one an agency is invoking tells you how much room there is to argue.

Exclusions from the definition. Some things are simply not public records under section 24-72-202(6)(b), including criminal justice records covered by section 24-72-301 et seq., work product prepared for elected officials except where released, records relating to CollegeInvest programs, certain crime victim compensation materials, certain institutional foundation records, and an agency's information security plan, incident reports, and security audit and assessment reports. Correspondence of elected officials is also excluded to the extent it is work product, has no demonstrable connection to official functions and no public funds involved, or is a constituent communication that clearly implies an expectation of confidentiality.

Discretionary denials. Under section 24-72-204(2)(a) a custodian may deny inspection on the ground that disclosure would be contrary to the public interest. That list covers law enforcement investigations, intelligence information and security procedures, licensing and employment examination materials, details of bona fide research projects, real estate appraisals before title passes, the Department of Transportation's bid analysis and management system, Department of Revenue records identifying persons, email addresses, telephone numbers, and home addresses provided for future communications, certain security arrangement records, and records of civil or administrative investigations.

Mandatory denials. Section 24-72-204(3)(a) requires the custodian to withhold certain records from anyone other than the person in interest, including personnel files other than applications and performance ratings, letters of reference, trade secrets and privileged or confidential commercial or financial data including attorney-client and work product material, sexual harassment complaint and investigation records with exceptions, records covered by the deliberative process privilege where disclosure would stifle frank internal discussion unless the privilege is waived, and the addresses and telephone numbers of public elementary and secondary school students.

When a Colorado custodian denies a request, ask which of these three buckets applies. A discretionary denial invites an argument about the public interest. A mandatory denial does not, but it may still permit a redacted release or access by the person in interest.

Police reports and body camera footage in Colorado

This is where Colorado's structure surprises people. Criminal justice records are excluded from the definition of public records under section 24-72-202(6)(b). They are governed instead by the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act at C.R.S. section 24-72-301 et seq., a separate statute with its own definitions, its own custodians, and its own standards for release.

The practical consequences:

• Send a police report request under the Criminal Justice Records Act, not CORA. Requests routed to the wrong statute get bounced or delayed, and a denial letter citing CORA exemptions on a police record is answering the wrong question.
• Body camera footage is a third track. It has its own release statute, C.R.S. section 24-31-902, described below, with its own deadline that does not depend on either CORA or the Criminal Justice Records Act.
• The decision-maker is different. Under the criminal justice records framework, release of records of official action and other criminal justice records turns on standards set in that act rather than on CORA's public interest test.
• Fees and timing may differ from the CORA figures above, so ask the law enforcement agency for its own schedule.

Body camera footage: C.R.S. section 24-31-902

Colorado does not leave body-worn and dash camera footage to the general records statutes. C.R.S. section 24-31-902, titled "Incident recordings - release - tampering - fine," sets its own release rule, and it is more demanding than either CORA or the Criminal Justice Records Act.

Under section 24-31-902(2)(a)(I), where a complaint of peace officer misconduct is made to the agency involved and the incident did not result in a death, the agency that employs the officer must release, on request of any person, all unedited video and audio recordings of the incident, including body-worn camera footage, dash camera footage, and recordings otherwise collected through the investigation, to the requester within twenty-one days after the request.

Where the misconduct complaint arises from a use of force that resulted in a death, section 24-31-902(2)(a)(II) sequences the release differently. Under section 24-31-902(2)(b)(I) the agency must make reasonable efforts to identify the decedent's immediate family and provide them the recordings within twenty-one days after the incident, and those family members have the right to receive and review the footage at least seventy-two hours before public disclosure. Public release follows the expiration of that twenty-one-day family period. Both subsections were amended by SB 26-190, effective June 3, 2026.

Three limits shape what actually arrives:

• Blurring is mandatory, and it is not redaction. Section 24-31-902(2)(b)(II)(A) requires that video raising substantial privacy concerns for defendants, victims, witnesses, juveniles, or informants be blurred while still allowing public release, and expressly does not permit removing any portion of the video. A witness, victim, or defendant may waive that privacy interest in writing under subsection (2)(b)(II)(C).
• An active investigation delays release but does not defeat it. Under section 24-31-902(2)(b)(III), video that would substantially interfere with or jeopardize an active or ongoing investigation may be withheld from the public, but it must be released no later than forty-five days from the date of the allegation of misconduct, and the prosecuting attorney must prepare a written explanation of the interference, released to the public when the video is.
• Retention is agency-set but not unlimited. Section 24-31-902(1)(b) requires each local law enforcement agency and the Colorado State Patrol to establish and follow a retention schedule for body-worn camera recordings in compliance with Colorado State Archives rules. Ask for the agency's schedule early, because the twenty-one-day release clock only helps if the footage still exists.

For the general framework on emergency call recordings, see our explainer on whether 911 calls are public records.

How to file a Colorado Open Records Act request

There is no statewide portal. Requests go to the custodian, and most state agencies, counties, and municipalities publish a CORA page with a form or an email address.

1. Find the custodian's written policy first. It tells you where to send the request, what the copy charges are, and whether a research and retrieval fee applies. If there is no published research and retrieval policy, that fee cannot be charged.
2. Address it to the official custodian. For the General Assembly, note that each legislator is the custodian of their own records, and each legislative staff member is the custodian of their own, except for the nonpartisan staff of the Joint Budget Committee, Legislative Council, Office of Legislative Legal Services, Office of the State Auditor, and the House and Senate.
3. Cite CORA by name and section, the Colorado Open Records Act, C.R.S. section 24-72-200.1 et seq., and cite section 24-72-203(3) when you reference the three-working-day presumption.
4. Ask for records in electronic format. No per-page fee applies to digital delivery and no transmission fee may be charged for email.
5. Scope the request to stay inside the free first hour where you can, by naming custodians and narrow date ranges.
6. Ask for a written fee estimate and a deposit figure before any work above one hour begins.
7. If a delay is claimed, ask for the written extenuating circumstances finding. The statute requires it in writing and requires it to be given to you.

Our public records request generator will assemble a CORA letter with the correct citations and an electronic-format request. It runs in your browser and saves nothing.

When Colorado denies a request

Colorado has no records ombudsman and no binding administrative appeal body. There is no Colorado equivalent of Connecticut's Freedom of Information Commission.

Section 24-72-204(5)(b) sets the fee exposure on both sides. Unless the court finds that the denial of the right of inspection was proper, it must order the custodian to permit inspection and must award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing applicant. If the court finds the denial was proper and the action was frivolous, vexatious, or groundless, the award runs the other way, to the custodian. One carve-out: costs and fees are not awarded to a person already suing the public body if the court finds the records sought relate to that pending litigation and are discoverable under chapter 4 of the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure. That fee-shifting rule is the practical lever, and it is why a well-supported written challenge often produces records without a filing. Note that the former misdemeanor penalty in section 24-72-206 was repealed in 2017, so criminal exposure is not part of the picture.

Before you can file, you must give notice and try to talk. Section 24-72-204(5)(a) lets any person denied inspection apply to the district court of the district where the record is found for an order directing the custodian to show cause why inspection should not be permitted. At least fourteen days before filing that application, the requester must file a written notice with the custodian stating an intent to file. During that fourteen-day window the custodian must either meet in person or speak by telephone with the requester to determine whether the dispute can be resolved without a filing, and that meeting may include any method of dispute resolution both sides agree to, with any common expense apportioned equally unless the parties agree otherwise. There is one way past the meeting: if the written notice states that the requester needs the record on an expedited basis and sets out the factual basis for that expedited need, the notice must be given at least three business days before the application is filed, and no resolution meeting is required. Under section 24-72-204(5)(b) the hearing on the application must be held at the earliest practical time.

Steps that resolve many denials first:

• Ask the custodian to state in writing which statutory subsection it relies on and whether the denial is discretionary or mandatory.
• Ask whether a redacted version can be produced.
• Ask whether you are the "person in interest" for a record subject to a mandatory denial.
• Narrow the request and resubmit.

Vital records follow a different path

Colorado birth, death, and marriage certificates are not CORA requests. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Vital Records office applies its own eligibility rules, which restrict certified copies to people with a direct and tangible interest.

If a death certificate or autopsy report is what you need, start with our guide to Colorado death records.

A note on scope

This page describes the Colorado Open Records Act as of September 2026. It is general legal information, not legal advice. The statutory text cited here was read against the Colorado Revised Statutes 2026 as published by the General Assembly's Office of Legislative Legal Services, which posts every title of the code in full and free of charge. Statutes change, so confirm the current text with the custodian agency, the Colorado Attorney General's office, or an attorney licensed in Colorado before you act.