Colorado Death with Dignity: Eligibility, Requests, and Medication

To use Colorado’s Death with Dignity law, you have to meet the requirements the End-of-Life Options Act sets out: be an adult Colorado resident with a terminal diagnosis and a prognosis of six months or less, have the mental capacity to make an informed decision, make two oral requests to your attending provider at least seven days apart, submit a signed written request witnessed by two people, and receive confirmation from a second provider before a prescription can be written.¹ A 2024 amendment (SB24-068) shortened the waiting period from 15 days to seven and expanded who can serve as a provider.²

Who Qualifies

Three eligibility requirements have to be met together. You must be at least 18. You must be a Colorado resident. And your attending provider must diagnose you with a terminal illness that is incurable, irreversible, and expected to result in death within six months based on reasonable medical judgment.¹³

Your attending provider also has to confirm that you have the mental capacity to make an informed decision and that you’re acting voluntarily.⁴ The statute is explicit that age or disability alone does not create a right to request the medication.¹

Proving Colorado Residency

You show residency to your attending provider with any one of the following:³

A Colorado driver’s license or state ID card
A Colorado voter registration card or other proof you’re registered to vote here
Evidence you own property or hold a lease in Colorado
A Colorado income tax return for the most recent tax year

One document is enough. Someone who moved recently and has any of these qualifies.

The Request Sequence and Timing

The prescription cannot be written until you have made two oral requests directly to your attending provider and submitted a signed written request. The two oral requests have to be separated by at least seven days.⁵ The written request can be submitted at any point during that window, but all three requests plus the consulting provider’s written confirmation must be in place before the prescription is issued.

There is one exception to the seven-day gap. If your attending provider determines you are likely to die within 48 hours, the waiting period is waived and you can make your second oral request at any time after the first, as long as every other requirement is satisfied.⁵

You can withdraw a request at any time, for any reason, no matter your mental state at that point. No paperwork is required to change your mind, and your attending provider has to tell you that you can fill the prescription and choose never to take it.⁴

The Written Request and Witnesses

The written request follows a form set out in the statute. You sign and date it in front of two witnesses, who attest that you appear mentally capable, are acting voluntarily, and are not being coerced.⁵

At least one of the two witnesses must have no personal or financial connection to you. That witness cannot be related to you by blood, marriage, civil union, or adoption; entitled to any part of your estate under a will or by law; or an owner, operator, or employee of the healthcare facility where you receive treatment or reside. Your attending provider, your consulting provider, and anyone holding your power of attorney or durable medical power of attorney are all disqualified from serving as witnesses.⁵

Confirmation by a Second Provider

A consulting provider must independently examine you and review your medical records. They confirm in writing to your attending provider that you have a terminal illness with a prognosis of six months or less, that you are mentally capable, that you are making an informed decision, and that you have requested the medication.⁶ If the consulting provider disagrees on any of those points, the process stops.

Since the 2024 amendment, advanced practice registered nurses can serve as attending or consulting providers in addition to physicians.²

When a Mental Health Evaluation Is Required

A mental health referral isn’t automatic. It happens only if the attending or consulting provider has concerns about whether you can make an informed decision. In that case, the provider must refer you to a licensed mental health professional, who submits a written determination back. If the determination is that you lack capacity, no prescription will be written.⁷

A diagnosis of depression or anxiety by itself does not disqualify you. The question is whether you can understand your situation, weigh your options, and communicate a decision.

What Your Attending Provider Must Discuss

Before writing the prescription, your attending provider has to walk you through:⁴

Alternatives, including comfort care, palliative care, hospice, and pain management
Potential side effects of the prescribed medication
The probable result of taking it
Your option to fill the prescription and never take it

The provider also has to speak with you privately, outside anyone else’s presence, to confirm you aren’t being pressured. And they are required to encourage you to notify next of kin or someone close to you, though notifying anyone is not mandatory.⁴

Getting and Taking the Medication

Once every step is complete and the attending provider verifies your informed decision one final time, the prescription is written. You must self-administer the medication, defined by the statute as your own affirmative, conscious, physical act of taking it.⁸ No one else can administer it to you or physically assist you in taking it.

Your attending provider is required to talk with you about having another person present and about not taking the medication in a public place.⁴

If Your Provider Won’t Participate

No provider is required to participate. Those who do and those who decline are equally protected: no censure, discipline, suspension, or loss of licensure for either choice.⁹ If your current provider declines, you’ll need to find a willing one or ask for a referral. Some Colorado healthcare systems allow the process in their facilities; others have institutional policies against it. A facility that does not participate cannot stop you from transferring your care elsewhere.

Death Certificate and Life Insurance

The cause of death on the death certificate is the underlying terminal illness, not the medication. The act includes a specific section on insurance and annuity policies, and it treats a death under the law as not constituting suicide for purposes of those contracts.

Both the attending provider and the dispensing provider file documentation with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and the attending provider must document in your medical record that every statutory requirement was met, including which medication was prescribed and when.¹⁰

Disposing of Unused Medication

If you decide not to take the medication, or if any remains after a patient’s death, whoever has custody of it must dispose of it safely. There are two options: return it to the prescribing provider for disposal under state law, or use a state or federally approved drug take-back program.¹¹ Your attending provider has to go over safe storage and disposal with you as part of the process.⁴

1
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-103 – Right to Request
2
Colorado General Assembly. SB24-068 Medical Aid-in-Dying
3
FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-102 – Definitions
4
FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-106 – Attending Provider Responsibilities
5
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-104 – Request Process – Witness Requirements
6
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-107 – Consulting Provider Responsibilities
7
FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-108 – Mental Health Professional Referral
8
Colorado Secretary of State. Colorado End-of-Life Options Act Proposed Initiative 145
9
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-116 – Protections for Attending and Consulting Providers
10
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-111 – Reporting Requirements
11
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-120 – Safe Disposal of Unused Medical Aid-in-Dying Medication