The Colorado Open Records Act, known as CORA, gives you the right to inspect and copy most records held by state and local government agencies in Colorado. You file a written request with the agency’s records custodian, who has three working days to respond. You do not have to say why you want the records, and you do not have to show identification.1Justia Law. Colorado Code 24-72-203 – Public Records Open to Inspection Transparency is the default: unless a specific exemption applies, the record is public.2Justia Law. Colorado Code 24-72-201 – Legislative Declaration
What Records You Can Request
CORA defines public records broadly. Any writing a state agency, local government, or political subdivision creates, maintains, or keeps in connection with its official functions qualifies, including books, papers, maps, photographs, recordings, digitally stored data, and email.3FindLaw. Colorado Code 24-72-202 – Definitions Political subdivisions include counties, cities, towns, school districts, special districts, housing authorities, and regional transportation authorities. The device or program used to create a record does not matter; what matters is whether the content relates to government functions or public funds. Computer software itself is not a public record.
Correspondence from elected officials is covered too, with narrow exceptions for work product, communications unrelated to official duties, and clearly personal or confidential messages from constituents.3FindLaw. Colorado Code 24-72-202 – Definitions
Personnel files are worth understanding because the exemption is narrower than most people assume. The protected portion covers home addresses, phone numbers, financial information, and documents that exist solely because of the employer-employee relationship. The statute specifically excludes from that protection any compensation paid to public employees (including expense allowances and benefits), employment agreements, performance ratings, and payments made when employment ends.3FindLaw. Colorado Code 24-72-202 – Definitions You can find out what any government employee earns and what their contract says.
Records That Can Be Withheld
CORA sorts exemptions into two groups. Some records the custodian must withhold; others the custodian may withhold if disclosure would be contrary to the public interest.
Mandatory exemptions include medical, mental health, and sociological data on individuals; personnel files (subject to the carve-outs above); letters of reference; trade secrets and confidential commercial information submitted to the government; library and museum patron records; home addresses of public school students; and sexual harassment complaints still under investigation.4Justia Law. Colorado Code 24-72-204 – Allowance or Denial of Inspection If you are the person the record is about, you can generally still access it.
Discretionary exemptions cover investigative files, test questions and answers, ongoing state research, real estate appraisals, specialized security information, and deliberative drafts or preliminary notes that have not reached a final decision stage.4Justia Law. Colorado Code 24-72-204 – Allowance or Denial of Inspection Because these are discretionary, different custodians handling similar records sometimes reach different conclusions. You can push back.
How to File a Request
Start by identifying the custodian who actually holds the records. CORA defines the custodian as the official or authorized person with personal custody and control of the records in question.5El Paso County. Colorado Code 24-72-201 to 24-72-309 – Colorado Open Records Act That might be a department head, a records manager, or a designated CORA coordinator. Most agencies post contact information and a standardized request form on their websites.
The statute prohibits custodians from requiring identification to request or inspect records.1Justia Law. Colorado Code 24-72-203 – Public Records Open to Inspection Still, giving the agency your name and a way to reach you is practical: they may need to ask for clarification or tell you what the copies will cost. The Colorado Secretary of State’s office recommends including your name, mailing address, phone or email, and a detailed description of the records you want.6Colorado Secretary of State. Colorado Open Records Act
Be specific. Include date ranges, names, and keywords that help the custodian locate the right files. A vague request covering an entire category of records gives the agency grounds to extend its deadline or ask for clarification. If you want electronic delivery, say so. Agencies can email records to you and cannot charge a transmission fee.7Justia Law. Colorado Code 24-72-205 – Copy, Printout, or Photograph of a Public Record
How Long the Agency Has to Respond
Once the custodian receives your request, the clock starts. CORA presumes three working days is a reasonable time for records to be made available.1Justia Law. Colorado Code 24-72-203 – Public Records Open to Inspection Working days, not calendar days. Weekends and holidays do not count.
The custodian can extend the deadline by up to seven additional working days, but only under specific extenuating circumstances, and only if the extension is put in writing and delivered to you within the original three-day window. The statute recognizes three situations:1Justia Law. Colorado Code 24-72-203 – Public Records Open to Inspection
- The request covers all or most of a large category of records and is not specific enough to gather in three days.
- A broad request coincides with an impending deadline, a period of peak demand, or (for legislative staff) a legislative session.
- The volume is so large that fulfilling the request in three days would substantially interfere with the custodian’s other duties.
If the custodian does not respond within three working days and has not issued a written extension, that silence itself is something you can challenge in court.
What Copies and Research Cost
Inspecting records in person is free. Fees only apply when you want copies or when locating the records requires significant staff time.
Paper copies cost up to $0.25 per standard page. For records delivered in digital or electronic format, custodians cannot charge a per-page fee at all.8Colorado General Assembly. Colorado Open Records Act Email delivery comes with no transmission fee.7Justia Law. Colorado Code 24-72-205 – Copy, Printout, or Photograph of a Public Record Asking for electronic delivery when possible is the simplest way to keep costs down.
Staff time is separate. The first hour of research and retrieval is free. After that, agencies can charge up to a statutory maximum that is adjusted for inflation every five years. As of July 1, 2024, the maximum hourly rate is $41.37.9Colorado General Assembly. Colorado Open Records Act Maximum Hourly Research and Retrieval Fee Individual agencies often charge less. Some state offices bill at $30 to $34 per hour.10Office of Information Technology. CORA – Colorado Open Records Requests Before any work begins, ask the custodian for a cost estimate.
What to Do If Your Request Is Denied
A denial has to come with a written statement citing the specific law or regulation the custodian is relying on.4Justia Law. Colorado Code 24-72-204 – Allowance or Denial of Inspection Always insist on getting that in writing. A vague verbal refusal is not what the statute contemplates, and the written explanation is your roadmap for deciding whether to challenge it.
If you disagree, you can apply to the district court where the records are located for an order requiring the custodian to show cause. But CORA requires you to give the custodian at least 14 days’ written notice before filing. During those 14 days, the custodian must communicate with you, in person or by phone, to try to resolve the dispute without litigation.4Justia Law. Colorado Code 24-72-204 – Allowance or Denial of Inspection This cooling-off period resolves more disputes than you might expect.
If the case does go to court, the burden falls on the custodian to justify the denial. Colorado courts have consistently read CORA’s exemptions narrowly, with doubt resolved in favor of disclosure. If you need the records urgently, you can shorten the 14-day notice to three business days by explaining in your written notice why expedited access is necessary; in that scenario, the custodian is not required to hold a pre-filing meeting.4Justia Law. Colorado Code 24-72-204 – Allowance or Denial of Inspection
Police and Court Records Are Different
CORA does not govern criminal justice records. If you are requesting records from a police department, sheriff’s office, district attorney, or any agency whose primary function is investigating or prosecuting crime, a separate statute applies: the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act (CCJRA), at C.R.S. ยงยง 24-72-301 through 24-72-309.11FindLaw. Colorado Code 24-72-302 – Definitions The CCJRA treats records of official action, such as arrests, charging decisions, and dispositions, as generally open, but gives agencies broad discretion to withhold investigative files and related material if disclosure would be contrary to the public interest.12Justia Law. Colorado Code 24-72-305 – Grounds for Permitting or Denying Inspection If your request is for police or prosecution records, look to the CCJRA rather than CORA for deadlines, fees, and appeal rights.