Colorado FOIA procedures

Colorado FOIA procedures
FOIA laws in Colorado
Freedom of Information Act
Court cases with an impact on state FOIA
FOIA procedures by state
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Each state has laws governing public access to governmental records. These laws are sometimes known as open records laws, public records laws, or FOIA laws after the federal Freedom of Information Act. These FOIA laws define the procedures that people can use to obtain access to these records.

This article describes FOIA procedures in Colorado as of May 2025. On this page you will find:

• How to request public records
• Who may request public records
• Fees associated with public records requests
• Required response times for requests
• Exemptions to public records requests

How to request public records in Colorado

The Colorado Open Records Act, found in Colorado Revised Statutes Article 72 Part 2, does not stipulate a particular method for submitting public information requests. According to former Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar, "Each agency is responsible for its own records, and one of the employees for each agency is the 'official custodian' of those records. The official custodian is probably an administrator for the agency. This person is responsible for all of the agency's records, even though he or she may not actually keep track of these records on a day to day basis. The official custodian is responsible for answering requests for records."

Purpose and use

Colorado law does not require a statement of purpose when requesting records. Per Colorado Revised Statutes 24-72-203, "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."

Who may request public records?

See also: List of who can make public record requests by state

Anyone may request public records in Colorado. According to Colorado Revised Statutes 24-72-201:

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It is declared to be the public policy of this state that all public records shall be open for inspection by any person at reasonable times, except as provided in this part 2 or as otherwise specifically provided by law.

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Colorado is among 42 states that do not require individuals requesting public records to be state residents.

Fees

See also: How much do public records cost?

Colorado law permits a fee to be charged to cover the cost of responding to a public records request. The current maximum hourly fee is $41.37.Fees may be waived if the records are being used for a public purpose. According to Section 24-72-205:

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(1) (a) In all cases in which a person has the right to inspect a public record, the person may request a copy, printout, or photograph of the record. The custodian shall furnish a copy, printout, or photograph and may charge a fee determined in accordance with subsection (5) of this section; except that, when the custodian is the secretary of state, fees shall be determined and collected pursuant to section 24-21-104 (3), and when the custodian is the executive director of the department of personnel, fees shall be determined and collected pursuant to section 24-80-102 (10). Where the fee for a certified copy or other copy, printout, or photograph of a record is specifically prescribed by law, the specific fee shall apply. (b) Upon request for records transmission by a person seeking a copy of any public record, the custodian shall transmit a copy of the record by United States mail, other delivery service, facsimile, or electronic mail. No transmission fees may be charged to the record requester for transmitting public records via electronic mail. Within the period specified in section 24-72-203 (3)(a), the custodian shall notify the record requester that a copy of the record is available but will only be sent to the requester once the custodian either receives payment or makes arrangements for receiving payment for all costs associated with records transmission and for all other fees lawfully allowed, unless recovery of all or any portion of such costs or fees has been waived by the custodian. Upon either receiving such payment or making arrangements to receive such payment at a later date, the custodian shall send the record to the requester as soon as practicable but no more than three business days after receipt of, or making arrangements to receive, such payment. (2) If the custodian does not have facilities for making a copy, printout, or photograph of a record that a person has the right to inspect, the person shall be granted access to the record for the purpose of making a copy, printout, or photograph. The copy, printout, or photograph shall be made while the record is in the possession, custody, and control of the custodian thereof and shall be subject to the supervision of the custodian. When practical, the copy, printout, or photograph shall be made in the place where the record is kept, but if it is impractical to do so, the custodian may allow arrangements to be made for the copy, printout, or photograph to be made at other facilities. If other facilities are necessary, the cost of providing them shall be paid by the person desiring a copy, printout, or photograph of the record. The custodian may establish a reasonable schedule of times for making a copy, printout, or photograph and may charge the same fee for the services rendered in supervising the copying, printing out, or photographing as the custodian may charge for furnishing a copy, printout, or photograph under subsection (5) of this section. (3) If, in response to a specific request, the state or any of its agencies, institutions, or political subdivisions has performed a manipulation of data so as to generate a record in a form not used by the state or by said agency, institution, or political subdivision, a reasonable fee may be charged to the person making the request. Such fee shall not exceed the actual cost of manipulating the said data and generating the said record in accordance with the request. Persons making subsequent requests for the same or similar records may be charged a fee not in excess of the original fee. (4) If the public record is a result of computer output other than word processing, the fee for a copy, printout, or photograph thereof may be based on recovery of the actual incremental costs of providing the electronic services and products together with a reasonable portion of the costs associated with building and maintaining the information system. Such fee may be reduced or waived by the custodian if the electronic services and products are to be used for a public purpose, including public agency program support, nonprofit activities, journalism, and academic research. Fee reductions and waivers shall be uniformly applied among persons who are similarly situated. (5) (a) A custodian may charge a fee not to exceed twenty-five cents per standard page for a copy of a public record or a fee not to exceed the actual cost of providing a copy, printout, or photograph of a public record in a format other than a standard page. (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection (5), an institution, as defined in section 24-72-202 (1.5), that is the custodian of scholastic achievement data on an individual person may charge a reasonable fee for a certified transcript of the data. (6) (a) A custodian may impose a fee in response to a request for the research and retrieval of public records only if the custodian has, prior to the date of receiving the request, either posted on the custodian's website or otherwise published a written policy that specifies the applicable conditions concerning the research and retrieval of public records by the custodian, including the amount of any current fee. Under any such policy, the custodian shall not impose a charge for the first hour of time expended in connection with the research and retrieval of public records. After the first hour of time has been expended, the custodian may charge a fee for the research and retrieval of public records that shall not exceed thirty dollars per hour. (b) On July 1, 2019, and by July 1 of every five-year period thereafter, the director of research of the legislative council appointed pursuant to section 2-3-304 (1), C.R.S., shall adjust the maximum hourly fee specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection (6) in accordance with the percentage change over the period in the United States department of labor, bureau of labor statistics, consumer price index for Denver-Boulder-Greeley, all items, all urban consumers, or its successor index. The director of research shall post the adjusted maximum hourly fee on the website of the general assembly.

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Response time

See also: Request response times by state

The act allows public agencies three working days to respond to public records requests, with an exception for extenuating circumstances which may extend the response time up to seven working days. According to Section 24-72-203:

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The date and hour set for the inspection of records not readily available at the time of the request shall be within a reasonable time after the request. 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. Extenuating circumstances shall apply only when: (I) A broadly stated request is made that encompasses all or substantially all of a large category of records and the request is without sufficient specificity to allow the custodian reasonably to prepare or gather the records within the three-day period; or (II) A broadly stated request is made that encompasses all or substantially all of a large category of records and the agency is unable to prepare or gather the records within the three-day period because: (A) The agency needs to devote all or substantially all of its resources to meeting an impending deadline or period of peak demand that is either unique or not predicted to recur more frequently than once a month; or (B) In the case of the general assembly or its staff or service agencies, the general assembly is in session; or (III) A request involves such a large volume of records that the custodian cannot reasonably prepare or gather the records within the three-day period without substantially interfering with the custodian's obligation to perform his or her other public service responsibilities.

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As of May 2025, 11 states had no mandated response time. Of the 39 states with response time limits, 12 allow agencies to extend response times in certain cases, while 27 allow no exceptions. Eight states required responses in three days or fewer, 11 in five days or fewer, 13 in 10 days or fewer, and seven in 20 days or fewer.

Exemptions

Exemptions to the Colorado Open Records Act are outlined in Section 24-72-204. According to case notes on the section, "In the absence of a specific statute permitting the withholding of information, a public official has no authority to deny any person access to public records."

See also

• Freedom of Information Act

External links

• Colorado Revised Statutes
• Colorado State Archives