Nonprofit Corporation Member Books and Records Inspection in Colorado

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Records and the demand

Colorado gives a member a five-business-day written-demand route to the principal-office records listed in § 7-136-101(5). They include current articles and bylaws, member-rights resolutions, three years of member minutes and general written communications, current director and officer names, the latest periodic report, and financial statements for the past three years that a member could request. Inspection and copying occur during regular business hours at the principal office.

For other corporate records, § 7-136-102(2)–(3) adds conditions. The requester must have been a member for at least three months immediately before demand or hold at least 5% of voting power when demanding. The demand must be in good faith for a proper purpose reasonably related to membership, describe the purpose and records with reasonable particularity, and identify records directly connected to that purpose. The corporation specifies a reasonable location. The definition includes a voting-trust beneficial owner and another beneficial owner who establishes the interest. Articles and bylaws may not abolish or limit these inspection rights.

Copies, member lists, and financials

An agent or attorney has the same inspection rights. Reasonable photographic, electronic, or other copies may be supplied. The corporation may charge reasonable labor and material costs, capped at estimated production and reproduction cost, except for the separate financial-statement route. Its records must be convertible into writing within a reasonable time.

Section 7-127-201 separately makes a meeting or written-ballot member list available to a member entitled to vote, on its specified timetable. A written demand permits copying during the period of availability, subject to the § 7-136-102(3) test and at the member’s expense. Section 7-136-103(4) permits a recently compiled member list to satisfy a general demand. Without board consent, § 7-136-105 restricts unrelated, commercial, and sale or purchase uses. On a separate written request, § 7-136-106 requires mailing the most recent annual and most recently published financial statements, if any, showing assets, liabilities, and operations.

After a refusal

Section 7-136-104 authorizes a summary district court order for inspection or copying. Venue follows the principal office, then the registered agent, then Denver. If access is ordered, the court awards costs and reasonable counsel fees unless the corporation proves good-faith reasonable doubt about the right; it may also award damages or impose use restrictions. Section 7-127-201 provides separate summary relief for a refused meeting or written-ballot list and may postpone the meeting or ballot deadline.

Statutes and sources

• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 7-136-101: Official Colorado Revised Statutes, accessed 2026-10-02.
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 7-136-102: Official Colorado Revised Statutes, accessed 2026-10-02.
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 7-136-103: Official Colorado Revised Statutes, accessed 2026-10-02.
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 7-136-104: Official Colorado Revised Statutes, accessed 2026-10-02.
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 7-136-105: Official Colorado Revised Statutes, accessed 2026-10-02.
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 7-136-106: Official Colorado Revised Statutes, accessed 2026-10-02.
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 7-127-201: Official Colorado Revised Statutes, accessed 2026-10-02.