Public Records Request - Colorado

COLORADO OPEN RECORDS ACT REQUEST

(C.R.S. §§ 24-72-200.1–24-72-205)

PRACTITIONER NOTES

1. Direct the request to the official custodian identified by the public entity's CORA policy. Agency policies may prescribe a written form, email address, portal, payment procedure, and business-hours cutoff.
2. For records not readily available at the time of request, C.R.S. § 24-72-203(3)(b) treats three working days or less as a presumptively reasonable time to set inspection. This is an availability period, not merely a deadline to decide whether the request will be granted.
3. The custodian may extend the period for statutory extenuating circumstances, but the extension may not exceed seven working days. The custodian must make and provide the written finding within the initial three-working-day period. S.B. 25-077, which would have changed these periods to five and ten working days, was vetoed on April 17, 2025.
4. Narrow and itemize broad requests. A request encompassing all or substantially all of a large category without enough specificity is one statutory extenuating circumstance, and broader searches usually increase research and retrieval fees.
5. C.R.S. § 24-72-205 allows research and retrieval charges after the first hour. The maximum hourly rate is $41.37 effective July 1, 2024, unless another law permits a higher charge; the next five-year adjustment is due July 1, 2029. Confirm the custodian's published fee policy.
6. CORA and the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act are different schemes. A request for criminal justice records may be handled under C.R.S. §§ 24-72-301–24-72-309 rather than this form.
7. This is a unilateral request, not a contract. Delete unused bracketed instructions and do not add warranties, cure periods, risk-allocation terms, arbitration clauses, or assignment restrictions.

REQUEST LETTER

Date: [DATE]

To:
[OFFICIAL CUSTODIAN / CORA CONTACT]
[PUBLIC ENTITY]
[ADDRESS / EMAIL / REQUEST PORTAL]

From:
[REQUESTER NAME]
[TITLE / ORGANIZATION, IF ANY]
[MAILING ADDRESS]
[EMAIL]
[TELEPHONE]

Re: Colorado Open Records Act Request — [SUBJECT]

Dear Official Custodian:

Under the Colorado Open Records Act, C.R.S. §§ 24-72-200.1 through 24-72-205, I request inspection and/or copies of the following public records:

1. Records Requested

1. [DESCRIBE THE FIRST RECORD OR DISCRETE RECORD SET.]
2. [DESCRIBE THE SECOND RECORD OR DISCRETE RECORD SET.]
3. [ADD ADDITIONAL ITEMIZED REQUESTS.]

Date range: [START DATE] through [END DATE]

Relevant office, employee, project, contract, incident, matter, or file number: [DETAILS]

Helpful custodians, search terms, email addresses, or record systems: [DETAILS]

If clarification would make the request sufficiently specific or materially reduce cost, please contact me at [EMAIL / TELEPHONE].

2. Inspection, Copies, and Delivery

I request:

• ☐ inspection at the time and place designated by the custodian;
• ☐ electronic copies in this available format: [FORMAT];
• ☐ paper copies; or
• ☐ another method permitted by the public entity's CORA policy: [METHOD].

Preferred delivery or inspection method: [EMAIL / SECURE LINK / INSPECTION APPOINTMENT / MAIL / PICKUP].

3. Fees

I agree to pay properly assessed fees up to $[AMOUNT]. Please provide an estimate and obtain my written authorization before exceeding that amount.

Please apply the first-hour allowance and the research-and-retrieval maximum in C.R.S. § 24-72-205(6), currently $41.37 per hour, together with the public entity's published CORA policy. If advance payment or a deposit is required, please identify the policy and amount before beginning chargeable work.

Optional accommodation request: [ASK FOR A FEE REDUCTION OR WAIVER UNDER THE ENTITY'S POLICY WITHOUT ASSERTING A GENERAL FEDERAL-FOIA-STYLE WAIVER RIGHT.]

4. Availability and Withholdings

If the records are not readily available at the time of this request, please set the date and hour for inspection or production within the reasonable time prescribed by § 24-72-203(3)(b), presumptively three working days or less.

If statutory extenuating circumstances require additional time, please provide the written finding within the initial three-working-day period and identify the applicable circumstance and availability date. I understand that any extension under § 24-72-203(3)(b) may not exceed seven working days.

If any record or portion is withheld, please identify the legal basis for withholding. If nonexempt information can be separated from exempt information, I ask that the custodian provide the nonexempt portion.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

__________________________________
[REQUESTER NAME]
[TITLE / ORGANIZATION, IF ANY]
[DATE]

POST-SUBMISSION NOTES

• Do not substitute “determination” for availability. The operative § 24-72-203(3)(b) language concerns the date and hour set for inspection of records not readily available.
• Confirm receipt under the entity's policy. Some custodians calculate the first working day from the working day after receipt and treat after-hours submissions as received the next working day.
• Fee approval may affect processing. A custodian's policy may pause work until the requester approves an estimate or pays a permitted deposit.
• Criminal justice records: If the entity classifies the requested material under the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act, review the different inspection, discretionary-disclosure, and fee rules before challenging the response.
• Enforcement: This request form does not prescribe a litigation notice or court procedure. Review current C.R.S. § 24-72-204 and obtain Colorado counsel before seeking judicial relief.

CURRENT OFFICIAL SOURCES

• Colorado General Assembly — Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 24
• Colorado General Assembly — CORA Maximum Hourly Research and Retrieval Fee
• Colorado Department of Law — CORA and Criminal Justice Records Policy
• Colorado General Assembly — S.B. 25-077 official history (vetoed April 17, 2025)