Colorado background check laws for employers

At a glance

The Colorado rules on each topic, in one line. Federal law applies to every topic.

When you may ask about criminal history

Who it covers: Private employers of any size since September 1, 2021 (employers with 11 or more employees from September 1, 2019). ‘Employer’ includes agents, designees, and employment agencies. The state, local governments, and quasi-governmental entities are excluded.

In force since: September 1, 2019

Colorado Chance to Compete Act. A private employer may not say in a job ad or on any application form that people with a criminal history may not apply. It may not ask about, or require disclosure of, criminal history on an initial written or electronic application. After the initial application the statute sets no timing rule: the employer may ask at interview or later. The employer may pull a publicly available criminal background report at any time. The statute has no individualized-assessment factors, no notice form, and no waiting period of its own. Complaints go to the Department of Labor and Employment; there is no private right of action. Penalties: warning, then up to $1,000, then up to $2,500.

Exceptions

• Federal, state, or local law or regulation prohibits employing a person with a specific criminal history for that position (8-2-130(4)(a)).
• The position is designated for a government program that encourages hiring people with criminal histories (8-2-130(4)(b)).
• Federal, state, or local law or regulation requires a criminal history record check for that position, employee or independent contractor (8-2-130(4)(c)).

C.R.S. 8-2-130(3)(a) · C.R.S. 8-2-130(3)(a)(III), (3)(b) · CDLE Division of Labor Standards and Statistics, INFO #9C (4.8.2026)

What a background check report may include

Who it covers: Consumer reporting agencies furnishing reports on Colorado consumers for any purpose, including employment.

In force since: August 10, 2022

Colorado has its own seven-year rule. A consumer reporting agency may not report arrests, indictments, or convictions more than seven years old, measured from disposition, release, or parole. It may not report sealed records, expunged records, or records that did not end in a conviction, at any age. Suits, judgments, paid tax liens, collection accounts, and any other adverse item drop off at seven years. Bankruptcies drop off at ten years. Medical debt may not be reported at all (until that clause repeals on July 1, 2028). There is no salary threshold that lifts these limits for employment; SB 22-099 struck the old employment exemption. The only exception is a credit transaction above the national conforming loan limit. Medical information may not be furnished for employment without the consumer’s consent. The accuracy section adds that a CRA must exclude sealed and expunged records unless the user shows it is otherwise required by statute, rule, or regulation to consider them. These limits reach Colorado-resident consumers only (5-18-103(2)).

Exceptions

• Consumer reports used for a credit transaction that involves, or may reasonably be expected to involve, a principal amount above the national conforming loan limit for a one-unit property (5-18-109(2)). No employment or salary exemption.

C.R.S. 5-18-109(1)(e), (1)(e.5) · C.R.S. 5-18-109(3) · C.R.S. 5-18-105 · SB 22-099 (signed act), sec. 2, amending 5-18-109(2) and striking the employment exemption

Sealed and expunged records

Who it covers: Employers, landlords, state and local agencies, and any other entity (24-72-703(2)(d)(I)); courts and the state court administrator for the sealing itself.

In force since: July 1, 2024

Colorado seals eligible convictions automatically. The state court administrator compiles lists of eligible cases each quarter; the courts seal them unless the district attorney objects. Waiting periods run from final disposition (or release from supervision for felonies): four years for civil infractions, seven years for petty offenses and misdemeanors, ten years for eligible felonies. Victims’-rights crimes are excluded. The first list was due February 1, 2024 and sealed by July 1, 2024; non-drug eligible felonies joined the lists from July 1, 2025. Employers may not require an applicant to disclose anything in a sealed record, in an application, interview, or any other way. The applicant may answer that he or she has not been convicted, and an application may not be denied for refusing to disclose a sealed record. The same bar applies to records expunged for mistaken identity.

Exceptions

• Courts, law enforcement, criminal justice agencies, prosecutors, and any agency required by statute or rule to run a criminal history record check keep access to sealed records and may use a sealed conviction for the purpose the check is required by law (24-72-703(2)(a)(I), (2)(a)(III)).
• The bar committee of the state board of law examiners may inquire further into a conviction that comes to it through other means (24-72-703(2)(d)(II)).
• The department of education’s licensing inquiries are carved out (24-72-703(2)(d)(III)).

C.R.S. 24-72-703(2)(d)(I) · C.R.S. 13-3-117(1)(c), (1)(d) · C.R.S. 13-3-117(1)(a.5)(II) · C.R.S. 24-72-702(4)

Credit checks for employment

Who it covers: Employers as defined in 8-1-101 and prospective employers (the Division reads this as employers with four or more employees); applicants are covered as ’employees’. State and local law enforcement agencies are excluded.

In force since: July 1, 2013

Employment Opportunity Act. An employer may not use consumer credit information for employment purposes unless the information is substantially related to the job. It may not require consent to a credit report that shows credit score, account balances, payment history, or bank balances or account numbers as a condition of employment unless it is a bank or financial institution, the report is required by law, or the report is substantially related to the job and the employer has a bona fide purpose disclosed in writing. ‘Substantially related’ is limited to executive or management positions with direction-setting, fiduciary, personal or financial data access, or payment and contract authority; defense, intelligence, national security, or space contracts; or positions with a bank or financial institution. Where credit is used, the employer may ask the employee to explain mitigating circumstances. If adverse action relies on credit information, the employer must disclose that fact and the particular information relied on, in writing (or in the medium of the application). Complaints go to the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics; civil penalty up to $2,500.

Exceptions

• Banks and financial institutions (8-2-126(3)(a)(I)).
• Reports required by law (8-2-126(3)(a)(II)).
• Reports substantially related to the job with a bona fide purpose disclosed in writing (8-2-126(3)(a)(III)).

C.R.S. 8-2-126(3)(a) · C.R.S. 8-2-126(4) · CDLE Division of Labor Standards and Statistics, INFO #9D (4.8.26)

Salary history questions

Who it covers: All Colorado employers (Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, C.R.S. 8-5-101 et seq.).

In force since: January 1, 2021

An employer may not seek a prospective employee’s wage rate history, and may not rely on it to set a wage rate. It may not discriminate or retaliate against a prospective employee for not disclosing wage history. Prior wage history may not be used to justify a current pay gap between sexes. The statute has no written exemption for voluntary disclosure.

C.R.S. 8-5-102(2)(a)-(b)

Cannabis use and testing

Who it covers: All Colorado employers for the off-duty activities statute; the exception for a bona fide occupational requirement or conflict of interest applies to all.

In force since: July 1, 1990

Colorado has no statute that protects off-duty cannabis use by employees or limits pre-employment THC testing. The lawful off-duty activities statute bars firing an employee for lawful activity off premises during nonworking hours. The Colorado Supreme Court held that an activity unlawful under federal law, such as medical marijuana use, is not a ‘lawful’ activity under that statute (Coats v. Dish Network, 2015 CO 44). Employers may test for THC and act on a positive result.

Exceptions

• A restriction that relates to a bona fide occupational requirement or is reasonably and rationally related to a particular employee’s or group’s duties (24-34-402.5(1)(a)).
• A restriction necessary to avoid a conflict of interest or its appearance (24-34-402.5(1)(b)).

C.R.S. 24-34-402.5(1) · Coats v. Dish Network, LLC, 2015 CO 44, para. 4, 350 P.3d 849 (Colo. 2015)

The state consumer reporting law

Who it covers: Consumer reporting agencies and users of consumer reports on Colorado consumers.

In force since: August 9, 2017

Colorado Consumer Credit Reporting Act, C.R.S. 5-18-101 to 5-18-117 (relocated in 2017 from 12-14.3). It sets Colorado’s own reporting limits (see reporting_limits) and an accuracy duty that expressly covers reports with criminal justice records (5-18-105). A CRA may not charge for a file copy requested within sixty days after adverse action, or for the first file disclosure each calendar year (5-18-108(1)(a), (d)). It also sets dispute procedures and medical-information consent for employment reports. It adds no employment-specific disclosure or authorization form beyond the federal FCRA, and no investigative-report rule or CRA registration was found in the 2024 printout of the article. It reaches Colorado-resident consumers only.

C.R.S. 5-18-108(1)(d) (free annual disclosure) · C.R.S. 5-18-108(1)(a) (free copy after adverse action)

Where federal law alone applies

We found no Colorado rule for private employers on these topics. The FCRA and other federal laws still apply.

• Drug testing procedures

Local rules

Some places in Colorado add their own rules. A local rule applies on top of the state rule.

• Denver (city and county). None. The Denver Revised Municipal Code has no private-employer rule on criminal history, credit history, or consumer reports. Denver employers follow federal and Colorado state law only. DRMC ch. 28, art. IV (anti-discrimination; no criminal-history or credit class)
• Boulder (city). None. Boulder has no city law on criminal history, credit history, or consumer reports in employment. Boulder’s drug-testing chapter, B.R.C. 12-3, has its own coverage test and exemptions and is not a screening-report rule. B.R.C. ch. 12-1 (no criminal-history or credit basis); ch. 12-3 (drug testing)

Coming changes

Laws already passed that take effect later.

• From January 1, 2027. SB26-189, Automated Decision-Making Technology: repeals and reenacts the SB24-205 artificial-intelligence consumer protections as rules for automated decision-making technology (ADMT) used in ‘consequential decisions’, which include access to, eligibility for, or compensation related to employment. From January 1, 2027 developers must give deployers technical documentation and both must keep compliance records three years; deployers (including employers using automated screening or ranking tools) must give clear notice at the point of interaction and, within 30 days after an adverse consequential decision, a plain-language description of the ADMT’s role, and must offer data access, correction of factually incorrect data, and meaningful human review. Violations are deceptive trade practices enforced by the attorney general (60-day notice and cure before January 1, 2030); no new private right of action. The attorney general must adopt rules on post-adverse-outcome disclosures by January 1, 2027 (rulemaking opened August 2026). AI LLC v. Weiser. SB26-189, 2026 Colo. Sess. Laws ch. 131 (signed May 14, 2026; act effective May 14, 2026), repealing and reenacting C.R.S. 6-1-1701 et seq.
• From July 1, 2027. HB26-1207, Disclosure of Demographic Workforce Data: from July 1, 2027 a private entity doing business in Colorado with 100 or more workers must include its EEO-1 demographic data in periodic reports to the Secretary of State, even if the federal EEO-1 duty ends. Not a screening rule; listed because it is an enacted employer-data duty not yet in force. HB26-1207, 2026 Colo. Sess. Laws ch. 378 (signed June 4, 2026; act effective August 12, 2026)

Every state’s changes, in date order: What changed.

Adverse action notices

Before you reject or act against someone because of a background check report, the FCRA requires a pre-adverse action notice, a wait, and then a final notice. The adverse action letter generator writes both notices and adds the Colorado requirements where they apply.

The waiting period calculator gives the date under the federal rule.

Paperwork at hire

Besides the federal Form I-9 and W-4, Colorado sets these for each new hire.

• State withholding. Offer the new hire the optional DR 0004; if the employee does not turn one in, figure Colorado withholding from the federal Form W-4. Form DR 0004
• New hire report. Report each new hire to Colorado within 20 days; some independent contractors must be reported too. State new hire reporting
• Notices at hire. Paid sick leave (HFWA) written notice; Colorado Workplace Public Health Rights Poster may serve as the notice; FAMLI Required Program Notice (paid family and medical leave); Notice and acknowledgment: employer may not confiscate government-issued ID.

Build the new hire checklist for Colorado, with city rules, special cases and a due date for each item.

Sources

• C.R.S. 8-2-130(3)(a)
• CDLE Division of Labor Standards and Statistics, INFO #9C (4.8.2026)
• C.R.S. 5-18-109(1)(e), (1)(e.5)
• SB 22-099 (signed act), sec. 2, amending 5-18-109(2) and striking the employment exemption
• C.R.S. 24-72-703(2)(d)(I)
• C.R.S. 13-3-117(1)(c), (1)(d)
• CDLE Division of Labor Standards and Statistics, INFO #9D (4.8.26)
• Coats v. Dish Network, LLC, 2015 CO 44, para. 4, 350 P.3d 849 (Colo. 2015)
• DRMC ch. 28, art. IV (anti-discrimination; no criminal-history or credit class)
• B.R.C. ch. 12-1 (no criminal-history or credit basis); ch. 12-3 (drug testing)

Last reviewed October 20, 2026 · General information, not legal advice.

After the hire

Once a background check clears, payroll and onboarding come next. Rippling (paid link) runs payroll, benefits and onboarding from one employee record.