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Colorado CORA and criminal justice records requests

Request existing surveillance policies and spending records, separate CORA from criminal justice records, and keep their timing, fees and court-review routes distinct.

Sources checked .

Conceptual illustration

Find the holding custodian and the applicable records law

Start with the city, county, police department or other public body that actually holds the records. Colorado Revenue explains that agencies maintain their own records and directs requests for another entity's documents to that entity. Use the holding agency's current written-request instructions rather than a statewide department's form for local police records. Colorado Revenue: holding-agency routing

CORA and the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act, or CCJRA, are different routes. Sections 24-72-303 and 305 distinguish official-action records, generally open subject to applicable exceptions, from other criminal justice records with greater custodian discretion. Ask which law the custodian applies to each category; a surveillance-related title alone does not decide its treatment. Colorado: 2025 Title 24 statutory compilation

Request governance records without promising every field is public

The legislative overview describes broad access for any person, with statutory exclusions and exemptions. It identifies criminal justice records and certain information-security plans, incident reports and assessments among the excluded categories. A governance request is a way to seek records, not a guarantee that all requested policies, audits or sharing details must be released. Colorado legislature: CORA overview

Keep the date range and record categories narrow. For example, seek executed contracts, invoices, existing retention policies, data-sharing agreements and existing aggregate oversight reports. Avoid requesting a person's plate detections or travel history when the aim is to understand system governance. Ask for accessible portions and the legal reason for each withholding. Colorado: 2025 Title 24 statutory compilation

Use the CORA timing rule only where CORA applies

Section 24-72-203(3) addresses records that are not readily available. It presumes a reasonable inspection time of three working days or less, with up to seven additional working days for specified extenuating circumstances. The custodian must provide the written finding within the initial three-day period. Extenuating circumstances do not apply to a single, specifically identified document; election-related county-clerk records have a separate qualified rule. Colorado: 2025 Title 24 statutory compilation

Check the holding agency's receipt instructions, holidays, clarification requests and fee process. Do not treat the CORA three-day framework as a universal delivery promise for every criminal justice record. Official-action records have their own qualified three-working-day inspection provision in section 24-72-303(3). The Department of Law also describes its own estimate, approval and deposit process. Colorado: 2025 Title 24 statutory compilation · Colorado Attorney General: CORA and CCJRA policy

Do not copy proposed five-day response rules from bill summaries. SB25-077 was vetoed on 04-17-2025 and did not become law. The 07-17-2026 final fiscal note says SB26-107 was postponed indefinitely on 03-05-2026 and its identified changes do not take effect. Colorado legislature: 2025 bill veto · Colorado legislature: 2026 bill did not take effect

Ask for the fee policy before committing to costs

For CORA research and retrieval fees, section 24-72-205(6) requires a previously published fee policy and leaves the first hour uncharged. Digital copies have no per-page fee under subsection (5), and email transmission has no transmission fee under subsection (1). Research, retrieval or other lawful charges can still apply. Colorado: 2025 Title 24 statutory compilation

The legislature's adjustment notice sets the maximum CORA research-and-retrieval rate at $41.37 per hour effective 07-01-2024 and says an entity must revise and publish its policy before increasing its rate. This is a cap for that CORA fee category, not a quote for every CCJRA request or every kind of record service. Ask for the applicable basis and an estimate. Colorado legislature: adjusted CORA fee cap

Copy and adapt the request

Use this description in the holding agency's current request process. If a CCJRA statement about intended use is required, read and answer it truthfully. The Department of Law, for example, requires an affirmation against direct solicitation of business for pecuniary gain before releasing its CCJRA records. Its agency policy does not make it the custodian of every Colorado police record. Colorado Attorney General: CORA and CCJRA policy

Download request template (.txt)

To: [Holding agency's records custodian]

Date: [MM-DD-YYYY]

Subject: Existing plate-reader governance records: CORA / CCJRA as applicable

I request electronic copies of the following existing records held by [agency] for [start date] through [end date]:

1. Plate-reader operating policies, retention schedules and training materials effective during the period.

2. Executed equipment and data-service contracts, amendments, purchase orders and invoices during the period.

3. Existing lists of sharing partners and executed data-sharing agreements effective during the period.

4. Existing aggregate compliance or system-use oversight reports for [narrow date range], subject to applicable exemptions and lawful redaction.

This request concerns governance and spending, not identifiable plate scans, personal travel histories or an active investigation. It does not ask the agency to create a new analysis.

Please identify which requested categories are handled under CORA and which, if any, under CCJRA. Please provide accessible portions and identify the legal basis for withheld records. If the records are held elsewhere, please identify the holding custodian if known.

Please provide an estimate and the applicable fee policy before charges exceed [$ amount]. I can discuss narrowing the request. Please provide any applicable extension notice and expected availability date.

Name: [Name]

Reply email or mailing address: [Contact information]

Agency form / required statement: [Complete the holding agency's current process and any applicable certification truthfully]

Keep CORA and CCJRA denial review separate

For a CORA denial, section 24-72-204(4) permits a request for a written explanation citing the law or regulation. Its general court route is district court where the record is found. Ordinarily, give the custodian written notice of intent at least 14 days before filing; the statute requires an in-person or telephone discussion during that period. An expedited route has a factual-need requirement and at least three business days' notice. Special categories have separate provisions. Colorado: 2025 Title 24 statutory compilation

For CCJRA, section 24-72-305(6) allows a requested written denial statement within 72 hours, stating the legal basis or general public interest protected. Subsection (7) provides a distinct district-court review route. Do not import CORA's notice procedure or fee-award standard automatically into a CCJRA case. Check the applicable statute and court procedure before filing. Colorado: 2025 Title 24 statutory compilation

The Attorney General says its Department of Law cannot decide whether another agency improperly denied a request or compel that agency to release records. Sending the initial request there is not a substitute for the holding custodian or the applicable court process. Colorado Attorney General: CORA and CCJRA policy

Questions and answers

Does calling it a CORA request make every police record subject to CORA?

No. Criminal justice records have a separate CCJRA framework. Ask the custodian which law applies to the requested categories. Colorado: 2025 Title 24 statutory compilation

Did the proposed five-day CORA response rule become law in those bills?

The legislature records a veto for SB25-077, and the final SB26-107 fiscal note says its changes did not take effect. Do not use those proposals as operative deadlines. Colorado legislature: 2025 bill veto · Colorado legislature: 2026 bill did not take effect

Is the Attorney General an appeal office that can order local police to release records?

The Department of Law says it has no authority to determine another agency's improper denial or require another agency to turn over records. Colorado Attorney General: CORA and CCJRA policy

Sources and scope

Sources checked 10-23-2026. The linked statutory compilation covers changes through the August 2025 extraordinary session. The legislature's 10-30-2025 overview and 07-17-2026 final SB26-107 note were also read. This is a focused governance-records guide, not an exhaustive audit of all 2026 amendments, exemptions or court rules.

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