Colorado background check laws for employers (2026): what you can check and when

Colorado adds four things to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act for employer background checks. Its consumer reporting law bars screening companies from reporting criminal records more than seven years old and, since 2022, any sealed, expunged or non-conviction record. The Chance to Compete Act keeps criminal history off job ads and initial applications, and sealed records can never be required. Credit checks are allowed only for jobs the statute defines as substantially related. This is the state of the law as of October 2026.

This page covers what screening companies may report about Colorado candidates, which records are off limits, when you may ask, the credit rules and the jobs that need fingerprints. The federal steps are in our FCRA background check process guide, and the application and ad rules in detail are on Colorado's ban-the-box law. This page links those rather than repeating them.

Colorado background check rules at a glance

What does Colorado require on top of the federal FCRA?

Colorado's own Consumer Credit Reporting Act, article 18 of title 5, governs screening companies as well as credit bureaus. For employment, C.R.S. 5-18-104(1)(c)(II) lets a screening company furnish a report for employment purposes "only if an applicant or employee is first informed that a credit report may be requested in connection with his or her application for employment and the consumer consents in writing to the same." The federal stand-alone disclosure and written authorization cover that step, so most employers need no separate Colorado consent form. The rest of the process, from the pre-adverse action notice to the final notice, follows the federal steps.

How far back can a Colorado background check go?

C.R.S. 5-18-109(1)(e) bars a consumer reporting agency from making a report containing "records of arrest, indictment, or conviction of a crime that, from the date of disposition, release, or parole, predate the report by more than seven years." Subsection (2) carves out only reports for credit transactions above the federal conforming loan limit. Unlike the federal FCRA, which lifts its seven-year limit on arrests and other non-conviction items for jobs paying $75,000 or more and does not limit convictions at all (15 U.S.C. § 1681c), the Colorado text has no employment salary exception.

The section also bars reporting medical debt (subsection (1)(f), which the statute says is repealed on July 1, 2028) and bars furnishing a report with medical information for employment without the consumer's consent (subsection (3)). The federal FCRA limits how far states can regulate what goes in a report, and screening companies take different positions on state lookback rules, so ask yours in writing how it applies section 5-18-109 to Colorado candidates.

Can a Colorado background check show arrests, sealed or expunged records?

Not under Colorado's statute. Senate Bill 22-099 added C.R.S. 5-18-109(1)(e.5), which bars reporting "sealed records, expunged records, and records that did not result in a conviction." A Colorado consumer report should therefore show only convictions within seven years that have not been sealed.

Sealing also controls what you can ask. Under C.R.S. 24-72-703(2)(d)(I), "employers, state and local government agencies, officials, landlords, employees, and any other entity shall not require an applicant to disclose any information contained in sealed criminal justice records in any application or interview or in any other way." The applicant may answer that they have not been criminally convicted, and an application may not be denied solely for refusing to disclose sealed records. A party required by law to run a criminal history check may still use a sealed conviction for that purpose (subsection (2)(a)(III)).

Automatic sealing means more sealed records

Colorado's courts now seal many convictions without a petition. C.R.S. 13-3-117 directs the state court administrator to list eligible civil infractions after four years, petty offenses and misdemeanors after seven years, and eligible felonies after ten years without an intervening conviction, with eligible felonies added beginning July 1, 2025. A candidate may not know their record was sealed, so a question about "any convictions" can draw an answer the law says they need not give.

When can you ask about criminal history in Colorado?

The Colorado Chance to Compete Act, C.R.S. 8-2-130, has covered all private employers since September 1, 2021, including an employer's agent and any employment agency. It bars ads and application forms stating that people with a criminal history may not apply, and bars asking about criminal history "on an initial written or electronic application form." Subsection (3)(b) adds that "an employer may obtain the publicly available criminal background report of an applicant at any time." The section does not set an individualized assessment or response period. Exceptions, penalties and screen scripts are on our Colorado ban-the-box page.

"At any time" covers when you may obtain a report, not how. If a screening company prepares it, the federal disclosure, authorization and adverse action steps still apply.

Can Colorado employers run credit checks or ask about pay history?

Colorado's Employment Opportunity Act, C.R.S. 8-2-126, bars using consumer credit information for employment "unless the information is substantially related to the employee's current or potential job." The statute defines that narrowly: executive or management roles, or their professional staff, that set direction, carry a fiduciary duty, have access to personal or financial information beyond a retail transaction, or can issue payments, collect debts or sign contracts; jobs on defense, intelligence, national security or space contracts; and jobs at a bank or financial institution. Employers also may not require consent to a credit report unless they are a bank or financial institution, the report is required by law, or the job-related purpose is "disclosed in writing to the employee."

Two procedural steps follow:

• The employer may ask the applicant to explain "unusual or mitigating circumstances," such as a layoff, identity theft, medical expense, divorce or student debt (subsection (3)(b)).
• If it relies "in whole or in part" on credit information for an adverse action, it must disclose that fact and "the particular information" relied on, in writing or in the medium of the application (subsection (4)).

Complaints go to the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics, which may award civil penalties of up to $2,500. Our credit check laws guide compares Colorado with other states. Salary history is also off limits: C.R.S. 8-5-102(2)(a) bars seeking or relying on wage rate history; see Colorado's salary history ban.

Which Colorado jobs require fingerprint background checks?

• School districts. A person selected for a position that does not need an educator license must submit fingerprints for a Colorado Bureau of Investigation check and certify, under penalty of perjury, any felony or misdemeanor convictions other than traffic offenses (C.R.S. 22-32-109.8).
• Licensed child care. As part of licensing, each owner, employee and newly hired employee must obtain a fingerprint-based criminal history check, run against CBI and FBI records for new hires (C.R.S. 26.5-5-316(1)(a)(I)).

These checks are also exceptions to the Chance to Compete Act, which does not apply where a law requires a criminal history record check for the position.

What this means for staffing agencies

• Your forms are covered. The Chance to Compete Act names employment agencies, so your application, candidate portal and job board posts must not ask about criminal history up front.
• Expect thinner Colorado reports. If a client is surprised that a report shows no dismissed charges or older convictions, that is section 5-18-109 working as written, not a missed search.
• Never ask about sealed records, and do not penalize a candidate who answers "no convictions" after a sealing.
• Settle credit checks at intake. Most temp and light industrial roles do not fit the "substantially related" definition. Note the statutory reason on the job order if one applies.
• Keep volunteered history out of notes. See what not to write in interview notes.

A Colorado background check checklist

1. No "may not apply" wording in ads or forms, and no criminal history question on the initial application.
2. Federal stand-alone disclosure and written authorization signed before ordering any report.
3. No question that would require disclosing a sealed record; train interviewers to accept "no convictions."
4. Credit only for roles that fit section 8-2-126, with the purpose disclosed in writing and a chance to explain.
5. Before a decision: federal pre-adverse action notice with the report and summary of rights; if credit played a part, name the information relied on.
6. School and child care roles routed through the CBI fingerprint process as well.

Hiring across the region? See the companion pages for Washington and Michigan, and the background check policy template.