Do I have to file a CORA request to receive information?

No. It is the intent of our office to provide documents and information to the public without requiring a CORA request.

Before making a CORA request, contact our office to request information from our staff.  Our office is a filing office for business entity records, UCC and EFS filings, charitable solicitations, bingo-raffle, notary, lobbyist, campaign finance, and candidate filings.  Many of these documents are already readily available to the public.  We would be more than happy to help you access these filings without asking you to make a CORA request.

 

What is a public record?

A "public record" includes most writings made, maintained, or kept by our office.  However, there are some exceptions concerning records made available under CORA.

 

Do all open records requests go through the Secretary of State’s office?

No. An open records request needs to be filed directly with the appropriate government office or the custodian of the records that you wish to see.  Other agencies may have different processes for open records requests, so contact the office ahead of time to review its process.

 

How do I request public information from the Secretary of State's Office?

There is no special form to fill out for a CORA request.  If you wish to gain access to information and evoke the CORA law, then you must make a written request to the Public Information Officer.  You can send your request by mail, fax, or email, or hand-deliver it to our office.

Contact information for our Public Information Officer is:

Rich Coolidge
Communications Director
1700 Broadway, Suite 250
Denver, CO 80290
Direct line: (303) 860-6903
rich.coolidge@sos.state.co.us

To make sure that you receive the information you want, include the following with your request:

• Your name and mailing address.
• Your phone number or email address so that we can contact you if we have questions about your request.
• A detailed list or description of the specific information that you are seeking.  The more specific your request is, the faster we can complete it.  Being specific also helps us to avoid giving you too much or too little information.

Our office will not ask you why you need the information. However, we may ask you to clarify your request in order to determine which documents are relevant and avoid giving you too much or too little information.

 

How do you deliver the information to me?

Information that is available in an electronic format can generally be placed on a disk or emailed to you, if you prefer.

If the information is not available electronically, we will send paper copies to you by mail or fax.  You will be charged in advance for all electronic or paper documents sent to you. See the fee schedule for current fees.

 

Can I view the information in your office? 

If you just want to view the information, please state that in your written request. Once the documentation has been gathered, you will be notified by the Public Information Officer. We will then set up an appointment with you to come into our office and view the documents.

Any information that is confidential by law or is exempt from the Colorado Open Records Act will be removed from the documents that you view.

 

Is there a fee?

You can inspect documents in our office for free. 

If you want paper or electronic copies of documents, there is a fee.  All fees must be paid in advance.

See the fee schedule for current fees.

 

I've sent in my CORA request.  How long will it take?

We have up to three working days to comply with your request.  If extenuating circumstances exist, then we have up to seven working days to fill your request.

You will be notified in writing when your request is complete.

 

What happens if I request confidential information? Can any information be excluded from my request?

Some information is considered confidential or is excluded from the Colorado Open Records Act.

Some examples of excluded public records include:

• Criminal justice records or documents prepared for a criminal investigation.
• Work product prepared for an elected official.
• Trade secrets and proprietary software information, including programs and source code.

Our office will not provide social security numbers to the public.

See the Colorado Open Records Act (PDF) for more details.