Colorado License Plate Reader Laws (2026)

Colorado has no statute written specifically for license plate readers, and none sets how they are used or how long their data is kept. One general privacy law does limit who may see plate data: C.R.S. § 24-74-103 bars state and local employees from disclosing or making accessible personal information that is not publicly available, which the law defines to include a license plate number, including through a database, to assist federal immigration enforcement, unless federal or state law or a court order requires it. The only Colorado law we found that names the technology is a definitional carve-out: a 2026 amendment to C.R.S. § 42-4-110.5 says the state's traffic-camera term "does not include automated license plate reader systems." That says what plate readers are not, and it does not say what governs them.

Information reviewed September 30, 2026.

For related pages, see the Colorado entry in the state comparison, the ALPR laws hub, Are Flock cameras legal?, What are Flock cameras?, and our Colorado surveillance camera laws guide.

Is there a Colorado law on license plate readers?

There is no dedicated one. We searched the full text of the 2026 Colorado Revised Statutes, all titles, using the official Office of Legislative Legal Services PDFs, for license plate reader, recognition and scanner language, and for "automated license plate," "historical location information" and "passive surveillance." The only provision that names automated license plate reader systems is C.R.S. § 42-4-110.5(1.1)(a)(III): "'Automated vehicle identification system' does not include automated license plate reader systems."

That definition sits in the statute for traffic-enforcement cameras. It was added by SB 26-152, which the Governor signed June 2, 2026, and it took effect August 12, 2026. The bill's official summary covers notices, owner responsibility, penalties and vendor compensation for traffic cameras, and does not describe plate reader rules. The practical effect is that the traffic-camera rules do not govern plate readers. The provision does not say what does.

One general law does reach plate data. Colorado's personal identifying information statute, C.R.S. §§ 24-74-102 to 24-74-107, lists "a license plate number" and digitized images as personal identifying information. Section 24-74-103 says a state or local government employee "shall not disclose or make accessible, including through a database or automated network," such information that is not publicly available to assist federal immigration enforcement, except as federal or state law requires or to comply with a court-issued subpoena, warrant or order. It does not restrict cooperation with other federal criminal investigations, but the ban expressly covers enforcement of the federal illegal entry and reentry crimes, 8 U.S.C. §§ 1325 and 1326. Under § 24-74-105, an outside party must certify under penalty of perjury each year that it will not use or pass on the data for immigration enforcement before it gets database access, and § 24-74-107 allows an injunction and a civil penalty of up to $50,000 per intentional violation. SB 25-276 extended these rules to cities and counties in May 2025. The law limits one purpose of sharing; it sets no retention period and no general use rules. For private companies, the Colorado Privacy Act, C.R.S. § 6-1-1301 and following, sets general rules for businesses that handle the personal data of at least 100,000 Colorado consumers a year, or 25,000 if they profit from selling personal data, and we did not analyze whether it reaches plate reads.

Does Colorado's passive surveillance retention statute cover plate readers?

We could not establish that it does. C.R.S. § 24-72-113 defines "passive surveillance" as use by a government entity of a camera or other image recording device "positioned to capture moving or still pictures or images of human activity on a routine basis or for security or other purposes." It says the custodian may access a record after the first anniversary and up to the third anniversary only for a notice of claim or an accident, crash or other specific incident that may make it evidence in a proceeding, and it says all passive surveillance records "must be destroyed after the third anniversary" unless retention is authorized.

The text of § 24-72-113 does not mention license plate readers. We found no official Colorado document saying it governs plate images, so we do not state that it applies. There is a plausible argument either way. The definition lists cameras used for "monitoring or recording traffic," but it excludes "surveillance triggered by a certain event or activity and that does not monitor at regular intervals" and "the use of toll collection cameras," and a plate reader that records each passing vehicle could be argued into either category. Treat this as an open question for a lawyer or the agency, not an answer.

What would the 2026 bills have done?

Two bills would have created actual rules, and neither passed.

SB 26-070 would have prohibited a government entity from accessing a database that reveals an individual's or a vehicle's historical location information, subject to exceptions, with Attorney General enforcement and suppression of evidence obtained in violation. As reported, the version on the Senate calendar required a warrant for plate data older than 72 hours and set a 30-day retention limit for most data, and its sponsor said the Governor had threatened a veto over the warrant requirement. Its status is "Lost." The Senate Judiciary Committee referred it amended on a 5-2 vote in February 2026, Appropriations referred it amended April 21, and Senate second reading was laid over to July 4, 2026.

SB 26-071, the Surveillance Accountability and Freedom Ensured (SAFE) Act, would have required law enforcement, from July 1, 2027, to use surveillance technology only for lawful public-safety or active-investigation purposes, with rules for collecting, storing, sharing and destroying data. Its status is "Lost." The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed it indefinitely, 6-1, on May 6, 2026.

Because both died, none of their provisions is Colorado law.

Can you get plate reader data through a Colorado public records request?

We did not research this question in depth. The Colorado Open Records Act, C.R.S. § 24-72-203(1)(a), provides that "All public records shall be open for inspection by any person at reasonable times, except as provided in this part 2 or as otherwise provided by law." Our full-text search of the statutes found no ALPR-specific exemption or confidentiality clause. Plate data held by a police department is likely a "criminal justice record" under the separate Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act, and C.R.S. § 24-72-304(1) leaves most such records open only "at the discretion of the official custodian." Whether plate reads, hot lists, camera locations or audit logs can be obtained therefore turns mainly on that Act, which we did not analyze in depth. We found no Attorney General opinion or court ruling on the point. Do not read this section as saying plate data is, or is not, obtainable.

What have Colorado courts said?

We found no Colorado state or federal decision on plate reader data. A CourtListener search of Colorado state and federal courts returned two hits, both immigration cases in which "LPR" meant lawful permanent resident. We did not review Colorado constitutional privacy case law under Article II, section 7. Absence from a search is not proof that no ruling exists. In a pending case, two Boulder residents reportedly filed a class action in Boulder County District Court on May 27, 2026, claiming the city's Flock cameras violate the Colorado Constitution's protection against warrantless searches and, for one plaintiff, seeking his own vehicle's data under the Criminal Justice Records Act. Those are allegations, not findings, and we did not check the case's current status.

Where are plate readers reported in Colorado?

This list is not complete, and we read only headlines and status notes for these two entries.

• Boulder. A City of Boulder notice dated September 10, 2026 is headlined that the city pauses license plate reader vendor selection to allow a broader policy discussion. Our records mark the Boulder program as active as of that date.
• Denver. A March 31, 2026 Colorado Politics report is headlined that the Denver council narrowly approved a deal with Axon. According to the report, the council voted 7-6 to approve a one-year, $150,000 contract with Axon for 50 plate reader cameras, and the city's Flock cameras came down the same day when that contract ended. Denver switched vendors; it did not stop using plate readers.

How can I check my local system?

Because no plate reader statute sets the rules, the useful documents are mostly local, though you can also ask whether outside users of the system signed the immigration-enforcement certification that C.R.S. § 24-74-105 requires. Ask the police department or city for its written plate reader policy, its retention schedule, its contract with the vendor, and any council records approving the purchase. For the technology itself, see What are Flock cameras?.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Colorado have a license plate reader law?

No statute is written for plate readers. A 2026 carve-out says the traffic-camera term does not include automated license plate reader systems, and a general privacy law, C.R.S. § 24-74-103, bars state and local employees from sharing non-public personal information, including license plate numbers, for federal immigration enforcement. We found no statute on plate reader use or retention.

What does the 2026 Colorado amendment about plate readers do?

SB 26-152, effective August 12, 2026, added C.R.S. § 42-4-110.5(1.1)(a)(III), which says an automated vehicle identification system does not include automated license plate reader systems. It keeps traffic-camera rules from applying to plate readers and does not say what rules do apply.

How long can Colorado police keep plate reader data?

We found no statute that sets a plate reader retention period. C.R.S. § 24-72-113 sets a three-year limit for passive surveillance records, but it does not mention plate readers and we could not confirm it applies to them.

Did Colorado pass a bill on police surveillance or location data in 2026?

No. SB 26-070 on historical location information and SB 26-071, the SAFE Act, both died in the 2026 session.

Can I request Colorado plate reader data under the Open Records Act?

We did not research this in depth. The Act makes public records open unless an exception applies, and we found no ALPR-specific exemption, but plate data held by police is likely governed by the separate Criminal Justice Records Act, which leaves most such records to the custodian's discretion, and we did not analyze it in depth.

Are Colorado cities using Flock cameras?

Our records show Boulder pausing its plate reader vendor selection in September 2026 and Denver replacing its Flock cameras with an Axon plate reader contract in March 2026, according to a news report. The list is not complete.