# Colorado

Colorado has no state private investigator license. Its licensing programs ended August 31, 2021 after the Governor vetoed their continuation, and no bill to restore them was introduced from 2023 through 2026. Since 2024, a person tracked by a GPS device or app without consent can sue the person who caused the tracking, with no exception for investigators.

Source: https://uscli.org/licensing-tracker/colorado

## At a glance

- **Authority:** None. The Office of Private Investigator Licensure ended August 31, 2021, after the Governor vetoed HB 20-1207 on July 11, 2020; its rules were repealed effective January 14, 2022.
- **Statute:** None; former C.R.S. 12-160 is repealed
- **Local licensing:** None found; municipal codes were not surveyed
- **Continuing education:** None
- **Firearms:** Concealed carry requires a county sheriff’s permit (C.R.S. 18-12-201 to -216).

## Changes, 2023 to 2026

- Oct 1, 2025 — **Privacy Act protections for minors’ data** — SB 24-041 · Effective October 1, 2025 — Bars controllers that offer online services to known minors from processing their data for targeted advertising or sale, or collecting precise geolocation, without consent, regardless of the Colorado Privacy Act’s volume thresholds. — **For licensees:** Less commercial geolocation data on minors will be available. — [SB 24-041](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-041)
- Jul 1, 2025 — **Biometric identifier rules apply regardless of size** — HB 24-1130 (C.R.S. 6-1-1314) · Effective July 1, 2025 — Requires notice and consent before collecting biometric identifiers and a written retention policy, and covers any controller that processes biometric data regardless of the Privacy Act’s consumer thresholds. — **For licensees:** Firms using facial recognition or voiceprints on Colorado residents must comply. — [HB 24-1130](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb24-1130)
- Jul 1, 2025 — **Record sealing expanded** — HB 24-1133 · Effective July 1, 2025 — Makes deferred judgments eligible for sealing when the underlying offense is, creates sealing for convictions for conduct later legalized, and lets a mistaken-identity defendant petition for expungement. — **For licensees:** More Colorado records may be unavailable to background searches. — [HB 24-1133](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb24-1133)
- Jul 1, 2025 — **Concealed handgun permit training standards** — HB 24-1174 · Training standards effective July 1, 2025 — A training class counts toward a permit only if it meets new in-person minimum standards, with a written exam and live fire, and was completed within 1 year before applying (C.R.S. 18-12-202.5, -202.7). — **For licensees:** New applicants need a qualifying class taken within 12 months. — [HB 24-1174](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb24-1174)
- Jan 1, 2025 — **Firearms in unattended vehicles must be locked away** — HB 24-1348 (C.R.S. 18-12-114.5) · Effective January 1, 2025 — A handgun left in an unattended vehicle must be in a locked hard-sided container, out of plain view, in a locked vehicle. — **For licensees:** This applies to surveillance vehicles. — [HB 24-1348](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb24-1348)
- Aug 7, 2024 — **Civil claim for tracking without consent** — SB 24-011 (C.R.S. 13-20-1301) · Approved June 5, 2024; effective August 7, 2024 — A person tracked by a tracking device or app without consent may sue the actor who installed the device on the person’s property or caused the tracking, for damages including noneconomic loss. Consent may be revoked at any time. The only exclusions are law enforcement acting in a criminal investigation or official duties, toll authorities, and a parent or guardian tracking a minor child. — **For licensees:** There is no investigator exception; get written consent from the person tracked. — [SB 24-011](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-011)
- Jul 1, 2024 — **Firearms barred in courthouses and government buildings** — SB 24-131 · Effective July 1, 2024 — Bars open and concealed carry in state legislative buildings, local governing-body buildings, and courthouses, adds licensed child care centers to the existing school and college ban, and limits permit holders at colleges and child care centers to parking areas; a local government may allow carry in its buildings, and permit holders may carry concealed in adjacent parking areas (C.R.S. 18-12-105.3, -105.5). — **For licensees:** Do not carry into a courthouse when serving or attending hearings. — [SB 24-131](https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-131)

## Checked and unchanged

- No bill to restore investigator licensing was introduced from 2023 through 2026; HB 25-1262, which would have licensed security officers, was postponed indefinitely.
- The criminal stalking statute and the one-party consent eavesdropping law were not changed, and Colorado has no data broker registry.