“CORA” stands for “Colorado Open Records Act.” In the spirit of open government and pursuant to Section 24-72-201 to 206 C.R.S., CORA requires that most public records be available to the public. Anyone can request information that is in the possession of a government office. Please note, due to the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act (CCJRA) and other statutory limitations, some criminal justice, human services, and public health related documents are governed by laws other than CORA and may be withheld due to laws other than CORA.
You must submit your request to the custodian of the record: the state, county or city office that actually holds the record itself. There is no central repository for public records or single office that fulfills public records requests in Colorado. For most governmental agencies, you can submit your request directly to the Public Information Officer of that agency. For El Paso County, submit a request to the Communications Department through the form on this page or contact open records personnel listed below.
Some offices and departments have unique processes for obtaining open records because of the legal nuances regarding their records. For records pertaining to the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, the Department of Human Services (DHS), or the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, visit the pages below before submitting a request.
4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office
Department of Human Services (DHS)
El Paso County Sheriff’s Office
A “public record” includes most writings made, maintained, or kept by our office. However, there are some exceptions concerning records made available under CORA.
You do not have to file a CORA request to receive information. It is the intent of the El Paso County Commissioners that the Communications Department provides documents and information to the public without requiring a CORA request. For media requests, please contact us at EPCPIO@elpasoco.com or view media contacts at https://admin.elpasoco.com/communications/.