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Colorado Regulations and Penalties
In the state of Colorado, any commercial entity (whether for-profit or non-profit) that experiences a data breach is required to investigate the likelihood that personal information has been or will be misused. The business is legally required to notify affected Colorado residents as soon as possible by mail, telephone, or electronic means. If the security breach affects more than 250,000 residents or the cost of notification exceeds $250,000, other means of notification can be used. Read more about CO’s data breach laws below.
| Name of Law / Statute | Colorado Consumer Protection Act |
| Definition of Protected Information | Combination of (1) name or other identifying info, PLUS (2) one or more of these “data” elements: SSN; driver’s license number; or account number, credit card number, debit card number if accompanied by PIN, password, or access codes. |
| Who Is Subject to Law? | Any person or business conducting business in the state who licenses or maintains PI in course of business |
| Notification of Consumers? | Yes, unless determination of no harm by business |
| By what means? | Written, electronic, or phone; if >1000 residents, must notify credit reporting agencies; if cost of notice >$250,000 or for >250k residents, alternate methods OK |
| Substitute Notice Threshold? | If cost of notice >$250,000 or involves >250k residents |
| Notification of authorities / regulators required? | No |
| By what means? | N/A |
| Regulatory Fines | N/A |
| Credit monitoring requirement? | N/A |
| Private lawsuits allowed? | No |
| Private damages cap? | N/A |
| Regulatory actions allowed? | N/A |
| HIPAA Compliance exemption? | N/A |
| Other (e.g., timeframe) | Law does not apply if PI was encrypted or redacted or otherwise secured |
| Link to complete law: | Read the full text of Colorado’s data breach law. |
