Where are you starting?
Colorado · Hiring · 6 CCR 1011-1 Ch. 26, 5.9 · C.R.S. 26-3.1-111
A Colorado home care agency runs a criminal history check, at least a Colorado search, on everyone it hires, no more than 90 days before they start. Everyone who will give direct care also has a CAPS check of Colorado’s adult protective services records and a DORA check of any license or certification. Colorado sets no list of crimes that bar a caregiver, so your agency decides, weighing five factors under its own written policy. Owners and the manager have CBI fingerprint checks that CDPHE reviews.
Quick answer
Chapter 26 says "The HCA shall require any individual seeking employment with the agency to submit to a criminal history record check to ascertain whether the individual seeking employment has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor" for conduct that the agency determines could pose a risk to consumers (Ch. 26, 5.9(C)(1)). "The criminal history record check shall, at a minimum, include a search of criminal history in the State of Colorado and be conducted not more than ninety (90) days prior to employment of the individual." Your agency or the applicant pays (Ch. 26, 5.9(C)(2)-(3)).
There is no list of disqualifying crimes for caregivers. Your agency weighs five factors and must have a written policy on employing people with convictions (Ch. 26, 5.9(C)(4)-(5)). Before employing anyone for direct care, you also request a CAPS check from the Colorado Department of Human Services (Ch. 26, 5.9(D); C.R.S. 26-3.1-111) and check with DORA for any license, registration or certification (Ch. 26, 5.9(E)).
Owners with at least 50% and the manager have CBI fingerprint checks, which CDPHE reviews when it decides on the license (Ch. 26, 4.2(D)).
Chapter 26 requires it of “any individual seeking employment with the agency”, in any job, including office staff and the HCA manager. The statute says the person submits to it before employment.
Ch. 26, 5.9(C)(1); C.R.S. 25-27.5-107Before employing anyone to provide direct consumer care or services, you show compliance with the CAPS check law and check with DORA for any license, registration or certification. CDHS says each employer decides which of its positions provide direct care.
Ch. 26, 5.9(D)-(E); CDHSChapter 26 counts contractors, students, interns and volunteers as personnel, and the CAPS law covers people contracted with the employer. Whether a volunteer is “seeking employment” is not stated. By our reading, check contractors as you would an employee in the same job; the CAPS law lets you check a volunteer who will give direct care, without requiring it.
Ch. 26, 2.21; C.R.S. 26-3.1-111(2)(a), (6)(a)(IV)Each owner with at least 50% and each manager or administrator submits fingerprints to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for a state and national check, which CDPHE reviews. How that works.
Ch. 26, 4.2(D); 2.17Direct care, and at-risk adults. The CAPS law is about people who will provide direct care to an at-risk adult: "“At-risk adult” means an individual eighteen years of age or older who is susceptible to mistreatment or self-neglect because the individual is unable to perform or obtain services necessary for his or her health, safety, or welfare" (C.R.S. 26-3.1-101(1.5)), and "“Direct care” means services and supports, including case management services, protective services, physical care, mental health services, or any other service necessary for the at-risk adult’s health, safety, or welfare." (C.R.S. 26-3.1-101(3.5)). Chapter 26 ties the CAPS duty to anyone you employ "to provide direct consumer care or services" (Ch. 26, 5.9(D)), without asking you to sort clients first. By our reading, request a CAPS check for everyone you hire to give direct care, whoever their clients are.
CareRulebook’s manual treats homemakers, personal care workers, supervisors, the HCA manager and anyone else who visits clients as direct care positions, and gives office staff who never visit or serve clients the criminal history check only. That is the manual’s reading of CDHS’s statement that the employer decides.
The rule and statute duties in hiring order, with CDHS’s CAPS steps. Tick steps off as you go; progress is saved in this browser only.
Under the Chance to Compete Act, a job ad or application form may not say people with a criminal history cannot apply, and the initial written or electronic application form may not ask about criminal history. The Act has an exception for jobs where the law requires a criminal check, which by our reading covers home care jobs; CareRulebook’s manual follows the Act anyway. The Act and its timing.
Your agency registers with the CAPS Check Unit at the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) before it can request any check. Each staff member who requests checks has their own requestor account.
At least a search of criminal history in Colorado, done not more than 90 days before the person’s employment starts. Your agency or the applicant pays. CBI lists a Colorado-only, name-based Internet Criminal History Check at $6.00, a CBI fee (CBI); whether that alone meets the rule is not settled, so ask CDPHE. CareRulebook’s manual runs it after a conditional offer and has the result reviewed before the first day; that timing is the manual’s choice.
If there is a felony or misdemeanor conviction, consider the five factors the rule lists and decide whether the person could pose a risk to consumers. The five factors.
The person completes and signs CDHS’s Written Authorization Form themselves, and a requestor submits the request with the person’s own details. CDHS’s fee is $9.00 plus an online processing fee; you pay it or may require the applicant to.
Verify with the Department of Regulatory Agencies whether the person holds a license, registration or certification and whether it is in good standing, and put a copy of the inquiry in their personnel file.
CDHS says results come by encrypted email within five business days, and must be collected within 14 days. A “no match” clears the check; a match letter gives the finding, and you decide what it means for the job.
Before a caregiver’s first visit: the criminal result reviewed, from a search run within the 90 days before their start date, the CAPS request made (or the result received, if your policy waits for it), the DORA inquiry filed, and training and the competency evaluation complete. Training and competency.
CDPHE’s licensing guidance lists employee background checks in personnel files among what it expects at the initial survey.
Chapter 26 does not list crimes that bar someone from working for a Class B agency. It says "In assessing whether to employ an applicant with a felony or misdemeanor conviction, the HCA shall consider the following factors:" (Ch. 26, 5.9(C)(4)):
And "The HCA shall develop and implement policies and procedures regarding the employment of any individual who is convicted of a felony or misdemeanor to ensure that the individual does not pose a risk to the health, safety, and welfare of the consumer." (Ch. 26, 5.9(C)(5)). CDPHE does not review your caregivers’ results the way it reviews owners’ and the manager’s: the rule leaves the decision to the agency. What CDPHE’s guidance asks to see at the initial survey is the employee background checks in the personnel files (CDPHE guidance, step 6).
The factors speak of convictions and pleas. Chapter 26 says nothing about pending charges, arrests without a conviction or records the person says are wrong, and nothing about giving the person a chance to explain. CareRulebook’s manual (Policy 4.2) handles these as its own procedure: the manager tells the person which record is the concern and hears their side before deciding, may wait for the outcome of a pending charge before direct care, can confirm the offer for a job with no client contact, and writes how each factor was weighed on an assessment record. When the person applying is the manager, the governing body decides. Our suggestion: take employment law advice before withdrawing an offer because of a record.
CDHS says "A CAPS Check does NOT replace any other requirements for background checks that apply to your agency. The information provided in a CAPS Check pertains only to APS investigations, which are not criminal proceedings. CAPS Checks do not provide criminal background information." (CDHS, CAPS Check FAQ). So it sits alongside the criminal history check, not instead of it. CDHS lists home care agencies among the employers that must use it: "Agencies licensed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment under Title 25 are required to register with the CAPS Check Unit and request CAPS Checks." (CDHS, CAPS Check FAQ).
| Situation | What the law or CDHS says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Before you hire someone for direct care | Request a CAPS check. Chapter 26 says you must show compliance before employing anyone for direct consumer care or services. | C.R.S. 26-3.1-111(6)(a)(I); Ch. 26, 5.9(D) |
| Waiting for the result | The law lets you hire before the result arrives. CDHS suggests a written policy, with ways to reduce the risk, if you do. | C.R.S. 26-3.1-111(6)(f); CDHS FAQ |
| Hiring more than 30 days later | The statute requires a new check if you start hiring more than 30 days after receiving the result. CDHS’s FAQ counts the 30 days from your request instead. | C.R.S. 26-3.1-111(6)(a)(I); CDHS FAQ |
| Rehiring someone who left | CDHS says a new check is needed before rehire if more than 30 days have passed since they left. | CDHS FAQ |
| Every year | Not required. CDHS tells you if a substantiated finding against someone you checked is entered later. | CDHS FAQ; C.R.S. 26-3.1-111(10) |
| At licensing and renewal | You show CDPHE that you comply with the CAPS check law when you apply and at each renewal. | Ch. 2, 2.3.6, 2.5.4(B) |
Two ways of counting the 30 days. The statute says a new check is needed when the employer "wants to hire the person at a subsequent time that is more than thirty days from receipt of the prior CAPS check results, the employer shall request a new CAPS check" (C.R.S. 26-3.1-111(6)(a)(I)). CDHS’s FAQ counts from the request: "If more than thirty (30) days have elapsed between an employer's request for a CAPS Check for a potential employee or volunteer, and the employer's decision to initiate hiring, the employer must request a new CAPS Check prior to hiring the employee or volunteer." (CDHS, CAPS Check FAQ). The request always comes first, so counting from it is the stricter of the two. CareRulebook’s manual counts from the request, which meets both.
Hiring before the result. "Nothing in this section prohibits an employer from hiring or contracting with an employee who will provide direct care to an at-risk adult prior to receiving the results of the CAPS check." (C.R.S. 26-3.1-111(6)(f)) and "The CCU recommends agencies consider developing policies to standardize their practices and identify methods to mitigate potential risks in the event they wish to hire an individual prior to receipt of their CAPS Check results." (CDHS, CAPS Check FAQ). The manual asks which you want: no direct care until the result is reviewed, or direct care once the request is in and the criminal and DORA checks are reviewed, with the worker taken off visits while the manager decides about any match.
Confidential. "Any person who improperly releases or who willfully permits or encourages the release of data or information obtained through a CAPS check to persons not permitted access to the information pursuant to this article 3.1 commits a class 2 misdemeanor" (C.R.S. 26-3.1-111(6)(e)). Sharing it with people directly involved in your hiring process is allowed, and so is releasing it "To a state agency or its contractor, upon the request of the agency or contractor, for purposes of an employer inspection or survey" (C.R.S. 26-3.1-111(6)(d)). Requesting a check on someone who is not an employee or volunteer in, or being considered for, a direct care job is also a class 2 misdemeanor (C.R.S. 26-3.1-111(6)(e.3)), which is one reason to decide which jobs are direct care before you start.
CareRulebook
CareRulebook’s Colorado manual includes Policy 4.2 (Criminal history, CAPS and license checks): fair-chance hiring, the 90-day criminal check, the five factors with a conviction and CAPS finding assessment record, CAPS registration, authorization, timing and confidentiality, the DORA check, owner and manager fingerprints, and a background check log.
$199CareRulebook founding price for the first 50 Colorado agencies, then $249. Not a CDPHE fee.
The rule says "the agency shall contact the DORA to verify whether a license, registration, or certification exists and is in good standing." "A copy of the inquiry shall be placed in the individual’s personnel file." (Ch. 26, 5.9(E)). It applies "before employing any individual to provide direct consumer care or services".
The rule asks whether a credential exists, so by our reading the check covers every direct care hire, including people who say they hold no license. The rule does not say how to contact DORA. CareRulebook’s manual has the manager search DORA by name for each direct care applicant and file the dated result, including a result showing no license found, and treats a credential that is not in good standing like a criminal record, under the same factors.
A nurse or certified nursing assistant you hire still works as a homemaker or personal care worker: a Class B agency may not provide any skilled service (Ch. 26, 4.1(A)(2)). How their credential affects training is on the caregiver training page.
"With the submission of an application for licensure or within ten (10) calendar days after a change in the owner, manager, or administrator, each owner and each manager or administrator of a home care agency shall submit a complete set of their fingerprints to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of conducting a state and national fingerprint-based criminal history record check." Each person pays the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s fee (Ch. 26, 4.2(D); C.R.S. 25-27.5-106(3)). CBI lists $39.50 for the home care agency fingerprint check, a Colorado and nationwide search (CBI), and the fingerprinting vendor charges its own fee on top (CBI). These are CBI’s and the vendor’s fees, not ours. An owner here is someone "who has at least a fifty-percent (50%) ownership interest in the business entity." (Ch. 26, 2.17).
The fingerprint check is CDPHE’s check of the people running the agency. If your manager or an owner will also visit clients, CareRulebook’s manual gives them the criminal history, CAPS and DORA checks as well, like any other direct care employee; that is the manual’s approach.
Since September 1, 2021 every employer in Colorado other than the state, local governments and other public bodies has been barred from saying in an ad or on an application form that people with a criminal history may not apply, and from asking about it on the first application form: an employer may not "inquire into, or require disclosure of, an applicant’s criminal history on an initial written or electronic application form." (C.R.S. 8-2-130(3)(a)). "An employer may obtain the publicly available criminal background report of an applicant at any time." (C.R.S. 8-2-130(3)(b))
The exception. The Act does not apply to a position if "The employer is required by federal, state, or local law or regulation to conduct a criminal history record check for that position, regardless of whether the position is for an employee or an independent contractor." (C.R.S. 8-2-130(4)(c)). Our reading: that covers every job at a home care agency, because Chapter 26 and C.R.S. 25-27.5-107 require a criminal history check of everyone seeking employment. We found no court decision or state guidance on it, so confirm with a Colorado employment lawyer before relying on it.
| Stage | What the Act says (if it applies) | CareRulebook’s manual |
|---|---|---|
| Job ad | May not say people with a criminal history may not apply | Says any offer depends on the background checks |
| Initial application form | May not ask about, or require disclosure of, criminal history | Does not ask |
| Later in hiring | The Act’s limits name the ad, application forms and the initial form; by our reading it does not bar asking later | Asks and runs the checks after a conditional offer (the manual’s choice) |
| Public background report | May be obtained at any time | Runs the Chapter 26 check within the 90 days before the start date |
C.R.S. 8-2-130(3) · C.R.S. 8-2-130(4)(c). Our summary of the Act’s text; read the section in full.
Our suggestion: follow the Act’s limits even if the exception may apply. The 90-day rule already pushes the criminal check close to the start date, after you have chosen someone. Enforcement is by complaint to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment: a warning and an order to comply within 30 days for a first violation, then civil penalties of up to $1,000 and $2,500 (C.R.S. 8-2-130(5)). We also suggest: if you use a background screening company, ask it and an employment lawyer what notices and authorizations consumer reporting laws require before a check, and before you decide not to hire because of a report.
CareRulebook’s manual keeps every result, authorization form, DORA inquiry and assessment record in a confidential background check section of the personnel file (Policy 4.8), opened only by the manager, the acting manager and, for CAPS results, the person who requested the check. That is the manual’s arrangement, built on the CAPS confidentiality rule above.
No. Not for caregivers. Chapter 26 and C.R.S. 25-27.5-107 require a criminal history check of everyone seeking employment, but set no list of disqualifying crimes. The agency decides, weighing five factors (the history of convictions or pleas, the nature and seriousness of the crimes, the time since conviction, mitigating circumstances and the position) under its own written policy. Owners and the manager are different: CDPHE reviews their fingerprint results and will not license an agency whose owner or manager has a conviction for conduct CDPHE decides could put consumers at risk. We have not checked HCPF’s Medicaid provider rules, so check them if you will bill Medicaid.
"In assessing whether to employ an applicant with a felony or misdemeanor conviction, the HCA shall consider the following factors:"
No. Not under the license rules. CBI fingerprint checks are required for each owner (50% or more) and the manager or administrator. For caregivers, the agency runs a criminal history record check (at least a Colorado search) within 90 days before hire, a CAPS check with CDHS before direct care, and a DORA check of any license or certification, then decides under its own written policy. We have not checked HCPF’s Medicaid provider rules, so check them if you will bill Medicaid.
"The criminal history record check shall, at a minimum, include a search of criminal history in the State of Colorado and be conducted not more than ninety (90) days prior to employment of the individual."
No. The law does not require it. You must request the CAPS check before hiring someone for direct care, but the statute says nothing stops you hiring before the result arrives, and CDHS suggests a written policy for that situation. Whether to wait is your agency’s choice; CDHS says results usually come within five business days.
"Nothing in this section prohibits an employer from hiring or contracting with an employee who will provide direct care to an at-risk adult prior to receiving the results of the CAPS check."
No. CDHS says there is no requirement for recurring or annual CAPS checks, because it tells the employer if a substantiated finding against someone it has checked is entered later. A new check is needed if you start hiring someone more than 30 days after their result, and, CDHS says, before rehiring someone more than 30 days after they left.
"There is no requirement for recurring/annual CAPS Checks, because the CCU provides automatic updates to employers on future substantiations."
Not under the license rules. CBI fingerprint checks are for each owner with at least 50% and the manager or administrator, and CDPHE reviews them. For caregivers, the agency runs a criminal history record check (at least a Colorado search) no more than 90 days before employment, a CAPS check before direct care and a DORA check of any license or certification. We have not checked HCPF’s Medicaid provider rules, so check them if you will bill Medicaid.
Chapter 26 sets no list. It asks whether the person has a felony or misdemeanor conviction for conduct that the agency determines could pose a risk to consumers, and the agency weighs five factors: the history of convictions or pleas of guilty or no contest, the nature and seriousness of the crimes, the time since the conviction, any mitigating circumstances, and the nature of the position. You also need a written policy on employing people with convictions.
Not more than 90 days before the person’s employment starts, under both Chapter 26 and C.R.S. 25-27.5-107. A check run earlier than that has to be run again before they start. Our reading: someone who leaves and is rehired needs a new check unless their last one falls within the 90 days before the new start date.
A check of the Colorado Adult Protective Services data system for substantiated findings of mistreatment of an at-risk adult. It is not a criminal check. You register with the CAPS Check Unit at CDHS, the person signs CDHS’s Written Authorization Form, and you request the check online. CDHS charges $9.00 plus an online processing fee (a CDHS fee, not ours) and returns results within five business days.
The law allows it: you must request the check before hiring, but nothing stops you hiring before the result arrives. CDHS suggests a written policy for that situation. CareRulebook’s manual lets you choose: wait for the result before any direct care, or start direct care once the request is in, with the criminal and DORA checks already reviewed.
Not on the initial written or electronic application form, and your ads and forms may not say people with a criminal history cannot apply, under the Chance to Compete Act. The Act lets you obtain an applicant’s publicly available criminal background report at any time, and it does not apply where the law requires a criminal check for the job. By our reading that exception covers home care jobs, but CareRulebook’s manual follows the Act anyway and asks only after a conditional offer.
No rule we found requires yearly criminal checks, and CDHS says there is no requirement for recurring CAPS checks because it tells you about later findings. You do need new checks in some cases: a criminal check that would fall outside the 90 days before a start date, and a new CAPS check before hiring more than 30 days after a result or before rehiring someone who left more than 30 days ago.
CDPHE has proposed changes to Chapter 2 (comments due November 12, 2026), and the home care law is due for review before September 1, 2028. Leave your email and we will tell you when a Colorado change affects your hiring checks or your policies.
No spam. Only emails about Colorado home care rule changes. How we use your email.
Colorado
How to start a home care agency in Colorado
The Class B license, CDPHE’s fee, the COHFI application and the initial survey.
Colorado
Colorado caregiver training and supervision
Homemaker and personal care worker training, competency checks, exemptions and supervision.
Manual
Build your Colorado policy manual
Including Policy 4.2 on criminal history, CAPS and license checks.
Washington
Washington background checks
BCCU fingerprint checks, the 120-day provisional period and two-year rechecks.
Indiana
Indiana background checks
The 3-day and 21-day rules and the offense list widened in 2025.
Illinois
Illinois background checks
The Health Care Worker Registry, six web searches, fingerprints and waivers.
Virginia
Virginia background checks
Sworn statements, the State Police report and barrier crimes.
Texas
Texas background checks
HHSC registries, SEMARC and the EMR.
North Carolina
North Carolina background checks
Criminal history checks and the Health Care Personnel Registry.
Georgia
Georgia background checks
GCHEXS fingerprints, registries and the 2026 rule change.