Wednesday, August 5, 2026
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Compliance Corner
Key Takeaways
Impacted Employers: Colorado employers
Effective Date: June 3, 2026
Summary: Colorado has enacted legislation that prohibits employers or their agents from demanding, confiscating, retaining, or otherwise requiring individuals performing or seeking work to surrender a government-issued identification card, subject to limited exceptions. Employers must also notify individuals of this prohibition when they verify their employment eligibility.
Next Steps: Colorado employers should review employment verification procedures; implement the required notice and acknowledgment process; train relevant personnel; and confirm that any retention of identification documents complies with the law's 10-hour limit.
The Details
Notice
When employers verify an individual’s employment eligibility, they must notify them of the prohibition on employers or their agents from demanding, confiscating, retaining, or otherwise requiring an individual performing or seeking work to surrender a government-issued identification card.
The notice must be:
- In writing;
- In English and in the individual’s primary language, if the employer knows the individual’s primary language isn’t English;
- Acknowledged by the individual; and
- Retained, along with the acknowledgment, in the employer’s employment records.
Exceptions
Employers may:
- Request and temporarily retain a government-issued identification card when verifying employment eligibility;
- Retain the card only as long as necessary to verify eligibility and make a copy, and never longer than 10 hours; and
- Retain copies of identification documents in their records as otherwise permitted by law.
The prohibition doesn’t apply when possession of the identification document is required or authorized by federal or state law or regulation, or pursuant to a signed judicial warrant.
Penalties
Violations may result in criminal liability under Colorado law, and affected individuals may have access to civil remedies. Employers should review the law's enforcement provisions and consult counsel regarding compliance obligations.
Next Steps
Colorado employers should:
- Review hiring and Form I-9 procedures to confirm anyone involved in onboarding, including managers and HR, does not demand, confiscate, or retain an applicant’s or employee’s government-issued ID except as specifically permitted by law.
- Update employment eligibility verification processes to ensure any government-issued ID collected for Form I-9 purposes is retained only as long as necessary to verify work authorization and never for more than 10 hours.
- Develop a written notice informing applicants and employees that employers are generally prohibited from demanding, confiscating, retaining, or requiring surrender of government-issued ID cards. Provide the notice during the employment eligibility verification process.
- Prepare translated notices for individuals whose primary language is known to be a language other than English.
- Obtain and retain acknowledgments showing individuals received the required notice and keep both the notice and acknowledgment with employment records.
- Train supervisors, hiring managers, and onboarding personnel on the law’s restrictions, exceptions, and potential penalties for noncompliance.
- Audit document-retention practices to ensure any copies of identification documents are maintained only as permitted under applicable federal and state requirements.