Court Order Sealing of Arrests

Individuals wishing to receive their full CBI report to include sealed records and/or non-expunged juvenile records must initiate the process by submitting a formal, written request to the management team of CBI’s Biometric Identification and Records Unit.

Requests can be emailed to: cdps_cbi_ident_managers@state.co.us

Or mailed to:

Colorado Bureau of Investigation - ATTN: BIRU Managers

690 Kipling St., Suite 4000

Lakewood, CO 80215

To ensure that sealed records are not disseminated to anyone other than the individual to which they belong, the CBI will require the subject of the criminal history requesting their sealed records to provide a set of fingerprints for identity verification purposes.

To do so, you can either:

1) Make an appointment to be fingerprinted by one of our two approved fingerprinting vendors: IdentoGo (select the Fingerprint Cards option) or Colorado Fingerprinting (choose the Fingerprint Cards option, not the CABS option); or

2) Make an appointment to be fingerprinted by the CBI (dependent on the availability of our fingerprint examiners to do so) by emailing cdps_cbi_ident_managers@state.co.us; or

3) Get fingerprinted by your local law enforcement agency (LEA), agency policy permitting (some LEA’s are unable to accommodate public fingerprinting requests).

PLEASE NOTE: Not all vendor locations have the equipment to provide physical fingerprint cards.  Please call ahead to verify your chosen location has that ability.

If you choose to be fingerprinted by an LEA or one of our vendors, you will be charged a fee by the LEA or by our vendor to be fingerprinted, which is separate from the $16.50 processing fee charged by the CBI.  You will need to write 'Sealed Record Release' in the Reason Fingerprinted box on the fingerprint card.  Then, the fingerprint card and $16.50 payment would then need to be mailed to the CBI or dropped off at our office. We accept cash, checks, cards and money orders. 

The sealing process is handled by the court that heard your case. You will need to seal each case that pertains to the arrest on your criminal history by filing a Motion to Seal. Please visit the Colorado Judicial Branch website for some information available regarding a motion to seal. Under the “Self Help/Forms” drop-down menu at the top of the home page, click on the section titled "Self-Help Forms." From here, type "Seal" in the "Keyword or Form Number" search box and click "Apply." 

This should pull up all relevant forms and instructions pertaining to sealing records with the courts. If you have any questions about specific forms, please call the court and they will be able to assist you.

It is recommended that you conduct a background check on yourself to acquire additional information that may be of use to you when filling out the court documentation for the sealing of your case. To conduct your own background check, you may navigate to the CBI Internet Criminal History Check System (ICHC) and select the option to run yourself as an "Individual." There is a fee charged per result viewed that can be paid by credit or debit card. Once payment information has been entered, criminal history reports can be accessed immediately through our web-based system.

We recommend using your first name, last name, and date of birth for the purposes of the background check. A social security number can be entered but the results provided will be more narrow. The resulting criminal history report will include only those records which the CBI is in possession of. These may not necessarily include tickets or summons. All criminal history information appearing on your CBI background check is based on finger-prints taken at the time of arrest or court-ordered fingerprints.

After you have filled out and filed your sealing paperwork in court, a judge will review your case and decide whether or not to grant the sealing of your case.

If the judge grants the sealing of your case, your record will be sealed by the court, and you will receive an Order to Seal signed by the judge. You will then need to send the Order to Seal to the CBI to complete the sealing process. When you are in possession of the required document, it can be sent to our state email address: cdps_cbi_ident_seal@state.co.us.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the state repository for arrest and criminal records received from Colorado law enforcement agencies and courts which are then retained in the Colorado Crime Information Center (CCIC) indefinitely. It is important to note that the CBI never removes or deletes criminal records from the database; even if a law enforcement or judicial agency purges their records of an arrest or court case, the CBI retains the records per state law.

If sufficient information is provided, the CBI can update arrest records with dispositions and sentencing information, if applicable.

If no disposition information can be found, an arrest record can be updated with a disposition of “Disposition Record Purged” (DRP).

• Please note, DRP may or may not be accepted as a sufficient disposition for certain eligibility or approval processes involving background checks (such as firearms purchases, employment, etc.) 

In order for DRP to be added to a record, CBI policy requires that the individual provide documentation from various criminal justice agencies which may be associated with the arrest.

Acceptable documentation must be in the form of an official letter or court document which states that a records search has been conducted and, regarding disposition information for arrest charge(s), no such records exist or the records have been purged.  

• Ensure the letter is on official agency letterhead and/or with the agency’s official seal
• Must be signed by an agency representative and dated

Records Search Criteria (to be listed on the official letter or court record):

• MUST include all names, aliases, and date(s) of birth that are listed in the individual’s CBI report
•  If a date range is specified, it needs to span from at least 5 years PRIOR to the initial date of arrest up through to the present
• If no date range is specified, the letter needs to state how far back the agency’s records go and whether records from particular years were purged (if applicable)

Agencies from which documentation is required:

1. The arresting agency of original charge(s) 
   1. If the arrest was for a warrant issued by an agency from a jurisdiction other than the arresting agency, a letter is required from BOTH the arresting agency and the agency where the charges and warrant originated
2. The Municipal court for the jurisdiction (if the arresting agency was a police department)
3. The District court for the county where the original arresting agency resides
   1. If the jurisdiction of the original arresting agency falls within multiple counties (for example: Aurora is within Adams and Arapahoe counties; Westminster is within Adams and Jefferson counties, etc.) you would need a letter from the District courts of BOTH counties.

SUBMITTING DOCUMENTS

Once obtained, documentation from these agencies can be provided to the CBI Seals and Dispositions section via email, fax, standard mail, or in person.

• Email: cdps_cbi_dispos@state.co.us
• Fax #: 303-239-4405
• If coming in person, the physical address is 690 Kipling St., Lakewood, CO 80215. 
  • We are open to the public from 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday (except holidays).
• Documents can be mailed to:

Colorado Bureau of Investigation - ATTN: Dispositions

Biometric Identification and Records Unit

690 Kipling St., Suite 3000

Lakewood, CO 80215

If there is an arrest record on your CBI criminal history report that you believe is there by mistake, then you can go through the CBI’s Record Challenge Process to dispute it. 

Firstly, you will need to go to our Identity Theft and Misidentification page on our website. Once there, you will see all of the detailed instructions on the next steps for the record challenge process. To summarize the process, you will first need to get fingerprinted by one of Colorado's fingerprinting vendors, then you will need to acquire a copy of your criminal history report from the CBI via our website CBI Records Check and note the record discrepancy in question by filling out the Record Challenge Information Form. Finally, you will need to mail all three of those documents to our office. 

Once you have your physical fingerprint card, a physical copy of your criminal history report, and a physical copy of the Record Challenge Information Form, you can mail them to the following address: 

Biometric Identification and Records Unit

Colorado Bureau of Investigation

690 Kipling St., Ste. 4000

Lakewood, CO 80215