Communicable disease rulemaking
On Jan. 21, 2026, the Colorado State Board of Health approved amendments to 6 CCR 1009-1: Epidemic and Communicable Disease Control. The changes take effect on March 17, 2026. At that time, the Secretary of State will post the revised rules on their webpage.
Before these changes take effect, CDPHE will distribute additional guidance, including revised charts of all reportable communicable diseases and conditions.
A copy of the rules with the approved changes and memo providing additional context for those changes are linked below:
6 CCR 1009-1 names the communicable diseases that are reportable to CDPHE and local public health agencies in order to protect the public’s health. The rule includes:
- An outline of public health’s authority to investigate causes of epidemic and communicable diseases to implement disease control measures,
- Details on the conditions and outbreaks that must be reported, individuals and agencies responsible for reporting, timelines for reporting, and the method of reporting to CDPHE, and
- Language about access to pertinent medical records and public health authority to access those records, as necessary, to perform investigations.
These rule changes aim to more clearly describe roles, methods, and timeframes for disease reporting and to incorporate language about modern electronic disease reporting methods. The updates are intended to make these regulations easier to understand, to reduce duplication of efforts, and to streamline the flow of information from facilities and providers to CDPHE.
While there are no new reportable conditions, we have shifted the reporting responsibilities for certain conditions. We will communicate these specific responsibility shifts clearly before the March 17, 2026 effective date.
If you have further questions about the rulemaking process, email nicole.comstock@state.co.us.