Immunization requirements to attend camp in Colorado

Available languages: Español

Colorado camps create a healthy and safe environment for children to learn and grow.

Colorado law requires all students attending Colorado overnight and day camps to be vaccinated against certain diseases unless an exemption is on file at the camp.

The number and timing of vaccine doses for camp entry follow the vaccine schedule set by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

Vaccination can prevent the spread of diseases like measles, mumps, varicella (chickenpox), and whooping cough.

Vaccines:

Keep kids healthy and enjoying summer camp.
Are the best defense against many serious and preventable illnesses.
Are widely available for no or low cost in Colorado and across the U.S.
- If you live outside of Colorado, contact your child’s health care provider or your local public health agency for vaccine information.

Children with vaccine exemptions may be kept out of camp during an outbreak. The length of exclusion time will depend on the type of disease and circumstances of the outbreak.

For example, if your child is not current with their measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines, they may need to be immediately excluded from camp and other activities for at least 21 days.

Navigating Colorado’s vaccine requirements for your child to attend camp is as easy as 1, 2, 3!

1. Know the requirements:

Colorado law requires the following for all children attending Colorado overnight and day camps:

A: Children are current for all Colorado-required vaccines, or

B: Children have a current exemption on file for missing Colorado-required vaccines.

2. Prepare to meet the requirements:

Option A: For your child to attend, you must provide a vaccination record that shows your child is current for all Colorado-required vaccines.

This table is for school-age campers (kindergarten through 12th grade)

Vaccine name and abbreviation	Number of doses*
Hepatitis B (HepB)	3 doses
Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTaP)	5 doses
Polio (IPV)	4 doses
Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)	2 doses
Varicella (chickenpox)	2 doses
Tdap (at sixth-grade entry through 12th grade)	1 dose

*If your child is or was behind on routine vaccines, the number of doses may vary:

Colorado’s K-12 immunization table can help you and your child’s health care provider determine if your child has the required doses.

If your child is five and has not started kindergarten:

Colorado’s child care/preschool immunization table can help you and your child’s health care provider determine if your child has the required doses.

Your child’s health care provider or local public health agency can give the vaccines your child needs.They can also write and sign an “in-process plan” (sample) for doses your child still needs to get caught up.

Colorado law requires in-process plans to follow minimum intervals.

Option B: If you do not plan on vaccinating your child for one or more required vaccines, you must follow Colorado’s process to obtain an exemption.

Camps require a current Colorado Certificate of Medical or Nonmedical Exemption.

Find information on requirements for the timing and frequency of submission of a Certificate of Nonmedical Exemption.

3. Send documentation to camp:

Documentation includes:

Vaccination records from your child’s health care provider or other immunization provider that include the dates and types of immunizations administered, OR
An in-process plan (sample) showing that the camper is catching up on camp-required vaccines following the minimum intervals between doses of the catch-up schedule, OR
A Certificate of Medical or Nonmedical Exemption, obtained using Colorado’s process and documented on Colorado’s forms.

Quicken your child’s enrollment by obtaining vaccination records on approved forms. If not possible, a vaccination record from your child’s health care or immunizing provider will be accepted.

Many states, including Colorado, have public portals where you can request your or your child’s vaccination record on an approved form.

Find your child’s vaccination record for camp
Was your child vaccinated in Colorado?	Use the Colorado Immunization Information System’s public portal to request your child’s vaccine record.
Was your child vaccinated in a U.S. state or territory outside of Colorado?	Contact the Immunization Information System in the city, state, or territory where your child received their last vaccine(s) to request their record.
If vaccines are not documented in a state’s immunization information system:	Contact your child’s health care provider, clinic, or school. Use CDC’s Keep Track of Records webpage for more resources.

Information for camp administrators and medical personnel

To help keep vaccine-preventable diseases out of schools and camps, Colorado Board of Health (BOH) rule 6 CCR 1009-2 requires students to be vaccinated against many of the diseases vaccines can prevent, according to the vaccination schedule set by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, unless a certificate of exemption is provided to the camp.

Colorado law (Board of Health rule 6 CCR 1009-2), Section V. Denial of attendance:

A student or camper who is not:

Appropriately vaccinated for their age,
Exempt, or,
In-process

Must be denied attendance in accordance with the law.

Camps are required to verify vaccination records for all campers.

Camps should communicate with families that children with vaccine exemptions may be kept out of camp during an outbreak. The length of exclusion time will vary depending on the type of disease and circumstances of the outbreak.

For example, if there is a case of measles at your camp, people who are not vaccinated or immune may be excluded for at least 21 days. Adults and children who are up to date with their MMR vaccines or have proof of immunity would not be excluded.

Colorado law requires campers to provide the following documentation:

A vaccination record from the child’s health care provider or other immunization provider that includes the dates and types of immunizations administered, OR
An in-process plan (sample) showing that the camper is catching up on camp-required vaccines following the minimum intervals between doses of the catch-up schedule, OR
A Certificate of Medical or Nonmedical Exemption, obtained using Colorado’s process and documented on Colorado’s forms.

Colorado law requires official immunization records.

Licensed Children’s Resident Camps, including Seasonal Adventure Day Camps:

Vaccination records:

For out-of-state campers only:
- There is no requirement to transfer the vaccination record onto the Colorado Certificate of Immunization.
For in-state campers:
- The camper’s vaccination record must be 1) transferred onto the Colorado Certificate of Immunization or generated by the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS) for children whose complete immunization record is in CIIS, OR
- Be documented on a CDPHE-approved Alternate Certificate of Immunization.
  - Job aid for generating a Certificate of Immunization in CIIS
  - Interested in CIIS access?

Exemptions:

Certificates of Medical or Nonmedical Exemptions, obtained using Colorado’s process and documented on Colorado’s forms.

Licensed day camps (with a school-age child care license)

Vaccination records:

For all campers: The camper’s vaccination record must be 1) transferred onto the Colorado Certificate of Immunization or generated by the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS) for children whose complete immunization record is in CIIS, OR
Be documented on a CDPHE-approved Alternate Certificate of Immunization, OR
Be documented on an approved out-of-state certificates of immunization from select states.
- Job aid for generating a Certificate of Immunization in CIIS
- Interested in CIIS access?

Exemptions:

Certificates of Medical or Nonmedical Exemptions, obtained using Colorado’s process and documented on Colorado’s forms.

Some simple steps to take before the start of camp include:

Directing health staff to review CDPHE’s immunization requirements for school (camp) entry webpages.
Communicating the importance of immunizations and vaccine requirements to campers and staff.
Asking families to locate their child’s vaccine records.
Requesting and reviewing vaccination records.
- For K-12 children, staff may use Colorado’s K-12 immunization table.
- For five-year-old children who have not started kindergarten, staff may use Colorado's child care/preschool immunization table.

Adults and staff need vaccines too! Camp administrators, child care health consultants, and other health staff are encouraged to share the following:

CDC’s What (adult) vaccines are recommended for you
Vaccination for adults (PDF)

Using the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS):

Access the Colorado Immunization Information System’s (CIIS) webpage for:

Contacts:

For clinical consultation, immunization compliance, or policy-related questions, contact the School and Child Care Nurse Consultant in the Clinical Resources Unit - cdphe_vacs@state.co.us.
For technical, CIIS-related questions, contact the CIIS School Coordinator - cdphe_ciis_schools@state.co.us.
For general vaccination record questions or requests, contact the CIIS Help Desk - cdphe.ciis@state.co.us.