Guide · Reviewed November 2026 · Not legal advice
Colorado AI Act Automated Decision Notices: What to Send
The short answer: under Colorado SB 26-189, from January 1, 2027, a business using an automated decision tool for a consequential decision sends two documents: a pre-use notice at the point of interaction, and — after an adverse outcome — a plain-language explanation within 30 days. Three more duties complete the set: data correction, meaningful human review, and records kept at least 3 years.
What goes in the pre-use notice?
Colorado's checker-verified duty is a clear and conspicuous notice, at the point where the person interacts with the tool, that an automated decision-making tool is being used. The kit's pre-use notice — generated from the business's own profile — carries:
- The business name, the person's name, and the date
- The tool's name and the kind of decision it helps make (employment, housing, lending, education, or another consequential decision)
- What it means in plain terms: the tool gives information a person reviews, and the decision can affect the person's access to the opportunity, service, or terms
- The law it is given under — Colorado SB 26-189 (automated decision-making technology)
- How to ask what data the tool used and get wrong data corrected, with a named correction contact
- How to ask for a plain-language explanation and human review if the decision goes against them, with a named review contact
What goes in the adverse-outcome explanation?
When the outcome is adverse, Colorado gives the person a plain-language statement of the principal reasons within 30 days of the decision. The kit's explanation document carries the date of the decision and of the explanation, what happened, the main reasons, a summary of the data the tool used, and the two next steps — correct your data, and ask for human review by a person with authority to change the outcome. Our plain-language explanations guide shows worked examples of the finished document, labelled as examples.
How do Colorado, California, and Connecticut compare?
| State | Law (as the kit names it) | Duties start | Explanation clock | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | Colorado SB 26-189 (automated decision-making technology) | January 1, 2027 | 30 days after an adverse decision | At least 3 years |
| California | California CCPA ADMT rules (CPPA) | January 1, 2027 (compliance phase begins) | No fixed day count stated in the kit's data | Notices and responses kept with the decision record (kit holds 3 years) |
| Connecticut | Connecticut Public Act 26-15 (automated employment decision tools) | October 1, 2027 for notice duties; discrimination rule in force October 1, 2026 | No fixed day count stated in the kit's data | Notices and opt-outs kept with the decision record (kit holds 3 years) |
Duty data: the kit's own rules and checker data (checker data verified against primary or authoritative sources on 2026-10-28). California adds a pre-use notice, an opt-out where the rules give one, access to ADMT information, an appeal to human review, and a risk assessment before use. Connecticut's notice duties cover employment decisions. The full dated sequence is on the ADMT deadline tracker.
What should you do before January 1, 2027?
- List every automated tool that informs a consequential decision, and the decision types it touches
- Put the pre-use notice at the point of interaction for each covered tool
- Set the 30-day Colorado explanation clock running from each adverse decision date — the kit's dashboard flags decisions due soon and overdue
- Name a correction contact and a human-review contact who can actually change an outcome
- Keep every notice, explanation, and review in one record you can export at the 3-year mark
Run the free ADMT duties checker for your jurisdiction, decision type, and the tool's role — it states your duties and their exact dates from the published law. More tools from Ingenious AI are on the hub.
Frequently asked questions
What notice does Colorado SB 26-189 require before an automated tool is used?
A clear and conspicuous notice, at the point where the person interacts with the tool, that an automated decision-making tool is being used. The kit's pre-use notice also names the business, the tool, the kind of decision, the correction contact, and the human-review contact.
How long do I have to explain an adverse outcome in Colorado?
30 days. After a consequential decision with an adverse outcome, give the person a plain-language description of the tool's role in the decision within 30 days of the decision.
What else does Colorado require besides the two notices?
Three more duties, all from January 1, 2027: let people see and correct their data, offer meaningful human review of an adverse outcome, and keep compliance records for at least 3 years.
When do Colorado's ADMT duties start?
January 1, 2027. The Attorney General must adopt rules clarifying the post-decision disclosures by the same date, so the exact format of the explanation may still change.
Do California and Connecticut have the same duties?
Similar shape, different details. California's CCPA ADMT compliance also starts January 1, 2027, with a pre-use notice, an opt-out, access requests, and a risk assessment — but no fixed explanation day count in the kit's data. Connecticut's employment notice duties start October 1, 2027, and its discrimination rule has applied since October 1, 2026.
Is the ADMT Notice Kit legal advice?
No. It is a templates and records tool: it generates the notices and explanations, runs a human-review queue, and keeps the hash-chained record for the 3-year retention duty. It never judges whether a decision was fair.