Colorado Daycare Camera Laws
By Jayesh Parayali, Founder, CareCam · 15+ years building daycare camera systems
Colorado does not mandate daycare cameras, but since August 12, 2026, centers that record video must disclose it and their footage policies to parents (SB 26-050). Colorado is a one-party consent state for audio recording.
Note: This is general educational information, not legal advice. Consult Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), Early Learning Licensing for regulations specific to your facility.
Want a privacy-safe camera setup in Colorado? CareCam is a video-only, parent-streaming daycare camera system: no audio (so the consent question never arises), enrollment-gated access, and center-controlled viewing hours. Already have a daycare security camera system? It keeps recording as it does today, and CareCam adds the parent view on top.
Parent at a Colorado daycare? We can ask your center to add cameras, free for you →
Refer your daycare
Want this at your daycare? We'll call them.
Give us your daycare's name and website and we'll reach out about adding secure live viewing, free for you, and your name is never mentioned. If they book a call with us, we'll send you a $20 gift card, and a $200 gift card once they join.
Does Colorado require cameras in daycares?
Colorado has no statewide mandate requiring daycare cameras. Since August 12, 2026, a child care center that uses video recording equipment must disclose it to parents in its policies and procedures, including its recording, retention, and disposal policy, privacy protections, and parent and legal access to footage (C.R.S. §26.5-5-314(7), SB 26-050). Both the wiretapping and eavesdropping statutes require the consent of at least one party.
Audio recording in Colorado: One-party consent
Colorado is a one-party consent state for recording conversations. Even so, classroom audio is sensitive and rarely worth the exposure.
The straightforward way to handle this is to stream video only. Parents still see the classroom, and no conversation is ever captured.
Your child's room
Toddler Room
- Viewing hours
- 7:30 to 9:00 AM
- 4:00 to 6:00 PM
- Access
- This classroom only
- set by the director
What Colorado centers should disclose
Colorado child care centers that use video recording equipment must say so in the policies and procedures given to parents, covering recording, retention and disposal, privacy protections and limits, and parent and legal access to footage (C.R.S. §26.5-5-314(7)). Confirm current rules with CDEC.
- ✓Whether cameras are in use in classrooms
- ✓Which areas are monitored
- ✓Who has access to footage
- ✓How long footage is retained
- ✓Whether parent access is available (and how to request it)
[Center name] uses video cameras in classrooms, hallways, and play areas. There are no cameras in bathrooms or in diapering and changing areas. Enrolled parents and guardians may watch their own child's classroom live through the CareCam app during the hours the center sets. The cameras do not capture audio. The center removes a family's access when the child is no longer enrolled.
Written for a center that streams to parents with CareCam; swap in your own system's name and hours. The Colorado PDF below fills in the rest.
Putting it in writing? Build the free Colorado PDF
Fill in your center's details and download a ready-to-print PDF, a signable parent consent page plus a camera disclosure page, with Colorado's audio-consent rule, licensing agency, and statute already written in. Free.
Each state's version carries that state's audio-consent rule and licensing agency. General information, not legal advice.
Where cameras can and cannot be placed
Permitted
- ✓Classrooms and learning areas
- ✓Hallways and common areas
- ✓Playgrounds and outdoor areas
- ✓Entryways and check-in areas
- ✓Infant/nap rooms (varies, check local rules)
Never permitted
- ✗Bathrooms
- ✗Dedicated changing rooms
- ✗Any area where children undress
- ✗Staff-only areas without notice
References & official sources
Verify current requirements directly; statutes and licensing rules change.
How CareCam keeps Colorado parent viewing privacy-safe by design
Video only, no audio
Removes the audio-consent question under Colorado law and everywhere else.
Authenticated, enrollment-gated access
Each parent sees only their own child's classroom, never other families' rooms.
Center-controlled hours
Streaming is active only during the windows the director sets.
No parent footage archive
Live-only streaming means no stored footage to manage or leak.
Putting it in writing? Grab our free camera policy & parent consent form templates. Looking at another state? See the full daycare camera laws by state guide.
Colorado daycare camera FAQ
Are cameras in daycare classrooms legal in Colorado?
Can a Colorado daycare record audio?
Do Colorado daycares have to tell parents about cameras?
Does Colorado have rules for daycare cameras?
Parents: get cameras at your child's Colorado daycare
Parent? Get cameras at your child's daycare
Cameras are legal at Colorado daycares, but it's the center's choice to offer parent viewing. Tell us your daycare's name and we'll reach out to them about a privacy-safe setup. Free for you. If they book a call with us, we'll send you a $20 gift card, and a $200 gift card once they join.
Prefer to ask them yourself? Grab a ready-to-send message for your director, written so you can copy, paste, and hit send.
See how CareCam fits Colorado's rules
Run a center? See how CareCam fits Colorado's rules
Tell us your camera brand and we'll confirm a privacy-safe setup for your center: video-only, per-parent access, no public links. We reply by email, usually within one business day.