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Colorado · State research dossier

Colorado practice guidance

Colorado regulates counselors, marriage and family therapists, social workers, and psychologists through separate DORA boards while transitioning behavior analysis to practitioner licensure in 2028 and adding new telehealth, artificial-intelligence, facility, candidate, and payer requirements.

Public research guide—not professional advice.Verified against the cited official sources on 2026-08-11. Informational only; not legal, clinical, employment, tax, or billing advice.Editorially cross-checked by a second research agent. Professional approval was confirmed by the project owner on 2026-08-11; reviewer identity and credentials are retained outside this public guide.This remains informational research—not legal, clinical, employment, tax, or billing advice, and not approval by a regulator, licensing board, or payer.
Source verification
2026-08-11
Next scheduled review
2026-09-11
Independent cross-check
Cross-checked
Professional review
Approved — owner attested

Scope before answers

Who this guide is for

Practice owners, operations leaders, supervisors, and clinicians evaluating work in Colorado.

Coverage

  • Credential, candidate, supervision, renewal, jurisprudence, endorsement, and verification routes for the covered mental-health professions.
  • Out-of-state telehealth registration, PSYPACT, enacted professional compacts, and live privilege status.
  • Behavior-analyst and clinic transitions, entities, privacy, breach, employment, pay transparency, payer enrollment, and facility licensing.

Limitations

  • Future behavior-analyst licensing and clinic rules require implementation by DORA, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.
  • Compact enactment does not establish that a privilege or multistate license is currently available through the compact data system.

Current and future authority

Transitions and conflicts

Future-effective, proposed, and conflicting sources are labeled instead of being blended into current requirements.

Enacted, not operational

Behavior-analyst licenses are future credentials

Do not represent a practitioner as Colorado-licensed under HB26-1425 before the licensing system begins July 1, 2028.

Enacted, not operational

MFT law changes August 12, 2026

House Bill 26-1228 becomes effective August 12, 2026 and adds a future no-practicum pathway with extra supervised hours.

Enacted, not operational

Psychotherapy AI restrictions change August 12, 2026

Operational AI use, disclosures, consent, and professional review should be updated for the new law.

Regulator and credential map

Choose the profession before the rule

Each dossier keeps credential, supervision, cross-border, entity, client, records, renewal, and discipline research tied to the correct authority.

LPCC · LPC

Counselors

Colorado uses an LPCC candidate credential before LPC licensure; candidate registration, jurisprudence, supervised experience, telehealth, renewal, and compact privilege status each require current evidence.

Regulator
Colorado State Board of Licensed Professional Counselor Examiners
Open dossier Verify a license

SWC · LSW · LCSW · Provisional Social Worker

Social workers

Colorado has distinct candidate, provisional, licensed-social-worker, and clinical-social-worker routes; candidate renewal and Social Work Compact implementation have changed recently.

Regulator
Colorado State Board of Social Work Examiners
Open dossier Verify a license

Psychologist Candidate · Psychologist · Provisional Psychologist · Prescribing Psychologist Authority

Psychologists

Colorado regulates psychologist candidates, psychologists, provisional psychologists, and prescribing authority, with separate telehealth-registration and PSYPACT pathways.

Regulator
Colorado State Board of Psychologist Examiners
Open dossier Verify a license

Future Licensed Behavior Analyst · Future Licensed Assistant Behavior Analyst

Behavior analysts

Colorado has enacted behavior-analyst and assistant-behavior-analyst licensure, but practitioner licensure does not begin until July 1, 2028 and is not a current Colorado credential.

Regulator
Future Colorado Behavior Analyst Licensing Board within DORA; implementation begins before July 1, 2028
Open dossier Verify a license

Entity · workforce · privacy · payer · facility

Practice operations

Colorado launch analysis must integrate entity choice, written consumer disclosures, worker classification, paid leave, posting transparency, privacy, breach, AI, Medicaid rendering-provider rules, and BHA or future ABA-clinic licensing.

Open operations dossier

State launch checklist

Save evidence, not just answers

Public worksheets

Seven source-linked working tools

Print a blank copy or check items locally in this browser. No worksheet information is submitted to the site.

State practice launch checklistWS-CO-PRACTICE-LAUNCH · printable

Sequence authority, credential, entity, payer, facility, privacy, and locality checks before opening.

Credential and license-maintenance checklistWS-CO-LICENSE-MAINTENANCE · printable

Track verification, renewal, continuing education, audits, inactive status, and reinstatement.

Telehealth and cross-border decision treeWS-CO-TELEHEALTH · printable

Document the client location, practitioner authority, registration or privilege, consent, emergency plan, and payer rule.

Entity and ownership checklistWS-CO-ENTITY · printable

Review entity form, ownership, naming, registration, referrals, and fee-sharing boundaries.

Hiring and supervision checklistWS-CO-HIRING-SUPERVISION · printable

Collect credential evidence and document role, supervision, setting, hours, reporting, and payer enrollment.

Records, privacy, and breach-response checklistWS-CO-PRIVACY-BREACH · printable

Map state privacy, HIPAA, retention, access, security, breach, closure, and continuity duties.

Facility and payer applicability decision treeWS-CO-FACILITY-PAYER · printable

Determine whether a private office is also a regulated program or facility and confirm payer enrollment and billing routes.

Source inspector and freshness ledger

Controlling official sources

Open any record to inspect its authority type, identifier, effective date, verification date, next review, and direct official link.

CurrentProfessional counselor applications and formsColorado Division of Professions and Occupations
Source ID
SRC-CO-COUNSELOR
Authority type
Application
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentMarriage and family therapy programColorado Division of Professions and Occupations
Source ID
SRC-CO-MFT
Authority type
Regulator guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentMarriage and family therapy applications and formsColorado Division of Professions and Occupations
Source ID
SRC-CO-MFT-APPLICATION
Authority type
Application
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentSocial work applications and formsColorado Division of Professions and Occupations
Source ID
SRC-CO-SOCIAL-WORK
Authority type
Application
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentPsychology applications and formsColorado Division of Professions and Occupations
Source ID
SRC-CO-PSYCHOLOGY
Authority type
Application
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentSenate Bill 24-115 mental health professional candidate requirementsColorado General Assembly
Source ID
SRC-CO-CANDIDATES
Authority type
Official bill or register
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
Future effectiveHouse Bill 26-1228 marriage and family therapy clinical requirementsColorado General Assembly
Source ID
SRC-CO-MFT-HB1228
Authority type
Official bill or register
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
2026-08-12
Open official source
CurrentOut-of-state telehealth providers frequently asked questionsColorado Division of Professions and Occupations
Source ID
SRC-CO-TELEHEALTH
Authority type
Regulator guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentSenate Bill 22-077 Interstate Licensed Professional Counselors CompactColorado General Assembly
Source ID
SRC-CO-COUNSELING-COMPACT
Authority type
Official bill or register
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentCounseling Compact live jurisdiction mapCounseling Compact Commission
Source ID
SRC-CO-COUNSELING-STATUS
Authority type
Regulator guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentHouse Bill 24-1002 Social Work Licensure CompactColorado General Assembly
Source ID
SRC-CO-SW-COMPACT
Authority type
Official bill or register
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentSocial Work Licensure Compact implementation statusSocial Work Licensure Compact Commission
Source ID
SRC-CO-SW-COMPACT-STATUS
Authority type
Regulator guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentHouse Bill 18-1017 Psychology Interjurisdictional CompactColorado General Assembly
Source ID
SRC-CO-PSYPACT
Authority type
Official bill or register
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentHouse Bill 26-1425 applied behavior analysis servicesColorado General Assembly
Source ID
SRC-CO-BA-HB1425
Authority type
Official bill or register
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
Future effectiveHouse Bill 26-1195 psychotherapy artificial intelligence restrictionsColorado General Assembly
Source ID
SRC-CO-AI-HB1195
Authority type
Official bill or register
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
2026-08-12
Open official source
CurrentHouse Bill 20-1206 mental health professionals and professional service corporationsColorado General Assembly
Source ID
SRC-CO-ENTITY
Authority type
Official bill or register
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentColorado Privacy Act guidanceColorado Attorney General
Source ID
SRC-CO-PRIVACY
Authority type
Regulator guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentColorado consumer data protection lawsColorado Attorney General
Source ID
SRC-CO-BREACH
Authority type
Regulator guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentColorado wage, hour, and paid sick leave lawsColorado Department of Labor and Employment
Source ID
SRC-CO-LABOR
Authority type
Regulator guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentColorado independent contractor requirementsColorado Department of Labor and Employment
Source ID
SRC-CO-CONTRACTORS
Authority type
Regulator guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentColorado job posting and hiring requirementsColorado Department of Labor and Employment
Source ID
SRC-CO-JOB-POSTINGS
Authority type
Regulator guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentBehavioral health policies and billing referencesColorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing
Source ID
SRC-CO-MEDICAID
Authority type
Payer guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source
CurrentBehavioral Health FAQ libraryColorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing
Source ID
SRC-CO-BHE
Authority type
Payer guidance
Accessed
2026-08-11
Verified
2026-08-11
Next review
2026-09-11
Effective
See source
Open official source

Recent changes

Change log

  • — Colorado out-of-state telehealth registration became available for covered mental-health providers.
  • — Application deadline arrived for day-treatment facilities newly captured by House Bill 26-1425.
  • — New MFT clinical-pathway and psychotherapy-AI laws become effective.
  • — Mandatory behavior-analyst and assistant-behavior-analyst licensure begins for nonexempt practice.

Unresolved

Open questions

  • When will DORA open behavior-analyst applications, publish rules, establish fees, and provide license verification before July 1, 2028?

Monitoring

Review cadence

  • Weekly during active legislation, rulemaking, compact launches, and implementation transitions.
  • Monthly for board, application, fee, payer, facility, and compact sources.
  • Quarterly for entity, privacy, breach, employment, and locality sources.
  • Immediate recheck after a legal or agency change; annual end-to-end audit.

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