How to read a Colorado medical records invoice, line by line

A Colorado records invoice for an attorney request should be checkable in about two minutes: count the pages, run them through the C.R.S. 25-1-800.3 tiers, add only the extras the statute allows, and apply the HB26-1414 $400 cap if the record ran past 664 pages. Anything else on the bill needs an explanation.

Line 1: the page count

Every check starts with the number of pages actually produced, not the number on the invoice. Open the production and count it, or read the page count from the PDF. Vendors bill from their own system counts, and those counts sometimes include cover sheets, fax confirmations, or duplicate batches.

If the invoice shows no page count at all, ask for one before paying. You cannot test a fee you cannot recompute.

Line 2: the per-page tiers (C.R.S. 25-1-800.3)

For paper records, Colorado’s statute sets the fee in three tiers. The schedule is the “reasonable fees” definition in C.R.S. 25-1-800.3(3)(a), which SB25-275 moved there from former 25-1-801(5) in August 2025 without changing the amounts; 25-1-801 and 25-1-802 apply it to facilities and individual providers. Source: https://law.justia.com/codes/colorado/title-25/administration/article-1/part-8/section-25-1-800-3/ (official 2026 C.R.S. text: https://olls.info/crs/crs2026-title-25.htm)

Pages	Rate
First 10 pages	$18.53 total
Pages 11 to 40	$0.85 per page
Page 41 and beyond	$0.57 per page
Records stored on microfilm	$1.50 per page

So a 300-page paper production should come out to:

Segment	Math	Charge
First 10 pages	flat	$18.53
Pages 11 to 40	30 x $0.85	$25.50
Pages 41 to 300	260 x $0.57	$148.20
Total		$192.23

If the invoice is higher and the pages are not on microfilm, the difference has to be one of the allowed extras below. Nothing else.

Line 3: the allowed extras

The statute lets a provider add a small number of items on top of the page fee (C.R.S. 25-1-800.3(3)(a)(II)-(V), same source as above):

• Certification: $10, and only if you asked for certified records. A certification line on a routine request that did not ask for one is an easy strike.
• Actual postage, when records are mailed.
• Actual cost of electronic media, such as a disc or drive, when that is how the records were delivered.
• Actual reproduction cost of radiographs, for copies of X-ray and other imaging films.
• Applicable taxes.

Lines labeled “search fee,” “retrieval fee,” “processing fee,” or “rush fee” are not among the charges listed above. When you see one stacked on top of the page tiers, ask the provider in writing which subsection of 25-1-800.3 authorizes it.

Also remember that inspection is free. C.R.S. 25-1-801(2) (facilities) and 25-1-802(4) (individual providers) bar a fee for inspecting records, so an invoice for “review” of records you only inspected should be zero. Source: https://law.justia.com/codes/colorado/title-25/administration/article-1/part-8/section-25-1-802/

Line 4: the $400 cap (HB26-1414)

HB26-1414, in force since August 12, 2026, caps the charge at $400 for a record request made by the patient’s attorney, or the attorney of the patient’s personal representative, under a HIPAA-compliant authorization, a valid subpoena, or a valid court order, when the requested record exceeds 664 pages. The cap is codified at C.R.S. 25-1-801(1)(b)(III) and 25-1-802(1)(b)(III), and from January 1, 2028 it is adjusted for inflation every even-numbered year, with the Secretary of State publishing the new figure. Source: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB26-1414

The 664-page line is where the per-page math crosses $400. Here is the check on a 900-page production:

Segment	Math	Charge
First 10 pages	flat	$18.53
Pages 11 to 40	30 x $0.85	$25.50
Pages 41 to 900	860 x $0.57	$490.20
Per-page total		$534.23
Capped total	HB26-1414	$400.00

If the invoice is dated for a request fulfilled on or after August 12, 2026, the production exceeded 664 pages, and the total is above $400, look for the one exception before you pay.

Line 5: the redaction exception

A provider may charge a reasonable fee above the cap when the request required it to segregate, withhold, or redact protected health information to comply with applicable law. Source: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB26-1414

This line deserves the closest read. Ask three questions:

1. Did the invoice say what was redacted, and under what law? Substance-use treatment records under 42 CFR Part 2 are one example of a legal reason.
2. Did your own authorization cause it? A narrow authorization that carves out categories the chart mixes together can trigger redaction work you could have avoided.
3. Is the amount tied to the work? “Reasonable” is a number the provider has to be able to explain.

Line 6: the dates

HB26-1414 also requires the provider to send the invoice within 30 days of receiving the request, and to deliver records electronically when you ask for electronic format, the originals are electronic, and they are readily producible that way. Source: https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/HB26-1414

Write down three dates on every request: the day it was sent, the day the invoice arrived, and the day the records arrived. A late invoice and a paper production of an electronic chart are both facts you can use when you push back on the bill.

What to do in your file

1. Recompute every invoice before paying it. Page count, three tiers, allowed extras. It takes two minutes with the tables above.
2. Apply the cap on anything over 664 pages. If the total is above $400 with no redaction explanation, dispute it in writing and cite HB26-1414.
3. Question every line that is not a page tier or an allowed extra. Ask for the statutory basis in writing.
4. Ask for electronic delivery in the request itself. It avoids paper production and puts the act’s electronic-format rule in play.
5. Log the three dates. Request sent, invoice received, records received.
6. Keep the invoice with the records. The case cost goes into the settlement statement, so an overcharge you miss usually comes out of the client’s recovery.

What this means for the file: the invoice check only works if someone runs it on every bill, which is the reconciliation step SettleStack by Verodi builds into medical records retrieval for law firms. For the fee schedule and request requirements, see Colorado medical records request rules, and for more on the cap, the HB26-1414 explainer.