HB 1041: Electronic Vehicle Records - Colorado

Rerevised → Final Act · 4 edits · Mar 16, 2026

MODERATE

This bill finalizes the transition to electronic vehicle titles in Colorado by explicitly allowing electronic certificates of title for most transactions while retaining specific exceptions for out-of-state parties and all-cash sales. It also establishes a voluntary notification program for vehicle ownership transfers to help prevent fraud. The changes clarify the legal framework for electronic titles and set the effective date for these new provisions.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded by explicitly codifying the use of electronic certificates of title in the state statutes, whereas previous versions had less clear language regarding the format of titles.

REQUIREMENT

Added explicit statutory language allowing electronic certificates of title, except when a party is located outside Colorado or the purchase is made entirely in cash.

Established a voluntary program requiring owners to notify the department of vehicle ownership transfers within five business days, including an affidavit under penalty of perjury.

TIMELINE

Finalized the effective date of the act to be the day following the expiration of a 90-day petition period after the general assembly adjourns in May 2026.

TECHNICAL

Removed draft markings, committee lists, and summary notes that were present in earlier versions but are not part of the final enacted law.

Revised → Rerevised · 3 edits · Mar 10, 2026

MINOR

The bill text was updated from a 'Revised' version to a 'Rerevised' version to reflect all amendments adopted by the Senate. This update adds several new co-sponsors to the Senate list and includes a new header indicating the bill is now at the 3rd Reading Unamended stage in the Senate.

TECHNICAL

Added a header stating the bill is 'REREVISED' and includes amendments adopted in the Second House.

Added a date stamp indicating '3rd Reading Unamended' on March 10, 2026, in the Senate.

Expanded the Senate sponsorship list by adding 15 new co-sponsors (Amabile, Benavidez, Bridges, Bright, Coleman, Daugherty, Frizell, Gonzales J., Jodeh, Kipp, Kirkmeyer, Kolker, Lindstedt, Liston, Marchman, Mullica, Rich, Snyder, Wallace).

Reengrossed → Revised · 3 edits · Mar 9, 2026

MINOR

The bill's title and summary were updated to reflect its current legislative status, changing from 'Reengrossed' to 'Revised' and noting that amendments were adopted on second reading in the second house. The committee assignments were expanded to include the Senate Transportation & Energy committee, and the bill's reading status was updated to '2nd Reading Unamended' with a new date of March 9, 2026. These changes track the bill's procedural progress through the legislative process rather than altering its substantive policy content.

Scope change

No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; changes are procedural updates reflecting legislative status and committee assignments.

TECHNICAL

Header updated from 'Reengrossed' to 'Revised' to reflect the bill's current stage in the legislative process.

Added Senate Transportation & Energy committee to the list of assigned committees.

Updated reading status from '3rd Reading Unamended' to '2nd Reading Unamended' with a new date of March 9, 2026.

Engrossed → Reengrossed · 2 edits · Feb 6, 2026

MINOR

The bill was reengrossed to include additional sponsors and updated the summary date to reflect the third reading. These are primarily administrative updates that do not alter the bill's substantive policy, scope, or legal requirements.

TECHNICAL

Added new sponsors (Bacon, Brown, Carter, Clifford, Duran, English, Joseph, Nguyen, Sirota, Woodrow) to the House sponsorship list.

Updated the bill summary header to indicate '3rd Reading Unamended' and changed the date to February 6, 2026.

Introduced → Engrossed · 2 edits · Feb 5, 2026

MINOR

The bill was amended to clarify that any party involved in a vehicle transaction, not just lienholders, can request a certificate of title. The text was also updated to remove redundant references to 'SUBSECTION (1)' and to align the page numbering with the new engrossed format.

Scope change

The scope of who can request a vehicle title was expanded from lienholders to any party in the transaction.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the requirement for requesting a certificate of title from being limited to 'a lienholder' to allowing 'ANY PARTY TO THE TRANSACTION' to make the request.

TECHNICAL

Removed redundant text referencing 'SUBSECTION (1)' twice in the same paragraph and corrected page numbering headers to match the engrossed version.

Electronic Vehicle Records

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