Colorado Death with Dignity: Eligibility, Requests, and Process

Colorado’s Death with Dignity law, formally the End-of-Life Options Act, lets a terminally ill adult who lives in Colorado ask a doctor for a prescription they can take to end their own life. To qualify you must be at least 18, a Colorado resident, and diagnosed by your attending provider with a terminal illness expected to cause death within six months. The process requires two oral requests to that provider separated by seven days, a signed and witnessed written request, and independent confirmation from a second provider before any prescription can be written.¹

Who Qualifies

Four things have to be true at the same time:

You are 18 or older.
You are a Colorado resident.
Your attending provider has diagnosed you with an incurable, irreversible illness that is expected to result in death within six months, based on reasonable medical judgment.²
Your attending provider has confirmed that you have the mental capacity to make an informed decision and are acting voluntarily.³

The statute is explicit that age or disability alone does not give you the right to request the medication.¹ The qualifying condition is a terminal diagnosis with a six-month prognosis, not disability or old age by itself.

Proving You Live in Colorado

You show residency to your attending provider with any one of the following:²

A Colorado driver’s license or state ID card.
A Colorado voter registration card or other proof you are registered to vote in the state.
Evidence that you own or lease property in Colorado.
A Colorado income tax return for the most recent tax year.

One document is enough. There is no minimum length of time you have to have lived in the state.

The Request Process

You have to make three requests: two oral, one written.

Both oral requests go directly to your attending provider, and they must be at least seven days apart.⁴ SB24-068, which took effect in August 2024, shortened the earlier 15-day gap to seven days.⁵

The written request uses a form set out in the statute. You sign and date it in front of two witnesses who attest that, to the best of their knowledge, you are mentally capable, acting voluntarily, and not being coerced.⁴

At least one of the two witnesses must have no personal or financial tie to you. That witness cannot be:

Related to you by blood, marriage, civil union, or adoption.
Entitled to any part of your estate under a will or by law.
An owner, operator, or employee of the healthcare facility where you receive treatment or reside.

Your attending provider, your consulting provider, and anyone holding your power of attorney or durable medical power of attorney cannot serve as a witness at all.⁴

The 48-Hour Waiver

If your attending provider determines you are likely to die within 48 hours, the seven-day waiting period is waived. You can make the second oral request at any time after the first, provided every other requirement is met.⁴ This provision was added in 2024 after some patients died during the waiting period before they could complete the process.⁵

The Second Provider’s Confirmation

Before any prescription can be written, a second provider, called the consulting provider, has to examine you independently and review your records. That provider confirms in writing to your attending provider that you have a terminal illness with a prognosis of six months or less, that you are mentally capable, that you are making an informed decision, and that you have requested the medication.⁶

If the consulting provider disagrees on the diagnosis, the prognosis, or your capacity, the process stops.

Since the 2024 amendment, both the attending and consulting roles can be filled by either a physician or an advanced practice registered nurse. Only physicians could serve in these roles under the original 2017 law.⁵

When a Mental Health Evaluation Is Required

A mental health referral is not automatic. It happens only if the attending or consulting provider has concerns about your capacity to make an informed decision. In that case, the provider refers you to a licensed mental health professional, who submits a written determination back. If that determination is that you lack capacity, no prescription will be written.⁷

A diagnosis of depression or anxiety is not itself disqualifying. The question is whether you can understand your situation, weigh your options, and communicate a decision.

What Your Provider Must Discuss With You

Before writing the prescription, your attending provider has to walk you through:³

Alternatives, including comfort care, palliative care, hospice, and pain management.
Potential side effects of the medication.
The probable result of taking it.
Your option to fill the prescription and never take it.

Your provider must also speak with you privately, with no one else present, to confirm you are not being pressured. The law requires the provider to encourage you to notify your next of kin or someone close to you, but you are not required to do so.

Getting and Taking the Medication

After every step is complete and your attending provider confirms your informed decision one last time, the prescription is written. You have to self-administer the medication, which the statute defines as your own affirmative, conscious, physical act of taking it.⁸ No one else can give it to you or physically help you take it.

Your provider is also required to talk with you about having another person present when you take the medication and about not taking it in a public place.³

Changing Your Mind

You can withdraw your request at any time, for any reason, no matter what your mental state is at that point. There is no penalty and no paperwork. Your attending provider is also required to tell you that you can obtain the medication and simply choose not to use it.³

If Your Provider Will Not Participate

No healthcare provider in Colorado is required to take part. The law protects both providers who participate and providers who refuse, and neither can face discipline, suspension, loss of licensure, or any other professional penalty based on that choice.⁹

If your provider declines, you will need to find a willing provider yourself or ask for a referral. Some Colorado healthcare systems allow the process within their facilities; others have institutional policies against it. A facility that does not participate cannot stop you from transferring your care elsewhere.

Death Certificate, Insurance, and Leftover Medication

The cause of death listed on the death certificate is the underlying terminal illness, not the medication. The act includes a section on insurance and annuity contracts that treats use of aid-in-dying medication as something other than suicide for those purposes.

The attending provider and the dispensing provider both file documentation with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The dispensing record is kept confidential and is not available for public inspection.¹⁰

If you decide not to take the medication, or if any remains after a patient’s death, whoever has custody of it must dispose of it safely. The law gives two options: return it to the prescribing provider, who disposes of it under state law, or use a state or federally approved drug take-back program.¹¹ Your attending provider is required to discuss safe storage and disposal with you as part of the process.³

1
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-103 – Right to Request
2
FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-102 – Definitions
3
FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-106 – Attending Provider Responsibilities
4
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-104 – Request Process – Witness Requirements
5
Colorado General Assembly. SB24-068 Medical Aid-in-Dying
6
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-107 – Consulting Provider Responsibilities
7
FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-108 – Mental Health Professional Referral
8
Colorado Secretary of State. Colorado End-of-Life Options Act Proposed Initiative 145
9
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-116 – Protections for Attending and Consulting Providers
10
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-111 – Reporting Requirements
11
Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 25-48-120 – Safe Disposal of Unused Medical Aid-in-Dying Medication