Colorado tanning laws for salon owners

Colorado at a glance

Minimum age for UV tanning

Colorado sets no minimum age. Neither the Artificial Tanning Device Operation Act (C.R.S. 25-5-1001 to 25-5-1011) nor its rule, 6 CCR 1010-20, mentions age, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) says its regulations do not specify an age limit and that businesses can set their own. Source 3

Parental consent for minors

Not addressed in C.R.S. 25-5-1001 to 25-5-1011 or in 6 CCR 1010-20, so the state requires no parental consent form. House Bill 20-1340 would have banned anyone under 18 from tanning devices; a House committee postponed it indefinitely on May 27, 2020. Source 4

Spray tan age rule

None. The act covers equipment that emits ultraviolet radiation between 200 and 400 nanometers to tan the skin (C.R.S. 25-5-1003(1)), and CDPHE says it does not regulate spray-on tanning. Source 3

State license or registration

Each location must register with CDPHE before it opens and every year after, at $120 per facility per calendar year, prorated by month in the first year (C.R.S. 25-5-1004). Registrations expire at midnight on December 31, renewal applications are due in December, and a registration cannot be moved to a new owner or location (6 CCR 1010-20, sections 20.5 to 20.5.2). Source 1

Inspections

No fixed interval. CDPHE agents may enter any tanning facility during business hours to inspect, investigate complaints and check compliance, but not inspect a device while a client is using it (6 CCR 1010-20, section 20.11). Refusing entry during normal business hours is a violation (C.R.S. 25-5-1010(3)(d)). Source 2

Operator training

Neither the act nor 6 CCR 1010-20 requires operator training, certification or an operator on site. The rule defines an operator as anyone the registrant designates to run the equipment or instruct clients, and gives operators duties: explaining eyewear and sanitizing equipment and eyewear between clients (sections 20.4, 20.7.4 and 20.7.5). Source 2

Time between sessions

Neither C.R.S. 25-5-1001 to 25-5-1011 nor 6 CCR 1010-20 limits how often a client may tan or sets a gap between sessions. C.R.S. 25-5-1006(1) makes the federal FDA standards the minimum standards for exposure. Source 1

Written warning

Before a client's first exposure at the facility, give them a copy of the warning statements plus information on photosensitizing drugs, the health effects of UV exposure, how skin types respond, why eyewear is needed and when tanning is inadvisable (6 CCR 1010-20, section 20.7.6; C.R.S. 25-5-1007(3)). No signature and no renewal are required. If an owner fails to give the handout, C.R.S. 25-5-1011 presumes the assumption-of-risk defense does not apply in an injury lawsuit. Source 2

Records and retention

Keep records showing the equipment meets 21 CFR 1040.20 and records of each unit's receipt, transfer and disposal (6 CCR 1010-20, section 20.8), written timer test results at each location (20.7.2(B)) and the maker's literature for replacement lamps (20.10(C)). The rule requires no client visit log and sets no retention period. Source 2

Injury reporting

Send CDPHE a written report of any accident or adverse reaction to a tanning device within 15 days after discovering it (C.R.S. 25-5-1007(6)). The report names the person, the facility and the device, describes what happened, including the length of exposure, and names any doctor and treatment (6 CCR 1010-20, section 20.9). Source 1

Protective eyewear

Provide protective eyewear meeting 21 CFR 1040.20(c)(4) for every session; a client may use their own if you approve it. Operators explain how to use it, it must be worn whenever the lamps are on, and it must be clean, sanitized and free of cracks, abrasions or clouding (6 CCR 1010-20, section 20.7.4). Source 2

Replacement lamps

Use only lamps certified with the FDA as equivalent, replace defective or burned-out lamps before further use with the type on the label and the same spectral distribution, keep the maker's literature showing equivalency, and never use lamps meant for medical use (6 CCR 1010-20, section 20.10). The rule says nothing about reselling lamps. Source 2

Timers

Each unit needs a timer meeting 21 CFR 1040.20(c)(2) that cannot exceed the maker's maximum exposure time and is accurate to within 10 percent. Test each unit at least once a year, document it and keep the results at the location (6 CCR 1010-20, section 20.7.2(B)). The rule also says timer intervals are numerically indicated at 10-minute intervals to a maximum of 30 minutes (20.7.2(C)). Source 2