Colorado CDLE Wage Complaint Form

The form, identified

The filing document is the Labor Standards Complaint Form of the Colorado Division of Labor Standards and Statistics, in the October 2025 edition read for this guide. The form carries no form number on its pages as read. Do not cite a form number for it. It is identified by its title, the Division name, and the October 2025 edition footer on each page.

The form states that the Division's process is a free service available to employees, regardless of immigration status, who do not have an ongoing claim in court. It also states that the process will take several months to complete and that it may be some time before the Division contacts the filer. The Division contacts the filer when it starts its review of the complaint.

The form covers more than unpaid wages. Its claim types include final wages not paid, wages for work performed not paid, overtime not paid, minimum wage not paid, meal periods worked but not paid, rest periods not provided, commissions, bonuses, vacation pay or paid time off on separation, deductions not permitted by law, bounced paychecks, tips, sick pay, and other unpaid wages. It also covers agricultural labor conditions and certain retaliation claims. This guide covers the wage claim types. The agricultural and retaliation sections of the form are separate claim types with their own sections.

The $7,500 limit and the two-year window

The Division may investigate unpaid-wage complaints of $7,500 or less. Per state law, the Division does not accept wage complaints claiming wages in excess of $7,500. A claim may still be filed with the Division for a portion of unpaid wages of $7,500 or less. For claims over $7,500, the Division's page points to the appropriate court.

The wage window is two years, with a willfulness exception. Unless the employer's failure to pay was willful, the wages owed must have been earned in the last two years. If the wages were owed more than two, but less than three, years ago, a complaint may still be filed, but the Division cannot order wages earned more than two years ago unless it determines the employer's conduct was willful. Willful means an intentional or reckless disregard of the law. The Division's page gives one example of conduct it treats as inherently willful: a previous court judgment or Division citation against the employer for a similar wage violation.

Complaints for unpaid wages may not be filed anonymously. That rule is stated on the Division's authority page.

The written demand, and why it is separate

A written demand for payment of wages is a separate step from the complaint, and the two must not be confused. The worker sends the demand to the employer by mail, email, text message, or other electronic means. A written demand may be sent to the employer at the same time a Labor Standards Complaint Form is filed. There is no required order, and no 14-day wait is required before filing.

The Division provides an optional Demand for Payment of Wages form. The demand form states in large type that it must be sent to the employer, not to the Division, and that it does not start a complaint. Do not send the demand form to the Division unless an assigned investigator prompts it. If no written demand was sent, the Division's Notice of Complaint counts as a written demand for legal purposes under C.R.S. section 8-4-111(5), as the demand form states.

What the form asks for

The form runs to 25 pages, with sections A through S. Only the sections relevant to the claim need to be completed or printed. Every field marked with an asterisk that is relevant to the claim must be completed. A signature is required: Section S, Affirmations and Signature, carries the claimant or authorized representative's agreement and signature, and the form instructs the filer not to forget the signature on page 25.

Section A, Claimant Information, asks for name, email, phone numbers, whether text messages may be sent and to what number, mailing address, preferred language, interpreter need, and how written communications from the Division should be received: mail, email, or both. Section B, Authorized Representative, is optional. A representative may be an attorney, a relative or friend, an organization, or anyone else the filer chooses. Authorizing a representative lets the Division share information with that person and lets the representative share information with the Division and make decisions about the claim.

Section C, Employer Information, asks for the business or employer name, what the employer does or sells, the business mailing address, the name of the person in charge, whether the company is still in business, total numbers of employees and contractors if known, the worksite address if different, and employer phone and email addresses. Additional employers need additional copies of Section C. Section D, Individual Liability, is for naming a business owner or other person with enough control over the business in addition to the business itself, where the filer believes that person should be named in the investigation.

Later sections ask for the claim details by claim type, including the dates, hours, pay rates, and amounts for each type selected, and a final section for additional details about all claim types. The form instructs the filer to include copies of all documents that will help the Division understand the complaint, and not to submit originals. Examples listed on the form are pay statements, emails or text messages with the business about the issue, complaints made to the business, employment handbooks or policies, signed agreements, a written commission agreement, and any other relevant files.

Filing routes

The form is reached through the Division's Demands, Complaints, Responses, and Settlements webpage, as the Division's wage and hour page states. The online route runs through an account: the Division's authority page presents an "I agree and would like to create an account" button, with a certification that the filer has read the authority information and believes the Division has authority to investigate the claim. After creating an account, the filer can access the complaint form to submit the claim.

The Division's mailing address is 707 17th Street, Denver, Colorado 80202. The Division's phone is 303-318-8441, toll free 1-888-390-7936, and its email is cdle_labor_standards@state.co.us. Call center hours stated on the form are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 9:00 am to 3:30 pm, and Tuesday and Thursday 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. No filing fee is stated, and the form describes the process as a free service.

What happens next

Once a complete Labor Standards Complaint Form is received and reviewed, the Division sends the employer a letter explaining the nature of the complaint and the amounts alleged to be owed. The Division's investigation process is described in its guidance INFO #2A, The Wage Claim Investigation Process, on the Division's Labor Law Guidance and Education page. That guidance document was not opened for this guide, and no investigation timeline beyond the form's "several months" statement is given here.

Claims the Division cannot investigate include claims over $7,500, work performed entirely outside Colorado, amounts owed for work as a genuine independent contractor (misclassification claims may still be filed), money owed to a business rather than to an individual, wage claims by state government employees except paid-leave claims under the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, claims for wages earned more than two years ago except as the willfulness rule allows, unpaid severance, and complaints where the filer has already taken legal action against the employer over the same dispute.

For the Colorado process as a whole, including the demand step in full, see the Colorado wage claim guide. Comparing states, the Wage Claim Filing by State directory puts the state guides side by side.

Source

Sources: Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Division of Labor Standards and Statistics, Labor Standards Complaint Form, October 2025 edition (cdle.colorado.gov); Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Wage and Hour Laws (including Paid Sick Leave) (cdle.colorado.gov); Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Division Authority and Coverage (cdle.colorado.gov); Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Demand for Payment of Wages form and instructions (cdle.colorado.gov). Facts verified 2026-11-03. Omitted as unverified: no form number is stated, because none is printed on the form as read; no online portal name is stated, because the Division pages describe account creation without naming a portal; no investigation timeline beyond "several months" is stated, because INFO #2A was not opened.

This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to the Colorado Division of Labor Standards and Statistics.