The Colorado Public Utilities Commission on Oct. 1 adopted the existing annual telemarketer registration fee schedule for the Colorado no-call list for calendar year 2026.

Daryl Branson, commission advisory staff, told commissioners that state statute and commission rules require an annual sliding-scale fee schedule with a $500 maximum for telemarketers with more than 1,000 employees and no fee for companies with fewer than five employees. He said fees collected are retained by the contractor that operates the no-call website and are capped by contract at $100,000. "Because of the statutory cap of $500 for the largest companies and the requirement that the fees be established on a sliding scale ... the commission essentially has no further options for increasing the revenue to fund this program," Branson said, recommending the current schedule be kept.

The adopted schedule (effective Jan. 1, 2026) retains the present tiers: 0–4 employees: no fee; 5–10 employees: $375; 11–50 employees: $475; 51–100 employees: $480; 101–250 employees: $485; 251–400 employees: $490; 401–1,000 employees: $495; more than 1,000 employees: $500. Staff estimated the contractor would raise about $85,000 under this schedule.

Commissioner Govan emphasized the limits of the program for stopping calls from scammers and nonlegitimate callers, noting the no-call framework is aimed at legitimate telemarketers. "This really is meant to stop people from getting calls from legitimate telemarketers if they don't want to receive them," Branson added in response to that point. Commissioners recorded agreement with staff’s recommendation and adopted the schedule as an ABC decision.

Next steps: Staff will issue the written decision establishing the 2026 fee schedule and continue to monitor contractor performance under the existing contract; no fee increases were adopted.