Every program with clinicals, from nursing and radiography to respiratory therapy, surgical technology, medical lab, PTA and OTA, dental hygiene, EMS and medical assisting, answers to each clinical site’s own requirement list. This page collects verified Colorado facts for program directors and clinical coordinators, including the Colorado State Board of Nursing and the Colorado Community College System, with a link to each official source, and shows how Drug Free Schools helps.
Colorado facts for program directors
- Board of Nursing. Colorado's State Board of Nursing, housed in the Division of Professions and Occupations, was formed in 1978 by combining the State Board of Nursing Examiners and the Board of Practical Nursing. (source)
- Board of Nursing. The board's Nursing Education page links lists of approved RN programs (associate and baccalaureate) and approved PN programs. (source)
- Licensure background check. Colorado DPO fingerprint background checks go through two approved vendors, IdentoGO and American BioIdentity (Colorado Fingerprinting), with RN/LPN among the listed license types. (source)
- Community and technical colleges. The Colorado Community College System has 13 colleges and more than 35 locations serving over 130,000 students a year. (source)
- Allied health. Initial Colorado EMS provider certification requires a current NREMT registration and an application through CDPHE's OATH portal, plus a CBI fingerprint-based background check. (source)
Checked 18 October 2026 against each official source. Rules change; confirm with the agency, your accreditor and your clinical sites.
What this means for your program
Each clinical site sends its own requirement list, and each list changes. When a TB result, flu shot or CPR card lapses mid-term, the site can pull the student until it is fixed. Tracking every item to its date, and seeing who is not cleared before rotations start, keeps placements on schedule. Your clinical sites and affiliation agreements still decide the exact list; the free requirements checklist covers what programs most often collect.
How Drug Free Schools helps Colorado programs
One clinical compliance tracking portal for every program at your school ($30 per student, one time; every upload reviewed within 24 hours), plus drug screens on campus or at any Quest location, name-based background checks and on-campus N95 fit testing. See pricing.
Drug Free Schools does not take fingerprints. Our background checks are name-based. If the Colorado State Board of Nursing or a clinical site requires a fingerprint check, students use the provider it names, such as Fieldprint, IdentoGO or the local police department.
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See the director dashboard (3:06)
Recorded in the live portal: the rotation check dashboard, document review, requirement rules, clinical sites and rotations, and secure links for sending records to a site.
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Frequently asked questions
Who approves nursing programs in Colorado?
The Colorado State Board of Nursing. Its list of approved nursing programs is on the board’s website.
What does Colorado require on criminal history for nursing licensure?
Colorado DPO fingerprint background checks go through two approved vendors, IdentoGO and American BioIdentity (Colorado Fingerprinting), with RN/LPN among the listed license types. That licensure step is separate from the name-based background check students complete before clinicals.
What is Colorado’s community and technical college system?
The Colorado Community College System has 13 colleges and more than 35 locations serving over 130,000 students a year.
Do you take fingerprints?
No. Our background checks are name-based. If the Colorado State Board of Nursing or a clinical site requires fingerprints, students use the provider it names, such as Fieldprint or IdentoGO, or their local police department.
Sources
- Colorado Nursing Homepage - Division of Professions and Occupations
- Nursing Education Resources - Colorado DPO
- Colorado DPO Fingerprinting and Background Check
- Colorado Community College System - Home
- CDPHE - EMS provider certification
This page summarizes Colorado agency and official pages as checked on 18 October 2026, with a link to each source. Rules change; confirm with the agency, your school, your accreditor and your clinical sites. Nothing on this page is legal advice. Quest Diagnostics, Fieldprint and IdentoGO are trademarks of their respective owners.