Colorado sets 2027 911 charges; prepaid fee rises 20 cents

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission approved a 2027 schedule of 911 charges that takes effect Jan. 1. It sets a $2.43 charge on prepaid wireless transactions and a $2.26 monthly ceiling for local emergency telephone charges; the state surcharge remains 16 cents per 911 access connection per month. Commissioners approved the rates and distribution schedules at their Sept. 23 meeting.

The $2.26 figure is a ceiling, not a single statewide local fee. Local 911 governing bodies set charges in their jurisdictions and may set a rate up to the ceiling without separate commission approval. A higher rate requires commission approval. The commission’s 2026 rate information lists the local ceiling at $2.17, the state surcharge at 16 cents and the prepaid charge at $2.23. The new schedule raises the prepaid charge by 20 cents and the ceiling by 9 cents; it does not mean every local charge will rise.

For the monthly state surcharge and local charge, Colorado law makes the service user liable, while providers collect and remit the charges. A local governing body sets and receives its local charge. Providers generally must show the state surcharge and local charge separately if they itemize fees or surcharges on bills; if they do not otherwise itemize those fees, they may include the charges without separate line items, state law provides.

Prepaid wireless works differently: consumers pay the charge on each retail transaction, and sellers collect and remit it to the state Department of Revenue. Sellers may disclose the charge as part of the transaction price or list it separately on a receipt or similar document, the department says. Prepaid wireless is exempt from the separate monthly state surcharge and local charge.

State-surcharge revenue and prepaid-charge receipts are distributed to local emergency communications authorities using different formulas under state law. State-surcharge revenue is allocated according to the number of concurrent sessions maintained by each authority’s public safety answering point. Prepaid-charge revenue is allocated according to each authority’s share of statewide wireless 911 call volume. Local charges collected by governing bodies are also restricted to authorized 911 and emergency telephone services and related costs.