C.R.S. § 24-70-103: Requisites of legal newspaper.

(1) Any and every legal notice or advertisement shall be published in the following order of priority in a daily, a triweekly, a semiweekly, or a weekly newspaper of general circulation:

(a) First, in such a newspaper that has been printed or published, in whole or in part, in the county in which the legal notice or advertisement is required to be published uninterruptedly and continuously for at least one year prior to the first issue containing the legal notice or advertisement and that satisfies the requirements of a legal publication specified in section 24-70-102;

(b) Second, in such a newspaper that has been printed or published, in whole or in part, in the county in which the legal notice or advertisement is required to be published uninterruptedly and continuously for at least one year prior to the first issue containing the legal notice or advertisement and that satisfies the requirements to be admitted to the United States mails with periodicals mailing privileges but for the absence of paid circulation that is distributed within the territorial boundaries of the county; or

(c) Third, in such a newspaper that has been printed or published, in whole or in part, in the county in which the legal notice or advertisement is required to be published that would otherwise satisfy the requirements of subsections (1)(a) or (1)(b) of this section but for the requirement that the newspaper shall have been published in the county uninterruptedly and continuously for at least one year prior to the first issue containing the legal notice or advertisement.

(1.5) If a municipality or special district has territory in two counties, each of which has one or more newspapers that satisfy the requirements of a legal publication specified in section 24-70-102 within the municipality or special district, the municipality or special district may publish notice in either newspaper.

(2) The mere change in the name of any newspaper or the removal of the principal business office or seat of publication of any newspaper from one place to another in the same county shall not break or affect the continuity in the publication of any such newspaper if the same is in fact continuously and uninterruptedly printed or published within such county. A newspaper shall not lose its rights as a legal publication if it fails to publish one or more of its issues by reason of a strike, transportation embargo or tie-up, or other casualty beyond the control of the publishers. Any legal notice which fails of publication for the required number of insertions by reason of a strike shall not be declared illegal if publication has been made in one issue of the publication.

(3) If none of the options applicable to any and every legal notice or advertisement set forth in subsection (1) of this section are available within the county in which publication of a legal notice or advertisement is required, the legal notice or advertisement may be published in an adjoining county in accordance with the same order of priority in subsection (1) of this section. If none of the options set forth in subsection (1) of this section are available in any adjoining county, the legal notice or advertisement may be published in a newspaper that satisfies the requirements for a legal publication specified in section 24-70-102, selected with primary consideration given to geographic proximity.

(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part 1, if no newspaper is published within the territorial boundaries of a municipality that satisfies the requirements for a legal publication as specified in section 24-70-102, but a newspaper that provides local news and that would satisfy the requirements to be admitted to the United States mails with periodicals mailing privileges but for the absence of paid circulation is distributed within such territorial boundaries, the municipality may publish any legal notice or advertisement required by law in such newspaper.

(5) When any legal notice is required by law to be published in any newspaper, the newspaper publishing the notice shall, at no additional cost to the person or entity placing the notice, place the notice on a statewide website established and maintained by an organization representing a majority of Colorado newspapers as a repository for the notices. The statewide public notice website must include a list of newspapers that satisfy the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, identified by county.

(6) When any legal notice is required by law to be published in a newspaper pursuant to this section, the newspaper shall also make the notice available on its website without charge, and the newspaper shall not require payment or subscription to its physical or digital print in order to view the notice. A newspaper satisfies the requirement of this subsection (6) either by posting the full text of the notice on its website or providing a link on its website to a location where the full text of the notice is available, such as the statewide public notice website established pursuant to subsection (5) of this section.