8 Colo. Code Regs. § 1504-7-4
Anyone desiring to perform archaeological or paleontological survey or excavation on any lands owned by the state of Colorado must obtain a permit from the society. Any state agency wishing to perform such work on state land must obtain a permit in the same manner as private applicants. Permits are issued by the society through the office of the state archaeologist on behalf of the society.
The permit system may apply to lands belonging to political subdivisions of the state or to private landowners, at the request of the owner and the concurrence of the state archaeologist, except that the excavation of any unmarked human burial older than 100 years regardless of ethnic affiliation shall require a permit if such burial is situated within any nonfederal land in Colorado.
Four classes of permits are issued:
"Survey only" permits authorize the search for, inventorying of and documentation of archaeological or paleontological resources in the field by non-destructive means in accordance with established standards for the purpose of recording such remains on official Colorado inventory forms and of preparing reports that meet guidelines published by the society. No specimens are authorized to be collected, except artifacts exposed on the surface of the ground. Such permits may be statewide in scope, and are issued for a period of one year or less.
"Non-collection survey" permits authorize the search for, inventorying of and documentation of archaeological or paleontological resources in the field by non-destructive means in accordance with established standards for the purpose of recording such remains on official Colorado inventory forms and of preparing reports. Absolutely no specimens, artifacts, or fossils are authorized to be collected. Such permits may be statewide in scope, and are issued for a period of one year or less.
"Survey and test excavation" permits authorize limited excavation of noncontiguous units (totaling less than 10 square meters), gathering and removal of specimens, sufficient to evaluate the cultural significance of identified archaeological or paleontological properties. Such permits may be statewide in scope, and are issued for a period of 14 months or less.
"Excavation" permits authorize subsurface investigations of a specified historical, archaeological or paleontological resource(s), or an unmarked human burial, in accordance with a research design or statement of objectives that has been approved for the specific resources) described in the application, and may be issued for a period not to exceed 14 months.
8 CCR 1504-7-4