Colorado DUI laws make it a criminal offense to operate a vehicle (including non-motorized vehicles such as bikes) either:
- while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, or
- with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08% or greater.
Driving with a BAC of 0.05% to less than 0.08% is the lesser Colorado offense of DWAI.
Colorado’s criminal sentencing and administrative penalties for DUI, DUI per se, and DWAI become more severe with each successive conviction:
| Offense | Jail term | Can court suspend jail? | Probation | Fine | Public service | License revocation |
| 1st DUI | 5 days – 1 year | Yes, with alcohol/drug evaluation and alcohol education | Up to 2 years | $600 – $1,000 | 48 – 96 hours | 9 months |
| 1st DUI with BAC > .20% | 10 days – 1 year | No, but court can grant home detention | Up to 2 years | $600 – $1,000 | 48 – 96 hours | 9 months |
| 1st DWAI | 2 days – 180 days | Yes, with alcohol/drug evaluation and alcohol education | Up to 2 years | $200 – $500 | 24 – 48 hours | none |
| 1st DWAI with BAC > .20% | 10 days – 1 year | No, but court can grant home detention | Up to 2 years | $200 – $500 | 24 – 48 hours | none |
| 2nd DUI/DWAI in 5 years | 10 days – 1 year | No, but court can grant home detention | 2 – 4 years | $600 – $1,500 | 48 – 120 hours | 1 year |
| 2nd DUI/DWAI after 5 years | 10 consecutive days – 1 year | No, but court can grant home detention | 2 – 4 years | $600 – $1,500 | 48 – 120 hours | 1 year |
| 3rd DUI/DWAI | 60 consecutive days – 1 year | No, but court can grant work release or community corrections | 2 – 4 years | $600 – $1,500 | 48 – 120 hours | 2 years |
The good news is that the best Colorado DUI attorneys have many ways to challenge both drunk driving arrests and Colorado DMV license suspensions. But you have just seven days from the time of your arrest (or since your blood test results come back) to request a Colorado DMV hearing.
In this article, our Colorado DUI defense lawyers discuss:
- 1. What are the penalties for a Colorado DUI conviction?
- 2. What are the penalties for a DWAI conviction?
- 3. What are the laws for felony DUI?
- 4. What if I refuse to take a breathalyzer or blood test?
- 5. What are the rules for underage drinking and driving?
- 6. How can I avoid a license suspension?
- 7. Additional resources
First, second, and third DUIs are misdemeanors under Colorado DUI laws.
1. What are the penalties for a Colorado DUI conviction?
It is generally a Colorado misdemeanor to drive under the influence of alcohol or to drive under the influence of drugs (DUID). Penalties increase with each successive conviction; it does not matter whether the prior DUI occurred in Colorado or another state.
First DUI
First-offense DUI penalties include five days to one year in jail, a fine of $600 to $1,000 plus court costs, 48 to 96 hours of community service, 12 DMV points on your DMV driving record, and a driver’s license revocation period of nine months. Jail is mandatory if your blood alcohol content (BAC) is 0.20% or greater.
You may be eligible for a probationary driver’s license immediately if you install an ignition interlock device (IID). Then you may regain unrestricted driving privileges after four months as long as:
- you drive with an IID, and
- your blood alcohol level was below 0.15%, and
- you never had a BAC of 0.25% or higher.
If your BAC was 0.15% or higher, the IID must remain installed for two years.
Note that if your BAC is 0.15% or higher, you are designated a persistent drunk driver (PDD) and sentenced as a repeat DUI offender.
Second DUI
Penalties for a second offense conviction of driving under the influence of alcohol can include:
- 10 days – 1 year in jail,
- A fine of $600 – $1,500 plus court costs,
- Driver’s license suspension of up to one year
- 48 – 120 hours of public service,
- Level II Alcohol Education classes,
- Ignition interlock device for two years following license reinstatement, and
- 12 DMV points on your DMV driving record.
If the prior DUI was within the last five years, the 10-day jail sentence must be served all at once.
If you are 21 or older, you may be eligible for an IID-restricted license right away. Otherwise, you have to wait one year.
Third DUI
Under Colorado law, a third DUI offense can lead to DUI penalties of:
- 60 days – 1 year in jail,
- A fine of $600 – $1,500 plus court costs,
- Driver’s license suspension of up to two years,
- 48 – 120 hours of community service,
- Level II Alcohol Education classes,
- 90 days of continuous alcohol monitoring if granted probation,
- Ignition interlock device for two years following license reinstatement, and
- 12 DMV points on your DMV driving record.
If you are 21 or older, you may be eligible for an IID-restricted license right away. Otherwise, you have to wait one year.1
Each drunk driving offense potentially carries criminal penalties and administrative DMV penalties
DUI v. DUI per se
Note that you face DUI per se charges just for having a BAC of 0.08% or higher, even if you are not impaired and have a high alcohol tolerance.
Meanwhile, if you have a BAC of less than 0.08%, you can still face regular DUI charges as long as you are driving impaired to the slightest degree. It is rare for prosecutors to bring both
- DUI per se and
- DUI charges for the same case.
If they do, any sentences will run concurrently. (DUI per se and DUI have identical penalties.)
Driving under the influence of marijuana
Courts can infer that you are DUID if your blood sample shows at least five nanograms of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol per milliliter. So even if you do not seem high and are driving safely, you are automatically breaking the law by having a blood count of 5 ng/100 of THC (marijuana’s active metabolite).2
Conversely, you can still be convicted of DUI if your marijuana level is less than 5 ng/100ml but you are displacing indicia of being impaired by drugs (including prescription drugs) or by a combination of drugs and alcohol.
Persistent drunk drivers (PPDs)
Finally, note that you are classified as a “persistent drunk driver” (PDD) if either:
- You have been convicted of – or had your driver’s license revoked for – two or more alcohol-related driving violations;
- You get caught driving under restraint (CRS 42-2-138);
- You drive with a BAC of 0.15% (even for a first offense); or
- You refuse to take a chemical test after being arrested
For PDDs to drive again, you must install an IID for at least two years. You must also complete Level II Alcohol Education and Therapy and maintain SR22 insurance (usually for three years).3
2. What are the penalties for a DWAI conviction?
Driving while ability impaired (DWAI) – which typically pertains to driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05% to less than 0.08% – is a misdemeanor driving offense in Colorado. Potential consequences of a DWAI include:
1st DWAI
- 2 days – 180 days in jail,
- A fine of $200 – $500 plus court costs,
- 24 – 48 hours of community service, and
- 8 DMV points on your DMV driving record.
Jail is mandatory if you had a BAC of 0.20% or greater.
2nd DWAI
- 10 days – 1 year in jail (with a minimum 10-day mandatory sentence),
- A fine of $600 – $1,500 plus court costs,
- 1 year license suspension,
- 48 – 120 hours of community service, and
- 8 points on your DMV driving record.
If the prior DUI was within the last five years, the 10-day jail sentence must be served all at once.
3rd DWAI
- 60 days – 1 year in jail (with a minimum 10-day mandatory sentence),
- A fine of $600 – $1,500 plus court costs,
- 2 year license suspension,
- 90 days of continuous alcohol monitoring if granted probation,
- 48 – 120 hours of community service, and
- 8 points on your DMV driving record.4
Incarceration is mandatory for repeat DUI offenders.
3. What are the laws for felony DUI?
Driving under the influence becomes a felony in Colorado if you have at least three past DUI-related offenses, or if someone gets seriously hurt or killed. The penalties for a felony DUI conviction depend on the specific charge.
| Felony DUI charge | Colorado penalties |
| Fourth DUI or DWAI | Class 4 Felony:
If you are 21 or older, you may be eligible for an IID-restricted license right away. Otherwise, you have to wait one year. |
| Vehicular assault (18-3-205 C.R.S.) a.k.a. DUI causing serious injury | Class 4 felony:
|
| Vehicular homicide (18-3-106 C.R.S.) a.k.a. DUI causing death | Class 3 felony:
|
4. What if I refuse to take a breathalyzer or blood test?
A first-time refusal to take a DUI chemical test in Colorado carries a one-year license suspension.
- A second-time refusal carries a two-year license suspension.
- A third-time refusal carries a three-year license suspension.
However, if you are 21 or older, you may get a restricted license after two months if you install an IID in your vehicles. Otherwise, you have to wait a year.
To regain your driving privilege at the end of your license suspension, you must install an ignition interlock device for two years at your own expense. And if your case goes to trial, your refusal to take the BAC test will be admissible as evidence of guilt.
Note that when you operate a motor vehicle in Colorado, you are deemed to give “express consent” to a
- DUI breath test or
- DUI blood test if you are arrested by law enforcement for driving under the influence.6
5. What are the rules for underage drinking and driving?
Colorado has a “zero tolerance” policy for underage drinking and driving (UDD). It is illegal for anyone under 21 to drive with a BAC of 0.02% or higher.
A first UDD is not a crime: It is a Colorado class A traffic infraction – a civil violation. But a second or subsequent violation is a class 2 traffic misdemeanor.
1st UDD
- Fine of up to $150,
- Driver’s license suspension of up to 3 months,
- Up to 24 hours of useful community service, and
- 4 points on your Colorado DMV driving record.
2nd UDD
- 10 days – 90 days jail time,
- Driver’s license suspension of up to 6 months,
- Fine of $150 – $300,
- 48 – 120 hours of community service, and
- 4 points on your Colorado DMV driving record.
3rd UDD
- 10 days – 90 days jail time,
- Driver’s license suspension of up to 1 year,
- Fine of $150 – $300,
- 48 – 120 hours of community service, and
- 4 points on your Colorado DMV driving record.
Additional consequences of any Colorado UDD can include:
- An alcohol evaluation or assessment (at your own expense), and
- An alcohol education or treatment program (at your own expense).7
Underage drivers with a BAC of 0.08% or higher instead face DUI charges. Underage drivers with a BAC of 0.05% to less than 0.08% instead face DWAI charges.
6. How can I avoid a license suspension?
The only way to avoid a license suspension for a DUI under Colorado state law is to win both the criminal case and the DMV administrative case. Otherwise, you may be able to get an early reinstatement of your driving privileges by driving with an IID.
Driving when your license is suspended from a DUI is prosecuted as driving under restraint (DUR). A first offense of “DUR” is a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense, carrying
- 10 days to 1 year in jail, and
- $150 to $1,000 in fines, and
- 1-year license revocation.
Meanwhile, a DUR with a prior conviction of DUR within the last five years carries:
- 10 days to 2 years of jail time, and
- $500 to $3,000, and
- 4-year license revocation.8
See our related article on habitual traffic offenders (HTOs), who lose their license for five years for having three major traffic offenses (including DUIs) in a seven-year period.
7. Additional resources
- Colorado Drunk Driving Laws – Detailed explanation by Colorado’s Office of Legislative Legal Services.
- The DUI Process – Step-by-step overview by the Colorado DMV.
- Impaired Driving – Safety video by the Colorado Department of Transportation.
- MADD Colorado – Organization devoted to ending DUI, including by presenting victim impact panels.
- Colorado AA – A 12-step program for overcoming alcoholism.
Legal references:
- CRS 42-4-1301 – Colorado DUI laws – Driving under the influence – driving while impaired – driving with excessive alcoholic content – definitions – penalties; CRS 42-4-1307; CRS 42-2-125; CRS 42-2-126; CRS 42-2-127. See also: Martinez v. People, (2020) CO 3, 455 P.3d 752; People v. Huckabay (2020) 463 P.3d 283. SB21-055. Note that BAC is measured in grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath.
- CRS 42-2-125 – 127; see also the DMV – Colorado Department of Revenue.
- See note 1; CRS 42-1-102. (“(a) “Persistent drunk driver” means any person who:
(I) Has been convicted of or had his or her driver’s license revoked for two or more alcohol-related driving violations;
(II) Continues to drive after a driver’s license or driving privilege restraint has been imposed for one or more alcohol-related driving offenses;
(III) Drives a motor vehicle while the amount of alcohol in such person’s blood, as shown by analysis of the person’s blood or breath, was 0.15 or more grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters of blood or 0.15 or more grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath at the time of driving or within two hours after driving; or
(IV) Refuses to take or complete, or to cooperate in the completing of, a test of his or her blood, breath, saliva, or urine as required by section 18-3-106 (4) or 18-3-205 (4), C.R.S., or section 42-4-1301.1 (2).
(b) Nothing in this subsection (68.5) shall be interpreted to affect the penalties imposed under this title for multiple alcohol- or drug-related driving offenses, including, but not limited to, penalties imposed for violations under sections 42-2-125 (1)(g) and (1)(i) and 42-2-202 (2).”) - See note 1. Note that adults 21 and older face a license revocation for accruing 12 points in a 12-month period or 18 points in a 24-month period. CRS 42-2-127.
- See note 1; see also: People v. Viburg, (Colo. App., 2020) 477 P.3d 746; Linnebur v. People (2020) 476 P.3d 734.
- See note 1; CRS 42-2-132.5.
- See note 1. Note that juveniles under 18 face a license revocation for accruing 6 points in 12 months or 7 points before turning 18. And minors 18, 19, or 20 years old face a license revocation for accruing 9 points in 12 months, 12 points in 24 months, or 14 points or more total. CRS 42-2-127.
- CRS 42-2-138.