DUI in Colorado: the law, the limits and the device
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Colorado calls it DUI — driving under the influence, and you will see drunk driving used for the same offense. What follows is what this state sets, taken from its own published rules rather than from a national summary.
What Colorado law actually requires
Colorado uses the interlock for early reinstatement: instead of sitting out a revocation, you fit a device and drive from the first day the action goes active. What you trade is time on the device — nine months at a lower reading, two years above 0.15% or after a refusal.
- First offense: 9 months for a first offense below 0.149% (running alongside the revocation); 2 years at 0.15% or higher, and 2 years automatically for refusing the test
- Lockout threshold: Set by the approved device standard adopted by the Department of Revenue
- Program run by: Colorado DMV (Department of Revenue)
Source: dmv.colorado.gov, checked 2026-08-23
DUI vs DUI in Colorado
In Colorado there is one offense and one label. If you have seen DWI, OWI or OVI used elsewhere, that is another state’s vocabulary for the same conduct — nothing about the seriousness changes when you cross a state line, only the letters on the paperwork.
Whatever it is called, the licensing consequence is the same shape: a suspension, then the device as the condition of driving again. All six abbreviations, side by side →
Can you get a DUI on a bike or a horse in Colorado?
It turns on one word in the statute. Where the law says “vehicle”, no engine is required and the charge can reach a bicycle, a horse or a mobility scooter. Where it says “motor vehicle”, the analysis is different. This is decided by your state’s own wording, not by national custom, and it is the first thing to check before assuming a bike ride home is safe.
Where this state departs from the national picture
Most of what people read about drunk driving is written for the country as a whole. These are the points where Colorado does something of its own.
Fourth offense
Colorado made the fourth and subsequent offense a felony in 2015 under House Bill 15-1043. Before that, repeat drunk driving stayed a misdemeanor no matter how many times it happened.
SR-22 for As long as the restraint runs, up to 3 years
For a driver found guilty of DUI, DUI per se or DWAI once, with no accident involved, Colorado requires proof of financial responsibility only for as long as the driving privilege is ordered to be under restraint, up to a maximum of three years, beginning at reinstatement. The general rule for everyone else is three years from the date last required, with credit for any period during which the person was not licensed to drive. Switching insurers mid-term is where people lose the licence: the new SR-22 has to be on file before the old one expires.
How often this happens in Colorado
Federal crash records show the scale the state is legislating against, and how it compares with the country.
Cases are heard where the stop happened, and volume shapes local practice. These CO counties record the most:
Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 2020–2022. Counts crashes where police recorded that a driver had been drinking, which is narrower than the federal 0.08 measure and therefore understates the real figure. Colorado runs above the national share.
What it costs to get driving again in Colorado
Colorado does not publish a price cap we could verify, so the quote is the number and your only leverage is a competitor nearby. The national reference points are installation and a monthly fee, with calibration visits every 30 to 60 days.
The two clocks in Colorado
The court case and the licensing case run separately. The licensing side moves first, and in the strictest states the window to request a hearing is measured in days — it runs whether or not you have hired anyone.
Colorado cities
The county that hears your case is set by where the stop happened, and local practice differs across the state.
DUI questions in Colorado
Is it called DUI or DUI in Colorado?
Colorado uses DUI — driving under the influence. You will also see drunk driving used for the same thing. The label follows the state, not the seriousness of what happened, so paperwork from elsewhere may say something different about identical conduct.
What is the legal limit in Colorado?
0.08% for drivers 21 and over, as in every state except Utah, which sits at 0.05%. Below the limit you can still be charged if an officer documents impairment. The reading that triggers the interlock here is a separate number: Set by the approved device standard adopted by the Department of Revenue
When does a DUI become a felony in Colorado?
Fourth offense. Colorado made the fourth and subsequent offense a felony in 2015 under House Bill 15-1043. Before that, repeat drunk driving stayed a misdemeanor no matter how many times it happened.
How long does the interlock stay on after a first offense in Colorado?
9 months for a first offense below 0.149% (running alongside the revocation); 2 years at 0.15% or higher, and 2 years automatically for refusing the test The program is run by Colorado DMV (Department of Revenue).
Can you get a DUI on a horse or a bicycle in Colorado?
The answer is in whether the statute says “vehicle” or “motor vehicle”. Where it says vehicle, no engine is needed and the charge can reach a bike or a horse; where it says motor vehicle, it cannot. This is one of the most searched questions in the whole subject and one of the most confidently answered wrongly — the wording of your own state decides it.
What happens on a third DUI in Colorado?
Colorado made the fourth and subsequent offense a felony in 2015 under House Bill 15-1043. Before that, repeat drunk driving stayed a misdemeanor no matter how many times it happened. Beyond the class of the offense, a repeat also lengthens the interlock requirement and the insurance filing that follows it.
A first DUI here →A second DUI here →When a DUI is a felony in Colorado →
When a charge becomes a felony → The test and the refusal → Colorado class requirements →Colorado SR-22 rules →
Attorney advertising. InterlockDeviceNearMe is not a law firm, does not practice law, and does not give legal advice. Nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship. Requesting a consultation connects you with an independent attorney or a legal referral service, who decide separately whether to take your case. Case outcomes depend on facts we do not know, and no result is ever promised. Deadlines in DUI cases are short and vary by state — speak to a licensed attorney in your state before relying on anything you read here.