A first DUI in Colorado: what it can result in
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Five days that a treatment program can undo. The five days are mandatory, and then the statute immediately provides the way out: the court may suspend them if you undergo an alcohol and drug evaluation and complete a level I or level II program, including its financial obligations. A reading of 0.20 or more doubles the floor to ten days. The fine, unusually, is also suspendable at the court’s discretion.
Written any number of ways — a 1st offense DUI, DUI 1st, DUI first offense CO, or a first DUI in CO — and the paperwork will use none of them. Colorado charges it under a section number, and that is what decides the range below.
Grade. Misdemeanor
Confinement. 5 days to 1 year, mandatory minimum
Fine. $600 to $1,000
Colorado Revised Statutes § 42-4-1307 · C.R.S. § 42-4-1307(3)(a), (3)(b) · checked 2026-09-04
What turns this DUI into something worse
Each line below is a separate provision with its own punishment range. They stack with the arithmetic of prior convictions rather than replacing it.
| The fact | What it makes it | Detail and source |
|---|---|---|
| A reading of 0.20 or more | The floor doubles to ten days | Measured at the time of driving or within two hours after it. The court keeps discretion over sentencing alternatives, but the ten-day minimum replaces the five-day one outright. Colorado Revised Statutes § 42-4-1307 · C.R.S. § 42-4-1307(3)(b) · checked 2026-09-04 |
The device is a separate track
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.
In Colorado the interlock term runs 9 months and is administered by Colorado DMV (Department of Revenue) — which is why a plea that settles the criminal case does not settle the device. What counts as a violation on it, and what an agency adds to the term, is its own arithmetic: violations and lockouts. Getting it off at the end is a procedure of its own too — removal and waivers.
Colorado DUI questions
Is jail time mandatory for a 1st DUI in Colorado?
The five days are mandatory, and then the statute immediately provides the way out: the court may suspend them if you undergo an alcohol and drug evaluation and complete a level I or level II program, including its financial obligations. A reading of 0.20 or more doubles the floor to ten days. The fine, unusually, is also suspendable at the court’s discretion.
How likely is jail time for a first DUI in CO?
Start from what the statute forces and what it leaves to the judge. The floor here is 5 days to 1 year, mandatory minimum, and it moves on the facts: a reading of 0.20 or more means the floor doubles to ten days. Everything above that floor is argued, and the same conviction can end up served in custody, on work release or as a condition of probation depending on the county and the judge. What no one can promise you is a sentence below the statutory minimum — that is not a question of persuasion.
What is the punishment range for a 1st DUI in Colorado?
Misdemeanor: 5 days to 1 year, mandatory minimum, and a fine of $600 to $1,000. The range is set by C.R.S. § 42-4-1307(3)(a), (3)(b), and the figures on this page come from the statute rather than from a summary of it.
What makes it worse in Colorado?
A reading of 0.20 or more — the floor doubles to ten days.
Does an interlock come with it in Colorado?
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. The device requirement and the criminal penalty are separate tracks: one is handled by the court, the other by Colorado DMV (Department of Revenue).
Other steps in Colorado: second offense penalties and when it becomes a felony penalties.
All Colorado DUI rules →Penalties across the states →Colorado DUI lawyers →Getting the license back →
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.