What are the DUR penalties for drunk driving?

Driving on a license suspended due to DUI is a class 2 traffic misdemeanor in Colorado. A first-time offense carries: 10 days to 90 days in jail, and $150 to $300 in fines, and a 1-year extension of your driver's license suspension. Meanwhile, a second or successive offense in a five-year period of the first DUR case carries: 10 days to 90 days in jail, and $500 to $3,000 in fines, and a 4-year extension of your driver's license suspension.

Caught driving with a suspended license in Colorado?

Q: How do I fight DUR charges?

There are many potential defenses that our Colorado criminal defense attorneys use to fight charges of driving on a suspended license. Three common defense arguments that have gotten our clients' DUR charges dismissed are: 1) Lack of knowledge. 2) No restraint. 3) Emergency.

What if I’m caught driving with a suspended license in Colorado?

Colorado’s formal term for driving on a suspended license is driving under restraint, abbreviated DUR.

In Colorado, driving under restraint following a DUI is a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense that carries at least ten days in jail. If your license was suspended for non-DUI reasons, then driving on a suspended license is a class A traffic infraction carrying $15 to $100 in fines.¹

Graphic that shows defenses to driving under restraint in Colorado, including you were unaware of the DUR status or an emergency arose

Continue reading for more detailed information about DUR penalties and defenses in Colorado.

DUR Penalties After Drunk Driving

Driving on a license suspended due to DUI is a class 2 traffic misdemeanor in Colorado. A first-time offense carries:

10 days to 90 days in jail, and
$150 to $300 in fines, and
a 1-year extension of your driver’s license suspension

Meanwhile, a second or successive offense in a five-year period of the first DUR case carries:

10 days to 90 days in jail, and
$500 to $3,000 in fines, and
a 4-year extension of your driver’s license suspension

Note that you must serve the mandatory minimum of jail time unless you drove due to an emergency situation.

A temporary driver’s license revocation is a standard punishment for DUI, DUI per se, UDD, subsequent DWAI, or any drunk- or drugged driving-related charge in the U.S. Under certain circumstances, you may be eligible for a restricted license under CRS 42-2-132.5.²

Daytime shot of a police officer during a traffic stop studying the driver's license

DUIs typically trigger a driver’s license revocation.

DUR Penalties After an Outstanding Judgment

Driving on a license suspended due to an outstanding judgment is a class A traffic infraction in Colorado. The punishment is a fine of $15 to $100, and three (3) DMV points.²

“Outstanding judgment” means you are behind on making a court-ordered payment, such as child support or restitution.

DUR Penalties for All Other Reasons

Driving on a license suspended for reasons other than DUI or outstanding judgments is a class A traffic infraction in Colorado. The penalties include $15 to $100.

A first-time offense also carries an additional year of license suspension. For second or subsequent offenses within five years of the first DUR case, your license suspension period is extended for three years. Under certain circumstances, you may be eligible for a restricted license under CRS 42-2-132.5.³

A common reason why your Colorado driver’s license may get suspended is by accruing too many DMV points from various traffic violations.

It is a DUR defense if you had no idea your license was suspended or if the DMV failed to notify you.

How do I fight DUR charges?

Here at Colorado Legal Defense Group, I have represented literally thousands of people charged with traffic cases such as driving under restraint. In my experience, the following three defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors and judges at getting DUR charges reduced or dismissed.

You Were Unaware of the Restraint. No law was broken as long as you had no actual knowledge that your license was suspended. I can use tools such as the USPS’s “informed delivery” application to check if the DMV failed to notify you. Unless the D.A. can show you knowingly drove under restraint, the charge should be dropped.
Your License Was Not Under Restraint. As a big bureaucracy, the DMV sometimes makes mistakes. Perhaps your name was mistakenly listed as being under restraint. I would launch an investigation in search of evidence to show that your license was never supposed to be suspended to begin with.
You Drove Due to an Emergency. It is against the law to drive without a license even in emergency situations. However, I have persuaded prosecutors to drop DUR cases anyway once I showed my client had no choice but to drive without a license. Typical evidence I rely on to prove the existence of an emergency includes eyewitness accounts, medical records, weather reports, and police reports.

Traffic stop where the driver is showing his driver's license to the police officer

The penalties for DUR depend on why your license was put under restraint.

Additional Reading

For more information, see our related articles:

How to reinstate a suspended driver’s license in Colorado – the steps you have to take for getting the DMV to give you back your license
How to remove points from my Colorado driver’s license – a discussion of how DMV points cannot be removed
How long does it take to get points off your license in Colorado? – an explanation of how points older than two years do not count against you
How to check points on my Colorado license – the procedure for checking the point status on your license
How many points on a Colorado license trigger a license suspension? – an outline of how many traffic tickets you can get before the DMV takes action on your license

Legal References

CRS 42-2-138. CRS 42-2-127. See also People v. Wambolt (Colo. 2018) 431 P.3d 681; Colo. Dept. of Rev. v. Garner (Colo. 2003) 66 P.3d 106; People v. Chavira (Colo.App. 2024) No. 23CA0389. Prior to March 1, 2022, DUI-related DUR was a misdemeanor. A first-time offense carried 30 days to 1 year in jail and $500 to $1,000 in fines. A second-time offense carried 90 days to 2 years in jail and $500 to $3,000 in fines. Also, non-DUI related DUR was also a misdemeanor that carried up to $500 and/or 6 months in jail. SB21-271.
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