How does the interstate compact work in Colorado?

Posted on September 1, 2022

Colorado is a member of the interstate compact – formally called the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision – which regulates if and how criminal defendants can have their probation or parole transferred between states. Probationers and parolees who move to or from Colorado in violation of the interstate compact face being remanded to jail or prison.

Can people on probation or parole move states?

The interstate compact may allow probationers and parolees to move to or from Colorado for any of the following eight reasons:

1. They are military members, or they live with family members who are in the military.
2. They are military veterans, and their medical/mental health services were transferred to another state.
3. Their employer has directed them to move.
4. They can get a job in the receiving state, and they can live with a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, adult child, adult sibling, spouse, legal guardian, or step-parent who has lived in the receiving state for at least 180 days
5. They have a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, adult child, adult sibling, spouse, legal guardian, or step-parent who has lived in the receiving state for at least 180 days, and that resident family member(s) is willing to help them and has sufficient means of support.
6. They live with family who are moving.
7. They are already a resident of the receiving state from having lived there for no less than one year before committing the crime they were put on parole or probation for.
8. Discretionary reasons, such as moving would be in their best interest and will not post a public safety risk.¹

Note that “moving” means to live in the receiving state for more than 45 days in a row in a 12-month period.²

Who is eligible to move under the interstate compact?

People on parole or probation for the following types of offenses may be eligible to move under the interstate compact:

• Any felony; or
• Misdemeanors that involve physical harm such as domestic violence, firearms, a repeat DUI, or sex offender crimes.³

In addition, the felon or misdemeanant must have at least three months of supervision remaining. And they must be in substantial compliance with their parole or probation.

Note that the interstate compact does not apply to defendants subject to a deferred sentence with no supervised program.⁴

What is the transfer process like?

People on parole or probation who wish to move to or from Colorado first must discuss it with their parole or probation officer. If the officer finds that they are eligible, the officer submits the required documents to the Interstate Compact Offender Tracking System. Then the receiving state will either reject the transfer request or accept it and send the parolee/probationer new reporting instructions and a “plan of supervision”.

How long does it take to get approved for Interstate Compact?

This entire “transfer of supervision” process under the interstate compact takes about two months, but it can be longer. And even if it seems like a “sure thing” that the relocation request will go through, the parolee or probationer may not move until the entire request process has finished.⁵

Will conditions of supervision remain the same?

Following a move across state lines to or from Colorado, parolees and probationers are subject to the same or similar conditions that they followed in the sending state. They must comply with any registration and DNA testing that the receiving state mandates. And if they violate their conditions, they can be remanded to jail or prison.

Is Colorado part of the interstate compact?

Yes, all fifty states follow the interstate compact rules. The District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico are members as well. Since the interstate compact has the authority of federal law, it trumps state law.

The national interstate compact office is located in Kentucky.

Why would an interstate compact be denied?

When a receiving state denies transfer of a probationer or parolee from Colorado, it is typically because the person has no ties to Colorado such as family or employment.

See our related articles on Colorado probation.

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Legal References

1. Rules 3.101, 3.101-1, and 3.101-2; see also Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision, About. See also C.R.S. 18-1.3-202. See also Martello v. Baker (Colorado Supreme Court, 1975), 189 Colo. 195.
2. Rule 2.110.
3. Rule 2.105.
4. Rule 2.106.
5. Advisory Opinion 3-2004, Rule 3.102(b). See also Advisory Opinion 9-2006, Rule 2.110. See also Advisory Opinion 3-2004, Rule 3.102(b). See also Colorado Interstate Compact, Fee Information. See also Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision (ICAOS), State Docs, Fees. See also Interstate Commission for Juveniles.