CRS 18-8-113 – Impersonating a Public Servant in Colorado

Updated May 3, 2021

CRS 18-8-113 is the Colorado code section defining the offense of impersonating a public servant. A person commits this offense if he or she falsely pretends to be a public servant other than a peace officer, and then performs any act in the pretended capacity.

18-8-113 CRS states that: “(1) A person commits impersonating a public servant if he falsely pretends to be a public servant other than a peace officer and performs any act in that pretended capacity. (2) It is no defense to a prosecution under this section that the office the actor pretended to hold did not in fact exist. (3) Impersonating a public servant is a class 3 misdemeanor.”

What is a “public servant?”

A public servant is defined as:

• any officer or employee of the government, whether elected or appointed; and
• any person participating as an advisor, consultant, process server; or
• any person who otherwise performs a governmental function.

Police officers are also considered public servants, but as “peace officers” they are excluded from this section. Impersonation of a police officer is charged as a different criminal offense.

What is “impersonation?”

Impersonation means to:

• act like;
• pretend to be;
• represent that he or she is; or
• create the belief in another

that the person is a public servant when he or she is not. Impersonation can come in a variety of forms, but must meet certain legal requirements to justify criminal charges.

Penalties for Impersonating a Public Servant

This particular crime is a Class 3 misdemeanor in the State of Colorado. If convicted of the offense, a person faces:

• a maximum sentence of 6 months in jail;
• a fine ranging from $50 to a maximum of $750; or
• both.

Defenses

A defendant can argue certain defenses against this charge, including:

• the suspected offender never committed an act in the pretended capacity;
• false identification of the suspected offender;
• the suspected offender never impersonated a public servant.

Related Offenses

Certain offenses are closely related to impersonating a public servant, which include:

• Impersonating a Peace Officer (18-8-112);
• Criminal Impersonation (18-5-113).

Below, our Colorado criminal defense lawyers discuss the following frequently asked questions about impersonating a public servant for Colorado residents:

• 1. What is the crime of impersonating a public servant in Colorado?
• 2. What is a public servant?
• 3. What is impersonation?
  
  • 3.1 What are some examples of impersonation?
• 4. What are the penalties for this crime?
• 5. What defenses can I raise to this charge?
• 6. What related offenses exist?

1. What is the crime of impersonating a public servant in Colorado?

CRS 18-8-113 is the Colorado code section that defines the offense of impersonating a public servant.

A person commits this offense if he or she:

• falsely pretends to be a public servant other than a peace officer; and
• performs any act in the pretended capacity. ¹

2. What is a public servant?

A public servant is defined as:

• any officer or employee of the government, whether elected or appointed; and
• any person participating as an advisor, consultant, process server; or
• any person who otherwise performs a governmental function. ²

Public servants include but are not limited to:

• mayors
• state senators
• city clerks
• judges
• publicly employed attorneys
• firefighters, or
• other employees of a city, county, state, or the federal government.

Police officers are also considered public servants, but as “peace officers” they are excluded from this section. Impersonation of a police officer is charged as a different criminal offense (see section 6 below).