If you are from out of state and you pick up a DUI or DWAI in Colorado, you will generally face the same criminal penalties and driver’s license suspensions as Colorado residents do. You need to come back to Colorado for all your court dates unless you hire local counsel to appear on your behalf.
Here are five key takeaways to know:
- A first-time DUI carries a 9-month license revocation, fines and fees, community service, DUI School, and rarely jail time.1
- Colorado courts will usually allow you to complete your community service requirements in your home state.
- You cannot get your driver’s license reinstated early in your home state.
- Before you can get your driver’s license reinstated in your home state, the Colorado DMV needs to give you a letter of clearance.
- If you ignore your DUI case in Colorado, a bench warrant will be issued for your arrest.
In this article, our Colorado criminal defense lawyers address the following topics regarding DUIs if you are from another state:
- 1. Court Appearances
- 2. Hire an Attorney
- 3. Your Driver’s License
- 4. Probation
- 5. Extradition
- 6. Getting a DUI while on Probation
- 7. Underage DUI
- 8. Colorado Residents Getting an Out-of-State DUI
- 9. Frequently Asked Questions
- Additional Reading
1. Court Appearances
You usually do not have to appear in court for your Colorado DUI case as long as you hire a Colorado criminal defense attorney to appear for you. The only exception is if the case goes to trial, which is rare: Most driving under the influence cases are resolved through negotiations with the prosecutor.
DUI charges – even for misdemeanors – often drag on for several months. It pays to have local counsel appear at all court hearings and communicate with the prosecutor. This way, you can continue with your life at home uninterrupted.
Note that courts will assign you a public defender if you lack the financial resources to hire private counsel, though then you will have to appear in person for all court appearances.2 Plus, what you end up paying in travel and missed work may be comparable to what you would pay an attorney.
2. Hire an Attorney
You are strongly advised to lawyer up after a DUI arrest. Here are three reasons:
- We would make sure that your bail conditions permit you to lawfully leave Colorado and go home while the case is pending.
- We would request an express consent hearing with the Colorado DMV so we can contest your license suspension.
- We would use our decades of combined experience to fight for a reduction in charges and dismissal of your DUI case in criminal court (which is separate from the DMV case). Sometimes our investigation turns up evidence of police misconduct that will force the D.A. to drop the case.
Out-of-state DUI defendants have to return to Colorado for court unless they hire local counsel to represent them.
3. Your Driver’s License
A Colorado DUI will result in a “hold” on your Colorado in-state driving privileges. This will probably result in your home state license being suspended as well.
Colorado is one of the 45 states that abide by the Interstate Driver’s License Compact (IDLC) and honor each other’s license suspension laws. The five states that do not participate in the IDLC are Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. However, all states share data through the PDPS (Problem Driver Pointer System) and will always find a Colorado hold when you try to renew your home state license.
If your home state follows the IDLC, it will issue the same license suspensions that the Colorado DMV does, as the following table shows:
| DUI Offense | Driver’s License Suspension by Colorado DMV* |
| First offense | 9 months |
| Second offense | 1 year |
| Third offense or subsequent offense | 2 years |
| * Note that a first-time refusal to take a chemical test following a DUI arrest carries a one-year license suspension. | |
Still, every state’s DMV has its own way of doing things. Some states will suspend your license only if you are convicted in Colorado criminal court using the same burden or proof that the other state requires. Meanwhile, other states will suspend your license as soon as the Colorado DMV revokes your in-state driving privileges – even if your criminal case gets dropped.
Always consult with an attorney in your home state for what to expect from your DMV.
How do I get my home state license back?
Your home state typically will not let you get your license back until Colorado releases its hold on your Colorado driving privileges. For Colorado to lift its hold, you must:
- complete the suspension period,
- pay the $95 reinstatement fee, and
- complete the requirements outlined in the table below.
| DUI Offense | Requirements for License Reinstatement* |
| DUI first with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% to .149% |
|
| DUI first with BAC of 0.15% or higher; or DUI first with chemical test refusal |
|
| * All these forms and fees must be mailed to the address on the Application for Reinstatement. | |
You should receive a letter of clearance from the Colorado DMV about three weeks after sending them the required documentation and fees. At that point, you may apply to reinstate your driver’s license in your home state.
If I move to another state, can I apply for a new license there?
Whenever you apply for a driver’s license in your home state, your state’s DMV must search your name on the National Driver Register (NDR). The NDR uses the Problem Driver Pointer System (PDPS) database, which lists all the motorists who have been convicted of drunk/drugged driving or who have suspended or revoked licenses.
During this search, your state – the “State of Inquiry” (SOI) – will be pointed to the “State of Record” (SOR), which has information about your driving history and status. If the SOR shows an open Colorado DMV case, the SOI will deny your license.3
4. Probation
You can usually serve probation for a Colorado DUI in your home state. Colorado belongs to the Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision (ICAOS), which permits your probation to be transferred to your home state (“the receiving state”).
Please check with the Colorado court in advance. Plus you will need to submit proof of compliance of your community service.4
5. Extradition
If you miss your DUI court date in Colorado, the court will issue a bench warrant for your arrest.
For misdemeanor-level DUI cases, Colorado police will probably not make the effort to track you down out of state. For felony-level DUI cases, however, it is more likely that Colorado police will try to find you wherever you are and extradite you back to Colorado.5
6. Getting a DUI while on Probation
If you are arrested for DUI in Colorado while you are on probation in your home state for a prior offense, contact a criminal defense attorney in your home state immediately. Should prosecutors in your home state discover your Colorado DUI, they will ask the court to:
- revoke your probation and
- possibly remand you to jail (depending on the terms of probation).
Out-of-state defendants should contact an attorney in their home state to discuss what to expect from their DMV.
7. Underage DUI
Note that if you are under 21, you can get arrested for underage DUI (“UDD” or “baby DUI”) for driving with a BAC of .02% to .05%.
A first offense is only a class A traffic infraction, which is not a crime. Instead of jail, the judge imposes a three-month license revocation, 24 hours of useful public service, $100 in fines, and alcohol/drug classes. You should be able to complete the public service and classes in your home state.
Note that successive underage DUIs in Colorado are traffic misdemeanors that carry longer license suspensions: six months for a second UDD and one year for a third UDD.6
8. Colorado Residents Getting an Out-of-State DUI
Because Colorado is an active member of the Interstate Driver’s License Compact, Colorado is virtually guaranteed to find out about any out-of-state DUIs you pick up.
The “Substantially Similar” Test
The Colorado DMV does not automatically penalize you for every out-of-state traffic conviction. Instead, they apply an equivalency test. Under Colorado law, the DMV will only impose points or license suspensions if the out-of-state statute is “substantially similar” to Colorado’s definitions of DUI or DWAI.
Some states have much broader definitions of “impairment” than Colorado. If you are convicted under a law that is broader or has a lower threshold (like Utah’s 0.05% BAC limit), your attorney must analyze whether the conviction actually “counts” under C.R.S. 42-4-1301. If it does not meet the “substantially similar” standard, you may be able to fight the Colorado suspension entirely.
“Concurrent” Suspensions
One of the biggest risks for a Colorado resident is serving “double time” without a license. If State A suspends your driving privilege for six months, and Colorado then suspends you for nine months after State A is finished, you could be off the road for over a year.
In these cases, we can coordinate with the Colorado DMV to try and secure concurrent (overlapping) suspensions. The goal is to ensure that your Colorado clock starts ticking at the same time as the out-of-state clock, minimizing the total time you are without a license.
Avoiding Administrative Limbo
Limbo occurs when you have finished all the requirements in the state where you were arrested (paid the fines, finished the classes), but Colorado refuses to lift your license hold. This often happens because the other state’s “completion certificate” does not match Colorado’s specific data requirements.
To get out of limbo, you often need to provide Colorado with a certified letter of clearance or a specific packet of proof from the other state’s DMV. Until this is filed, Colorado may keep an indefinite hold on your license, preventing you from ever renewing your Colorado tags or license.
Colorado DUI criminal and administrative penalties largely apply to both in-state and out-of-state residents.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I’m from out-of-state, can I apply for “early reinstatement” with an interlock?
Generally, no. While Colorado residents can often get their driving privileges back early by installing an ignition interlock device, Colorado’s DMV does not have the authority to grant a “restricted” or “provisional” license to a resident of another state.
You will typically have to serve the full length of the Colorado revocation (for example, nine months for a first offense) before you are eligible to clear the hold on your National Driver Register (NDR) record.
Why do I need a “Letter of Clearance” if I already have my home state license?
Even if you still have your physical out-of-state license, Colorado will place an “indefinite hold” on your name in the national database. When your home state license expires or you try to renew it, your local DMV will see this hold and refuse to issue you a new license.
To fix this, you must file an Application for Reinstatement (DR 2870) and pay the $95 fee to Colorado to receive a formal letter of clearance, which tells your home state that Colorado has released its claim on your driving privilege.
I am a Colorado resident arrested in another state; will I lose my license here?
It depends on the “substantially similar” test. Under C.R.S. 42-4-1301, the Colorado DMV will only penalize you for an out-of-state conviction if the other state’s law is essentially equivalent to Colorado’s DUI or DWAI definitions.
If the other state has a much broader definition of impairment (for example, a “zero tolerance” law that does not exist in Colorado), your Colorado license may be safe. However, most standard DUI convictions will be reported back to Colorado and trigger a local suspension.
How can I avoid serving “double time” without a license?
If both Colorado and the state where you were arrested suspend your license, you risk serving two back-to-back suspensions. To avoid this, your attorney should advocate for concurrent (overlapping) suspensions.
By coordinating with the Colorado DMV, you may be able to have your Colorado suspension clock start at the same time as the other state’s, ensuring you are not off the road longer than legally necessary.
Additional Reading
For more information about Colorado DUI laws, refer to our related articles:
- Driving under restraint (C.R.S. 42-2-138) – discussion of the penalties for driving in Colorado on a Colorado- or an out-of-state driver’s license
- Reckless driving (C.R.S. 42-4-1401) – overview of this lesser crime than DUI; some DUI charges can be reduced to as part of a plea bargain
- Colorado driving record – a guide for checking how many points are on your license
- Felony DUI – an explanation of how multiple DUIs (at least 3) trigger a felony charge, and how even a first-time charge is a DUI if it results in serious injury
Legal References
- C.R.S. 42-4-1301. C.R.S. 42-4-1307. Note that 10 days of jail is mandatory for a DUI-1st if your BAC is .20% or higher. See also People v. Thomas (Colo.App. 2025) No. 22CA0901.
- C.R.S. 21-1-101.
- C.R.S. 42-2-126; see also Edwards v. Colo. Dept. of Rev. (Colo.App. 2016) 406 P.3d 347. Express Consent Cases Procedures, Nevada Department of Revenue.
- C.R.S. 42-4-1301; see also Felger v. Bd. of County Comm’rs (Colo.App. 1989) 776 P.2d 1169.
- C.R.S. 16-19-104.
- C.R.S. 42-2-125. C.R.S. 42-4-1301