Colorado Court Fines: Amounts, Surcharges, and Nonpayment Consequences

Colorado court fines run from $30 for a minor speeding ticket to $1,000,000 for the most serious felonies, and the number printed on your citation or sentencing order is rarely what you actually owe. Surcharges, court costs, and program fees sit on top of every base fine and can double or triple the total. The rules that matter most are the statutory ranges for each offense class, the add-ons that attach automatically, and the ability-to-pay protections built into Colorado law for anyone who genuinely cannot cover the bill.

How Colorado Sets the Base Fine

Each offense in Colorado carries a statutory minimum and maximum fine tied to its class, so a judge in Grand Junction and a judge in Denver work from the same ranges. Within those ranges, the judge weighs the severity of the offense, your criminal history, and any aggravating circumstances.

Judges also have to consider whether you can afford the fine. Under C.R.S. 18-1.3-702, the court must tell you at sentencing that if you cannot pay, you need to contact the court rather than ignore the obligation. If paying would cause undue hardship to you or your dependents, the court cannot jail you for nonpayment.¹ That protection runs through every part of the system described below.

Traffic Ticket Amounts

Speeding tickets follow a tiered schedule under C.R.S. 42-4-1701:

1–4 mph over: $30 fine plus a $6 surcharge
5–9 mph over: $70 fine plus a $10 surcharge
10–19 mph over: $135 fine plus a $16 surcharge
20–24 mph over: $200 fine plus a $32 surcharge
25+ mph over: a Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense carrying a $150–$300 fine and 10 to 90 days of possible jail time

Every speeding ticket also carries an additional $20 brain injury surcharge. Speeding in a construction zone doubles both the fine and the surcharge, so a 20–24 mph ticket there jumps to $540 in base fine alone.²

Equipment violations, registration problems, and failure-to-yield offenses are generally Class A or Class B traffic infractions, each in a $15 to $100 range plus applicable surcharges.²

Misdemeanor Fines

Colorado consolidated misdemeanors into two classes effective March 1, 2022. For conduct on or after that date:

Class 1 misdemeanor: up to $1,000, up to 364 days in jail, or both
Class 2 misdemeanor: up to $750, up to 120 days in jail, or both

Older conduct is still governed by the previous three-class scheme, under which a Class 1 misdemeanor carried fines up to $5,000, a Class 2 up to $1,000, and a Class 3 up to $750.³ If a court document references a “Class 3 misdemeanor,” you are looking at pre-2022 law.

Felony Fines

Felony fines operate on presumptive ranges between a statutory minimum and maximum:

Class 1 felony: no fine (prison sentence applies instead)
Class 2 felony: $5,000 to $1,000,000
Class 3 felony: $3,000 to $750,000
Class 4 felony: $2,000 to $500,000
Class 5 felony: $1,000 to $100,000
Class 6 felony: $1,000 to $100,000

⁴

A fine can be imposed instead of or in addition to prison, probation, or community corrections. If you have two or more prior felony convictions from any state, you are no longer eligible to receive a fine in lieu of incarceration and must serve at least the minimum prison sentence for the offense class.⁴

Surcharges and Fees That Get Added On

The base fine is where the math starts, not where it ends.

Victim Assistance (VALE) Surcharge

Every criminal conviction or deferred judgment triggers a surcharge for the Victims and Witnesses Assistance and Law Enforcement program. The amount is 37% of the fine or a statutory minimum, whichever is greater, with minimums of $163 for felonies, $78 for misdemeanors, $46 for Class 1 misdemeanor traffic offenses, and $33 for Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offenses. For a list of serious crimes identified in the statute, an additional $1,300 surcharge is assessed.⁵⁶ The VALE surcharge can be waived if the court finds you are indigent.

Other Common Add-Ons

Time payment fee: $25, charged when you set up an installment plan
Late penalty: $10 per missed payment
Offender identification fee: $128
Useful public service fee: up to $120 if community service is ordered
Public defender fee: $25 if a court-appointed attorney represented you
Victim address confidentiality fee: $28
Brain injury surcharge: $20–$25 depending on the offense

⁶

Alcohol- and drug-related traffic convictions carry extra charges, including a $90 law enforcement assistance fund fee, a $200 substance abuse evaluation fee, and a $30 persistent drunk driver surcharge.⁶ Review the full breakdown on your sentencing order before you assume you know the total.

When Payment Is Due and How to Pay

Fines and fees are due the day of sentencing. There is no 30-day bill in the mail. If you cannot pay in full, raise it with the court that day, not later.⁷

Most judicial districts accept online payments through the Colorado Judicial Branch website. You can also pay by mail with a check or money order to the court clerk, or in person at the courthouse, where some locations have payment kiosks.

Installment Plans

Under C.R.S. 18-1.3-702, the court or a designated official can set up periodic payments based on your financial situation.¹ Opening a plan adds a $25 time payment fee, and each missed payment adds $10.⁶ Miss enough payments and the court can reinstate the full balance and refer the account to a collections investigator. Treat these payments as non-negotiable.

If You Cannot Afford to Pay

The court has tools beyond writing a check. Community service is the most common. C.R.S. 18-1.3-507 governs it for misdemeanor cases, and the court can charge an administrative fee of up to $120 for placement, waivable if you qualify as indigent.⁸

For genuine hardship, the court can reduce or waive certain fees. You typically file a motion with evidence of your income, expenses, debts, public assistance status, and housing. Colorado defines undue hardship as conditions that would deprive you of food, shelter, clothing, or basic medical care, and the court weighs employment, debts, property, and housing when deciding.¹

The hard rule in C.R.S. 18-1.3-702: the court cannot jail you, revoke your probation, or hold you in contempt for failing to pay if you lack the present ability to pay without undue hardship to yourself or your dependents. Before any incarceration for nonpayment, the court must hold a hearing, find on the record that you had the ability to pay, and determine that you failed to make a good-faith effort to comply. The court is also required to tell you that you can ask for a reduction or a non-incarceration alternative, and it cannot issue a warrant solely for failure to pay without following these steps.¹

The practical point: if you cannot pay, do not disappear. Contact the court or the collections investigator in your judicial district and explain your situation. Silence looks like willful refusal, which is the one scenario where jail becomes a legal option.

What Happens If You Ignore the Bill

When someone with the ability to pay simply chooses not to, consequences stack up fast.

Arrest Warrants and Contempt

If the court concludes you are willfully refusing to pay, it can issue a warrant. An outstanding warrant means any routine traffic stop can end in arrest, and contempt charges can follow.¹

Driver’s License Suspension

Unpaid traffic tickets can get your license suspended. Reinstatement requires paying the underlying fine, a $95 reinstatement fee, and getting a new license.⁹ Colorado also participates in the Non-Resident Violator Compact, so an unpaid ticket from another participating state can trigger a Colorado suspension.

State Tax Refund and Lottery Offsets

The judicial department can send outstanding fine data to the Department of Revenue, which will intercept all or part of your state income tax refund, and the same mechanism applies to lottery winnings. You are entitled to written notice and the right to object through an administrative review before the offset takes effect.¹⁰

Collections

Unpaid accounts go to collections investigators within the judicial district.¹¹ If the debt is eventually referred to a private collection agency, Colorado caps the aggregate fees, costs, and collection costs at 18% of the principal, not counting interest or court costs.¹² That cap sits on top of late penalties, surcharges, and the original fine.

Probation Revocation

If paying your fine was a probation condition and you stop without contacting the court, the prosecution can move to revoke probation, and the court can then impose the maximum sentence for the underlying offense. The same ability-to-pay protections apply: revocation for nonpayment requires a finding that you had the means and willfully failed to pay.¹

1
Justia. Colorado Code 18-1.3-702 – Monetary Payments – Due Process Required
2
Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-1701 – Traffic Offenses and Infractions Classified – Penalties – Penalty and Surcharge Schedule
3
Justia. Colorado Code 18-1.3-501 – Misdemeanors Classified – Penalties
4
Justia. Colorado Code 18-1.3-401 – Felonies Classified – Presumptive Penalties
5
FindLaw. Colorado Code 24-4.2-104 – Surcharges Levied on Criminal Actions and Traffic Offenses
6
Colorado Judicial Branch. List of Fees
7
Colorado Judicial Branch. 8th Judicial District Collections and Online Payments
8
Justia. Colorado Code 18-1.3-507 – Community or Useful Public Service – Misdemeanors
9
Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles. Driver Records, License Suspensions, and Reinstatement Information
10
Justia. Colorado Code 16-11-101.8 – State Income Tax Refund and Lottery Winnings Offsets
11
Colorado Judicial Branch. Collections and Tax Offsets
12
Justia. Colorado Code 5-16-111.5 – Fees, Costs, and Costs of Collection