Colorado Domestic Violence (CRS): Arrests, Orders, and Penalties

Colorado domestic violence laws don’t create a standalone charge called “domestic violence.” Instead, the designation attaches to another offense (assault, harassment, menacing, criminal mischief, stalking, and others) and triggers a fixed chain of consequences the moment police respond: mandatory arrest, a no-bond hold until first appearance, an automatic protection order, firearm surrender, mandatory treatment on conviction, and federal consequences that outlast the state case. Here is how each piece works and when it kicks in.

What Counts as Domestic Violence in Colorado

The definition lives in C.R.S. § 18-6-800.3 and has two parts. The first is any act or threatened act of violence against someone the accused has or had an intimate relationship with. The second is broader: any crime against a person, property, or an animal committed to coerce, control, punish, intimidate, or take revenge against an intimate partner.¹

That second category catches people off guard. You don’t need to touch anyone. Smashing a partner’s phone during an argument is criminal mischief. Sending repeated threatening texts is harassment. If the act targets an intimate partner and is used to control or punish, it carries the domestic violence designation.

“Intimate relationship” covers current or former spouses, current or former unmarried couples, and people who share a child. The parties do not need to live together, and they do not need to have ever lived together.¹

Mandatory Arrest and the No-Bond Hold

Colorado is a mandatory arrest state. When an officer has probable cause to believe a domestic violence crime occurred, the officer must arrest without undue delay. There is no option to issue a warning or a citation.²

When both parties blame each other, the officer evaluates each complaint separately under C.R.S. § 18-6-803.6(2), weighing prior complaints, the severity of injuries on each side, the likelihood of future harm, and whether one person acted in self-defense. The statute pushes toward identifying a primary aggressor rather than arresting everyone, though dual arrests still happen.²

Once arrested, the person cannot bond out immediately. Colorado’s bond schedule imposes a no-bond hold for domestic violence arrests, keeping the accused in custody until a judge advises them of the mandatory protection order under C.R.S. § 18-1-1001(5).³ That advisement typically happens within 48 hours. The judge then reviews charges, explains the protection order conditions, and sets bail.

The Automatic Protection Order

The instant someone is charged with a domestic violence offense, a mandatory protection order takes effect under C.R.S. § 18-1-1001. It stays in place through final disposition of the case, meaning dismissal, acquittal, or completion of the full sentence including any probation or parole.⁴

The order prohibits contact with the alleged victim by any method: in person, phone, text, social media, or through a third party. In domestic violence cases the court can add further conditions, including a prohibition on possessing firearms or weapons.⁴

Firearm Surrender Within 24 Hours

When the protection order issues, the accused must surrender all firearms and ammunition in their possession or control, generally within 24 hours of being served. Weapons go to a licensed dealer, law enforcement, or an approved third party under C.R.S. § 18-1-1001(9)(b). The court form warns that failure to comply can result in an arrest warrant.⁵ The restriction lasts the full duration of the order.

Violating the Order Is a Separate Crime

Breaking any condition is a new charge under C.R.S. § 18-6-803.5. A first violation is a class 2 misdemeanor, but it escalates to a class 1 misdemeanor when the order was issued under the mandatory criminal protection order statute, when the parties are or were in an intimate relationship, or when the accused has a prior violation conviction.⁶ Because nearly every domestic violence protection order fits those criteria, most violations start at class 1.

Only the DA Can Drop the Case

A common misconception is that the alleged victim can call the prosecutor and drop the charges. They cannot. Once the arrest happens, the case belongs to the state. The district attorney decides what to file, what to pursue, and whether to dismiss. The victim’s wishes are a factor, not a veto.

The design is deliberate. Lawmakers recognized that victims face enormous pressure to recant. By placing the charging decision entirely with the state, Colorado insulates it from coercion. Even a fully uncooperative witness does not end the case: 911 recordings, officer observations, photographs, and third-party witness statements can carry a prosecution on their own.

How the Enhancer Changes Sentencing

Because domestic violence is a sentencing enhancer rather than a standalone offense, the underlying crime (say, third-degree assault or criminal mischief) carries its own base penalties. The domestic violence finding then layers additional requirements on top. For the enhancer to apply, the court must find on the record that the underlying crime included an act of domestic violence as defined in § 18-6-800.3.⁷

Mandatory Evaluation and Treatment

Every person convicted of a crime carrying a domestic violence finding must complete both an evaluation and a treatment program that meets the standards of the Domestic Violence Offender Management Board. It applies no matter how minor the underlying offense.⁷ The evaluation assesses risk and treatment needs. The program itself typically runs for months of group sessions on a standardized curriculum, and the convicted person pays for both. Treatment providers send regular progress reports to the court, and dropping out violates probation.

Felony Elevation at Four Offenses

Under C.R.S. § 18-6-801(7), any misdemeanor offense carrying a domestic violence designation becomes a class 5 felony if the accused has three or more prior domestic violence convictions from separate cases. Those priors count whether they were state, federal, or municipal, and whether they were felonies or misdemeanors.⁷ A class 5 felony carries a presumptive sentence of one to three years in the Department of Corrections and fines from $1,000 to $100,000.⁸ A fourth harassment charge, trivial on its own, can send someone to state prison.

Consequences That Outlast the Case

Permanent Federal Firearms Ban

Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), the Lautenberg Amendment, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is permanently prohibited from possessing, shipping, or receiving any firearm or ammunition.⁹ There is no sunset. A 20-year-old misdemeanor harassment conviction with a domestic violence finding still bars firearm possession today.

Deportation Risk for Non-Citizens

Under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E)(i), any non-citizen convicted after admission of a crime of domestic violence is deportable. The federal definition reaches crimes of violence against a current or former spouse, someone who shares a child with the offender, a current or former cohabitant, or any person protected under domestic violence laws.¹⁰ Immigration consequences generally do not turn on whether the Colorado offense was a misdemeanor or felony.

Child Custody Decisions

Under C.R.S. § 14-10-124, courts must consider whether a party committed domestic violence, engaged in a pattern of domestic violence, or has a history of it when allocating parental responsibilities.¹¹ If the court finds domestic violence by a preponderance of the evidence:

Joint decision-making will not be ordered over the other parent’s objection unless credible evidence shows the parties can cooperate safely.
The safety of the child and the abused parent is the court’s primary concern in approving any parenting plan.
Parenting time can be supervised or otherwise restricted.
A parent who left the home because of violence or threats cannot have that absence held against them.

The court can also order the offending parent into a separate domestic violence evaluation as part of the custody case and require treatment based on the result.¹¹

Record Sealing Is Rare

Colorado generally does not allow domestic violence convictions to be sealed. C.R.S. § 24-72-706(2) lists convictions with an underlying factual basis of domestic violence among the categories ineligible for sealing, and municipal assault or battery convictions involving domestic violence are similarly excluded.¹²

A narrow exception applies to misdemeanor domestic violence convictions. Sealing is possible if the district attorney consents, or if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person’s need for sealing is significant, that enough time has passed that they no longer threaten public safety, and that public disclosure of the record is no longer necessary.¹² That is a steep standard. Most people will carry the record indefinitely, which is why the federal firearms ban, immigration exposure, and custody consequences tend to compound over time rather than fade.

1
Justia. Colorado Code 18-6-800.3 – Definitions
2
FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18 Criminal Code 18-6-803.6 – Duties of Peace Officers and Prosecuting Agencies
3
Colorado Judicial Branch. Fourth Judicial District Bond Schedule
4
FindLaw. Colorado Code 18-1-1001 – Protection Order Against Defendant – Definitions
5
Colorado Judicial Branch. JDF 440 – Mandatory Protection Order
6
FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18 Criminal Code 18-6-803.5
7
Justia. Colorado Code 18-6-801 – Domestic Violence – Sentencing
8
Colorado Department of Human Services. Felony Sentencing Guidelines
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens
11
FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 Domestic Matters 14-10-124
12
Colorado Judicial Branch. Sealing Criminal Records – August 2025