Colorado’s ignition interlock rules require most drivers whose licenses were revoked for DUI or DWAI to install a breath-testing device on their vehicle before they can drive again, and to keep it for a minimum of one to five years depending on the offense. The device prevents the vehicle from starting if it detects alcohol on your breath, and it keeps testing you at random while you drive. Miss a service appointment, fail enough tests, or tamper with the unit, and the clock resets or your license goes away entirely.
Who Has to Install One
Under C.R.S. 42-2-132.5, you must hold an interlock-restricted license before the Division of Motor Vehicles will issue you a regular license if any of the following apply to your revocation:
- Your BAC was 0.15 or higher, or you otherwise qualify as a persistent drunk driver.
- You have more than one conviction for any combination of DUI, DUI per se, or DWAI.
- You were revoked as a habitual offender and a DUI, DUI per se, or DWAI conviction was part of the reason.
- You previously had a license revoked for circumventing or tampering with an interlock.
The requirement is not discretionary. It is a condition the DMV enforces before you can progress to an unrestricted license.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes 42-2-132.5 – Mandatory and Voluntary Restricted Licenses Following Alcohol Convictions
A single first offense can push you into the persistent drunk driver category if your BAC was 0.15 or higher, if you refused a chemical test, or if you drove while already restricted or revoked for alcohol. That designation matters because it lengthens the interlock period.2Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes 42-1-102 – Definitions
How Long the Interlock Stays On
The baseline is at least one year on the interlock-restricted license after reinstatement. Two situations stretch that:
- Persistent drunk drivers with an offense after July 1, 2004: at least two years before applying for a regular license.
- Multiple DUI or DWAI convictions: at least two years, up to five, depending on the circumstances.
Those are floors. Violations during the restriction can extend the period further.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes 42-2-132.5 – Mandatory and Voluntary Restricted Licenses Following Alcohol Convictions
Getting Back on the Road Sooner
Colorado lets you shorten the time you spend fully revoked by voluntarily taking an interlock-restricted license early. For DUI or per se BAC violations on or after January 1, 2023, you can apply on the first day your revocation becomes active. There is no waiting period. If your arrest happened before that date, you generally had to serve at least one month of the revocation first. For a refusal, the waiting period is two months regardless of arrest date.3Colorado Department of Revenue. Early Reinstatement (Interlock)
Early reinstatement typically carries the interlock for the remaining time on your original revocation, unless the two-year persistent drunk driver minimum is longer. You get driving privileges sooner in exchange for taking on the device.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes 42-2-132.5 – Mandatory and Voluntary Restricted Licenses Following Alcohol Convictions
Living With the Device
The interlock is a breathalyzer wired into your vehicle’s starter. Blow a clean sample and the engine starts. Blow over the threshold and it won’t. While you drive, the device also prompts you for random rolling retests. Skip or fail one and the device logs it; it may activate your horn or lights until you pull over and shut off the engine. It will not kill the engine while you’re moving.4Colorado Department of Revenue. Ignition Interlock Program
Every 60 days, you take the vehicle to an approved provider for servicing. The provider downloads every stored result: breath tests, failed starts, missed retests, and any sign of tampering. That data goes to the DMV.4Colorado Department of Revenue. Ignition Interlock Program
Miss a service appointment and your license is suspended immediately. There is no grace window to keep driving while you reschedule.4Colorado Department of Revenue. Ignition Interlock Program
What Makes the Term Longer
If the device records elevated alcohol and locks out your vehicle in three out of any twelve consecutive reporting periods (each roughly 60 days), the DMV extends your interlock restriction by 12 months beyond whatever time was left.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes 42-2-132.5 – Mandatory and Voluntary Restricted Licenses Following Alcohol Convictions
You can request a hearing on any extension. The hearing officer can sustain it, shorten it, or rescind it based on the facts you present.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes 42-2-132.5 – Mandatory and Voluntary Restricted Licenses Following Alcohol Convictions
Circumvention and Tampering
Colorado treats getting around the device and interfering with it as separate crimes. Driving a vehicle that doesn’t have an interlock when your license requires one, or circumventing the device’s function, is a class 1 traffic misdemeanor. Tampering with the device, or helping someone else tamper with it, is a class 2 misdemeanor. Knowingly driving a vehicle where someone has interfered with the interlock falls under the tampering provision.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes 42-2-132.5 – Mandatory and Voluntary Restricted Licenses Following Alcohol Convictions
Either violation also triggers an administrative revocation. The DMV pulls your interlock-restricted license and will not reinstate it for one year or the time remaining on your original restriction, whichever is longer. You have no driving privileges during that revocation, even with an interlock installed.5Colorado Department of Revenue. Interlock
What It Costs and Help Paying
Expect installation up front, monthly lease and monitoring fees of roughly $60 to $120, charges at each 60-day service visit, and a removal fee at the end. Across a two-year interlock period, total costs commonly run into the thousands.
Colorado law requires the DMV to run a financial assistance program for drivers who cannot afford the device, funded through the first-time drunk driving offender account in the highway users tax fund. If you qualify and funding is available, the state covers part of your costs. You apply through the DMV.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes 42-2-132.5 – Mandatory and Voluntary Restricted Licenses Following Alcohol Convictions Apply before you fall behind. Skipping a payment or a service visit because of cost is treated as noncompliance and can suspend your license.6Colorado Department of Revenue. Financial Assistance for Ignition Interlock
Separately, Colorado requires drivers with alcohol-related revocations to file an SR-22, a certificate from your insurer confirming you carry at least the state’s minimum liability coverage. Not every insurer writes SR-22 policies, and those that do charge more for high-risk drivers.7Colorado Department of Revenue. SR-22 and Insurance Information The rate increase from the underlying DUI often lasts several years and frequently outlasts the interlock itself.
Medical Accommodations
Colorado does not waive the interlock for medical reasons. If a respiratory condition makes it hard to produce a full breath sample, the DMV can approve a lower required breath volume, but you still have to use the device. You submit a notarized statement from your doctor describing the condition and why a standard test is difficult. If the DMV approves, it authorizes your provider to adjust the settings. No change happens on the vehicle until the DMV sends its approval to the provider, so start early if you expect a problem.