Colorado trespassing laws split the offense into three degrees based on where you went and what you intended to do there. The lowest level is a petty offense carrying up to 10 days in jail; the most serious, walking knowingly into an occupied home, is a class 6 felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison. Property owners can also sue trespassers for damages in civil court, and inside a dwelling, Colorado’s Make My Day statute gives occupants broad authority to use force, including deadly force, against intruders who meet specific conditions.
The Three Degrees of Criminal Trespass
Colorado’s criminal code sorts trespass by what kind of property was entered and whether the person intended something more than just being there.
Third-Degree Criminal Trespass
This is the baseline offense: entering or remaining on someone else’s property without permission. Under C.R.S. 18-4-504, it is normally a petty offense. The charge jumps dramatically if agricultural land is involved and the person entered intending to commit a felony. On fenced agricultural land, that becomes a class 5 felony; on unfenced agricultural land, a class 6 felony.1Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 18-4-504 – Third Degree Criminal Trespass The older provision that made agricultural trespass a misdemeanor has been repealed.
Second-Degree Criminal Trespass
Second-degree trespass under C.R.S. 18-4-503 covers three situations: entering fenced or enclosed property meant to keep people out, entering unauthorized common areas of a hotel, apartment building, or condominium, and entering someone else’s motor vehicle. The first two are petty offenses, unless the enclosed property is agricultural land and the person intended a felony there, which makes it a class 5 felony. Entering another person’s vehicle without permission is a class 2 misdemeanor.2Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 18-4-503 – Second Degree Criminal Trespass
First-Degree Criminal Trespass
The most serious category applies to two scenarios under C.R.S. 18-4-502: knowingly entering or remaining in someone’s dwelling without permission, or entering a vehicle intending to commit a crime inside it. Entering a dwelling is a class 1 misdemeanor and escalates to a class 6 felony if the dwelling is inhabited or occupied when you enter. Entering a vehicle with criminal intent is a class 1 misdemeanor.3Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 18-4-502 – First Degree Criminal Trespass
The line between first- and second-degree trespass often turns on whether prosecutors can prove the structure was a “dwelling,” meaning a place where someone lives or sleeps, rather than just an enclosed building.
Penalties by Offense Level
The sentence you face depends entirely on classification. Colorado assigns these maximums:
- Petty offense: up to 10 days in jail and a fine of up to $300. Covers basic third-degree trespass on non-agricultural land and second-degree trespass on fenced property or restricted common areas.
- Class 2 misdemeanor: up to 120 days in jail and a fine of up to $750. Covers entering someone else’s vehicle without permission under the second-degree statute.4Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 18-1.3-501 – Misdemeanor Penalties
- Class 1 misdemeanor: up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Covers first-degree trespass into an unoccupied dwelling and entering a vehicle with criminal intent.4Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 18-1.3-501 – Misdemeanor Penalties
- Class 6 felony: one year to 18 months in prison and a fine between $1,000 and $100,000. Covers first-degree trespass into an inhabited dwelling and agricultural trespass with felony intent on unfenced land.
- Class 5 felony: one to three years in prison and a fine between $1,000 and $100,000. Covers agricultural trespass with felony intent on fenced land.
A felony conviction carries weight beyond the sentence itself. It can disqualify you from certain professional licenses, restrict firearm ownership, and complicate employment and housing applications. Judges can also order probation, restitution for any property damage, and protective orders barring future contact with the owner.
Defenses That Can Defeat a Charge
Trespass charges require the prosecution to prove the entry was unlawful, and for first- and second-degree trespass, that it was knowing. That opens several defenses.
Lack of knowledge is a real defense where boundary lines are unclear, signage is missing, or the land looks like public space. A person who reasonably believed they had the right to be where they were may not meet the unlawful-entry standard. This argument is strongest when context genuinely made the entry ambiguous.
Consent ends the case. If the owner or someone with authority allowed you onto the property, there is no unlawful entry. Consent can be implied, such as walking up an open path to a front door during normal hours, and it can come from a third party you reasonably believed had authority to grant access.
Necessity is recognized in Colorado when someone enters property to avoid a greater harm, like taking shelter during a severe storm or crossing private land to help in a medical emergency. The threat must be immediate, you must have had no reasonable alternative, you cannot have created the danger yourself, and the trespass must have caused less harm than the emergency would have.
Legal authority covers government officials, utility workers, and emergency personnel acting within their duties. If entry was authorized by law or a valid court order, the charge fails.
Civil Lawsuits for Trespass
A property owner can also sue a trespasser in civil court, separately from any criminal case. A civil claim doesn’t require proof that the trespasser intended anything wrong. The owner only has to show that someone entered without authorization. Even when no physical harm occurred, courts can award nominal damages of one dollar, which puts the violation on the record.5Colorado Judicial Branch. Chapter 18 Trespass to Land and Private Nuisance
Where there is real harm, damages can include the cost of restoring the property, lost rental value or business income, diminished market value, and the owner’s personal discomfort or loss of use. Colorado case law has recognized damages for contamination that migrates through soil and groundwater, destruction of a business relationship, and even mental suffering when the trespass was motivated by malice.5Colorado Judicial Branch. Chapter 18 Trespass to Land and Private Nuisance
The deadline to file a civil trespass lawsuit in Colorado is two years from the date the trespass occurred, under C.R.S. 13-80-102. Miss that window and the court will almost certainly dismiss the case regardless of its merits.
Make My Day: Force Against Intruders
Colorado’s “Make My Day” statute, C.R.S. 18-1-704.5, gives occupants of a dwelling unusually broad authority to use force, including deadly force, against someone who has made an unlawful entry. All three of the following must be true:
- The occupant reasonably believes the intruder has already committed, is committing, or intends to commit a crime inside the dwelling beyond the uninvited entry itself.
- The occupant reasonably believes the intruder might use any physical force, however slight, against someone in the dwelling.
- The other person entered without permission.
When all three conditions are met, the occupant is immune from both criminal prosecution and civil liability for injuries or death resulting from the force used.6Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 18-1-704.5 – Use of Deadly Physical Force Against an Intruder
The statute applies only inside a dwelling. It does not reach trespassers in your yard, on your farmland, or in a detached garage. Outside the home, Colorado’s general self-defense rules under C.R.S. 18-1-704 apply, which require proportional force and generally do not allow deadly force to protect property alone. The law is powerful inside its boundaries and offers no protection outside them.
Trespassing on Federal Land in Colorado
Colorado contains millions of acres managed by federal agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Forest Service. Trespass on federal land is governed by federal regulations rather than Colorado state law.
On general federal property, entering or remaining in areas closed to the public violates federal conduct rules and can be punished by up to 30 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.7U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Federal Rules and Regulations for Conduct on Federal Property On BLM-managed public lands, occupying land without required authorization, or using it in ways that exceed a permit, constitutes trespass. A knowing and willful trespass on BLM land can bring up to 12 months in jail and a $1,000 fine.8eCFR. Title 43 Subpart 2808 Trespass These cases go to federal court, and a conviction results in a federal criminal record. If you spend time on public lands, pay close attention to closure notices, permit requirements, and boundary markers.