If you’ve been summoned for jury duty in Colorado, you’re required to respond, but state law pays you up to $50 per day for the first three days through your employer, reimburses your mileage, and makes it illegal for your employer to fire or penalize you for serving. You can request to be excused or postponed for specific reasons like serious illness, caregiving duties, or recent prior service, but you have to actually submit the request; ignoring the summons can be treated as contempt of court.
Who Has to Serve
Under C.R.S. 13-71-105, you qualify as a juror if you are a United States citizen, at least 18 years old, and either reside in the summoning county or live there more than half the time. Citizenship and residency are measured on the date of service. You also need to be able to read, speak, and understand English.1Justia. Colorado Code 13-71-105 – Qualifications for Juror Service2Colorado Judicial Branch. ADA FAQ
A felony conviction disqualifies you from grand jury service but doesn’t automatically bar you from a trial jury, though attorneys may factor it in during selection.3Colorado Judicial Branch. Jury FAQs A disability doesn’t automatically disqualify you either. Before dismissing anyone with a disability, the court has to interview the person to see what reasonable accommodations it can provide, and can only excuse the juror if no accommodation would let them serve.4Justia. Colorado Code 13-71-104 – Eligibility for Juror Service – Prohibition of Discrimination
Getting Excused or Postponed
Colorado recognizes several grounds for excusal or postponement. The judge or jury commissioner decides each request, and documentation helps.
- Undue or extreme physical hardship to you or someone in your direct care, including situations where you can’t find a substitute caregiver during your service period.5Justia. Colorado Code 13-71-119.5 – Persons Entitled to Be Excused from Jury Service
- Sole responsibility for the daily care of a permanently disabled person living in your household, when you aren’t regularly employed outside the home.6Colorado Judicial Branch. Disqualification Request
- Recent jury service: you already served as an impaneled juror in any court within the past 12 months, or are scheduled to serve in the next 12.6Colorado Judicial Branch. Disqualification Request
- Breastfeeding a child, when you’re unable to or choose not to leave the child. This grants a temporary excusal for up to two consecutive 12-month postponements.5Justia. Colorado Code 13-71-119.5 – Persons Entitled to Be Excused from Jury Service
- Serious physical or mental illness, backed by a statement from a licensed physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse, or authorized Christian Science practitioner confirming you can’t serve and specifying how long the disqualification should last.6Colorado Judicial Branch. Disqualification Request
Any supporting records you submit, such as medical statements or proof of guardianship, are confidential and won’t be disclosed publicly.5Justia. Colorado Code 13-71-119.5 – Persons Entitled to Be Excused from Jury Service Submit your request and follow up until you have a ruling before your scheduled reporting date.
After the Summons Arrives
Your summons comes with a juror questionnaire the court uses to confirm eligibility. The Colorado Judicial Branch tells you to complete it and bring it on your reporting day, though some individual courts allow online submission, so check the instructions on your specific summons.7Colorado Judicial Branch. Jury
Don’t just ignore it. Courts treat failure to respond as potential contempt, which can carry fines and jail time. If you need out, use the excusal process.
Before your reporting date, check your reporting status. Most courts run a phone line or website where you can confirm the evening before or morning of whether you actually need to appear. If the court tells you not to report, your obligation for that term is done. If you are told to report, arrange childcare, transportation, and time off from work ahead of time.
What You’ll Be Paid
Colorado splits juror pay between your employer and the state, depending on how long you serve and whether you’re employed.
The First Three Days
If you’re regularly employed, your employer must pay your normal wages for the first three days of jury service, capped at $50 per day unless the two of you agree to more. “Regularly employed” covers part-time, temporary, and casual work as long as your hours can be figured out from a schedule or pattern established during the three months before your service.8Justia. Colorado Code 13-71-126 – Compensation of Employed Jurors During First Three Days of Service
If paying your wages would cause your employer genuine financial hardship, the court can excuse the employer, and the state pays you instead, still capped at $50 per day. Self-employed jurors can request the same state-paid compensation.9Justia. Colorado Code 13-71-127 – Financial Hardship of Employer or Self-Employed Juror
No federal law requires private employers to pay wages during jury duty; the Fair Labor Standards Act doesn’t mandate pay for time not worked.10U.S. Department of Labor. Jury Duty Colorado’s rule is more protective than the federal baseline.
Mileage
You’re reimbursed for miles actually traveled between home and the courthouse at the same rate paid to state employees.11Justia. Colorado Code 13-33-103 – Mileage Fees of Jurors and Witnesses For 2026, that rate is $0.65 per mile for standard vehicles, calculated as 90 percent of the IRS mileage rate of $0.725.12Colorado Office of the State Controller. Mileage Reimbursement Rate
Your Job Is Protected
Colorado law prohibits employers from firing you, cutting your benefits, or making demands that would substantially interfere with your jury service. The protection begins the moment you receive a summons and covers everything through the end of service.13Justia. Colorado Code 13-71-134 – Penalties and Enforcement Remedies for Harassment by Employer
If your employer retaliates, you can file a civil suit for damages or an injunction. When the conduct is willful, the court can award treble damages (three times your actual losses) plus reasonable attorney fees. Willful violations are also a class 2 misdemeanor under C.R.S. 18-8-614.13Justia. Colorado Code 13-71-134 – Penalties and Enforcement Remedies for Harassment by Employer
If your employer pressures you to skip service, take reduced pay, or threatens consequences, put everything in writing and keep copies.
What Reporting Day Looks Like
You’ll pass through security screening and check in at the assembly room. Court staff process attendees and walk through general procedures. Many Colorado courts follow a “one day, one trial” model: you serve for a single day, and if you’re not selected for a trial, you’re done.14City of Colorado Springs. Jury Orientation If you’re picked for a trial, you serve for the length of that trial.
Selection happens through voir dire, where the judge and attorneys ask questions to gauge whether you can be fair and impartial and to spot biases or connections to the case. If the attorneys don’t select you, you’re typically dismissed and your service is complete.
If Your Summons Is From Federal Court
A summons from the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado runs on separate rules. Federal juror qualifications are similar: U.S. citizen, at least 18, and able to read, write, speak, and understand English adequately.15United States Courts. Juror Qualifications, Exemptions and Excuses
Federal jurors get $50 per day as a base attendance fee. If a trial goes longer than 10 days, the judge has discretion to raise the daily fee by up to another $10, for a maximum of $60 per day.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1871 – Fees Federal courts reimburse reasonable transportation and may cover meals and lodging when jurors have to stay overnight.
Federal employment protection comes from 28 U.S.C. 1875. No employer may fire, threaten, intimidate, or coerce a permanent employee because of federal jury service. Violators face a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation per employee, liability for lost wages and benefits, and possible orders of reinstatement or community service.17United States District Court, District of Nebraska. Message Regarding Jury Service and Employment
Reporting Jury Pay on Your Taxes
Jury pay is taxable income at the federal level, whether it comes from a state or federal court. You should receive a form reporting the amount, and it goes into your gross income on your return.
If your employer paid your regular wages during service and required you to hand over the jury pay you received from the court, you can deduct the amount you turned over as an adjustment to income, so you’re not taxed on money you didn’t keep. IRS Publication 17 covers the specifics.