What Happens If You Miss Jury Duty in Colorado?

If you miss jury duty in Colorado, the court usually gives you one chance to fix it before anything bad happens: the jury commissioner mails a delinquency notice and offers to reschedule. Ignore that, miss a second summons, or skip the show-cause hearing that follows, and a judge can hold you in contempt, fine you up to $500, jail you for up to six months, or issue a bench warrant for your arrest.¹

The Penalties on the Table

Colorado treats a failure to appear for jury service as contempt of court. A judge who finds you in contempt can impose a fine of up to $500, a jail sentence of up to six months, or both. The judge may instead order community service roughly equal to the time the jurors who actually showed up spent in the courtroom.¹

There is also a separate criminal track. Rather than handling the matter as contempt, a judge can refer your case to the district attorney for prosecution as a class 3 misdemeanor. A conviction on that charge carries up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $750, or both.¹

A judge can also skip punishment entirely and simply order you to serve on a future jury on dates set by the jury commissioner. That remedial option means you still end up serving, just on the court’s terms.

What Actually Happens After You Miss Your Date

Courts don’t send a deputy to your door after a single missed summons. The response escalates in stages, and the stage you’re in depends on whether this is your first or second no-show.

After a First Missed Summons

The jury commissioner’s office sends a delinquency notice by certified or first-class mail. The notice tells you you’re delinquent and gives you a chance to resolve the problem, usually by picking a new service date. The commissioner has broad discretion to work out a solution at this stage, and most first-time no-shows go no further.²

After a Second Missed Summons

If you’re summoned again and fail to appear a second time, the response sharpens. The jury commissioner uses the delinquency notice process to issue a Summons and Order to Show Cause signed by a judge. The document orders you to appear in court on a specific date and explain why you shouldn’t be held in contempt.¹

Ignore the Order to Show Cause and the situation becomes serious. The judge can issue a bench warrant for your arrest or send the matter to the district attorney for criminal prosecution. At that point, you’ll be brought before the court one way or another.¹

How to Fix a Missed Summons Now

Call the jury commissioner’s office in the county that issued your summons before the court has to chase you. The phone number and address are on the original summons. Have your name and juror number ready.

Be straightforward about why you missed. Commissioners deal with this constantly, and a first-time no-show who calls voluntarily almost always gets rescheduled without further consequences. Every trial juror in Colorado has the right to one postponement of up to six months, and the commissioner sets the new date.³

If you’ve already received an Order to Show Cause, you cannot handle this by phone. You must appear in court on the date listed in the order. Bring any documentation that explains your absence and present your reason honestly. A judge who hears a reasonable explanation at a show-cause hearing is far more likely to reschedule your service than to impose a fine or jail time. Skipping the hearing itself all but guarantees a bench warrant.

Valid Reasons to Be Excused or Postponed

Colorado law recognizes several grounds for temporary excusal from jury service. None are automatic. You generally need to request the excusal before your service date and supply documentation when asked.⁴

Physical hardship or caregiving. You can be excused temporarily if serving would cause undue or extreme physical hardship to you or someone under your direct care, including situations where you’d have to abandon a dependent because no substitute care is available.
Medical conditions. A judge or jury commissioner may request a medical statement to support your request. The statute specifically allows medical statements as documentation.
Breastfeeding. A parent who is breastfeeding a child and is unable or chooses not to leave the child must be excused temporarily for up to two consecutive twelve-month postponements. This is one of the few mandatory excusals in Colorado law.
No longer a county resident. You must be a U.S. citizen who lives in the summoning county at least fifty percent of the time to qualify. If you’ve moved out of the county with no intention of returning within the next twelve months, you’re disqualified and should notify the court so it can update its records.

If you’re claiming hardship, bring proof. Pay stubs, a letter from your employer showing lost wages, medical records, and documentation of caregiving responsibilities all help. The more concrete the evidence, the smoother the request.

Age Alone Will Not Excuse You

Colorado is one of only about nine states that do not allow older residents to opt out of jury duty based on age alone. A 2025 bill (HB 25-1065) would have let Coloradans age 72 and older request permanent excusal starting in 2026, and it passed the legislature with bipartisan support. Governor Polis vetoed it. Age by itself is not a valid reason to skip jury service in Colorado. Older residents who have difficulty serving can still seek excusal under the physical hardship provision, but they’ll need to describe the specific hardship rather than cite their age.

If Your Summons Is From Federal Court

If the summons comes from a U.S. District Court rather than a Colorado state or county court, different rules apply. Federal courts draw jurors from voter registration and driver’s license lists across the counties within the federal district.⁵

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1864(b), failing to appear after an order to show cause, or failing to show good cause for noncompliance, can result in a fine of up to $1,000, up to three days in jail, community service, or a combination of those penalties.⁶

Check the top of your summons. If it bears the name of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, follow the instructions on it and contact that court’s jury office directly. The state jury commissioner’s office cannot help with federal summonses, and vice versa.

Watch Out for Missed Jury Duty Scams

Scammers regularly impersonate law enforcement and claim you missed jury duty, demanding immediate payment to avoid arrest. These calls spike around the times courts send out real summonses, which is exactly when a worried person is most likely to believe them. The red flags are predictable:⁷

Urgent calls from supposed officers. Someone claiming to be a U.S. Marshal or police officer says you’ll be arrested immediately unless you pay.
Unusual payment methods. They insist on gift cards, cryptocurrency, a payment app, or a wire transfer. No court in the country collects fines this way.
Requests for personal information. They ask for your Social Security number or date of birth, which a real court would never request over the phone.

Real courts communicate about missed jury duty by mail. If you get a suspicious call and are genuinely worried you missed a summons, hang up and call the jury commissioner’s office at the number listed on your county court’s official website. Never use a number the caller gives you.

1
Colorado Judicial Branch. Administrative Order 1995-04 – Standard Procedure for Juror Who FTA on Summons
2
Justia. Colorado Code Title 13 – Failure to Appear – Delinquency Notice
3
Justia. Colorado Code Title 13 – Trial Jurors Right to One Postponement – Definition
4
Justia. Colorado Code Title 13 – Persons Entitled to Be Excused From Jury Service
5
United States Courts. Juror Selection Process
6
U.S. District Court, District of Idaho. Failure to Respond
7
Federal Trade Commission. That Call or Email Saying You Missed Jury Duty and Need to Pay – Its a Scam