If you have been arrested for DUI in Colorado, your criminal defense attorney can request a DMV hearing. This is where your attorney would try to persuade the DMV not to revoke your driver’s license.
If you do not have an attorney, you can request a DMV hearing yourself by taking the following steps.
Step 1: Do not delay
If the police confiscated your driver’s license after your arrest, you have only seven days from the date of your arrest to request a DMV hearing.
If the police did not confiscate your license, then within a few weeks the DMV may mail you a letter informing you that your license will be revoked. You have only 10 days from the date this letter is sent to request a DMV hearing.
Once the time limit has passed without you requesting a DMV hearing, the DMV will automatically revoke your license. (If this happens, do not worry: You may still be able to continue driving with an ignition interlock device.)1
Step 2: Submit the DMV hearing request
Go to mydmv.colorado.gov. Click on “Driver/ID Services” and select “Request a Hearing.” Then fill in the requested information, such as your name, address, etc.
Have handy the Express Consent Affidavit and Notice of Revocation paperwork the police gave you when they confiscated your driver’s license. If the police did not take your license, then the DMV would have mailed you this paperwork a few weeks after your arrest.2
See our related articles, What is Colorado’s express consent law? and What happens if I refuse the DUI breath or blood test in Colorado?
Step 3: Wait for a response
Once you submit your DMV hearing request, you will receive an auto-response right away confirming your submission. Then within a couple of days, you will receive a temporary license by email.
Within a week or so you will hear from the DMV by mail or email with the date of the DMV hearing. It should be no later than 60 days after your request.
You can continue driving on your temporary license pending the DMV hearing results.3
Step 4: Prepare for your DMV hearing
DMV hearings are extremely hard to win. The state’s burden is proof is very low, much lower than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard in criminal cases.
That is why it is vital for you to have an experienced Colorado DUI defense attorney representing you and cross-examining the officer who arrested you. An attorney may be able to show that the officer
- failed to follow protocol,
- lacked reasonable suspicion to pull you over, and/or
- lacked probable cause to arrest you.
Be sure to bring medical records of any conditions that may have caused a falsely high blood alcohol content reading. Examples would be:
- dental work such as a bridge (that may cause alcohol to pool in your mouth)
- acid reflux
- auto-brewery syndrome4
See our related articles, How to prepare for a DMV hearing and How to win a DMV administrative hearing in Colorado.
Step 5: Get an IID restricted license if necessary
If you lose the DMV hearing, ask the hearing officer for an ignition interlock restricted license. This allows you to continue driving during your driver’s license suspension as long as you have an ignition interlock device (IID).
Note that even if you win the DMV hearing, the DMV will still revoke your license if you lose the criminal case (which is entirely separate from the DMV case). This is another reason why having private counsel is strongly advised.5
See our related article, Colorado Drunk Driving: How long will my driver’s license be suspended?
Legal References
- Hearings Division, Colorado Department of Revenue. CRS 42-2-125; CRS 42-2-126; CRS 42-2-127. Jackson v. Dept. of Rev., (Colo. App. 1990) 791 P.2d 1206. Kelley v. Dept. of Rev., (Colo. App. 1989) 780 P.2d 67. CRS 42-4-1301.
- See note 1.
- See note 1.
- See, for example, Sandee LaMotte, Woman claims her body brews alcohol, has DUI charge dismissed, CNN (January 1, 2016).
- See note 1. Interlock, Colorado Department of Revenue. See also, The DUI Process, Colorado Department of Revenue.
