In Colorado, driving on a suspended driver’s license following a DUI is a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense that carries at least ten days in jail. If your license was suspended for non-DUI reasons, then driving on a suspended license is a class A traffic infraction carrying $15 to $100 in fines.¹

Colorado’s legal term for driving on a suspended license is driving under restraint, abbreviated DUR. Below are the DUR penalties depending on the reason for the license suspension.

What are the DUR penalties for drunk driving?

Driving on a license suspended due to DUI is a class 2 traffic misdemeanor in Colorado. A first-time offense carries:

• 10 days to 90 days in jail, and
• $150 to $300 in fines, and
• a 1-year extension of your driver’s license suspension

Meanwhile, a second or successive offense in a five-year period of the first DUR case carries:

• 10 days to 90 days in jail, and
• $500 to $3,000 in fines, and
• a 4-year extension of your driver’s license suspension

Note that you must serve the mandatory minimum of jail time unless you drove due to an emergency situation.

A temporary driver’s license revocation is a standard punishment for DUI, DUI per se, UDD, subsequent DWAI, or any drunk- or drugged driving-related charge in the U.S. Under certain circumstances, you may be eligible for a restricted license under CRS 42-2-132.5.²

What are the DUR penalties for an outstanding judgment?

Driving on a license suspended due to an outstanding judgment is a class A traffic infraction in Colorado. The punishment is a fine of $15 to $100, and three (3) DMV points.²

“Outstanding judgment” means you are behind on making a court-ordered payment, such as child support or restitution.

What are the DUR penalties for any other reason?

Driving on a license suspended for reasons other than DUI or outstanding judgments is a class A traffic infraction in Colorado. The penalties include $15 to $100.

A first-time offense also carries an additional year of license suspension. For second or subsequent offenses within five years of the first DUR case, your license suspension period is extended for three years. Under certain circumstances, you may be eligible for a restricted license under CRS 42-2-132.5.³

A common reason why your Colorado driver’s license may get suspended is by accruing too many DMV points from various traffic violations.

How do I fight DUR charges?

There are many potential defenses that our Colorado criminal defense attorneys use to fight charges of driving on a suspended license. Three common defense arguments that have gotten our clients’ DUR charges dismissed are:

1. Lack of knowledge. No law was broken as long as you had no actual knowledge that your license was suspended. Our legal team can use tools such as the USPS’s “informed delivery” application to check if the DMV failed to notify you. Unless the D.A. can show you knowingly drove under restraint, the charge should be dropped.
2. No restraint. As a big bureaucracy, the DMV sometimes makes mistakes. Perhaps your name was mistakenly listed as being under restraint. We would launch an investigation in search of evidence to show that your license was never supposed to be suspended to begin with.
3. Emergency. It is against the law to drive without a license even in emergency situations. Though our legal team has persuaded prosecutors to drop DUR cases anyway once we showed our client had no choice but to drive without a license. Typical evidence we rely on to prove the existence of an emergency includes eyewitness accounts, medical records, weather reports, and police reports.

See our related article, how to reinstate a suspended driver’s license in Colorado.

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