Prior to last week, a driver convicted in Colorado of DUI, or who was administratively revoked by the DMV, was required to sit out a 30 day period of a "no exceptions" revocation of their driver's license. During this month long period, a convicted or revoked driver had no lawful alternatives to get behind the wheel lawfully. As of January 1, 2023, many drivers who lose their licenses after a DUI arrest have a new avenue to get back behind the wheel a little sooner.
Senate Bill 22-055 was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis on June 8, 2022, and went into effect January 1, 2023. This new law allows drivers revoked administratively for being over .08 BAC, or those convicted of DUI in court, to be eligible for an immediate interlock restricted license.
This new law does not however broaden access to an interlock restriction for drivers who are revoked for refusing to submit a blood or breath test. Drivers who are administratively revoked for refusal must still be subject to a 60 day "hard" revocation with no driving exceptions before they are eligible to obtain an interlock restricted license.
An interlock restricted license is a permit that allows a driver who has a revoked license to continue to drive as long as they are driving a car equipped with an alcohol detecting interlock device, and they have an SR22 insurance policy.
Some Colorado DUI lawyers unfortunately do not keep up with current Colorado law changes. If you have had your license revoked by the DMV for submitting a specimen over .08, or by a judge after being convicted of a DUI, make sure you are correctly informed that you are (in most cases) immediately eligible to obtain an interlock restricted license.
Another benefit to obtaining an interlock license is for information that can help with mitigation with the judge if your case ends up proceeding to sentencing. If you've been blowing in the device regularly for months and the results are showing no alcohol has been consumed, your DUI lawyer can use that as part of a presentation to try to convince the judge to impose lighter sentencing.
Attached is a copy of the bill that was passed to update this law. The words with lines through them are words that were in the law before January 2023 and are now removed. The ALL CAPS words are words added in the new law.