Ignition interlock in Colorado

The Colorado DMV, part of the Department of Revenue, runs the interlock program. Join it and you can get your license back ahead of schedule as an interlock-restricted license, meaning you may only drive cars that have the device installed. To be eligible, you have to live in Colorado, be 21 or older, and satisfy the DMV's other rules, the Colorado DMV notes.

If your DUI happened on January 1, 2023 or later, reinstatement is possible on the very first day of your revocation. The old rule made you wait a month first, but that's gone now. Refused a chemical test? Then the wait is 2 months before early reinstatement is open to you.

Blow 0.15 or higher and you're also classed as a Persistent Drunk Driver, the DMV explains. That threshold dropped from 0.17 in 2014. Refuse a chemical test any time since January 1, 2014, and you get the same label, plus an automatic 2 years with the device.

Habitual traffic offenders can also reinstate early. To do it, you'll need the device for at least 1 year or for the rest of your restraint. A habitual traffic offender is someone with 3 qualifying offenses inside 7 years, which brings a revocation of 5 years.

Intoxalock's Colorado devices average out to $3.33 daily, per its Colorado price page. That figure is just this one company's number for the state. Nationally, MADD says installing the device usually runs $70 to $150, with $60 to $80 a month after that. Over 2 years, that adds up to about $1,510 to $2,070 in total, based on MADD's national averages.

It can. Colorado's Department of Revenue maintains a fund that helps first-time offenders and Persistent Drunk Drivers unable to cover the device's full cost. To be eligible, you have to be lawfully present in Colorado, live in the state, and be at least 21 when the violation happened, the DMV says.

Your income decides whether you qualify. The DMV weighs your Federal Adjusted Gross Income against the federal poverty line, and the check takes place at installation. The assistance tops out at $400 in total, and it stops if your license gets suspended or revoked later on.

The device has to come in for service once every 60 days. Skip a visit and your license is suspended until you're compliant again, per the DMV.

If you blow .025 or higher in 3 or more months over any rolling 12-month period, up to 1 more year can be tacked onto your requirement, the Department of Revenue explains.

Driving without the device, or finding a way around it, is treated far more harshly. Either one costs you your license, with no driving whatsoever for a minimum of one year.

A few drivers began with an 8-month requirement and a BAC under 0.150. For them, removal may be possible after 4 months of clean driving, and the DMV mails a letter when that applies.

The Colorado General Assembly records that the Governor signed HB26-1242 into law on May 28, 2026. Starting June 1, 2027, first-time DUI offenders will have to keep an interlock-restricted license for 9 straight months after reinstating. That same date wipes out the 2-month wait that currently applies to drivers who refused a test before they can reinstate early with an interlock. Income will also start limiting who can get financial help.

Intoxalock, Smart Start, LifeSafer and Guardian Interlock are the four companies with install locations across Colorado. Every day you wait is another day without driving, so call us or use the booking form, and we'll pass your request to an installer serving Colorado so they can set up your appointment.