On This Page
- The Short Answer
- Three Different Records
- Your Criminal Record: Why a DUI Conviction Stays
- Your Driving Record at the DMV
- Prior DUIs Count for Life
- What Background Checks Show
- Insurance and SR-22
- Other Places a DUI Follows You
- Keeping a DUI Off Your Record
- Working With a Colorado Springs DUI Lawyer
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Sources
The Short Answer
A DUI or DWAI conviction in Colorado usually stays on your criminal record for good. Colorado’s record sealing law excludes DUI and DWAI convictions from regular sealing, and Colorado counts prior impaired driving convictions for repeat-offense sentencing with no time limit.
Your driving record, your insurance rating, and private background reports each follow their own timelines. A conviction can drop out of one of them while staying in the others. A DUI arrest that ends in dismissal or acquittal is different, and it can usually be sealed.
This article explains each record, how long a DUI appears on it, and what you can do while your case is still open.
Three Different Records
People often ask how long a DUI stays “on your record” without realizing there are several records involved:
| Record | Who Keeps It | How Long a DUI Conviction Appears |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal history and court record | The courts and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation | Usually permanent; DUI and DWAI convictions are excluded from regular sealing |
| Driving record (motor vehicle record) | The Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles | The standard record covers the past seven years; the DMV keeps its own driver history longer |
| Insurance and private background reports | Insurers and consumer reporting agencies | Varies by company; federal law does not limit how long a conviction can be reported |
Your Criminal Record: Why a DUI Conviction Stays
Under C.R.S. 24-72-706, many Colorado convictions can be sealed after a waiting period.
The statute excludes a conviction under the DUI and DUI per se subsections of C.R.S. 42-4-1301, which also cover DWAI. It separately excludes misdemeanor traffic offenses and traffic infractions.
A sealing presentation posted on the Colorado Judicial Branch website lists DUIs and DWAIs as not eligible for sealing. In most cases, once you are convicted, the record stays visible to the public, employers, and landlords.
The Narrow Misdemeanor Exception
The sealing statute does contain a general exception. A misdemeanor that would otherwise be ineligible can be sealed if the district attorney consents, or if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the need for sealing is significant and substantial, that the person is no longer a threat to public safety, and that public disclosure is no longer needed.
The statute’s wording appears to reach DUI and DWAI convictions, but that presentation still lists them as ineligible, and this kind of sealing is hard to obtain. No one should accept a DUI plea on the assumption that it can be sealed later.
Dismissed Cases and Acquittals
A DUI charge that ends in dismissal or acquittal is treated differently. Colorado generally allows non-conviction records to be sealed, but when the only charges were traffic offenses, as in many DUI cases, sealing is not automatic and you must ask the court. A case dismissed as part of a plea deal in another case waits until the other case is eligible. Our record sealing page explains that process.
What if the DUI Was Reduced?
A plea from DUI to DWAI is still an excluded conviction. A plea to reckless driving or careless driving is a misdemeanor traffic offense, which is also on the excluded list. A reduction lowers the penalties, but it usually does not change whether the record can be sealed.
Your Driving Record at the DMV
The Colorado DMV keeps a separate record of traffic convictions, points, and license actions. When you buy a copy of your own motor vehicle record, the DMV says it covers the past seven years and cannot be limited to a shorter period.
That seven-year window is what you and most insurers see. It is not a deletion date. The DMV keeps a permanent driver history it uses for license decisions, and under C.R.S. 42-2-121 it keeps a separate file of dismissed DUI, DUI per se, DWAI, and underage drinking and driving charges that is available only to criminal justice agencies.
Points From a DUI
A DUI or DUI per se conviction adds 12 points under C.R.S. 42-2-127, and a DWAI adds 8.
Points only count toward a suspension within the 12-month and 24-month windows, measured from the dates of the violations. After those windows pass, the points stop counting toward a suspension, but the conviction remains on the record. Our article on checking the points on your Colorado license explains the system.
Revocations
The revocation that follows a DUI also appears on the driving record, along with the reinstatement. If you were revoked as a persistent drunk driver or required to hold an interlock license, those restrictions are recorded as well.
Prior DUIs Count for Life
Many states only count a prior DUI if it happened within a set number of years. Colorado does not. Under C.R.S. 42-4-1307, a person with a prior DUI, DUI per se, DWAI, vehicular assault, or vehicular homicide conviction faces second-offense penalties no matter how long ago the first one happened.
- Second offense. At least 10 days in jail, up to one year, a fine of $600 to $1,500, and at least two years of probation.
- Five-year rule. If the new offense happened less than five years after the previous one, the court cannot use most sentencing alternatives during the mandatory jail period.
- Third offense. At least 60 days in jail, up to one year.
- Fourth offense. A class 4 felony. Under C.R.S. 42-4-1301, a DUI, DUI per se, or DWAI is a felony after three or more prior convictions from separate incidents, with no time limit.
- Out-of-state priors. Convictions from other states, federal court, and U.S. territories count if the conduct would have been one of these offenses in Colorado.
License Lookback Periods
The license rules use shorter windows. Two impaired driving convictions for acts within five years lead to a revocation under C.R.S. 42-2-125.
Three listed major offenses, including DUI and DWAI, within seven years make a driver a habitual traffic offender under C.R.S. 42-2-202, which brings a five-year revocation.
What Background Checks Show
Colorado criminal history is generally public. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation offers an Internet Criminal History Check that anyone can run by name for a fee. It excludes records sealed by court order, but a DUI conviction is not sealed.
Employers who use a private screening company are covered by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c, those companies generally cannot report arrests that did not lead to a conviction once they are more than seven years old, but records of convictions are exempt from that limit. The seven-year limit also does not apply to jobs paying $75,000 a year or more.
In practice, a DUI conviction can appear on an employment screen decades later. Jobs that involve driving, a commercial license, or a security clearance tend to look closely at it.
Insurance and SR-22
Reinstating after an alcohol-related revocation generally requires SR-22 proof of insurance, as the Colorado DMV explains. Under C.R.S. 42-7-408, after a single alcohol offense with no accident it generally must be kept for as long as the license was ordered revoked, up to three years, and other situations can require three years or more.
Insurers also set their own rules for how long a DUI affects your rate. Most look back at least several years, and some decline to renew a policy after a DUI. Those rules vary by company, so ask your insurer how it treats the conviction. Our article on how much a DUI costs estimates the insurance impact.
Other Places a DUI Follows You
- Commercial licenses. A DUI conviction or refusal disqualifies a commercial license for at least one year, and a second offense can mean a lifetime disqualification.
- Professional licenses. Nurses, pilots, teachers, and others may have to report a conviction to a licensing board.
- Military service. Service members at Fort Carson, Peterson and Schriever Space Force Bases, and the Air Force Academy can face command action, and enlistment and clearance forms ask about arrests and convictions.
- Travel. Some countries, including Canada, can deny entry to people with impaired driving convictions.
- Future cases. A prior DUI affects bond, plea offers, and sentencing in any later case, not only another DUI.
Keeping a DUI Off Your Record
Because a conviction is effectively permanent, the most important decisions happen before the case ends. No lawyer can promise a particular result, but these are the paths that keep a DUI off a criminal record or limit its impact:
- Challenging the evidence. An unlawful stop, a lack of probable cause, or problems with the breath or blood test can lead to suppressed evidence and a dismissal.
- Trial. An acquittal can be sealed. The prosecution must prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Negotiation. A reduction to DWAI or a non-alcohol traffic offense lowers penalties and points, even though the conviction is still excluded from regular sealing. Under C.R.S. 42-4-1301(4), a plea to a non-alcohol offense requires a good faith representation by the prosecutor that the prosecution could not establish a prima facie case on the original charge.
- The DMV hearing. Winning the license hearing keeps the revocation off your driving record, even though it does not decide the criminal case.
Our Colorado Springs DUI lawyer page covers how those defenses work.
Working With a Colorado Springs DUI Lawyer
Attorney Michael W. Moran has been licensed to practice law in Colorado since 1995 and is a former municipal court judge. He represents people charged with DUI, DUI per se, and DWAI in El Paso, Teller, Pueblo, and Fremont counties, and he helps people seal dismissed cases and other eligible records.
A first meeting covers your case, your prior record, how each possible outcome would affect your record long term, and your DMV deadline.
Criminal Defense Colorado Springs, P.C. offers free, confidential consultations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a DUI ever come off your record in Colorado?
Usually, a DUI or DWAI conviction stays on your criminal record for good, because Colorado’s sealing law excludes those convictions from regular sealing. A DUI charge that was dismissed or ended in acquittal can usually be sealed.
How long does a DUI stay on your driving record in Colorado?
The motor vehicle record you can order covers the past seven years. The DMV keeps a longer driver history for its own license decisions.
Can a DUI be expunged in Colorado?
Colorado uses sealing, not expungement, for adult records, and DUI and DWAI convictions are excluded from regular sealing. A narrow misdemeanor exception in the statute may allow it with the district attorney’s consent or specific court findings, but that is uncommon.
Does Colorado have a lookback period for DUI?
Not for criminal sentencing. Any prior DUI, DUI per se, DWAI, vehicular assault, or vehicular homicide conviction counts, no matter how old, and four or more offenses make the new charge a felony.
Will a DUI show up on a background check after seven years?
It can. Federal law limits how long screening companies report arrests without a conviction, but convictions are exempt from that seven-year limit.
Does a DWAI stay on your record like a DUI?
Generally, yes. A DWAI conviction is excluded from regular sealing, and it counts as a prior offense for any later DUI or DWAI. It carries 8 points instead of 12.
Can a DUI reduced to reckless driving be sealed?
Usually not. Reckless driving is a misdemeanor traffic offense, which is also on the list of convictions excluded from sealing.
Sources
- C.R.S. 24-72-706, Sealing of criminal conviction records
- C.R.S. 42-4-1301, DUI, DUI per se, and DWAI
- C.R.S. 42-4-1307, Penalties for traffic offenses involving alcohol and drugs
- C.R.S. 42-2-125, Mandatory revocation of license
- C.R.S. 42-2-127, Point system
- C.R.S. 42-2-202, Habitual offender
- 12th Judicial District Access to Justice Committee, Sealing Criminal Records (January 2026, posted by the Colorado Judicial Branch)
- Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles, Motor Vehicle Record
- Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles, Reinstating After a DUI or Alcohol Offense
- Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Internet Criminal History Check
- 15 U.S.C. 1681c, Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports