In Colorado, domestic violence charges and penalties work through a sentence enhancer rather than a standalone crime: the “domestic violence” label attaches to an underlying offense such as assault, harassment, or criminal mischief, and it raises the stakes at every stage. That single designation triggers mandatory arrest, an automatic protection order, required treatment on conviction, and a firearm surrender that starts within 24 hours. The penalties themselves track the underlying charge, running from up to 364 days in jail for a misdemeanor to twelve years in prison for a serious felony. And the consequences reach past the courtroom into custody, immigration, and your permanent record.1Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18, Article 6, Part 8, Section 18-6-800.3
What Counts as Domestic Violence in Colorado
Colorado defines domestic violence as any act or threatened act of violence against a person with whom you have or had an intimate relationship. It also covers crimes against property or animals when used to coerce, control, punish, intimidate, or exact revenge on an intimate partner.1Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18, Article 6, Part 8, Section 18-6-800.3 Smashing a partner’s phone to stop them from calling for help can carry the same designation as a punch.
The “intimate relationship” element covers current or former spouses, people who share a child, and people who are or were in a romantic relationship.1Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18, Article 6, Part 8, Section 18-6-800.3 You do not have to live together. Roommates, friends, and acquaintances fall outside the definition unless a romantic connection existed.
The conduct sweep is wide. Beyond physical violence, the statute reaches coercive control: isolating a partner from family, monitoring their finances or communications, threats against pets, and use of immigration status as leverage all can qualify when directed at an intimate partner.
What Happens After the Call
Colorado is a mandatory-arrest state. When officers respond and find probable cause that a domestic violence offense occurred, they must arrest the suspect. The alleged victim’s preference does not change that. Even if the person who called 911 asks that no one be arrested, the officer has no discretion, and cannot instead issue a summons and leave the way they could for many other misdemeanors.2Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18, Article 6, Part 8, Section 18-6-803.6
After arrest, the accused is held without bond until a judge issues a mandatory protection order and the defendant acknowledges it on the record.3Colorado Bureau of Investigation. C.R.S. 18-1-1001 Prosecutors then decide independently whether to file charges. A victim who later recants does not automatically end the case; if the evidence supports the charge, prosecution typically continues.
The mandatory protection order stays in place for the entire life of the case. Violating it is a separate crime, so an accidental text message, or lingering during a chance encounter, can generate a new charge on top of the original one.3Colorado Bureau of Investigation. C.R.S. 18-1-1001 Not every order is absolute no-contact. Judges can tailor terms to allow limited communication for co-parenting or to permit a defendant back into a shared residence under conditions. Changing the terms takes a formal motion, and although the alleged victim’s view is considered, the judge decides.
Penalties by Underlying Offense
Because domestic violence is a sentence enhancer, the penalty depends on the underlying crime.
Misdemeanor Charges
Third-degree assault, the most common charge paired with a domestic violence designation, is a Class 1 misdemeanor.4Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18, Article 3, Part 2, Section 18-3-204 For offenses committed on or after March 1, 2022, a standard Class 1 misdemeanor carries up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Third-degree assault is classified as an extraordinary risk crime, which expands the maximum sentencing range beyond the standard ceiling. Harassment and criminal mischief against an intimate partner can also carry the enhancer, with penalties scaling to the conduct.
Felony Charges
Second-degree assault is typically a Class 4 felony, punishable by two to six years in prison, a mandatory three-year parole period, and fines from $2,000 to $500,000. When the victim suffers serious bodily injury during certain violent felonies, the charge can be elevated to a Class 3 felony, raising the range to four to twelve years and the maximum fine to $750,000.5Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18, Article 1.3, Part 4, Section 18-1.3-401
Strangulation draws especially aggressive treatment. Applying pressure to someone’s neck or blocking their airway in a way that causes serious bodily injury is a Class 3 felony under the first-degree assault statute. If it happens in a sudden heat of passion, the charge drops to a Class 5 felony, still carrying one to three years in prison.6Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18, Article 3, Part 2, Section 18-3-202
Habitual Domestic Violence Offender
A defendant with three or more prior domestic violence convictions who is sentenced for another domestic violence offense becomes a habitual offender. At that point, even a charge that would ordinarily be a misdemeanor is elevated to a Class 5 felony punishable by one to three years in prison and fines of $1,000 to $100,000. The priors can come from any jurisdiction, and each must arise from a separate incident. If a prior conviction had a domestic violence finding entered by the judge rather than through a jury verdict or the defendant’s admission, the prosecution must prove that domestic violence element to the current jury beyond a reasonable doubt.7Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18, Article 6, Part 8, Section 18-6-801
Required Treatment on Conviction
Every person convicted of a crime with a domestic violence designation must complete a treatment evaluation and a treatment program meeting standards set by the Domestic Violence Offender Management Board.7Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18, Article 6, Part 8, Section 18-6-801 This applies to misdemeanors and felonies alike. The only exception is defendants sentenced to the Department of Corrections.
The defendant pays for the evaluation, and treatment operates on a sliding fee scale based on ability to pay. If an intake evaluation finds treatment inappropriate for a particular person, the provider refers the case back to the court for an alternative disposition rather than releasing the defendant from the obligation.
Firearm Surrender
Losing the right to possess firearms is one of the fastest-moving consequences in a Colorado domestic violence case, and it can happen before any conviction.
When a mandatory protection order issued at the first appearance qualifies under federal law, the court must order the defendant to stop possessing or purchasing firearms and ammunition and to relinquish anything currently in their possession or control. The default deadline for surrendering firearms is 24 hours after being served. A court can extend that to 72 hours for firearms and up to five days for ammunition if the defendant shows they cannot comply within the initial window.3Colorado Bureau of Investigation. C.R.S. 18-1-1001 Civil protection orders trigger a parallel obligation when the court finds the order involves domestic violence and the underlying conduct included physical force or the threat of it.8Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 13, Article 14, Section 13-14-105.5
Surrender is documented, not just promised. A sworn affidavit must be filed within seven business days of the relinquishment order, listing the make, model, and location of each firearm and identifying whether it went to a licensed dealer, law enforcement, or a qualifying private party. Firearms cannot be transferred to family members or anyone in the same household. A defendant who had no firearms must still file an affidavit saying so, and a false affidavit can generate additional criminal charges.9Colorado Judicial Branch. JDF 688 – Affidavit of Relinquishment of Firearms
A conviction adds a separate firearm prohibition that lasts until the sentence is fully satisfied.7Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 18, Article 6, Part 8, Section 18-6-801 It sits alongside the federal ban under 18 U.S.C. ยง 922(g)(9), which permanently bars anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing firearms or ammunition. Even after a Colorado sentence ends, the federal prohibition may remain in effect permanently.
Consequences Beyond the Criminal Case
Custody and Parenting Time
A domestic violence finding shifts family court against the offending parent. When a court determines by a preponderance of the evidence that a parent committed domestic violence, Colorado law says giving both parents shared decision-making authority over the other parent’s objection is presumptively not in the child’s best interests.10FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14, Section 14-10-124 – Best Interests of the Child The court can override that presumption only with credible evidence that the parents can cooperate safely.
Parenting time is directly affected. The court must treat the safety of the child and the abused parent as the primary concern, and can impose supervised visitation, exchanges in protected settings, and restrictions on overnight parenting. If a parent leaves the home because of domestic violence, that absence cannot be held against them. If a judge orders unsupervised parenting time for an accused parent, the reasoning has to appear on the record.
Immigration
For non-citizens, a domestic violence conviction can be as severe as the criminal sentence itself. Federal law makes any non-citizen deportable if convicted, after admission to the United States, of a crime of violence against a current or former spouse, co-parent, cohabitant, or anyone else protected under state domestic violence laws.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens A conviction is not the only trigger: a court finding that a non-citizen violated a protection order designed to prevent violence, threats, or harassment is independently enough to make someone deportable.
Certain misdemeanor domestic violence offenses can be treated as aggravated felonies for immigration purposes when the court imposes a sentence of one year or more, even if entirely suspended. That classification carries the harshest immigration outcomes, including mandatory detention, near-automatic removal, and permanent bars on reentry. Colorado’s 2022 change capping Class 1 misdemeanor sentences at 364 days reduces that risk at the misdemeanor level, but the exposure remains for felony convictions or sentences at or above the one-year mark.
Your Record
Domestic violence convictions are difficult to seal in Colorado. The Judicial Branch lists convictions whose underlying facts include domestic violence among those not eligible for standard sealing, so a conviction typically shows up on background checks indefinitely.12Colorado Judicial Branch. Sealing Criminal Records – February 2025
A narrow path exists for misdemeanor convictions. A court may seal one if the district attorney consents, or if the defendant proves by clear and convincing evidence that the need to seal is significant and substantial, that enough time has passed that the person is no longer a threat to public safety, and that public access to the record is no longer necessary. Many petitions are denied.
Dismissed cases are treated differently. Colorado law requires automatic sealing when charges are fully dismissed, with the court entering a sealing order at disposition and serving it within 28 days.13Justia. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 24, Article 72, Part 7, Section 24-72-705 If the court does not act, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is supposed to seal the record on receipt of the disposition. If neither happens, you can file a motion to seal at any time without fees or costs. Automatic sealing does not always happen on schedule, so checking your record after a dismissal is worth doing.
Deferred judgments occupy a middle ground. Colorado allows a defendant to plead guilty, complete conditions like the required treatment program, and then have the charges dismissed. Because domestic violence offenses fall under the Victim Rights Act, the simplified automatic-sealing process does not apply; the court must hold a hearing before sealing the record, even when every condition has been met. A successful deferred judgment offers a much better shot at sealing than a straight conviction, but nothing about it is automatic.